David de Launay was a French-born resident of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
who led a group of
Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".
Osage can also refer to:
* Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation
* Osage (Unicode b ...
people to France in 1827.
History
De Launay led a group of eleven
Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".
Osage can also refer to:
* Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation
* Osage (Unicode b ...
men and one Native American woman,
Sacred Sun
Sacred Sun (Mohongo) (1809–1836) was an Osage woman who lived on Osage land in what is now Missouri, US. She took a journey all throughout Europe, and tales of her trip were recorded in French and American newspapers and pamphlets of that age. ...
, to France in 1827. Whilst leaving St. Louis, their raft was wrecked, causing them to lose all their furs, and half of the Osage decided to return to their village. The others decided to go on, met up with de Launay, and traveled down the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
to
and then on to New England. De Launay and his crew then sailed for
Le Havre, France arriving on July 27 1827. At first, they were greeted with great hospitality and met
King Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
. After a while the local people lost interest and it was hard for de Launay to afford the food and shelter needed by the Osage. He ended up selling tickets to see the Osage in their hotel rooms, and forcing them to perform a show. Finally, de Launay ran out of money, could not feed nor support the Osage, and was jailed for not paying his bills.
This left the Osage to fend for themselves.
References
People from St. Louis
Native American history of Missouri
People from St. Louis County, Missouri
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