La Salle gave land at the junction of the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers to his Lt. De Tonty in 1682 on the trip to the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1686, De Tonty established a Post there to await La Salle. Unfortunately, La Salle ended up in Texas and was murdered by some of his men. Two survivors made their way to the Arkansas Post and one went to France and then returned to LA with Bienville and Iberville. So the Arkansas Post was the first settlement in Colonial LA and remained an important post uder both the French and Spanish Colonial periods. It was renamed Ft. Carlos III under the Spanish in honor of the King of Spain. Many of those who served at the Arkansas Post ended up in Louisiana, including Dauterive who signed the Agreement with the Acadians in 1765. Others include Prudhomme, Pellerin [not the Acadian line]; Peltier and Menard. I have 2 extra copies of the book Colonial Arkansas 1686-1804: A social and Cultural History by Morris S. Arnold. One is a hardcover collector edition and the other is a softcover edition. This book is the definitive book on the Post and it has many excellent maps, portraits and drawings. I'm offering the list the opportunity to purchase the books before I place on my Books page. If interested, please contact me off-list. Stanley LeBlanc http://www.thecajuns.com