Indian Tribes Of The Lower Mississippi Valley And Adjacent Coast Of The Gulf Of Mexico (Smithsonian Institution Bureau Of American Ethnology, 43)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1911 Excerpt: ...of the Natchez chiefs, awaited us at the Little Gulf with 150 men in order to break our heads. This speech did not surprise me, because one of their minor chiefs, a friend of mine, had already warned me before leaving their village, although he had not spoken so clearly. I had already spoken of it to M. de la Loire, but we had not placed enough faith in this first warning to interrupt our journey. This second intelligence obliged us to pay more attention to the matter. We took council together, and afterward we called the 8 Natchez savages who were guiding us, to whom we promised a considerable present if they would tell us the truth, with promises of never declaring that it was they who had warned us. All the 8 savages declared to us openly that 6 leagues above on the shore at the left, where the canoes are obliged to pass close to the land, on account of a very rapid gulf which whirls in the middle of the river, 150 Natchez, armed with guns, at the head of whom was The Bearded, awaited us, and that we could not fail to perish, although there were six times the number of people. "La Harpe In Jour. Hist., 123, simply states that M. de la Loire had barely escaped by the advice of a chief who had given Mm the means to save his lite. This avowal of 8 persons, all of whom assured us of the same thing, obliged us to give up. M. de la Loire, the elder, was above all much embarrassed how he should withdraw his brother, who had remained in the village of the Natchez as guard of the storehouse of goods of the company. He spoke to me about it, appearing very sad. I told him that, if he would permit me, I would go alone to find him, and that I would bring him back with me or perish there. After having laid our plans above, we parted three hours after midday in or...