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THE GRIFFON OF CAVELIER DE LA SALLE—FIRST SAILING VESSEL ON THE UPPER LAKES

Robert Cavelier de La Salle (1643-1687), the explorer of the Mississippi designed a plan for building sailing vessels of size and armament on the Upper Lakes. These were to replace the paltry traffic of canoes and dominate the interior of the continent. The Griffon, intended as the first of the fleet, built after great pains and labour at Cayuga Creek on Lake Erie was lost on its first voyage in a great storm. With it ended La Salle’s ambitious plan.