who established an outpost on the banks of the red river
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac sent St. Denis and a company of French marines from Mobile in September 1713 to travel up the Red River and establish a French outpost and fort. The intent was to protect the territorial boundaries of French-Louisiana and halt the eastward expansion of the Spaniards, whose local government was based on the Rio Grande in south Texas. The Spaniards were building Fort Los Adaes about 15 miles west of Natchitoches, near the present town of Robeline, LA. St. Denis arrived in central Louisiana at what is now Natchitoches later in 1713 and built Fort St. Jean Baptiste de Natchitoches as a trading post along the banks of the Red River, whose course later changed and the result became the Cane River. He traded with the Caddo Nation there and freely sold them guns; additionally, St. Denis developed a somewhat friendly relationship with the nearby Spaniards, despite the objections of the French governship. St. Denis and his men learned many hunting and trapping skills from the Caddo Indians, who were welcoming and friendly.[2]