David de Launay was a French-born resident of St. Louis who led a group of Osage people to France in 1827.
De Launay led a group of eleven Osage men and one Native American woman, Sacred Sun, 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.
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.
[3] Finally, de Launay ran out of money, could not feed nor support the Osage, and was jailed for not paying his bills.