University of California Berkelev 
 
 
6x 
 


 '* ."*. 
 
 
THE 
 
 LILY AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE HUGUENOTS IN FLORIDA. 
 
 A SERIES OF SKETCHES, PICTURESQUE AND HISTORICAL, OP THE 
 COLONIES OF COLIGNI, IN NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 15621570. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE YEMASSEE," LIFE OF MARION/ 
 "LIFE OF BAYARD" ETC. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 BAKER AND S C B, I B N E R , 
 
 145 NASSAU STREET AND 36 PARK ROW. 
 
 1850. 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by 
 
 W. GILMORE SIMMS-, ESQ., 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United State* for the Southern 
 District of New York. 
 
 * 
 
 C. W. BENEDICT, 
 
 Stereotype r, 
 
 JOi William at. 
 
 
 f 
 
 .& 
 

 EPISTLE DEDICATORY, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 HON. JAMES H. HAMMOND, 
 
 OF 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 MY DEAR HAMMOND: 
 
 I VERY well know the deep interest which you take in all 
 researches which aim to develope the early history of our State 
 and country, and sympathize with you very sincerely in that local 
 feeling which delights to trace, on your own grounds, and in your 
 own neighborhood, the doubtful progresses of French and 
 Spaniard, in their wild passion for adventure or eager appetite for 
 gold. I have no doubt that the clues are in your hands which 
 shall hereafter conduct you along a portion of the route pursued 
 by that famous cavalier, Hernando de Soto ; and I am almost 
 satisfied that the region of Silver Bluff was that distinguished in 
 the adventures of the Spanish Adelantado, by the presence of that 
 dusky but lovely princess of Cofachiqui, who welcomed him with 
 go much favor and whom he treated with an ingratitude as 
 unhandsome as unknightly. But I must not dwell on a subject 
 so seductive ; particularly, as I entertain the hope, in some future 
 
IV EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 
 
 labor, to weave her legend into an appropriate, and I trust not 
 unworthy history. For the present, inscribing these pages to you, 
 as a memorial of a long and grateful intimacy, and of inquiries 
 and conjectures, musings and meditations, enjoyed together, which, 
 it is my hope, have resulted no less profitably to you than to 
 myself, I propose briefly to give you the plan of the volume in 
 your hands. 
 
 The design of the narrative which follows, contemplates, in 
 nearly equal degree, the picturesque and the historical. It 
 belongs to a class of writings with which the world has been long 
 since made familiar, through a collection of the greatest interest, 
 the body of which continues to expand, and which has been 
 entitled the " Romance of History." This name will justly apply 
 to the present sketches, yet must not be construed to signify any 
 large or important departure, in the narrative, from the absolute 
 records of the Past. The romance here is not suffered to super- 
 sede the history. On the contrary, the design of the writer has 
 been simply to supply the deficiencies of the record. Where the 
 author, in this species of writing, has employed history, usually, 
 as a mere loop, upon which to hang his lively fancies and auda- 
 cious inventions, embodying in his narrative as small a portion of 
 the chronicle as possible, I have been content to reverse the 
 process, making the fiction simply tributary, and always subor- 
 dinate to the fact. I have been studious to preserve all the vital 
 details of the event, as embodied in the record, and have only 
 ventured my own " graftings" upon it in those portions of the 
 history which exhibited a certain baldness in their details, and 
 seemed to demand the helping agency of art. In thus interweav- 
 ing the history with the fiction, I have been solicitous always of 
 those proprieties and of that vraisembla7ice 9 in the introduction of 
 
EPISTLE DEDICATORY. Y 
 
 new details, which are essential to the chief characteristics of 
 the history ; seeking equally to preserve the general integrity 
 of the record from which I draw my materials, and of that art 
 which aims to present them in a costume the most picturesque. 
 My labor has been not to make, but to perfect, a history ; not to 
 invent facts, but to trace them out to seemingly inevitable 
 results ; to take the premise and work out the problem ; recog- 
 nize the meagre record which affords simply a general outline ; 
 and endeavor, by a severe induction, to supply its details and pro- 
 cesses. I have been at no such pains to disguise the chronicle, 
 as will prevent the reader from separating, should he desire 
 to do so, the certain from the conjectural ; and yet, I trust, that 
 I have succeeded in so linking the two together, as to prevent the 
 lines of junction from obtruding themselves offensively upon hig 
 consciousness. Upon the successful prosecution of this object, 
 apart from the native interest which the subject itself possesses, 
 depends all the merit of the performance. It is by raising the 
 tone of the history, warming it with the hues of fancy, and making 
 it dramatic by the continued exercise of art, rather than by any 
 actual violation of its recorded facts, that I have endeavored to 
 awaken interest. To bring out such portions of the event as 
 demand elevation to suppress those which are only cumbrous, 
 and neither raise the imposing, nor relieve the unavoidable ; and 
 to supply, from the probable, the apparent deficiencies of the 
 actual, have been the chief processes in the art which I have 
 employed. What is wholly fictitious will appear rather as episo- 
 dical matter, than as a part of the narrative ; and a brief historical 
 summary, even in regard to the episode, shall occasionally be 
 employed to determine, for the reader, upon how much, or how 
 little, he may properly rely as history. 
 * 
 
yi EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 
 
 The experiment of Coligny, in colonizing Florida, is one of 
 those remarkable instances in the early settlement of this country, 
 which deserve the particular attention of our people. Its wild and 
 dark events, its startling tragedies, its picturesque and exciting 
 incidents, long since impressed themselves upon my imagination, 
 as offering suitable materials for employment in romantic fiction. 
 In the preparation of the work which follows, I have rather yielded 
 to the requisitions of publishers and the public, than followed the 
 suggestions of my own taste and judgment. Originally, I com- 
 menced the treatment of this material, in the form of poetry ; but 
 the stimulus to a keen prosecution of the task was wanting : not 
 so much, perhaps, in consequence of my own diminished interest 
 in the subject, as because of the indifference of readers ; who, in 
 all periods have determined the usual direction of the writer. 
 Hereafter, I may prosecute the experiment upon this history in 
 still another fashion. I do not regard this work as precluding me 
 from trying the malleability of its subject, and from seeking to 
 force it into a mould more grateful to the dictates of my imagina- 
 tion. In abandoning the design, however, of shaping it to the 
 form of narrative poetry, I may, at least, submit to the reader 
 such portions of the verse as are already written. My purpose, 
 as will be seen, by the fragmentary passages which follow fin the 
 Appendix at the close of the volume,) was to seize upon the strong 
 points of the subject, and exhibit the whole progress of the action, 
 in so many successive scenes ; as in the plan adopted by Rogers 
 in his " Columbus" the one scene naturally forming the intro- 
 duction to the other, and the whole, a complete and single his- 
 tory. To these fragments let me refer you. With these, my 
 original design found its limit ; the spirit which had urged me thus 
 far, no longer quickening me with that impatient eagerness which 
 
 
EPISTLE DEDICATORY. VU 
 
 can alone justify poetic labors. The plan is one which I am no 
 longer likely to pursue. It will no doubt have a place of safe- 
 keeping and harborage in some one of Astolpho's mansions. It 
 need not be deplored on earth. I shall be but too happy if those 
 who read the performance which follows, shall forbear the wish 
 that it had shared the same destiny. To you, at least, I venture 
 to commend it with a very "different hope. 
 
 Very truly yours, as ever, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 CHARLESTON, S. C., > 
 May 1, 1850. ( 
 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 i. 
 
 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF KIBAULT, 
 
 II. 
 
 THE COLONY UNDER ALBERT, 29 
 
 III. 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE, Chap. 1 37 
 
 IV. 
 THE LEGEND OF G-UERNACHE, Chap. H 44 
 
 V. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE, Chap. Ill 69 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE, Chap. IV 71 
 
 VII. 
 LACHANE, THE DELIVERER, 81 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 FLIGHT, FAMINE, AND THE BLOODY FEAST OP THE FUGI- 
 TIVES, 100 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE SECOND EXPEDITION OF THE HUGUENOTS TO FLORIDA, 110 
 
 X. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 123 
 
 XL 
 
 THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENRE HISTORICAL SUMMARY . 131 
 
 XII 
 
 THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENRE, 133 
 
 XIII. 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 164 
 
 XIV. 
 THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE, 166 
 
 XV. 
 THE MUTINEERS AT SEA, 185 
 
 XVI. 
 THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH, 193 
 
 XVII. 
 THE NARRATIVE OF LE BARBU, 218 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 XVIII. 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 251 
 
 XIX. 
 CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI, 263 
 
 XX. 
 IRACANA, 294 
 
 XXI. 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 310 
 
 XXII. 
 THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE, 321 
 
 XXIII. 
 THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT, 364 
 
 XXIY. 
 ALPHONSE D'ERLACH, 387 
 
 XXY. 
 DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES, 414 
 
 APPENDIX, 463 
 

 
THE LILY AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 I. 
 
 THE FIRST VOYAGE OF RIBAULT. 
 
 Introduction The Huguenots Their Condition in France First Expedition for th 
 New World, under the auspices of the Admiral Coligny, Conducted by John Ribault-*- 
 Colony Established in Florida, and confided to the charge of Captain Albert. 
 
 THE Huguenots, in plain terms, were the Protestants of 
 France. They were a sect which rose very soon after the 
 preaching of the Reformation had passed from Germany into the 
 neighboring countries. In France, they first excited the appre- 
 hensions and provoked the hostility of the Roman Catholic 
 priesthood, during the reign of Francis the First. This prince, 
 unstable as water, and governed rather by his humors and caprices 
 than by., any fixed principles of conduct wanting, perhaps, 
 equally in head and heart showed himself, in the outset of his 
 career, rather friendly to the reformers. But they were soon 
 destined to suffer, with more decided favorites, from the caprices 
 of his despotism. He subsequently became one of their most 
 cruel persecutors. The Huguenots were not originally known by 
 this name. It does not appear to have been one of their own 
 choosing. It was the name which distinguished them in the days 
 
 of their persecution. Though frequently 'the subject of con- 
 1 
 
2 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 jecture, its origin is very doubtful. Montluc, the Marshal, whose 
 position at the time, and whose interests in the subject of religion 
 were such as might have enabled him to know quite as well as 
 any other person, confesses that the source and meaning of the 
 appellation were unknown. It is suggested that the name was 
 taken from the tower of one Hugon, or Hugo, at Tours, where 
 the Protestants were in the habit of assembling secretly for 
 worship. This, by many, is assumed to be the true origin of 
 the word. But there are numerous etymologies besides, from 
 which the reader may make his selection, all more or less 
 plausibly contended for by the commentators. The commence- 
 ment of a petition to the Cardinal Lorraine " Hue nos venimus, 
 eerenissime princeps, &c.," furnishes a suggestion to one set of 
 writers. Another finds in the words " Heus quenaus," which, in 
 the Swiss patois, signify " seditious fellows," conclusive evidence 
 of the thing for which he seeks. Heghenen or Huguenen,a 
 Flemish word, which means Puritans, or Cathari, is reasonably 
 urged by Caseneuve, as the true authority ; while Yerdier tells us 
 that they were so called from their being the apes or followers of 
 John Hus " les guenons de Hus ;" guenon being a young ape. 
 This is ingenious enough without being complimentary. The 
 etymology most generally received, according to Mr. Browning, 
 (History of the Huguenots,) is that which ascribes the origin of 
 the name to " the word JEignot, derived from the German 
 JEidegenossen, q. e. federati. A party thus designated existed at 
 Geneva ; and it is highly probable that the French Protestants 
 would adopt a term so applicable to themselves." There are, 
 however, sundry other etymologies, all of which seem equally 
 plausible; but these will suffice, at least, to increase the difficulties 
 of conjecture, Either will answer, since the name by which the 
 
.. THE HUGUENOTS. 3 
 
 child is christened is never expected to foreshadow his future 
 character, or determine his career. The name of the Huguenots 
 was probably bestowed by the enemies of the sect. It is in all 
 likelihood a term of opprobrium or contempt. It will not materially 
 concern us, in the scheme of the present performance, that we 
 should reach any definite conclusion on this point. Their 
 European history must be read in other volumes. Ours is but 
 the American episode in their sad and protracted struggle with 
 their foes and fortune. Unhappily, for present inquiry, this 
 portion of their history attracted but too little the attention of 
 the parent country. We a/e told of colonies in America, and of 
 their disastrous termination, but the details are meagre, touched 
 by the chronicler with a slight and careless hand ; and, but for 
 the striking outline of the narrative, the leading and prominent 
 events which compelled record, it is one that we should pass 
 without comment, and with no awakening curiosity. But the few 
 terrible particulars which remain to us in the ancient summary, are 
 of a kind to reward inquiry, and command the most active sym- 
 pathies ; and the melancholy outline of the Huguenots' progress, 
 in the New World, exhibits features of trial, strength and 
 suffering, which render their career equally unique in both coun- 
 tries ; a dark and bloody history, involving details of strife, of 
 enterprise, and sorrow, which denied them the securities of home 
 in the parent land, and even the most miserable refuge from 
 persecution in the wildernesses of a savage empire. Their 
 European fortunes are amply developed in all the European 
 chronicles. Our narrative relates wholly to those portions of their 
 history which belong to America. 
 
 It is not so generally known that the colonies of the Hugue- 
 nots, in the new world, were almost coeval with those of the 
 
4 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Spaniards. They anticipated them in the northern portions of 
 the continent. These settlements were projected by the active 
 genius of the justly-celebrated French admiral, Graspard de Col- 
 igny, one of the great leaders of the Huguenots in France. His 
 persevering energies, impelled by his sagacious forethought, effect- 
 ed a beginning in the work of foreign colonization, which, unhap- 
 pily for himself and party, he was not permitte'd to prosecute, 
 with the proper vigor, to successful completion. His sagacity 
 led him to apprehend, from an early experience of the character 
 of the Queen-mother, in the bigoted and brutal reign of Charles 
 the Ninth, that there would, in little time, be no safety in France 
 for the dissenters from the established religion. The feebleness 
 of the youthful Prince, the jealous and malignant character of 
 Catharine her utter faithlessness, and the hatred which she felt 
 for the Protestants, which no pact could bind, and no concession 
 mollify, to say nothing of the controlling will of Pius the Fifth, 
 who had ascended the Papal throne, sworn to the extermination 
 of all heresies, all combined to assure the Protestants of the 
 dangers by which their cause was threatened. The danger was 
 one of life as well as religion. It was in the destruction of the 
 one, that the enemies of the Huguenots contemplated the over- 
 throw of the other. Coligny was not the man to be deceived by 
 the hollow compromises, the delusive promises, the false truces, 
 which were all employed in turn to beguile him and his associates 
 into confidence, and persuade them into the most treacherous 
 snares. He combined a fair proportion of the cunning of the 
 serpent with the dove's purity, and, maintaining strict watch 
 upon his enemies, succeeded, for a long period, in eluding the 
 artifices by which he was overcome at last. Availing himself of 
 the influence of his position, and of a brief respite from that open 
 
ATTEMPT AT COLONIZATION. 5 
 
 war which preceded the famous Edict of January, 1562, by which 
 the Huguenots were admitted, with some restrictions, to the ex- 
 ercise of their religion, Coligny addressed himself to the task of 
 establishing a colony of Protestants in America. He readily 
 divined the future importance, to his sect, of such a place of 
 refuge. The moment was favorable to his objects. The policy 
 of the Queen-mother was not yet sufficiently matured, to render 
 it proper that she should oppose herself to his desires. Perhaps, 
 she also conceived the plan a good one, which should relieve the 
 country of a race whom she equally loathed and dreaded.* It is 
 possible that she did not fully conjecture the ultimate calculations 
 of the admiral. The king, himself, was a minor, entirely in her 
 hands, who could add nothing to her counsels, or, for the present, 
 interfere with her authority ; and, without seeking farther to in- 
 quire by what motives she was governed in according to Coligny 
 the permission which he sought, it is enough that he obtained the 
 necessary sanction. Of this he readily availed himself. It was not, 
 by the way, his first attempt at colonization. Having in view the 
 same objects by which he was governed in the present instance, 
 he had, in 1555, sent out an expedition to Brazil under Villegag- 
 non. This enterprise had failed through the perfidy of that com- 
 mander. Its failure did not discourage the admiral. Though 
 the full character of Catharine had not developed itself, in all its 
 cruel and heartless characteristics, it was yet justly understood by 
 * Charlevoix expressly says, speaking, however, of Charles IX., " qu'il 
 fut fort aise de voir que M. de Coligni n'employoit k cette expedition que 
 des .Calvinistes, parce que c'etoit autant d'ennemis, dont il purgeoit 
 1'etat." Of Coligny's anxiety in regard to this expedition and his objects, 
 the same writer says : " Coligny had the colony greatly at heart. It was, 
 in fact, the first thing of which the admiral spoke to the king when he 
 obtained permission to repair to the court." 
 
I 
 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 him, and he never suffered himself to forget how necessary to the 
 sect which he represented was the desired haven of security which 
 he sought, in a region beyond her influence. 
 
 From Brazil he turned his eyes on Florida. This terra incog- 
 nita, at the period of which we speak, was El Dorado to the 
 European imagination. It was the New Empire, richer than 
 Peru or Mexico, in which adventurers as daring as Cortes and 
 Pizarro were to compass realms of as great magnificence and 
 wealth. Already had the Spaniard traversed it with his iron-clad 
 warriors, seeking vainly, and through numberless perils, for the 
 treasure which he worshipped. Still other treasures had won the 
 imagination of one of their noblest knights ; and in exploring the 
 wild realm of the Floridian for the magical fountain which was to 
 restore youth to the heart of age, and a fresh bloom to its withered 
 aspect, Ponce de Leon pursued one of the loveliest phantoms 
 that ever deluded the fancy or the heart of man. To him had 
 succeeded others ; all seeking, in turn, the realization of those 
 unfruitful visions which, like wandering lights of the swamp forest, 
 only glitter to betray. Vasquez d'Ayllon, John Verazzani, Pam- 
 philo de Narvaez, and the more brilliant cavalier than all, Her- 
 nando de Soto, had each penetrated this land of hopes and fancies, 
 to deplore in turn its disappointments and delusions. With the 
 wildest desires in their hearts, they had disdained the merely pos- 
 sible within then* reach. They had sought for possessions such 
 as few empires have been known to yield ; and had failed to see, or 
 had beheld with scorn, the simple treasures of fruit and flower which 
 the country promised and proffered in abundance. This vast re- 
 gion, claimed equally by Spain, France, and England, still lay 
 derelict. " Death," as one of our own writers very happily re- 
 marks, " seemed to guard the avenues of the country." None 
 
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. 7 
 
 of the great realms which claimed it as their domain, regarded it 
 in any light but as a territory which they might ravage. Yet, 
 well might its delicious climate, the beauty of its groves and 
 forests, the sweets of its flowers, which beguiled the senses of the 
 ocean pilgrim a score of leagues from land to say nothing of the 
 supposed wealth of its mountains, and of the great cities hid 
 among their far recesses have persuaded the enterprise, and im- 
 plored the prows of enterprise and adventure. To these attractions 
 the previous adventurers had not wholly shown themselves insen- 
 sible. Ponce de Leon, enraptured with its rich and exquisite 
 vegetation, as seen in the spring season of the year, first conferred 
 upon it the name of beauty, which it bears. Nor, had he not been 
 distracted by baser objects, would he have failed utterly to dis- 
 cover the salubrious fountains which he sought. Here were met 
 natives, who, quaffing at medicinal streams by which the country 
 was everywhere watered, grew to years which almost rival those 
 of the antediluvian fathers. Verazzani, the Florentine, unfolds a 
 golden chronicle of the innocence and delight which distinguished 
 the simple people by whom the territory was possessed, and whose 
 character was derived from the gentle influences of their climate, 
 and the exquisite delicacy, beauty, and variety of the productions 
 of the soil. He, too, had visited the country in the season of 
 spring, when all things in nature look lovely to the eye. But 
 such verdure as blessed his vision on this occasion, constituted a 
 new era in his life, and seemed to lift him. to the crowning achieve- 
 ment of all his enterprises. The region, as far his eye could reach, 
 was covered with " faire fields and plaines," " full of mightie 
 great woodes," " replenished with divers sort of trees, as pleasant 
 and delectable to behold as is possible to imagine ; " Not," says 
 the voyager, " like the woodes of Hercynia or the wilde deserts 
 
8 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 of Tartary, and the northerne coasts full of fruitlesse trees," but 
 trees of sortes unknowen in Europe, which yeeld most sweete sa- 
 vours farre from the shoare." Nor did these constitute the only 
 attractions. The appearance of the forests and the land " argued 
 drugs and spicery," " and other riches of golde." 
 
 The woods were " full of many beastes, as stags, deere and 
 hares, and likewise of lakes and pooles of fresh water, with great 
 plentie of fowles, convenient for all kinde of pleasant game." 
 The air was " goode and wholesome, temperate between hot and 
 colde ;" " no vehement windes doe blowe in these regions, and 
 those that do commonly reigne are the southwest and west windes 
 in the summer season ;" " the skye cleare and faire, with very 
 little raine ; and if, at any time, the ayre be cloudie and rnistie 
 with the southerne winde, immediately it is dissolved and waxeth 
 cleare and faire againe. The sea is calme, not boisterous, and 
 the waves gentle." And the people were like their climate. 
 The nature which yielded to their wants, without exacting the 
 toil of ever-straining sinews, left them unembittered by necessities 
 which take the heart from youth, and the spirit from play and 
 exercise. No carking cares interfered with their humanity to 
 check hospitality in its first impulse, and teach avarice to with- 
 hold the voluntary tribute which the natural virtues would prompt, 
 in obedience to a selfishness that finds its justification in serious 
 toils which know no remission, and a forethought that is never 
 permitted to forget the necessities of'the coming day. Yerazzani 
 found the people as mild and grateful as their climate. They 
 crowded to the shore as the stranger ships drew nigh, " making 
 divers synes of friendship." They showed themselves " very 
 courteous and gentle," and, in a single incident, won the hearts 
 of the Europeans, who seldom, at that period, in their intercourse 
 
KINDNESS OF THE NATIVES 9 
 
 with the natives, were known to exhibit an instance so beautiful, 
 of a humanity so Christian. A young sailor, attempting to swim 
 on shore, had overrated his strength. Cast among the breakers, 
 he was in danger of being drowned. This, when the Indians 
 saw, they dashed into the surf, and dragged the fair-skinned 
 voyager to land. Here, when he recovered from his stupor, he 
 exhibited signs of the greatest apprehension, finding himself in 
 the hands of the savages. But his lamentations, which were 
 piteously loud, only provoked theirs. Their tears flowed at his 
 weeping. In this way they strove to " cheere him, and to give 
 him courage." Nor were they neglectful of other means. 
 " They set him on the ground, at the foot of a little hill against 
 the sunne, and began to behold him with great admiration, 
 marveiling at the whitenesse of his fleshe ;" " Putting off his 
 clothes, they made him warme at a great fire, not without one 
 great feare, by what r.emayned in the boate, that they would 
 have rested him at that fire and have eaten him," But the 
 fear was idle. When they had warmed and revived the stranger, 
 they reclothed him, and as he showed an anxiety to return to the 
 ship, " they, with great love, clapping him fast about with many 
 embracings," accompanied him to the shore, where they left him, 
 retiring to a distance, whence they could witness his departure 
 without awakening the apprehensions of his comrades. These 
 people were of " middle stature, hands<mie visage and delicate 
 limmes ; of very little strength, but of prompt wit." 
 
 We need not pursue the details of these earlier historians. 
 They suffice to direct attention to Florida, and to persuade adven- 
 ture with fanciful ideas of its charming superiority over all unknown 
 regions. But the adventurers, until Coligny's enterprise was 
 conceived, meditated the invasion of the country, and the 
 
10 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 gathering of its hidden treasures, rather than the establishment 
 of any European settlements in its glorious retreats. It was not 
 till the eighteenth day of February, in the Year of Grace, one 
 thousand five hundred and sixty-two, that the plan of the Admiral 
 of France was sufficiently matured for execution. On that day 
 he despatched two vessels from France, well manned and 
 furnished, under the command of one John Bibault,* for the 
 express purpose of making the first permanent European estab- 
 lishment in these regions of romance. The narrative of this 
 enterprise is chiefly drawn from the writings of Rene Laudonniere, 
 who himself went out as a lieutenant in the expedition. Laudon- 
 niere, in his narrative of their progress, says nothing of the secret 
 objects of Coligny, of which he probably knew nothing. He 
 ascribes to the King the Queen-mother, rather a nobler policy 
 than either of them ever entertained. " My Lord of Chastillon," 
 (Coligny) thus he writes, " A nobleman more desirous of the 
 publique than of his private benefits, understanding the pleasure 
 of the King, his Prince, which was to discover new and strange 
 countries, caused vessels for this purpose to be made ready with 
 all diligence, and men to be levied meet for such an enterprise." 
 This is merely courtly language, wholly conventional, and which, 
 spoken of Charles the Ninth, a boy not yet in his teens savors 
 rather of the ridiculous. There is no question that the expedition 
 oiiginated wholly with Coligny ; as little is it questionable, though 
 Laudonniere says nothing on this subject, that it was designed in 
 consequence of that policy which showed him the ever present 
 
 Charlevoix describes Kibault as " un ancien officier de marine," and 
 speaks of him as a man of experience and "Zele Huguenot." Of his 
 Teasels, on this expedition, he says that they belonged to the class called 
 " Roberges, et qui differoient peu des Caravelles Espagnolles." 
 
FIRST EXPEDITION. 11 
 
 danger of the Huguenots. It does not militate against this policy 
 that he made use of a pretext which was suggested by the passion 
 for maritime discovery common in those days. By the assertion 
 of this pretext, he was the more easily enabled to persuade the 
 Queen-mother to a measure upon which she otherwise would never 
 have suffered the ships of the Huguenots to weigh anchor. 
 
 But this question need not detain us. Laudonniere speaks of 
 the armament as ample for the purpose for which it was de- 
 signed " so well furnished with gentlemen and with oulde soul- 
 diers that he (Ribault) had meanes to achieve some notable thing, 
 and worthie of eternall memorie." This was an exaggeration, 
 something Spanish in its' tenor, one of those flourishes of rhet- 
 oric among the voyagers of that day, which had already grown to 
 be a sound without much signification. The vessels were'small, 
 as was the compliment of men dispatched. The objects of the 
 expedition were limited, did not contemplate exploration but 
 settlement, and, consequently, were not likely to find opportunity 
 for great enterprises. The voyage occupied two months ; the 
 route pursued carefully avoided that usually taken by the Spa- 
 niards, whom already our adventurers had cause to fear. At the 
 end of this period, land was made in the latitude of St. Augustine, 
 to the cape of which they gave the name of St. Frangois. From 
 this point, coasting northwardly, they discovered " a very faire 
 and great river" the San Matheo of the Spaniards, now the St. 
 John's, to which Ribault, as he discovered it on the first of May, 
 gave the name of that month. This river he penetrated in his 
 boats. He was met on the shore by many of the natives, men 
 and women. These received him with gentleness and peace. 
 Their chief man made an oration, and honored Ribault, at the 
 close, with a present of " chamois skinnes." On the ensuing day, 
 
12 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 he " caused a pillar of hard stone to be planted within the sayde 
 river, and not farre from the mouth of the same, upon a little 
 sandie knappe," on which the arms of France were engraved. 
 Crossing to the opposite shores of this river, a religious service 
 was performed in the presence of the Indians. There the red- 
 men, perhaps for the first time, beheld the pure and simple rites 
 of the genuine Christian. Prayers were said, and thanks given to 
 the Deity, " for that, of his grace, hee had conducted the French 
 nation into these strange places." This service being ended, the 
 Indians conducted the strangers into the presence of their king,* 
 who received them in a sitting posture, upon a couch made of 
 bay leaves and palmetto. Speeches were made between the par- 
 ties which were understood by neither. But . their tenor was 
 amicable, the savage chieftain giving to Ribault, at parting, a 
 basket wrought very ingeniously of palm leaves, " and a great 
 skinne painted and drawen throughout with the pictures of divers 
 wilde beastes ; so livly drawen and portrayed that nothing lacked 
 life." Fish were taken for the Frenchmen by the hospitable 
 natives, in weirs made of reeds, fashioned like a maze or laby- 
 rinth " troutes, great mullets, plaise, turbots, and marvellous 
 store of other sorts of fishes altogether different from ours." 
 Another chief upon this river received them with like favors. 
 Two of the sons of this chief are represented as " exceeding faire 
 and strong." They were followed by troops of the natives, " hav- 
 ing their bowes and arrowes, in rnarveilous good order." 
 
 * Laudonniere, in Hakluyt, gives the regal title among the Floridians 
 as Paracoussi. Charlevoix writes the word Paraousti, or Piracousti ; * et 
 ausquels les Castillans donnent le titre general de Caciques." Mico, in 
 subsequent periods, seems to have been the more popular title among the 
 Florida Indians, signifying the same thing, or its equivalents, Chief, 
 Prjuce, or Head Warrior. 
 
FIRST EXPEDITION. 13 
 
 From this river, still pursuing a northwardly course, Ribault 
 came to another which he explored and named the Seine, (now 
 the St. Mary's,) because it appeared to resemble the river of that 
 name in France.* We pass over the minor details in this pro- 
 gress how he communed with the natives who, everywhere 
 seemed to have entertained our Huguenots with equal grace and 
 gentleness, and who are described as a goodly people, of lively 
 wit and great stature, Eibault continued to plant columns, and 
 to take possession of the country after the usual forms, conferring 
 names upon its several streams, which he borrowed for the pur- 
 pose from similar well-known rivers in France. Thus, for a time, 
 tne St. Mary's became the Seine ; the Satilla, the Somme ; the 
 Altamaha, the Loire ; the Ogechee, the Garonne ; and the Sa- 
 vannah, the Grironde. The river to which his prows were 
 especially directed, was that to which the name of Jordan had 
 been given by Yasquez de Ayllon, some forty years before. This 
 is our present Combahee. In sailing north, in this search, other 
 smaller rivers were discovered, one of which was called the Belle- 
 a-veoir. Separated by a furious tempest from his pinnaces, which 
 had been kept in advance for the purpose of penetrating and ex- 
 ploring these streams, Ribault, with his ships, was compelled to 
 stand out to sea. When he regained the coast and his pinnaces, 
 he was advised of a " mightie river," in which they had found 
 safe harborage from the tempest, a river which, " in beautie 
 and bignesse" exceeded all the former. Delighted with this dis- 
 covery, our Huguenots made sail to reach this noble stream. 
 
 The object of Ribault had been some safe and pleasant 
 harborage, in which his people could refresh themselves for a 
 
 * " A quatorze lienes de la Riviere de Mai, il en trouva une troise'me 
 qu'il nomma la Seine.'* Charhvoix's New France. Liv. 1, p. 39. 
 
14 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 season. His desires were soon gratified. He cast anchor at the 
 mouth of a mighty river, to which, " because of the fairnesse 
 and largenesse thereoff," he gave the name of Port Royale, the 
 name which it still bears. The depth of this river is such, that, 
 according to Laudonniere, " when the sea beginneth to flowe, the 
 greatest shippes of France, yea, the argosies of Venice, may 
 enter there." Ribault, at the head of his soldiers, was the first to 
 land. Grateful, indeed, to the eye and fancy of our Frenchmen, 
 was the scene around them. They had already passed through a 
 fairy-like region, of islet upon islet, reposing upon the deep, 
 crowned with green forests, and arresting, as it were, the wild 
 assaults of ocean upon the shores of which they appeared to keep 
 watch and guard. And, passing between these islets and the 
 main, over stillest waters, with a luxuriant shrubbery on either 
 hand, and vines and flowers of starred luxuriance trailing about 
 them to the very lips of this ocean, they had arrived at an im- 
 perial growth of forest. The mighty shafts that rose around 
 them, heavy with giant limbs, and massed in their Luxuriant 
 wealth of leaves, particularly impressed the minds of our 
 voyagers " mightye high oakes and infinite store of cedars," 
 and pines fitted for the masts of " such great ammirals " as had 
 never yet floated in the European seas. Their senses were assailed 
 with fresh and novel delights at every footstep. The superb 
 magnolia, with its great and snow-white chalices ; the flowering 
 dogwood with its myriad blossoms, thick and richly gleaming as 
 the starry host of heaven ; the wandering jessamine, whose 
 yellow trophies, mingling with grey mosses of the oak, stooped to 
 the upward struggling billows of the deep, giving out odor at 
 every rise and fall of the ambitious wavelet, these, by their 
 unwonted treasures of scent and beauty, compelled the silent but 
 
ATTRACTIONS OF THE REGION. 15 
 
 profound admiration of the strangers. " Exceeding pleasant " 
 did the " very fragrant odour " make the place ; while other 
 novelties interposed to complete the fascinations of a spot, the 
 peculiarities of which were equally fresh and delightful. Their 
 farther acquaintance with the country only served to increase its 
 attractions. As they wandered through the woods, they " saw 
 nothing but turkey cocks flying in the forests, partridges, gray and 
 red, little different from ours, but chiefly in bignesse ;" " we 
 heard also within the woods the voices of stagges, of beares, of 
 hyenas, of leopards, and divers other sorts of beasts unknown 
 to us. Being delighted with this place, we set ourselves to fishing 
 with nets, and caught such a number of fish that it was wonder- 
 ful." 
 
 The same region is still renowned for its fish and game, for 
 the monsters as well as the multitudes of the deep, and for the 
 deer of its spacious swamps and forests, which still exercise the 
 skill and enterprise of the angler and the hunter! This is the 
 peculiar region also, of the u Devil fish," the " Vampire of the 
 Ocean," described by naturalists as of the genus Ray, species 
 Dio-don, a leviathan of the deep, whose monstrous antennas are 
 thrown about the skiff of the fisherman with an embrace as 
 perilous as that wanton sweep of his mighty extremities with which 
 the whale flings abroad the crowding boats of his hardy captors. 
 Sea and land, in this lovely neighborhood, still gleam freshly and 
 wondrously upon the eye of the visitor as in the days of our 
 Huguenot adventurers ; and still do its forests, in spite of the 
 cordon which civilization and society have everywhere drawn 
 around them, harbor colonies of the bear which occasionally cross 
 the path of the sportsman, and add to his various trophies of the 
 chase. 
 
16 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 With impressions of the scene and region such as realized to 
 our Frenchmen the summer glories of an Arabian tale, it was 
 easy to determine where to plant their colony. Modern conjec- 
 ture, however, is still unsatisfied as to the site which was probably 
 chosen by our voyagers. The language of Laudonniere is suffi- 
 ciently vague and general to make the matter doubtful; and, un- 
 happily, there are no remains which might tend to lessen the 
 obscurity of the subject. The vessels had cast anchor at the 
 mouth of Port Royal River. The pilots subsequently coun- 
 selled that they should penetrate the stream, so as to secure a 
 sheltered roadstead. They ascended the river accordingly, some 
 three leagues from its mouth, when Ribault proceeded to make a 
 closer examination of the country. The Port Royal " is divided 
 into two great armes, whereof the one runneth toward the west, 
 the other toward the north." Our Huguenot captain chose the 
 western avenue, which he ascended in his pinnace. For more than 
 twelve leagues he continued this progress, until he " found another 
 arme of the river which ranne towards the east, up which the 
 captain determined to sail and leave the greate current." 
 
 The red men whom they encounter on this progress are at first 
 shy of the strangers and take flight at their approach, but they 
 are soon encouraged by the gentleness and forbearance of the 
 Frenchmen, who persuade them finally to confidence. An amia- 
 ble understanding soon reconciles the parties, and the Floridian 
 at length brings forward his gifts of maize, his palm baskets with 
 fruits and flowers, his rudely-dressed skins of bear and beaver, and 
 these are pledges of his amity which he does not violate. He, in 
 turn, persuades the voyagers to draw near to the shore and finally 
 to land. They are soon surrounded by the delighted and simple 
 natives, whose gifts are multiplied duly in degree with the plea- 
 
WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY. 17 
 
 sure which they feel. Skins of the chamois deer rather and 
 baskets of pearls, are offered to the chief among the whites, whom 
 they proceed to entertain with shows of still greater courtesy. A 
 bower of forest leaves and shrubs is soon built to shelter them 
 " from the parching heate of the sunne," and our Frenchmen lin- 
 gered long enough among this artless and hospitable people to 
 get tidings of a " greate Indian Lorde which had pearles in great 
 abundance and silver also, all of which should be given them at 
 the king's arrival." They invited the strangers to their dwellings 
 proffering to show them a thousand pleasures in shooting, and 
 seeing the death of the stag. 
 
 Our Huguenots, excellent Christians though they were, were 
 by no means insensible to the tidings of pearl and gold. These 
 glimpses of treasures, already familiar to their imaginations, 
 greatly increase, in their sight, the natural beauties of the coun- 
 try. The narratives of the red men, imperfectly understood, and 
 construed by the desires of the strangers, rather than their minds, 
 were full of marvels of neighboring lands and nations, great em- 
 pires of wealth and strength, cities in romantic solitudes, high 
 places among almost inaccessible mountains, in which the trea- 
 sures are equally precious and abundant. Listening to such 
 legends, our Frenchmen linger with the red men, until the ap- 
 proach of night counsels them to seek the security of their ships. 
 
 But, with the dawning of the following day the explorations 
 were resumed. Before leaving his vessel, however, Ribault pro- 
 vides himself with " a pillar of hard stone, fashioned like a column, 
 whereon the armes of France were graven," with the purpose of 
 planting " the same in the fairest place that he coulde finde." 
 " This done, we embarked ourselves, and sayled three leagues 
 towards the west ; where we discovered a little river, up which 
 
18 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 wee sayled so long, that, in the ende, wee found it returned into 
 the great current, and in his return, to make a little island sepa- 
 rated from the firme lande, where wee went on shore, and by 
 commandment of the captain, because it was exceeding faire 
 and pleasant, there we planted the pillar upon a hillock open 
 round about to the view and environed with a lake halfe a fathom 
 deepe, of very good and sweete water." 
 
 We are particular in these details, in the hope that future 
 explorers may be thus assisted in the work of identifying the 
 places marked by our Huguenots. Everything which they see in 
 the new world which surrounds them, is imposing to the eye and 
 grateful to the sense. They wander among avenues of gigantic 
 pines that remind them of the mighty colonnades in the great 
 cathedrals of the old world. They are at once exhilarated by a 
 sense of unwonted freshness and beauty in what they behold, and 
 by aspects of grandeur and vastness which solemnize all their 
 thoughts and fancies. With these feelings, when, in their wander- 
 ings, they arouse from the shady covers where they browsed " two 
 Btagges of exceeding bignesse, in respect of those which they had 
 seene before," their captain forbids that they should shoot them, 
 though they might easily have done so. The anecdote speaks 
 well for Ribault's humanity. It was not wholly because he was 
 " moved with the singular fairenesse and bignesse of them," as 
 Laudonniere imagines, but because his soul was lifted with reli- 
 gious sentiment filled with worship at that wondrous temple of 
 nature in which the great Jehovah seemed visibly present, in love 
 and mercy, as in the first sweet days of the creation. 
 
 To the little river which surrounded the islet, on which the 
 pillar was raised, they gave the name of " Liborne." The island 
 itself is supposed to be that which is now called Lemon Island. 
 
19 
 
 The matter is one which still admits of doubt, though scarcely 
 beyond the reach of certainty, in a close examination from the 
 guide posts which we still possess. It is a question which may 
 well provoke the diligence of the local antiquary. " Another isle, 
 not far distant from" that of the pillar, next claimed the attention 
 of the voyagers. Here they " found nothing but tall cedars, the 
 fairest that were seene in this country. For this cause wee called 
 it the Isle of Cedars." 
 
 This ended their exploration for the day.. A few days were 
 consumed in farther researches, without leading to any new dis- 
 coveries. In the meantime, Ribault prepared to execute the 
 commands of his sovereign, in the performance of one of the tasks 
 which civilization but too frequently sanctions at the expense of 
 humanity. He was commanded by the Queen-mother to capture 
 and carry home to France a couple of. the natives. These, as we 
 have seen, were a mild race, maintaining among themselves a 
 gentle intercourse, and exercising towards strangers a grateful 
 hospitality. It was with a doubtful propriety that our Frenchman 
 determined to separate any of them from their homes and people. 
 But it was not for Ribault to question the decrees of that sove- 
 reign whom it was the policy of the Huguenots, at present, to 
 conciliate. Having selected a special and sufficient complement 
 of soldiers, he determined " to returne once againe toward the In- 
 dians which inhabiteth that arme of the river which runneth toward 
 the West." The pinnace was prepared for this purpose. The 
 object of the voyage was successful. The Indians were again found 
 where they had been at first encountered. The Frenchmen were 
 received with hospitality. Ribault made his desires known to the 
 king or chief of the tribe, who graciously gave his permission. 
 Two of the Indians, who fancied that they were more favored than 
 
20 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the rest of their brethren, by the choice of the Frenchmen, yielded 
 very readily to the entreaties which beguiled them on board one of 
 the vessels. They probably misunderstood the tenor of the appli- 
 cation ; or, in their savage simplicity, concluded that a voyage to 
 the land of the pale-faces was only some such brief journey as they 
 were wont to make, in their cypress canoes, from shore to shore 
 along their rivers or possibly as far down as the great frith in 
 which their streams were lost. But it was not long before our 
 savage voyagers were satisfied with the experiment. They soon 
 ceased to be pleased or flattered with the novelty of their situation 
 The very attentions bestowed upon them only provoked their ap- 
 prehensions. The cruise wearied them ; and, when they found 
 that the vessels continued to keep away from the land, they be- 
 came seriously uneasy. Born swimmers, they had no fear about 
 making the shore when once in the water : and it required the 
 utmost vigilance of the Frenchmen to keep them from darting 
 overboard. It was in vain, for a long time, that they strove to 
 appease and to soothe the unhappy captives. Their detention, 
 against their desires, now made them indignant. Gifts were 
 pressed upon them, such as they were known to crave and to es- 
 teem above all other possessions. But these they rejected with 
 scorn. They would receive nothing in exchange for their liberty. 
 The simple language in which the old chronicler describes the 
 scene and their sorrows, has in it much that is highly touching, 
 because of its very simplicity. They felt their captivity, and were 
 not to be beguiled from this humiliating conviction by any trap- 
 pings or soothings. Their freedom the privilege of eager move- 
 ments through billow and forest sporting as wantonly as bird and 
 fish in both was too precious for any compensation. They sank 
 down upon the deck, with clasped hands, sitting together apart 
 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF RIBAULT. 21 
 
 from the crew, gazing upon the shores with mournful eyes, and 
 chaunting a melancholy ditty, which seemed to the watchful and 
 listening Frenchmen a strain of exile and lamentation " agreeing 
 so sweetly together, that, in hearing their song, it seemed that they 
 lamented the absence of their friendes." And thus they con- 
 tinued all night to sing without ceasing 
 
 The pinnace, meanwhile, lay at anchor, the tide being against 
 them; with the dawn of day the voyage was resumed, and the 
 ships were reached in safety where they lay in the roadstead. 
 Transferred to these, the two captives continued to deplore their 
 fate. Every effort was made to reconcile them to their situation, 
 and'nothing was withheld which experience had shown to be 
 especially grateful to the savage fancy. But they rejected every- 
 thing ; even the food which had now become necessary to their 
 condition. They held out till nearly sunset, in their rejection of 
 the courtesies, which, with a show of kindness, deprived them of 
 the most precious enjoyment and passion of their lives. But the 
 inferior nature at length insisted upon its rights. " In the end 
 they were constrained to forget their superstitions," and to eat 
 the meat which was set before them. They even received the 
 gifts which they had formerly rejected ; and, as if reconciled to a 
 condition from which they found it impossible to escape, they put 
 on a more cheerful countenance. " They became, therefore, 
 more jocunde ; every houre made us a thousand discourses, being 
 marveillous sorry that we could not understand them." Laudon- 
 niere set himself to work to acquire their language. He strove 
 still more to conciliate their favor ; engaged them in frequent con- 
 versation ; and, by showing them the objects for which he sought 
 their names, picked up numerous words which he carefully put on 
 paper. In a few days he was enabled to make himself understood 
 
22 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 by them, in ordinary matters, and to comprehend much that they 
 said to him. They flattered him in turn. They told him of 
 their feats and sports, and what pleasures they could give him in 
 the chase. They would take food from no hands but his ; and 
 succeeded in blinding the vigilance of the Frenchmen. They 
 were not more reconciled to their prison-bonds than before. 
 They had simply changed their policy ; and, when, after several 
 days' detention, they had succeeded in lulling to sleep the sus- 
 picions of their captors, they stole away at midnight from the 
 ship, leaving behind them all the gifts which had been forced upon 
 them, as if, to have retained them, would have established, in the 
 pale-faces, a right to their liberties thus showing, according to 
 Laudonniere, " that they were not void of reason." 
 
 Kibault was not dissatisfied with this result of his- endeavor to 
 comply with the commands of the Queen-mother. His sense of 
 justice probably revolted at the proceeding ; and the escape of 
 the Indians, who would report only the kindness of their treat- 
 ment, would, in all likelihood, have an effect favorable to his main 
 enterprise, the establishment of a colony. This design he now 
 broached to his people in an elaborate speech. He enlarged upon 
 the importance of the object, drawing numerous examples from 
 ancient and modern history, in favor of those virtues in the in- 
 dividual which such enterprise must develope. There is but one 
 passage in this speech which deserves our special attention. It 
 is that in which he speaks to his followers of their inferior birth 
 and condition. He speaks to them as " known neither to the 
 king nor to the princes of the realme, and, besides, descending 
 from so poore a stock, that few or none of your parents, having 
 ever made profession of armes 7 have beene knowne unto the great 
 estates." This is in seeming conflict with what Laudonniere has 
 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OP RIBAULT. 23 
 
 already told us touching the character and condition in society of 
 the persons employed in the expedition. He has been careful to 
 say, at the opening of the narrative, that the two ships were " well 
 furnished with gentlemen (of whose number I was one) and old 
 soldiers."* The apparent contradiction may be reconciled by a 
 reference to the distinction, which, until a late period, was made 
 in France, between the noblesse and mere gentlemen. The word 
 gentleman had no such signification, in France, at that period, as 
 it bears to-day. To apply it to a nobleman, indeed, would have 
 been, at one time, to have given a mortal affront, and a curious 
 anecdote is on record, to this effect in the case of the Princess de 
 la Roche Sur Yon, who, using the epithet " gentilhomme" to a 
 nobleman, was insulted by him ; and, on demanding redress of 
 the monarch, was told that she deserved the indignity, having 
 been guilty of the first offence. 
 
 But Ribault's speech suggested to his followers that their in- 
 ferior condition made nothing against their heroism. He, himself, 
 though a soldier by profession, from his tenderest years, had never 
 yet been able to compass the favor of the nobility. Yet he had 
 applied himself with all industry, and hazarded his life in many 
 dangers. It was his misfortune that " more regard is had to birth 
 than virtue." But this need not discourage them, as it has never 
 discouraged him from the performance of his duties. The great 
 examples of history are in his eyes, and should be in theirs. 
 
 * Charlevoix seems to afford a sufficient sanction for the claim of Lau- 
 donniere, in behalf of the gentle blood among the followers of Ribault. 
 He says " 11 avoit des esquipages choisis, et plusieurs volontaries, parmi 
 lesquels il y avoit qudques gentilshommes." And yet Ribault should 
 have known bettor than anybody else the quality of his armament. Cer- 
 tainly, the good leaven, as the result showed, was in too small a propor- 
 tion to leaven the whole colony 
 
24 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Howe much then ought so many worthy examples move you to 
 plant here ? Considering, also, that hereby you shall be regis- 
 tered forever as the first that inhabited this strange country. I 
 pray you, therefore, all to advise yourselves thereof, and to de- 
 clare your mindes freely unto me, protesting that I will so well 
 imprint your names in the King's eares, and the other princes, 
 that your renowne shall hereafter shine unquenchable through our 
 realm of France." 
 
 Kibault was evidently not insensible to fame. Had his thoughts 
 been those of his sovereign, also, how different would have been 
 the history ! His soldiers responded in the proper spirit, and de- 
 clared their readiness to establish a colony in the wild empire, the 
 grandeur and beauty of which had already commended it to their 
 affections. Delighted with the readiness and enthusiasm of his 
 men, he weighed anchor the very next day, in order to seek out 
 the place most fit and convenient for his settlement. " Having 
 sayled up the great river on the, north side, in coasting an isle 
 which ended with a sharpe point toward the mouth of the river ; 
 having sailed awhile he discovered a small river which entered 
 into the islande, which hee would not faile to search out, which 
 done, he found the same deep enough to harbour therein gallies 
 and galliots in good number. Proceeding farther, he found an 
 open place joyning upon the brinke thereof, where he went on land, 
 and seeing the place Jit to build a fortresse in, and commodious 
 for them that were willing to plant there, he resolved inconti- 
 nently to cause the bignesse of the fortification to be measured 
 out." The colony was to be a small one. Twenty-six persons 
 had volunteered to establish it ; as many, perhaps, as had been 
 called for. The dimensions of the fort were small accordingly. 
 They were taken by Laudonniere, and one Captain Salles, under 
 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF RIBAULT. 25 
 
 Ribault's directions. Tho fort was at once begun. Its length 
 was sixteen fathoms, its breadth thirteen, " with flanks accord- 
 ing to the proportion thereof." Then, for the first time, the 
 European axe was laid to the great shafts of the forest trees of 
 America, waking sounds, at every stroke, whose echoes have been 
 heard for three hundred years, sounding, and destined to resound, 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific seas ; leaving no waste of wood 
 and wild, unawakened by this first music of civilization. 
 
 The site thus chosen by Eibault for his colony, though no 
 traces have been left of the labor of his hands, is scarcely 
 doubtful to the present possessors of the country. All the proofs 
 concur in placing Fort Charles somewhere between North Edisto 
 and Broad River, and circumstances determine this situation to 
 be that of the beautiful little town of Beaufort, in South Carolina. 
 The Grande Riviere of the French is our Broad River.* It was 
 at the mouth of this river, in an island with a safe and com- 
 modious port, that the fort was established ; and of the numerous 
 islands which rise everywhere along the coast in this region, as a 
 fortress to defend the verdant shores from the assaults of ocean, 
 there is none which answers so well as this all the requisitions of 
 this description. Besides, it is actually in the very latitude of 
 the site, as given by Laudonniere; and the tradition of the 
 Indians, as preserved by our own people, seems to confirm and to 
 conclude the conjectures on this subject. They state that the 
 first place in which they saw the pale faces of the Europeans 
 
 * Charlevoix, in his " Pastes Chronologiques," preparatory to his work 
 on New France, locates Charles Fort, under Ribault, " near to the site of 
 the present city of Charleston. In his " Histoire Generale," and in the 
 map which illustrates this narrative, however, he concurs in the statement 
 of the text. He also names the North Edisto the St. Croix. 
 2 
 
26 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 was at Coosawhatchie, in South Carolina. Now,the Coosawhatehie 
 is the principal stream that forms the Grande Riviere of the 
 Frenchmen ; and was, questionless, the first of the streams that 
 was penetrated by the pinnace of Ribault. It is highly probable 
 that it bore the name of Coosawhatehie through its entire course, 
 until it emptied itself into the ocean. The testimony of the 
 Indians, based simply upon their tradition, is of quite as much 
 value as that of any other people. It is well known with what 
 tenacity they preserve the recollection of important events, and 
 with what singular adherence to general truthfulness. The island 
 upon which Beaufort now stands was most probably that which 
 yielded the first American asylum to the Huguenots of France ! 
 
 Our Frenchmen travailed so diligently that, in a short space, 
 the fortress was in some sort prepared for the colonists. It was 
 soon in a defensible condition. " Victuals and*warlike munition " 
 were transferred from the shipping to the shore, and the garrison 
 were furnished with all things necessary for the maintenance of 
 their fortress and themselves. The fort was christened by the 
 name of Charles, the King of France ; while the small river upon 
 which it was built received the name of Chenonceau. All things 
 being provided, the colonists marched into their little and lovely 
 place of refuge. They were confided to the charge of one 
 Captain Albert, to whom, and to whose followers, Ribault made 
 a speech at parting. His injunctions were of a parental and 
 salutary character. He exhorted their Captain to justice, 
 firmness and moderation in his rule, and his people to obedience ; 
 promising to return with supplies from France, and reinforce- 
 ments before their present resources should fail them. But these 
 exhortations do not seem to have been much regarded by either 
 party. It will be for us, in future chapters, to pursue their 
 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF RIBAULT. 27 
 
 fortunes, and to pluck, if possible, from the unwritten history, 
 the detailed events of their melancholy destiny. Sad enough 
 will it have been, even if no positive evil shall befall them, 
 that severance from their ancient comrades that separation 
 from the old homes of their fathers in La Belle France that 
 lonesome abode, on the verge of " ocean's gray and melancholy 
 waste," on the one hand, and the dense, dark, repelling forests 
 of Apalachia on the other ; doubtful of all they see, in spite of 
 all that is fresh and charming in their sight ; apprehensive of 
 every sound that reaches them from the wilderness, and filled 
 with no better hope than that which springs up in the human 
 bosom when assured that all hope is cut off that one hope 
 excepted, which is born of necessity, and which blossoms amid the 
 nettles of despair. The isolation was the more oppressive and 
 likely to be grievous, as we have reason to doubt that, though 
 founding a colony for the refuge of a religious and persecuted 
 people, they brought any becoming sense of religion with them 
 Our progress thus far with the adventurers has shown us but fe\t 
 proofs of the presence among them of any feelings of devotion 
 Ribault himself was but a soldier, and his ambition was of an 
 earthly complexion. Had they been elevated duly by religion ^ 
 they would have been counselled and strengthened in the solitude 
 by God. Unhappily, they were men only, rude, untaught, and 
 full of selfish passions, badly ruled and often ill-treated, and 
 probably giving frequent provocation to the pride and passions of 
 those who had them under rule. But they began their career in 
 the New World with sufficient cheerfulness. Its climate was 
 delicious, like that of their own country. Its woods and forests 
 were of a majesty and splendor beyond any of which their wildest 
 fancies had ever dreamed ; and the security which the remoteness 
 
28 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 of the region promised them, and the novelty which invested 
 every object in their eyes made the parting from their comrades 
 a tolerably easy one. They heard with lively spirits the farewell 
 shouts of their companions, and answered them with cheers of 
 confidence and pride. The simple paragraph which records the 
 leave-taking of the parties, is at once pleasing and full of pathos. 
 " Having ended his (Ribault's) exhortations, we took our leaves 
 of each of them, and sayled toward our shippes. We hoysed our 
 sayles about ten of the clocke in the morning. After wee were 
 ready to depart, Captain Ribault commanded to shoote off our 
 ordnance, to give a farewell unto our Frenchmen ; which fayled 
 not to do the like on their part. This being done, wee sayled 
 toward the north." That last shout, that last sullen roar of 
 their mutual cannon, and the great waves of the Atlantic rolled, 
 unbroken by a sail, between our colonists and La, Belle France. 
 
II. 
 
 THE COLONY UNDER ALBERT. 
 
 THE Colonists, thus abandoned by their countrymen, proceeded 
 to make themselves secure in their forest habitations. Day and 
 night did they address themselves to the completion of their for- 
 tress. They have seen none of the natives in the immediate 
 neighborhood of the spot in which they had pitched their tents ; 
 but, aware of the wandering habits of the red-men, they might 
 naturally look for them at any moment. Their toils, quickened 
 by their caution, enabled them to make rapid progress. While 
 they labored, they felt nothing of their loneliness. The employ- 
 ments which accompanied their situation, and flowed from its ne- 
 cessities, might be said to exercise their fancies, and to subdue 
 the tendency to melancholy which might naturally grow out of 
 their isolation. Besides, the very novelty of the circumstances 
 in which they found themselves had its attractions, particularly 
 to a people so lively as the French. Our Huguenots, at the out- 
 set, were very sensible to the picturesque beauties of their 
 forest habitation. For a season, bird, and beast, and tree, and 
 flower, presented themselves to their delighted eyes, in gufses of 
 constantly-varying attraction. The solitude, itself, possessed its 
 charm, most fascinating of all, until it became monotonous 
 
30 THE LILY ANr THE TOTEM. 
 
 to those who had been little favored of fortune in the crowded 
 world of civilization ; and, with the feeling of a first freshness in 
 their hearts, and, while in the performance of duties which were 
 equally necessary to their safety, and new to their experience, the 
 whole prospect before them was beheld through that rose-colored 
 atmosphere which the fancy so readily flings before the mind, 
 beguiling the soberer thought into forgetfulness. During this 
 period they toiled successfully upon their fortifications. They 
 raised the parapet, they mounted the cannon for defence ; built 
 rude dwellings within the walls, and in their boundless contiguity 
 of shade, with the feeling that they were in some sort " monarchs 
 of all they beheld ;" they felt neither loneliness nor fear. 
 
 Their homes built, their fortifications complete, they proceeded, 
 in small detachments to explore the neighboring streams and 
 woods. They had, so far, finished all their tasks without meeting 
 with the natives. They did not shrink from this meeting. They 
 now desired it from motives of policy. They had no reason to 
 believe, from the specimens of the red-men whom they had already 
 encountered, that they should have any difficulty in soothing any 
 of the tribes ; and they were justified in supposing that the im- 
 pression already made upon those whom they met, would operate 
 favorably upon their future intercourse. Boldly, then, our 
 Frenchmen darted into the adjacent forests, gathering their game 
 and provisions in the same grounds with the proprietors. But 
 the latter were never to be seen. They were shy of the strangers, 
 or they had not yet discovered their settlement. One day, how- 
 ever, a fortunate chance enabled a party of the Huguenots to dis- 
 cover, and to circumvent an Indian hunter, upon whom they came 
 suddenly in the forests. At first the poor fellow was exceedingly 
 dismayed at the encounter ; but, subduing his fears, he submitted 
 
THE COLONY UNDER ALBERT. 31 
 
 with a good grace to the wishes of his captors, and was conducted 
 to the fortress. Hera he was treated with consideration, and 
 made happy by several trifles which were given him. His con- 
 fidence was finally won, and his mouth was opened. He became 
 communicative, and described his people and their territories. 
 He avowed himself the subject of a great monarch, whom he 
 called Audusta,* a name, in which, under the corruptions of a 
 French pronunciation, we recognize the well-known modern name 
 of Edisto. He described the boundaries of empire belonging to 
 this forest chieftain ; and gave a general and not incorrect idea of 
 the whole surrounding country. 
 
 Captain Albert was exceedingly delighted with his acquisition. 
 It was important that he should open an intercourse with the na- 
 tives, to whose maize-fields and supplies of venison his necessities 
 required he should look. He treated the hunter with liberality 
 and courtesy, dismissing him at night-fall with many presents, of 
 a kind most grateful to the savage taste. These hospitalities and 
 gifts, it was not doubted, would pave the way for an intercourse 
 equally profitable and pleasant to both the parties. Suffering a 
 few days to elapse after the departure of the hunter, Albert pre- 
 pared to follow his directions, and explore the settlements of King 
 Audusta. He did so, and was received with great kindness by 
 the stately savage. The Indian hunter had made a favorable re- 
 port of the Frenchmen, and Audusta adopted them as his friends 
 and allies. He promised them provisions and assistance, and the 
 
 * The name in Charlevoix is written Amlusta, but this is moat probably 
 an error of the press. Laudonniere in Hackluyt uniformly uses the or- 
 thography which we adopt, and which furnishes a coincidence so really 
 striking in the preservation of a name so nearly the same in sound, to thii 
 very day, in the same region. 
 
32 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 friendship of four other chiefs or princes, his tributaries, whose 
 names are given as Mayou, Hoya, Touppa, and Stalame.* These 
 were all, in turn, except the last, visited by Albert, who found 
 a frank and generous welcome wherever he came. He consumed 
 several days in these visits ; and the intercourse, in a little while, 
 between the French and red-men, grew so great, " that, in a man- 
 ner, all things were soon common between them." Returning to 
 Audusta, Albert prepared to visit Stalame, whose country lay 
 north of Fort Charles some fifteen leagues. This would make 
 his abode somewhere on the Edisto, near Givham's, perhaps ; or, 
 inclining still north, to the head of Ashley River. Sailing up the 
 river, (the Edisto probably,) they encountered a great current, 
 which they followed, to reach the abode of Stalame. He, too, re- 
 ceived the strangers with hospitality and friendship. The inter- 
 course thus established between the party soon assumed the most 
 endearing aspect. The Indian kings took counsel of Albert in all 
 matters of importance. The Frenchmen were called to the con- 
 ference in the round-house of the tribe, quite as frequently as their 
 own recognized counsellors. In other words, the leaders of the 
 Huguenots were adopted into the tribe, that being the usual mode 
 of indicating trust and confidence. Albert was present at all the 
 assemblages of state in the realm of Audusta ; at all ceremonials, 
 whether of business or pleasure ; at his great hunts ; and at the 
 
 * A remark of Charlevoix, which accords with the experience of all 
 early travellers and explorers among the American Indians, is worthy to be 
 kept in remembrance, as enabling us to account for that frequent contra- 
 diction which occurs in the naming of places and persons among the savages. 
 He records distinctly that each canton or province of Florida bore, among 
 the red-men, the name of the ruling chief. Now, as a matter of course where 
 the tribes are nomadic, the names of places continually underwent change, 
 according to that of the tribe by which the spot was temporarily occupied, 
 
THE COLONY UNDER ALBERT. 33 
 
 singular feasts of his religion. One of these feasts, that of TOYA,* 
 which succeeded the visit of Albert to the territories of Audusta 
 and the four tributary kings, will call for an elaborate description 
 hereafter, when we narrate the legend of Guernache, upon whose 
 fate that of the colony seems to have depended. 
 
 The intercourse of our Huguenots with Audusta was of vital 
 importance to the former. In the form of gifts, he yielded them 
 a regular tribute of maize and beans, (corn and peas, in modern 
 parlance,) and was easily persuaded to do so by the simple trifles, 
 of little value, which the colonists proffered in return. It is not 
 difficult to win the affections of an inferior people, where the su- 
 perior is indulgent. Kindness will disarm the hostility of the 
 savage, and justice will finally subdue the jealousy of conscious ig- 
 norance. Sympathy in sports and amusements, above all things, 
 will do much towards bringing together tribes who differ in their 
 laws and language, and will make them forgetful of all their dif- 
 ferences. The French have been usually much more successful 
 than any other people in overcoming the prejudices of the red-men 
 of America. The moral of their nation is much more flexible than 
 that of the Englishman and Spaniard ; the former of whom has 
 always subdued, and the latter usually debased or destroyed, the 
 races with which they came in conflict. 
 
 The policy of Albert did not vary from that which usually dis- 
 tinguished his countrymen in like situations. The French Pro- 
 testant was, by no means, of the faith and temper of the English 
 Puritan. In simplifying his religion, he did not clothe his exterior 
 in gloom ; he did not deny that there should be sunshine and 
 
 * According to Charlevoix, Toya was the name of the Floridian god, 
 and not that of the ceremonies simply. " Elle se celebroit en 1'honneur 
 (Tune Divinite nommee Toya." 
 2* 
 
34 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 blossoms in the land. Our colonists at Fort Charles did not per 
 plex the Indians with doctrinal questions. It is greatly to be 
 feared, indeed, that religion did not, in any way, disturb them in 
 their solitudes. At all events, it was not of such a freezing tem- 
 per as to deny them the indulgence of an intercourse with the 
 natives, which, for a season, was very agreeable and very inspiriting 
 to both the parties. 
 
 But smiles and sunshine cannot last forever. The granaries 
 of the Indians began to fail under their own profligacy and the 
 demands of the Frenchmen. The resources of the former, never 
 abundant, were soon exhausted in providing for the additional 
 hungry mouths which had come among them. Shrinking from 
 labor, they addressed as little of it as they well could, to the cul- 
 tivation of their petty maize fields. They planted them, as we do 
 now, a couple of grains of corn to each hill, at intervals of three 
 or four square feet, and as the corn grew to a sufficient height, 
 peas were distributed among the roots, to twine about the stalks 
 when the vines could no longer impair its growth. They cropped 
 the same land twice in each summer. The supplies, thus procured, 
 would have been totally inadequate to their wants, but for the 
 abundant game, the masts of the forest, and such harsh but 
 wholesome roots as they could pulverize and convert into bread- 
 stuffs. Their store was thus limited always, and adapted to their 
 own wants simply. Any additional demand, however small, pro- 
 duced a scarcity in their granaries. The improvidence of Au- 
 dusta, or his liberality, prevented him from considering this dan- 
 ger, until it began to be felt. He had supplied the Frenchmen 
 until his stock was exhausted ; no more being left in his posses- 
 sion than would suffice to sow his fields. 
 " For this reason," such was the language of the sayage mo 
 
THE COLONY UNDER ALBERT. 35 
 
 narch " we must retire to the forests, and live upon its mast and 
 roots, until harvest time. We are sorry that we can supply you 
 no longer ; you must now seek the granaries of our neighbors. 
 There is a king called COUEXIS, a prince of great might and re- 
 nown in this country, whose province lies toward the south. His 
 lands are very fertile. His stores are ample at all seasons. He 
 alone can furnish you with food for a long time. Before you ap- 
 proach the territories of Couexis, there is his brother, king Ouade, 
 who is scarcely less wealthy. He is a generous chief, who will be 
 very joyful if he may but once behold you. Seek out these, and 
 your wants shall be supplied." 
 
 The advice was taken. The Frenchmen had no alternative. 
 They addressed themselves first to Ouade. His territories lay 
 along the river Belle, some twenty-five leagues south of Port 
 Eoyal. He received them with the greatest favor and filled their 
 pinnace with maize and beans. He welcomed them to his abode 
 with equal state and hospitality. His house is described as being 
 hung with a tapestry richly wrought of feathers. The couch 
 upon which he slept, was dressed with " white coverlettes, em- 
 broidered with devises of very wittie and fine workmanship, and 
 fringed round about with a fringe dyed in the colour of scarlet." 
 His gifts to our Frenchmen were not limited to the commodities 
 they craved. He gave them six coverlets, and tapestry such as 
 decorated his couch and dwelling ; specimens of a domestic 
 manufacture which declare for tastes and a degree of art which 
 seems, in some degree, to prove their intimacy with the more 
 polished and powerful nations of the south. In regard to food 
 hereafter, king Ouade promised that his new acquaintance should 
 never want. 
 
 Thus was the first intercourse maintained by our Huguenota 
 
36 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 with their savage neighbors. It was during this intimacy, and 
 while all things seemed to promise fair in regard to the colony, 
 that the tragical events took place which furnish the materials for 
 the legend which follows, the narrative of which requires that we 
 should mingle events together, those which occurred in the pe- 
 riods already noted, and those which belong to our future chap- 
 ters. Let it suffice, here, that, with his pinnace stored with 
 abundance, the mil (meal), corn and peas, of Ouade, Albert re- 
 turned in safety to Fort Charles. 
 
III. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. CHAP. I. 
 
 Showing how Guernache, the Musician, a great favorite with our Frenchmen, lost the 
 favor of Captain Albert, and how cruelly he was punished by the latter. 
 
 GUERNACHE, the drummer, was one of the finest fellows, 
 and the handsomest of our little colony of Frenchmen. Though 
 sprung of very humble origin, Guernache, with a little better 
 education, might have been deemed to have had his training 
 among the highest circles of the Court. He was of tall and 
 erect figure, and of a carriage so noble and graceful that, even 
 among his associates, he continued to be an object of admiration 
 Besides, he was a fellow of the happiest humor. His kindness of 
 heart was proverbial. His merriment was contagious. His eye 
 flashed out in gayety, and his spirit was ever on the alert to 
 seize upon the passing pleasure, and subject it to the enjoyment 
 of his companions. Never was fellow so fortunate in finding 
 occasion for merriment ; and happy, indeed, was the Frenchman 
 who could procure Guernache as a comrade in the performance 
 of his daily tasks. The toil was unfelt in which he shared the 
 weight of the task was dissipated, and, where it wore heavily, he 
 came to the succor of his drooping companion, and his superior 
 expertness soon succeeded in doing that which his pleasantry had 
 
38 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 failed to effect. He was the best fisherman and hunter was as 
 brave as he was light-hearted was, altogether, so perfect a 
 character, in the estimation of the little band of Albert, that he 
 found no enemy among his equals, and could always choose his 
 companion for himself. His successes were not confined to his 
 own countrymen. He found equal favor in the sight of the 
 Indians. Among his other accomplishments, he possessed the 
 most wonderful agility had belonged, at one time, to a company 
 of strolling players, and his skill on tight and slack rope if we 
 are to credit old stories would put to the blush the modern 
 performances of the Ravels and Herr Cline. It was through his 
 means, and partly by his ingenuity, that the Indian hunter was 
 entrapped and brought into the fort, through whose agency the 
 intimacy had been effected with the people of Audusta and the 
 other chiefs ; and, during this intimacy, Gruernache had proved, 
 in various ways, one of the principal instruments for confirming 
 the favorable impressions which the Indian had received in his in- 
 tercourse with the Frenchmen. He was everywhere popular with 
 the red men. Nothing, indeed, could be done without him. 
 Ignorant of his inferior social position among the whites, the 
 simple savages sent for him to their feasts and frolics, without 
 caring for the claims of any other person. He had but to carry 
 his violin for, among his other accomplishments, that of fiddling 
 was not the smallest to secure the smiles of the men and the 
 favors of the women ; and it was not long before he had formed, 
 among the savages, a class for dancing, after the European 
 fashion, upon the banks of the Edisto. Think of the red men 
 of Apalachia, figuring under a Parisian teacher, by night, by 
 torch-light, beneath the great oaks of the original forest ! 
 Such uncouth antics might well offend, with never-lessening 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 39 
 
 wonder, the courtly nymphs of the Seine and the Loire. But 
 the Indians suffered from no conventional apprehensions. They 
 were not made to feel their deficiencies under the indulgent 
 training of Guernache, and footed it away as merrily, as if each 
 of their damsels sported on a toe as light and exquisite as that of 
 Ellsler or Taglioni. King Audusta, himself, though well stricken 
 in years, was yet seduced into the capricious mazes which he 
 beheld with so much pleasure, and, for a season, the triumph of 
 Guernache among the palms and pines of Grande Riviere, was 
 sufficiently complete, to make him wonder at times how his 
 countrymen ever suffered his departure from the shores of La 
 Belle France ! 
 
 At first, and when it was doubtful to what extent the favor of 
 the red-men might be secured for the colony, Captain Albert 
 readily countenanced the growing popularity of his fiddler among 
 them. His permission was frequently given to Guernache, when 
 king Audusta solicited his presence. His policy prompted him 
 to regard it as highly fortunate that so excellent an agent for his 
 purposes was to be found among his followers ; and, for some 
 months, it needed only a suggestion of Guernache, himself, to 
 procure for him leave of absence. The worthy fellow never 
 abused his privileges never was unfaithful to his trust never 
 grew insolent upon indulgence. But Captain Albert, though 
 claiming to be the cadet of a noble house, was yet a person of a 
 mean and ignoble nature. Small and unimposing of person, 
 effeminate of habit, and accustomed to low indulgences, he was 
 not only deficient in the higher resources of intellect, but he was 
 exceedingly querulous and tyrannical of temper. His aristo- 
 cratical connexions alone had secured him the charge of the 
 colony, for which nature and education had equally unfitted him. 
 
40 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 His mind was contracted and full of bitter prejudices ; and, 
 as is the case commonly with very small persons, he was al- 
 ways tenacious, to the very letter, of the nicest observances of 
 etiquette After a little while, and when he no longer had reason 
 to question the fidelity of the red men, he began to exhibit some 
 share of dislike towards Guernache ; and to withhold the privi- 
 leges which he had hitherto permitted him to enjoy. He had be- 
 come jealous of the degree of favor in which his musician was 
 held among the savages, and betrayed this change in his temper, 
 by instances of occasional severity and denial, the secret of which 
 the companions of Guernache divined much sooner than himself. 
 Though not prepared, absolutely, to withhold his consent, when 
 king Audusta entreated that the fiddler might be spared him, he 
 yet accorded it ungraciously ; and Guernache was made to suffer, 
 in some way, for these concessions, as if they had been so many 
 favors granted to himself. 
 
 They were, indeed, favors to the musician, though, to what ex- 
 tent, Albert entertained no suspicion. It so happened that among 
 his other conquests, Guernache had made that of a very lovely 
 dark-eyed damsel, a niece of Audusta, and a resident of the king's 
 own village. After the informal fashion of the country, into 
 which our Frenchmen were apt readily to fall, he had made the 
 damsel his wife. She was a beautiful creature, scarcely more 
 than sixteen ; tall and slender, and so naturally agile and grace- 
 ful, that it needed but a moderate degree of instruction to make 
 her a dancer whose airy movements would not greatly have mis- 
 beseemed the most courtly theatres of Paris. Monaletta, for 
 such was the sweet name of the Indian damsel, was an apt pupil, 
 because she was a loving one. She heartily responded to that 
 sentiment O f wonder common among the savages that the 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 41 
 
 Frenchmen should place themselves under the command of a 
 chief, so mean of person as Albert, and so inferior in gifts, when 
 they had among them a fellow of such noble presence as Guer- 
 nache, whose qualities were so irresistible. The opinions of her 
 head were but echoes from the feelings in her heart. Her pre- 
 ference for our musician was soon apparent and avowed ; but, in 
 taking her to wife, Guernache kept his secret from his best friend. 
 No one in Fort Charles ever suspected that he had been wived in 
 the depth of the great forests, through pagan ceremonies, by an 
 Indian lawa,* to the lovely Monaletta. Whatever may have been 
 his motive for keeping the secret, whether he feared the ridicule 
 of his comrades, or the hostility of his superior, or apprehended a 
 difficulty with rivals among the red men, by a discovery of the 
 fact, it is yet very certain that he succeeded in persuading Mona- 
 letta, herself, and those who were present at his wild betrothal, to 
 keep the secret also. It did not lessen, perhaps, the pleasure of 
 his visits to the settlements of Audusta, that the peculiar joys 
 which he desired had all the relish of a stolen fruit. It was now, 
 only in this manner that Monaletta could be seen. Captain Al- 
 bert, with a rigid austerity, which contributed also to his evil odor 
 among his people, had interdicted the visits of all Indian women 
 at the fort. This interdict was one, however, which gave little 
 annoyance to Guernache. A peculiar, but not unnatural jealousy, 
 had already prompted him repeatedly to deny this privilege to 
 Monaletta. The simple savage had frequently expressed her de- 
 sire to see the fortress of the white man, to behold his foreign 
 curiosities, and, in particular, to hearken to the roar of that 
 
 * lawa was the title of the priest or prophet of the Floridian. The 
 word is thus written by Laudonniere in Hakluyt. It is probably a mis- 
 print only which, in Charlevoix, writes it " lona." 
 
42 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 mimic thunder which he had always at command, and which, 
 when heard, had so frequently shaken the very hearts of the men 
 of her people. 
 
 In this relation stood the several parties, when, one day, a mes- 
 senger came to Fort Charles from King Audusta, bearing a special 
 invitation to Captain Albert to attend, with the savage tribes, the 
 celebration of the great religious "feast of Toya." He was in- 
 vited to bring as many of his men as he thought proper, but, in 
 particular, not to forget their favorite Guernache. The feast of 
 Toya, seems to have constituted the great religious ceremonial of 
 the nation. It took place about the middle, or the close of sum- 
 mer, and seems to have been a sort of annual thanksgiving, after 
 the laws of a natural religion, for the maturing of their little crops. 
 Much of the solemnities were obvious and ostentatious in their 
 character. Much more, however, was involved and mysterious, 
 and held particularly sacred by the priesthood. The occasion 
 was one, at all events, to which the Indians attached the greatest 
 importance ; and, naturally anxious to acquire as great a know- 
 ledge as possible of their laws, customs and sentiments, Captain 
 Albert very readily acceded to the invitation, preparing, with 
 some state, to attend the rustic revels of Audusta. He took with 
 him a fair proportion of his little garrison, and did not omit the 
 inimitable Gruernache. Ascending the river in his pinnace, he 
 soon reached the territories of the Indian monarch. Audusta, 
 with equal hospitality and dignity, anticipated his approach, and 
 met him, with his followers, at the river landing. With a hearty 
 welcome, he conducted him to his habitations, and gave him, at 
 entrance, a draught of the cassina beverage, the famous tea of the 
 country. Then came damsels who washed their hands in vessels 
 of water over which floated the leaves of the odorous bay, and 
 
THE LEGEND OP GUERNACHE. 43 
 
 flowers of rare perfume ; drying them after with branches of 
 plumes, scarlet and white, which were made of the feathers of 
 native birds of the most glorious variety of hue. Mats of reed, 
 woven ingeniously together by delicate wythes of all colors, orange 
 and green, and vermillion, dyed with roots of the forest, were then 
 spread upon the rush-strewn floor of the royal wigwam ; and, with 
 a grace not unbecoming a sovereign born in the purple, Audusta 
 invited our Frenchmen to place themselves at ease, each accord- 
 ing to his rank and station. The king took his place among them, 
 neither above the first, nor below the last, but like a friend within 
 a favorite circle, in which some might stand more nearly than 
 others to his affections. They were then attended with the pro- 
 foundest deference, and served with the rarest delicacies of the 
 Indian cuisine. As night came on, fresh rushes were strewed 
 upon the floor, and they slept with the cheerful music of songs 
 and laughter, which reached them at intervals, through the night, 
 from the merry makers in the contiguous forests. With the 
 dawning of the next day, prexjarations for the great festival were 
 begun. 
 
IV. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. CHAP. II. 
 
 THE FESTIVAL OF TOYA. 
 
 Being a continuation of the legend of Guernache ; showing the superstitions of the Red- 
 Hen ; how Guernache offended Captain Albert, and what followed from the secret 
 efforts of the Frenchmen to penetrate the mysteries of Toya ! 
 
 IT would be difficult to say, from the imperfect narratives 
 afforded us by the chroniclers, what were the precise objects of 
 the present ceremonials ; what gods were to be invoked ; what 
 evil beings implored ; what wrath and anger to be deprecated and 
 diverted from the devoted tribes. As the Frenchmen received 
 no explanation of their mystic preparations, so are we left unen- 
 lightened by their revelations. They do not even amuse us by their 
 conjectures, and Laudonniere stops short in his narrative of what 
 did happen, apologizing for having said so much on so trifling a 
 matter. We certainly owe him no gratitude for his forbearance. 
 What he tells us affords but little clue to the motive of their fan- 
 tastic proceedings. The difficulty, which is at present ours, waa 
 not less that of Albert and his Frenchmen. They were compelled 
 to behold the outlines of a foreign ritual whose mysteries they 
 were not permitted to explore, and had their curiosity provoked 
 

 THE LEGEND Of GtTERNACHE. 45 
 
 by shows of a most exciting character, which only mocked their 
 desires, and tantalized their appetites. On the first arrival of 
 Albert, and after he had been rested and refreshed, Audusta him- 
 self had conducted him, with his followers, to the spot which had 
 been selected for the ceremonies of the morrow. " This was a 
 great circuit of ground with open prospect and round in figure." 
 Here they saw " many women roundabout, which labored by all 
 means to make the place cleane and neate." The ceremonies 
 began early on the morning of the ensuing day. Hither they re- 
 paired in season, and found " all they which were chosen to cele- 
 brate the feast," already " painted and trimmed with rich feathers 
 of divers colours." These led the way in a procession from the 
 dwelling of Audusta to the " place of Toya." Here, when they 
 had come, they set themselves in new order under the guidance of 
 three Indians, who were distinguished by plumes, paint, and a 
 costume entirely superior to the rest. Each of them carried a 
 tabret, to the plaintive and lamenting music of which they sang 
 in wild, strange, melancholy accents ; and, in slow measures, 
 dancing the while, they passed gradually into the very centre of 
 the sacred circle. They were followed by successive groups, 
 which answered to their strains, and to whose songs they, in turn, 
 responded with like echoes. This continued for awhile, the music 
 gradually rising and swelling from the slow to the swift, from the 
 sad to the passionate, while the moods of the actors and the spec- 
 tators, also varying, the character of the scene changed to one of 
 the wildest excitement. Suddenly, the characters those who 
 were chief officiators in this apparent hymn of fate broke from 
 the enchanted circle darted through the ranks of the spectators, 
 and dashed, headlong, with frantic cries, into the depths of the 
 neighboring thickets. Then followed another class of actors. As 
 
46 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 if a sudden and terrible doom overhung the nation, the Indian 
 women set up cries of grief and lamentation. Their passion grew 
 to madness. In their rage, the mothers seized upon the young 
 virgins of the tribe, and, with the sharp edges of muscle shells, they 
 lanced their arms, till the blood gushed forth in free streams, 
 which they eagerly flung into the air, crying aloud at every mo- 
 ment, " He-to-yah ! He-to-yah ! He-to-yah ! "* 
 
 These ceremonies, though not more meaningless, perhaps, in 
 the eyes of the Christian, than would be our most solemn religious 
 proceedings in those of the Indian, provoked the laughter of Al- 
 bert and some of his Frenchmen. This circumstance awakened 
 the indignation of their excellent friend, Audusta. His displea- 
 sure was now still farther increased by a proceeding of Captain 
 Albert. It was an attempt upon their mysteries. That portion 
 of the officiating priesthood their lawas who fled from the 
 sacred enclosure to deep recesses of the woods,. sought there for 
 the prosecution, in secret, of rites too holy for the vulgar eye. 
 Here they maintained their sanctum sanctorum. This was the 
 place consecrated to the communion of the god with his imme- 
 diate servants the holy of holies, which it was death to pene- 
 trate or pass. Albert suffered his curiosity to get the better of 
 his discretion. Offended by the laughter of the Frenchmen, at 
 what they had already beheld, and fearing lest their audacity 
 should lead them farther, the king, Audusta, had gathered them 
 again within the royal wigwam, where he sought, by marked 
 kindness and distinction, to make them forgetful of what had been 
 
 * Adair likens the cry of the Southern Indians to the sacred name among 
 the Jews" Je-ho-vah." He writes the Indian syllables thus" Yo-he- 
 wah," and it constitutes one of his favorite arguments for deducing the 
 origin of the North American red-men from the ancient Hebrews 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 47 
 
 denied. They had seen, as he told them, the more impressive 
 portions of the ceremonial. There were others, but not of a kind 
 to interest them. But the fact that there was something to con- 
 ceal, stimulated the curiosity of Albert. In due degree with the 
 king's anxiety to keep his secret, was that of the French captain's 
 to fathom it. Holding a brief consultation with his men, accord- 
 ingly, he declared his desire to this effect ; and proposed, that one 
 of their number should contrive to steal forth, and, finding his 
 way to the forbidden spot, should place himself in such a position 
 as would enable him to survey all the mysterious proceedings. 
 To this course, Guernache frankly opposed his opinions. His 
 greater intimacy with the red-men led him properly to conceive 
 the danger which might ensue, from their discovery of the intru- 
 sion. He had been well taught by Monaletta, the degree of im- 
 portance which they attached to the security of their mystic rites. 
 Arguing with the honesty of his character, he warned his captain 
 of the 'risk which such unbecoming curiosity would incur the 
 peril to the offender, himself, if detected ; and the hazards to the 
 colony from the loss of that friendship to which they had been 
 already so largely indebted. But the counsels of Guernache were 
 rejected with indignity. Prepared, already, to regard him with 
 dislike and suspicion, Albert heard his suggestions only as so 
 much impertinence ; and rudely commanded him not to forget 
 himself and place, nor to thrust his undesired opinions upon the 
 consideration of gentlemen. The poor fellow was effectually 
 silenced by this rebuke. He sank out of sight, and presumed nf> 
 farther to advise. But the counsel was not wholly thrown away 
 Disregarded by Albert, it was caught up, and insisted on, by 
 others, who had better conventional claims to be heard, and the 
 proposition might have been defeated but for the ready interposi- 
 
"V 
 
 48 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 tion of one Pierre Renaud, a young fellow, who, perceiving the, 
 captain's strong desire to seek out the mystery, and anxious to in- 
 gratiate himself with that person, boldly laughed at the fears of 
 the objectors, and volunteered, himself, to defy the danger, in his 
 own person, in order to gratify his chief. This silenced the con- 
 troversy. Albert readily availed himself of the offer, and Pierre 
 Renaud was commanded to try his fortune. This he did, and, 
 notwithstanding the surveillance maintained over them by Au- 
 dusta and his attendants, tc he made such shift, that, by subtle 
 meanes, he gotte out of the house of Audusta, and secretly went 
 and hid himselfe behinde a very thick bush, where, at his pleasure, 
 he might easily descry the ceremonies of the feaste." 
 
 We will leave Renaud thus busy in his espionage, while we re- 
 hearse the manner in which the venerable Audusta proceeded to 
 treat his company. A substantial feast was provided for them, 
 consisting of venison, wild fowl, and fruits. Their breadstuff's 
 were maize, batatas, and certain roots sodden first in water, and 
 then prepared in the sun. A drink was prepared from certain 
 other roots, which, though bitter, was refreshing and slightly 
 stimulant. Our Frenchmen, in the absence of the beverages of 
 Italy and France, did not find it unpalatable. They ate and 
 drank with a hearty relish, which gratified the red-men, who lav- 
 ished on them a thousand caresses. The feast was followed by 
 the dance. In a spacious area, surrounded by great ranks of 
 oaks, cedars, pines, and other trees, they assembled, men and wo- 
 men, in their gayest caparison. The men were tatooed and 
 painted, from head to foot, and not inartistic ally, in the most 
 glowing colors. Birds and beasts were figured upon their breasts, 
 and huge, strange reptiles were made to coil up and around their 
 legs and arms. From their waists depended light garments of 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 49 
 
 white cotton, the skirts being trimmed with a thick fringe of red 
 or scarlet. Some of them wore head-dresses consisting of tho 
 skins of snakes, or eagles, the panther or the wild cat, which, 
 stuffed ingeniously, were made to sit erect above the forehead, and 
 to look abroad, from their novel place of perch, in a manner 
 equally natural and frightful. The women were habited in a simi- 
 larly wild but less offensive manner. The taste which presided in 
 their decorations, was of-. a purer and a gentler fashion. Their 
 cheeks were painted red, their arms, occasionally but slightly tat- 
 tooed, and sometimes the figure of a bird, a flower or a star, might 
 be seen engrained upon the breast. A rather scanty robe of 
 white cotton concealed, in some degree, the bosom, and extended 
 somewhat below the knees. Around the necks of several^ were 
 hung thick strands of native pearls, partially discolored by the 
 action of fire which had been employed to extricate them from the 
 shells. Pearls were also mingled ingeniously with the long tresses 
 of their straight, black hair ; trailing with it, in not unfrequent 
 instances, even to the ground. Others, in place of this more 
 valuable ornament, wore necklaces, anklets and tiaras, formed 
 wholly of one or other of the numerous varieties of little sea 
 shells, by which, after heavy storms, the low and sandy shores of 
 the country were literally covered. Strings of the same shell en- 
 circled the legs, which were sometimes of a shape to gratify the 
 nicest exactions of the civilized standard. The forms of our In- 
 dian damsels were generally symmetrical and erect, their move- 
 ments at once agile and graceful their foreheads high, their lips 
 thin, and,with a soft, persuasive expression, inclining to melancholy ; 
 while their eyes, black and bright, always shone with a peculiar 
 forest fire that seemed happily to consort with their dark, but not 
 unpleasing complexions. Well, indeed, with a pardonable vanity, 
 3 
 
50 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 might their people call them the " Daughters of the Sun." He 
 h^d made them his, by his warmest and fondest glances. These 
 were the women, whose descendants, in after days, as Yemassees 
 and Muscoghees and Seminoles, became the scourge of so large a 
 portion of the Anglo-American race. 
 
 When the Frenchmen beheld this,, rude, but really brilliant 
 assemblage, and saw what an attractive show the young damsels 
 made, they were delighted beyond measure. Visions of the rout 
 and revel, as enjoyed in La Belle France^ glanced before their 
 fancies ; and the lively capering that followed among the young 
 Huguenots, informed Captain Albert of the desire which was felt 
 by all. In stern, compelling accents, he bade Guernache take his 
 violin, and provide the music, while the rest prepared to dance. 
 But .Guernache excused himself, alleging the want of strings for 
 his instrument. These were shown, in a broken state, to his 
 commander. He had broken them, we may state en passant, for 
 the occasion. His pride had been hurt by the treatment of his 
 captain. He felt that the purpose of the latter was to degrade 
 him. Such a performance as that required at his hands, was pro- 
 perly no part of his duty ; and his proud spirit revolted at the 
 idea of contributing, in any way, to the wishes of his superior, 
 when the object of the latter was evidently his own degradation. 
 Albert spoke to him testily, and with brows that did not seek to 
 subdue or conceal their frowns. But Guernache was firm, and 
 though he studiously forebore, by word or look, to increase the 
 provocation which he had already given, he yet made no effort to 
 pacify the imperious nature which he had offended. The excuse 
 was such as could not but be taken. There was the violin, in- 
 deed, but there, also, were the broken strings. Albert turned 
 from the musician with undisguised loathing ; and the poor fellow 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 51 
 
 sunk back with a secret presentiment of evil. He but too well 
 knew the character of his superior. 
 
 Meanwhile, the red men had resort to their own primitive 
 music. Their instruments consisted of simple reeds, which, 
 bound together, were passed, to and fro, beneath the lips and dis- 
 coursed very tolerable harmonies ; and a rude drum formed by 
 stretching a raw deer skin over the mouth of a monstrous cala 
 bash, enabled them, when the skin had been contracted in the 
 sun, to extort from it a very tolerable substitute for the music of 
 the tambourine. There were other instruments, susceptible of 
 sound if not of sweetness. Numerous damsels, none over fifteen, 
 lithe and graceful, carried in their hands little gourds, which were 
 filled with shells and pebbles, and tied over with skins, dried also 
 in the sun. With these, as they danced, they kept time so ad- 
 mirably as might have charmed the most practised European 
 master. Thus,all provided, some with the drum, and others with 
 flute-like reeds and hollow, tinkling gourds, they only awaited the 
 summons of their partners to the area. Shaking their tinkling 
 gourds, as if in pretty impatience at the delay, the girls each 
 waited, with anxious looks, the signal from her favorite. 
 
 The Frenchmen were not slow in seeking out their partners. 
 At the word and signal of their captain, they dashed in among the 
 laughing group of dusky maidens, each seeking for the girl whose 
 beauties had been most grateful to his tastes. Nor was Captain 
 Albert, himself, with all his pride and asceticism, unwilling to for- 
 get his dignity for a season, and partake of the rude festivities of 
 the occasion. When, indeed, did mirth and music fail to usurp 
 dominion in the Frenchman's heart ? Albert greedily cast his 
 eyes about, seeking a partner, upon whom he might bestow his 
 smiles. He was not slow in the selection. It so happened, that 
 
52 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Monaletta, the spouse of Guernache, was not only one of the 
 loveliest damsels present, but she was well known as the niece of 
 King Audusta. Her beauty and royal blood, equally commended 
 her to the favor of our captain. She stood apart from all the 
 rest, stately and graceful as the cedar, not seeming to care for the 
 merriment in which all were now engaged. There was a dash of 
 sadness in her countenance. Her thoughts were elsewhere her 
 eyes scarcely with the assembly, when the approach of Albert 
 startled her from her reverie. He came as Caesar did, to certain 
 conquest ; and was about to take her hand, as a matter of course, 
 when he was equally astounded and enraged to find her draw it 
 away from his grasp. 
 
 " You will not dance with me, Monaletta ?" 
 
 " No," she answered him in broken French " No dance with 
 you dance with him /" pointing to Gruernache. 
 
 Speaking these words, she crossed the floor, with all the bold 
 imprudence of a truly loving heart, to the place where stood our 
 sorrowful and unhappy violinist. He had followed the movements 
 of Albert, with looks of most serious apprehension, and his heart 
 had sunk, with a sudden terror, when he saw that he approached 
 Monaletta. The scene which followed, however grateful to his 
 affections, was seriously calculated to arouse his fears. He feared 
 for Monaletta, as he feared for himself. Nothing escaped him in 
 the brief interview, and he saw, in the vindictive glances of Albert, 
 the most evil auguries for the future. Yet how precious was her 
 fondness to his heart ! He half forgot his apprehensions as he 
 felt her hand upon his shoulder, and beheld her eyes looking with 
 appealing fondness up into his own. That glance was full of the 
 sweetest consolation, and said everything that was grateful to his 
 terrified affections. She, too, had seen the look of hate and anger 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 53 
 
 in the face of Albert, and she joyed in the opportunity of rebuk- 
 ing the one with her disdain, and of consoling the other with her 
 sympathies. It was an unhappy error. Bitter, indeed, was the 
 look with which the aroused and mortified Albert regarded the 
 couple as they stood apart from all the rest. Guernache beheld 
 this look. He knew the meaning of that answering glance of his 
 superior which encountered his own. His looks were those of en- 
 treaty, of deprecation. They seemed to say, " I feel that you 
 are offended, but I had no purpose or part in the offence." His 
 glance of humility met with no answering indulgence. It seemed, 
 indeed, still farther to provoke his tyrant, who, advancing mid- 
 way across the room, addressed him in stern, hissing accents, 
 through his closed and almost gnashing teeth. 
 
 " Away, sirrah, to the pinnace ! See that you remain in her 
 until I summon you ! Away !" 
 
 The poor fellow turned off from Monaletta. He shook himself 
 free from the grasp which she had taken of his hand. He pre- 
 pared to obey the wanton and cruel order, but he could not for- 
 bear saying reproachfully as he retired 
 
 " You push me too hard, Captain Albert." 
 
 "No words, sir ! Away !" was the stern response. The sub- 
 missive fellow instantly disappeared. With his disappearance, 
 Albert again approached Monaletta, and renewed his application. 
 But this time he met with a rejection even more decided than be- 
 fore. He looked to King Audusta; but an Indian princess, while 
 she remains unmarried, enjoys a degree of social liberty which 
 the same class of persons in Europe would sigh for and supplicate 
 in vain. There were no answering sympathies in the king's face, 
 to encourage Albert in the prosecution of his suit. Nay, he had 
 the mortification to perceive, from the expression of his counte- 
 
54 
 
 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 nance, that his proceedings towards Ghiernache who was a gen 
 eral favorite had afforded not more satisfaction to him, than they 
 had done to Monaletta. It was, therefore, in no very pleasant 
 mood with himself and those around him, that our captain con- 
 soled himself in the dance with the hand of an inferior beauty. 
 Jealous of temper and frivolous of mind characteristics which 
 are frequently found together Albert was very fond of dancing, 
 and enjoyed the sport quite as greatly as any of his companions. 
 But, even while he capered, his soul, stung and dissatisfied, was 
 brooding vexatiously over its petty hurts. His thoughts were 
 busied in devising ways to revenge himself upon the humble 
 offender by whom his mortification originally grew. Upon this 
 sweet and bitter cud did he chew while the merry music sounded 
 in his ears, and the gaily twinkling feet of the dusky maidens 
 were whirling in promiscuous mazes beneath his eye. But these 
 festivities, and his own evil meditations, were destined to have an 
 interruption as startling as unexpected. 
 
 While the mirth was at its highest, and the merriment most 
 contagious, the ears of the assembly were startled by screams, the 
 most terrible, of fright and anguish. The Frenchmen felt a 
 nameless terror seizing upon them. The cries and shrieks were 
 from an European throat. Wild was the discord which accom- 
 panied them, whoops of wrath and vengeance, which, as evi- 
 dently issued only from the throats of most infuriated savages. 
 The music ceased in an instant. The dance was arrested. The 
 Frenchmen rushed to their arms, fully believing that they 
 were surrounded by treachery that they had been beguiled to 
 the feast only to become its victims. With desperate decision, 
 they prepared themselves for the worst. While their suspense and 
 fear were at their highest, the cause of the alarm and uproar soon be- 
 
THE LEGEND OP GUERNACHE. 55 
 
 came apparent to their eyes. Bursting, like a wounded deer, 
 suddenly, from the woods by which the dwelling of Audusta was 
 surrounded, a bloody figure, ghastly and spotted, appeared before 
 the crowd. In another moment the Frenchmen recognized the 
 spy, Pierre Renaud, who had volunteered to get at the heart of 
 the Indian mysteries to follow the priesthood to their sacred 
 haunts, and gather all the secrets of their ceremonials. 
 
 We have already seen that he reached his place of watch in 
 safety. But here his good fortune failed him : his place of es- 
 pionage was not one of concealment. In the wild orgies of their 
 religion, for they seem to have practised rites not dissimilar to, 
 and not less violent and terrible than those of the British 
 
 *, 
 
 Druids, the priests darted over the crouching spy. Detected in 
 the very act, where he lay, " squat like a toad," the lawas fell 
 upon him with the sharp instruments of flint with which they had 
 been lancing and lacerating their own bodies. With these they 
 contrived, in spite of all his struggles and entreaties, to inflict upon 
 him some very severe wounds. Then* rage was unmeasured, and 
 the will to slay him was not wanting. But Renaud was a fellow 
 equally vigorous and active. He baffled their blows as well as he 
 could, and at length breaking from their folds, he took fairly to his 
 heels. Howling with rage and fury, they darted upon his track, 
 their wild shrieks ringing through the wood like those of so many 
 demons suffering in mortal agony. They cried to all whom they 
 saw, to stay and slay the offender. Others joined in the chase, as 
 they hoard this summons. But fortune favored the fugitive. His 
 terror added wings to his flight. He was not, it seems, destined 
 to such a death as they designed him. He outran his pursuers, 
 and. dodging those whom he accidentally encountered, he made 
 his way into the thick of the area, where his comrades, half be- 
 
56 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 wildered by the uproar, were breaking up the dance. He sank 
 down in the midst of them, exhausted by loss of blood and fatigue, 
 only a moment before the appearance of his pursuers. 
 
 The French instantly closed around their companion. They 
 had not put aside their weapons, and they now prepared them- 
 selves to encounter the worst. The aspect of the danger was 
 threatening in the last degree. The lawas were boiling with 
 sacred fury. They were the true rulers of their people. Their 
 will was sovereign over the popular moods. They demanded, 
 with violent outcry, the blood of the individual by whom their 
 sacred retreats had been violated, and their shekinah polluted by 
 vulgar and profane presence. They demanded the blood of all 
 the Frenchmen, as participating in the crime. They called 
 upon Audusta to assert his own privileges and theirs. They 
 appealed to the people in a style of phrenzied eloquence, the 
 effects of which were soon visible in the inflamed features and 
 wild action of the more youthful warriors. Already were these 
 to be seen slapping their sides, tossing their hands in air, 
 and, with loud shrieks, lashing themselves into a fury like that 
 which enflamed their prophets. 'King Audusta looked con- 
 founded. The Frenchmen were his guests. He had invited 
 them to partake of his hospitality, and to enjoy the rites of his 
 religion. He was in some sort pledged for their safety, though 
 one of them had violated the conditions of their coming. His 
 own feelings revolted at giving any sanction for the assault, yet 
 he appeared unable or unwilling to resist the clamors of the 
 priesthood. But he also demanded, though with evident reluc- 
 tance, the blood of the offender. He was not violent, though 
 urgent, in this demand. He showed indignation rather than 
 hostility j and he gave Albert to understand that in no way 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 57 
 
 could the people or the priesthood be appeased, unless by the 
 sacrifice of the guilty person. 
 
 But Albert could not yield the victim. The French were 
 prepared to perish to a man before complying with any such 
 demand. They were firm. They fenced him in with their 
 weapons, and declared their readiness to brave every peril ere 
 they would abandon their comrade. This resolution was the 
 more honorable, as Pierre Renaud was no favorite among 
 them. Though seriously disquieted by the event, and apprehen- 
 sive of the issue, Albert was man enough to second their spirit. 
 Besides, Renaud had been his own emissary in the adventure 
 which threatened to terminate so fatally. His denial was in- 
 ferred from his deportment ; and the clamor of the Indians was 
 increased. The rage of the lawas was renewed with the con- 
 viction that no redress was to be given them. Already had the 
 young warriors of Audusta procured their weapons. More than 
 an hundred of them surrounded our little band of Frenchmen, 
 who were only thirteen in number. Bows were bent, lances 
 were set in rest, javelins were seen lifted, and ready to bo 
 thrown ; and the drum which had been just made to sound, in 
 lively tones, for the dance, now gave forth the most dismal din, 
 significant of massacre and war. Already were to be seen, in 
 the hands of some more daring Indian than the rest, the heavy 
 war-club, or the many-teethed macana, waving aloft and threat- 
 ening momently to descend upon the victim ; and nothing was 
 wanting but a first blow to bring on a general massacre. Sud- 
 denly, at this perilous moment, the fiddle of Guernache was 
 heard without ; followed, in a moment after, by the appearance 
 of the brave fellow himself. Darting in between the opposing 
 ranks, attended by the faithful Monaletta, with a grand crash 
 3* 
 
58 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 upon his instrument, now newly-strung, followed by a rapid 
 gush of the merriest music, he took both parties by the happiest 
 surprise, and instantly produced a revulsion of feeling among 
 the savages as complete as it was sudden. 
 
 " Ami ! ami ! ami !" was the only cry from an hundred voices, 
 at the reappearance of Guernache among them. They had 
 acquired this friendly epithet among the first words which they 
 had learned at their coming, from the French ; and their affection 
 for our fiddler had made its application to himself, in particular, 
 a thing of general usage. He was their friend. He had shown 
 himself their friend, and they had a faith in kirn which they 
 accorded to no other of his people. The people were with him, 
 and the priesthood not unfriendly. Time was gained by this 
 diversion ; and, in such an outbreak as that which has been 
 described, time is all that is needful, perhaps, to stay the arm 
 of slaughter. Guernache played out his tune, and cut a few 
 pleasant antics, in which the now happy Monaletta, though of the 
 blood royal, readily joined him. The musician had probably 
 saved the party from massacre. The subsequent work of treaty 
 and pacification was comparatively easy. Pierre Renaud was 
 permitted to depart for the pinnace, under the immediate care 
 of Guernache and Monaletta. The lawas received some presents 
 of gaudy costume, bells, and other gew-gaws, while a liberal gift 
 of knives and beads gratified their warriors and their women. 
 The old ties of friendship were, happily reunited, and the calumet 
 went round, from mouth to mouth, in token of restored confidence 
 and renewed faith. Before nightfall, happily relieved from his 
 apprehensions, Albert, with his detachment, was rapidly making 
 his way with his pinnace, down the waters of the swiftly-rolling 
 Edisto. 
 
V. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. CHAP. Ill 
 
 The Legend of Guernache ia continued, showing how the Fortress of the Huguenots WM 
 destroyed, and what happened thereafter to Guernache the Musician. 
 
 THE fidelity which Guernache had shown in the recent diffi- 
 culty with the Indians, did not appear to lessen in any degree 
 the unfavorable impressions which Capt. Albert had received of 
 that worthy fellow. Indeed, the recent and remarkable service 
 which he had rendered, by which, in all probability, the whole 
 party had been preserved from massacre, rather increased, if any 
 thing, the hostile temper of his superior. The evil spirit still 
 raged within the bosom of Capt. Albert, utterly baffling a judg- 
 ment at no period of particular excellence, and blinding every 
 honorable sentiment which might have distinguished him under 
 other influences. He was now doubly mortified, that he should 
 be supposed to owe his present safety to the person he had 
 wronged a mortification which found due increase as he remem- 
 bered how much greater had been the respect and deference of 
 the savages for his drummer than for himself. This recollection 
 was a perpetual goad to that working malice in his heart, which 
 was already busied in devising schemes of revenge, which were 
 to salve his hurts of pride and vanity, by the sufferings as well 
 
60 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 as humiliation of his subordinate. It will scarcely be believed 
 that, when fairly out of sight of the village of Audusta, he re- 
 buked Guernache sharply, for leaving the pinnace against his 
 orders, and even spoke of punishing him for this disobedience.* 
 But the murmurs of some of his officers, and, perhaps, a little 
 lurking sentiment of shame in his own bosom, prevented him 
 from attempting any such disgraceful proceeding. But the feel- 
 ing of hostility only rankled the more because of its suppression, 
 and he soon contrived to show Guernache and, indeed, everybody 
 besides, that from that hour he was his most bitter and unforgiv- 
 ing enemy, with a little and malignant spirit, he employed vari- 
 ous petty arts, which a superior of a base nature may readily 
 command on all occasions, by which to make the poor fellow feel 
 how completely he was at his mercy ; and each day exposed him 
 to some little snare, or some stern caprice, by which Guernache 
 became involuntarily an offender. His tyrant subjected him to 
 duties the most troublesome and humiliating, while denying, or 
 stinting him of all those privileges which were yet commonly ac- 
 corded to his comrades. But all this would have been as nothing 
 to Guernache, if he had not been denied permission to visit, as 
 before, the hamlet of Audusta, where his princess dwelt. On 
 the miserable pretext that the priesthood might revenge upon 
 him the misconduct of Renaud, Albert insisted upon his abstain- 
 ing wholly from the Indian territories. But this pretence de- 
 ceived nobody, and nobody less than Guernache. Little did the 
 
 * Charlevoix thus describes Captain Albert : " Le Commandant de 
 Charles-Fort e"toit un homme de main, et qui ne manquoit pas absolument 
 de conduite, mais il etoit brutal jusqu' & la fe'rocite, et ne scavoit pas 
 
 memegarderlesbienseances II punissoit les moindres fautes, 
 
 and toujours avec exces, &c. N. France, Liv. 1. p. 51. 
 
THE LEGEND OP GUERNACHE. 61 
 
 petty tyrant of Fort Charles imagine that the object of his 
 malice enjoyed a peculiar source of consolation for all these 
 privations. His comrades were his friends. They treated him 
 with a warmth and kindness, studiously proportioned to the ill- 
 treatment of his superior. They assisted him in the severer 
 tasks which were allotted him to fulfil gave him their company 
 whenever this was possible, while he was engaged in the execu- 
 tion of his most cheerless duties, and soothed his sorrows by the 
 expression of their almost unanimous sympathies. Nor did they 
 always withhold their bitter denunciations of the miserable des- 
 potism under which he suffered, and which they feared. Dark 
 hints of remedy were spoken, brows frowned at the mention of 
 the wrongs of their companion, and the head shaken ominously, 
 when words of threatening significance were uttered appealed 
 gratefully to certain bitter desires which had taken root in the 
 mind of the victim. But these sympathies, though grateful, 
 were of small amount in comparison with another source of 
 consolation, which contributed to sustain Guernache in his tribu- 
 lation. This was found in the secret companionship of his young 
 and beautiful Indian wife. Denied to see him at the village of 
 Audusta, the fond and fearless woman determined to seek him at 
 all hazards in his own domain. She stole away secretly to the 
 fortress of the Huguenots. Long and earnest was the watch which 
 she maintained upon its portals, from the thickets of the neigh- 
 boring wood. Here, vigilant as the sentinel that momently 
 expects his foe, she harbored close, in waiting for the beloved 
 one. Her quick instincts had already taught her the true cause 
 of his denial, and of her disappointment ; and her Indian lessons 
 had made that concealment, which she now believed to be neces* 
 sary to her purpose, a part of the habitual policy of her people 
 
- 
 62 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 She showed herself to none of the people of the fortress. She 
 suspected them all ; she had no faith but in the single one. And 
 he, at length, came forth, unaccompanied, in the prosecution of an 
 occasional labor that of cutting and procuring wood. She suf- 
 fered him, to make his way into the forests to lose sight of the 
 fortress, and, with a weary spirit and a wounded soul, to begin 
 his lonely labors with the axe. Then did she steal behind him, 
 and beside him ; and when he moaned aloud supposing that he 
 had no auditor how startling fell upon his ear the sweet, soft 
 whisper of that precious voice which he had so lovingly learned 
 to distinguish from all others. He turned with a gu*h of raptur- 
 ous delight, and, weeping, she rushed into his arms, pouring 
 forth, in a wild cry, upon his breast, the whole full volume of 
 her warm, devoted heart ! 
 
 That moment, in spite of all his fears, was amply compensative 
 to Gruernache for all his troubles. He forgot them all in the in- 
 tensity of his new delights. And when Monaletta led him off 
 from his tasks to the umbrageous retreat in the deeper woods 
 where her nights had been recently passed, when she conducted 
 him to the spot where her own hands had built a mystic bower for 
 her own shelter when she declared her purpose still to occupy 
 this retreat, in the solitude alone, that she might be ever near 
 him, to behold him at a distance, herself unseen, when he came 
 forth accompanied by others to join him, to feel his embrace, 
 hear his words of love, and assist him in his labors when he came 
 forth unattended when, speaking and promising thus, she lay 
 upon the poor fellow's bosom, looking up with tearful and bright 
 eyes in his wan and apprehensive countenance then it was that 
 he could forget his tyrant could lose his fears and sorrows in his 
 love, and in the enjoyment of moments the most precious to his 
 
THE LEGEND OF QUERNACHE. 63 
 
 heart, forget all the accompanying influences which might en- 
 danger his safety. 
 
 But necessity arose sternly between the two, and pointed to the 
 exactions of duty. The tasks of Gruernache were to be com- 
 pleted. His axe was required to sound among the trees of the 
 forest, and a certain number of pieces of timber were required 
 by sunset at his hands. It was surprising as it was sweet to 
 behold the Indian woman as she assisted him in his tasks. Her 
 strength did not suffice for the severer toils of the wood-cutter, 
 but she contrived a thousand modes for contributing to his per- 
 formances. Love lightens every labor, and invents a thousand 
 arts by which to do so. Monaletta anticipated the wants of 
 Gruernache. She removed the branches as he smote them, she 
 threw the impediments from his way, helped him to lift and turn 
 the logs as each successive side was to be hewn. She brought 
 him water, when he thirsted, from the spring. She spoke and 
 sung to him in the most encouraging voice when he was weary. 
 He was never weary when with her. 
 
 Guernache combatted her determination to remain in the neigh- 
 borhood of the fortress ; but his objections were feebly urged, and 
 she soon overcame them. He had not the courage to insist upon 
 his argument, as he had not the strength to resist the consolations 
 which her presence brought him. She soon succeeded in assuring 
 him that there was little or no danger of detection by their enemy. 
 She laughed at the idea of the Frenchmen discovering her place 
 of concealment, surprising her in her progress through the woods, 
 or overtaking her in flight ; and Gruernache knew enough of Indian 
 subtlety readily to believe that the white was no match for the 
 lusky race in the exercise of all those arts which are taught by 
 .brest life. "But her loneliness and privation, exposed to the 
 
64 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 season's changes, and growing melancholy in the absence from old 
 associates?" But how could she be lonely, was her argument, 
 when near the spot where he dwelt when she could see and hear 
 and speak with him occasionally? She wished no other com- 
 munion. As for the exposure of her present abode, was it 
 greater than that to which the wandering life of the red-man 
 subjects his people at all seasons ? The Indian woman is quite as 
 much at home in the forest as the Indian warrior. She acquires 
 her resources of strength and dexterity in his company, and by 
 the endurance of similar necessities and the employment of like 
 exercises. She learns even in childhood to build her own green 
 bower at night, to gather her own fuel, light her own fire, dress 
 her own meat nay, provide it ; and, weaponed with bow, and 
 javelin and arrow, bring down buck or doe bounding at full speed 
 through the wildest forests. Her skill and spirit are only not 
 equal to those of the master by whom she is taught, but she 
 acquires his arts to a degree which makes her sometimes worthy 
 to be lifted by the tribe from her own rank into his. Monaletta 
 reminded Ghiernache of all these things. She had the most con- 
 clusive and convincing methods of argument. She reassured him 
 on all his doubts, and, in truth, it was but too easy to do so. It 
 was unhappy for them both, as we shall see hereafter, that the 
 selfish passion of the poor musician too readily reconciled him to 
 a self-devotion on the part of his wife, which subjected her to his 
 own perils, and greatly tended to their increase. With the evil 
 eye of Albert upon him, he should have known that safety was 
 impossible for him in the event of error. And error was in- 
 evitable now, with the pleasant tempter so near his place of 
 Coventry. We must not wonder to discover now that Gruernache 
 seldom sleeps within the limits of the fortress. At midnight, 
 
 
THE LEGEND OP GUERNACHE. 65 
 
 when all is dark and quiet, lie leaps over the walls, those nights 
 excepted when it is his turn of duty to watch within. His secret 
 is known to some of his comrades ; Tbut they are too entirely his 
 friends to betray him to a despot who had, by this time, outraged 
 the feelings of most of those who remained under his com- 
 mand. Guernache was now enabled to bear up more firmly than 
 ever against the tyranny of Albert. His, indeed, were nights of 
 happiness. How sweetly sped the weeks, in which, despite his 
 persecutions, he felt that he enjoyed a life of luxurious pleasures, 
 such as few enjoy in any situation. His were the honest ex- 
 citements of a genuine passion, which, nourished by privation 
 and solitude, and indulged in secresy, was of an intensity corres- 
 ponding with the apparent denial, and the real embarrassments of 
 such a condition. His pleasures were at once stolen and legiti- 
 mate ; the apprehension which attends their pursuit giving a 
 wild zest to their enjoyment ; though,in the case of Guernache, 
 unlike that of most of those who indulge in stolen joys, they were 
 honest, and left no cruel memories behind them. 
 
 It was the subject of a curious study and surprise to Captain 
 Albert, that our musician was enabled to bear up against his 
 tyranny with so much equal firmness and forbearance. He 
 watched the countenance of Guernache, whenever they met, with 
 a curious interest. By what secret resource of fortitude and hope 
 was it that he could command so much elasticity, exhibit so much 
 cheerfulness, bear with so much meekness, and utter no com- 
 plaint. He wondered that the irksome duties which he studiously 
 thrust upon him, and the frequently brutal language with which 
 his performances were acknowledged, seemed to produce none 
 of the cruel effects which he desired. His victim grew neither 
 sad nor sullen. His violin still was heard resounding merrily at 
 
66 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 
 the instance of his comrades ; and still his hearty, whole-souled 
 laughter rang over the encampment, smiting ungraciously upon 
 the senses of his basely-minded chief. In vain did this despot 
 study how to increase and frame new annoyances for his subor- 
 dinate. His tyranny contrived daily some new method to make 
 the poor fellow unhappy. But, consoled by the peculiar secret 
 which he possessed, of sympathy and comfort, the worthy drum- 
 mer bore up cheerfully under his afflictions. He was resolved to 
 wait patiently the return of Ribault with the promised supplies 
 for the colony, and meanwhile to submit to his evil destiny with- 
 out a murmur. It was always with a secret sense of triumph 
 that he reminded himself of the near neighborhood of his joys, 
 and he exulted in the success with which he could baffle nightly 
 the malice of his superior. But, however docile, the patience 
 and forbearance of Guernache availed him little. They did not 
 tend to mitigate the annoyances which he was constantly com- 
 pelled to endure. We are now to recall a portion of the preceding 
 narrative, and to remind our reader of the visit which Captain 
 Albert paid to the territories of Ouade, and the generous hospi- 
 talities of the King thereof. Guernache had been one of the 
 party, and the absence of several days had been a serious loss to 
 him in the delightful intercourse with his dusky bride. He might 
 naturally hope, after his return from a journey so fatiguing, to be 
 permitted a brief respite from his regular duties. But this was 
 not according to the policy of his malignant superior. Some 
 hours were consumed after arriving at the fort, in disposing of the 
 provisions which had been obtained. In this labor Guernache 
 had been compelled to partake with others of his companions. 
 Whether it was that he betrayed an unusual degree of eagerness 
 in getting through his task showing an impatience to escape 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 67 
 
 which his enemy detected and resolved to baffle, cannot now be 
 said ; but to his great annoyance and indignation, he was bur- 
 dened with a portion of the watch for the night a duty which 
 was clearly incumbent only upon those who had not shared in the 
 fatigues of the expedition. But to expostulate or repine was 
 alike useless, and Guernache submitted to his destiny with the 
 best possible grace. The provisions were stored, the gates closed, 
 the watches set, and the garrison sunk to sleep, leaving our 
 unhappy musician to pace, for several hours, the weary watch 
 along the ramparts. How he looked forth into the dense forests 
 which harbored his Monaletta ! How he thought of the weary 
 watch she kept ! What were her fears, her anxieties ? Did she 
 know of his return ? Did she look for his coming ? The garrison 
 slept the woods were mysteriously silent ! How delightful it 
 would be to surprise her in the midst of her dreams, and answer 
 to her murmurs of reproach uttered in the sweetest fragmen- 
 tary Gallic " Monaletta ! I am here ! Here is your own 
 Guernache !" 
 
 The temptation was perilously sweet ! The suggestion was 
 irresistible ; and, in a moment of excited fancy and passion, 
 Guernache laid down his piece, and leaped the walls of the for- 
 tress. He committed an unhappy error to enjoy a great happiness, 
 for which the penalties were not slow to come. In the dead of 
 midnight, the garrison, still in a deep sleep, they were suddenly 
 aroused in terror by the appalling cry of " fire !" The fort, the 
 tenements in which they slept, the granary, which had just been 
 stored with their provisions, were all ablaze, and our Frenchmen 
 woke in confusion and terror, unknowing where to turn, how to 
 work, or what to apprehend. Their military -stores were saved 
 their powder and munitions of war but the " mils and beanes," 
 
68 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 SO recently acquired from the granaries of King Ouade, with the 
 building that contained them, were swept in ashes to the ground. 
 This disaster, full of evil in itself, was productive of others, as 
 it led to the partial discovery of the secret of our drummer. 
 Guernache was not within the fort when the alarm was given. It 
 is not improbable that, had he not left his post, the conflagration 
 would have been arrested in time to save the fort and its provi- 
 sions. His absence was noted, and he was discovered, approach- 
 ing from the forests, by those who bore forth the goods as they 
 were rescued from the flames. These were mostly friends of 
 Guernache, who would have maintained a generous silence ; but, 
 unhappily, Pierre Benaud was also one of the discoverers. This 
 person not only bore him no good will, though gratitude for the 
 service rendered him at the feast of Toya should have bound him 
 forever to the cause of Guernache, but he was one who had be- 
 come a gross sycophant and the mere creature of the governor. 
 He knew the hatred which the latter bore to Guernache, and a 
 sympathizing nature led him promptly to divine the cause. Over- 
 joyed with the discovery which he had made, the base fellow im- 
 mediately carried the secret to his master, and when the first con- 
 fusion was over, which followed the disaster, Guernache was taken 
 into custody, and a day assigned for his trial as a criminal. To 
 him was ascribed the fire as well as desertion from his post. The 
 latter fact was unquestionable the former was inferred. It 
 might naturally be assumed, indeed, that, if the watch had not 
 been abandoned, the flames could not have made such fearful 
 headway. It was fortunate for our Frenchmen that the inter- 
 course maintained with the Indians had been of such friendly 
 character. With the first intimation of their misfortune, the 
 kings, Audusta and Maccou, bringing with them a numerous train 
 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OP RIBAULT. 69 
 
 of followers, came to assist them in the labor of restoration and 
 repair. " They uttered unto their subjects the speedy diligence 
 which they were to use in building another house, showing unto 
 them that the Frenchmen were their loving friends and that they 
 had made it evident unto them by the gifts and presents which 
 they had received ; protesting that he whosoever put not his 
 helping hand to the worke with all his might, should be esteemed 
 as unprofitable." The entreaties and commands of the two kings 
 were irresistible. But for this, our Huguenots, " being farre from 
 all succours, and in such extremitie," would have been, in the 
 language of their own chronicler, " quite and cleane out of all 
 hope." The Indians went with such hearty good will to the work, 
 and in such numbers, that, in less than twelve hours, the losses 
 of the colonists were nearly all repaired. New houses were built ; 
 new granaries erected ; and, among the fabrics of this busy pe- 
 riod, it was not forgotten to construct a keep a close, dark, 
 heavy den of logs, designed as a prison, into which, as soon as his 
 [ndian friends had departed, our poor fiddler, Gruernache, was 
 :hrust, neck and heels ! The former were rewarded and went 
 ; iway well satisfied with what they had seen and done. They little 
 i Conjectured the troubles which awaited their favorite. He was 
 ; oon brought to trial under a number of charges disobedience of 
 rders, neglect of duty, desertion of his post, and treason ! To 
 11 of these, the poor fellow pleaded " not guilty ;" and, with one 
 xception, with a good conscience. But he had not the courage 
 ) confess the truth, and to declare where he had been, and on 
 -hat mission, when he left the fort, on the night of the fire. He 
 ad committed a great fault, the consequences of which were 
 srious, and might have been still more so ; and the pleas of in- 
 triable good conduct, in his behalf, and the assertion of his inno- 
 
70 
 
 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 cencc of all evil intention, did not avail. His judges were not his 
 friends; lie was found guilty and remanded to his dungeon, to 
 await the farther caprices and the judgment of his enemy. 
 
 
VI. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE DUNGEON AND THE SCOURGE; 
 
 Being the continuation of the melancholy Legend of Guernache. 
 
 THE absence of Guernache from his usual place of meeting 
 with Monaletta, brought the most impatient apprehension to the 
 heart of the devoted woman. As the time wore away as night 
 after night passed without his coming, she found the suspense 
 unendurable, and gradually drew nigh to the fortress of the 
 Huguenots. More than once had he cautioned her against in- 
 curring a peril equally great to them both. But her heart was 
 already too full of fears to be restrained by such dangers as he 
 alone could have foreseen ; and she now lurked about the fort at 
 nightfall, and continued to hover around long after dawn, keep- 
 ing watch upon its walls and portal. So close and careful, how- 
 ever, was this watch, that she herself remained undetected. 
 One day, however, to her great satisfaction, one of the inmates 
 came forth whom she knew to be a friend and associate of Guer- 
 nache. This was one Lachane, affectionately called La, Chere* 
 
 * The names are thus written by Laudonniere in Hakluyt; But in 
 Charlevoix there is only one given to this personage, and that is " La- 
 
72 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 by the soldiery, by whom he was very much beloved. Lachane 
 was a sergeant, a good soldier, brave as a lion, but with as tender 
 a heart, when the case required it, as ever beat in human bosom. 
 He had long since learned to sympathize with the fate of Guer- 
 nache, and had made frequent attempts to mollify the hostile 
 feelings of his captain, in behalf of his friend. To the latter he 
 had given much good counsel ; and, but for his earnest entrea- 
 ties and injunctions, he would have revealed to Albert the true 
 reason for the absence of Guernache from his post. But Guer- 
 nache dreaded, as well he might, that the revelation would only 
 increase the hate and rage of his superior, and, perhaps, draw 
 down a portion* of his vengeance upon the head of the unoffend- 
 ing woman. Lachane acquiesced in his reasoning, and was 
 silent. But he was not the less active in bringing consolation, 
 whenever he could, to the respective parties. He afforded to 
 Monaletta, whose approach to the fort he suspected, an oppor- 
 tunity of meeting with him ; and their interviews, once begun, 
 were regularly continued. Day by day he contrived to convey 
 to her the messages, and to inform her of the condition of the 
 prisoner ; to whom, in turn, he bore all necessary intelligence, 
 and every fond avowal which was sent by Monaletta. But the 
 loving and devoted wife was not satisfied with so frigid a mode 
 of intercourse ; and, in an evil hour, Lachane, whose own heart 
 was too tender to resist the entreaties of one so fond, was per- 
 suaded to admit her within the fort, and into the dungeon of 
 Guernache. We may censure his prudence and hers, but who 
 shall venture to condemn either ? The first visit led to a second, 
 the second to a third, and, at length, the meetings between the 
 lovers took place nightly. Lachane, often entreating, often ex- 
 horting, was yet always complying. Monaletta was admitted 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 73 
 
 at midnight, and conducted forth by the dawn in safety ; and 
 thus meeting, Guernache soon forgot his own danger, and was 
 readily persuaded by Monaletta to believe that she stood in 
 none. The hours passed with them as with any other children, 
 who, sitting on the shores of the sea, in the bright sunset, see 
 not the rising of the waters, and feel not the falling of the night, 
 until they are wholly overwhelmed. They were happy, and in 
 their happiness but too easily forgot that there was such a person 
 as Captain Albert in their little paradise. 
 
 But the pitcher which goes often to the well, is at last broken. 
 They were soon destined to realize the proverb in their own 
 experience. Something in the movements of Lachane, awakened 
 the suspicions of Pierre Renaud, whose active hostility to Guer- 
 nache has been shown already. This man now bore within the 
 fortress the unenviable reputation of being the captain's spy upon 
 the people. This miserable creature, his suspicion's once 
 awakened, soon addressed all his abilities to the task of detecting 
 the connection of Lachane with his prisoner ; and it was not 
 long before he had the malignant satisfaction of seeing him 
 accompany another into the dungeon of Guernache. Though it 
 was after midnight when the discovery was made, it was of a kind 
 too precious to suffer delay in revealing it, and he hurried at once 
 to the captain's quarters, well aware that, with such intelligence 
 as he brought, he might safely venture to disturb him at any 
 hour. But his eagerness did not lessen his caution, and every 
 step was taken with the greatest deliberation and care. Albert 
 was immediately aroused ; but, unwilling, by a premature alarm, 
 to afford the offenders an opportunity to escape, or to place 
 themselves in any situation to defy scrutiny, some time was lost 
 in making arrangements. The progress of Albert, and his 
 4 
 
74 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 satellites, going the rounds, was circuitous. The sentries were 
 doubled with singular secrecy and skill. Such soldiers as were 
 conceived to be most particularly bound to him, were awakened, 
 and placed in positions most convenient for action and observa- 
 tion ; for Albert and Renaud, alike, conscious as it would seem 
 of their own demerits, had come to suspect many of the soldiers 
 of treachery and insurrection. These, perhaps, are always the 
 fears most natural to a tyranny. Accordingly, with everything 
 prepared for an explosion of the worst description, Captain Albert, 
 in complete armor, made his appearance, upon the scene. 
 
 Meantime, however, the proceedings of Renaud had not been 
 carried on without, at length, commanding the attention and 
 awakening the fears of so good a soldier as Lachane. Having 
 discovered, on his rounds, that the guards were doubled, and that 
 the sentinel at the sally-port had not only received a companion, 
 but that the individual by whom Monaletta had been admitted 
 was now removed to make way for another, he hurried away to 
 the dungeon of Guernache. Here, whispering hurriedly his 
 apprehensions, he endeavored to hasten the departure of the 
 Indian woman. But his efforts were made too late. He was 
 arrested, even while thus busied, by the Commandant himself, 
 who, followed by Renaud and two other soldiers, suddenly came 
 upon him from the rear of the building, where they had been 
 harboring in ambush. Lachane was taken into immediate custody. 
 An uproar followed, the alarm was given to the garrison, torches 
 were brought, and Guernache, with the devoted Moualetta, were 
 dragged. forth together from the dungeon. She was wrapped up 
 closely in the cloak of Lachane, but when Renaud waved a torch 
 before her eyes, in order to discover who she was, she boldly 
 threw aside the disguise, and stood revealed to the malignant 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 75 
 
 scrutiny of the astonished but delighted despot. Upon beholding 
 her, the fury of Albert knew no bounds. The secret of Guer- 
 nache was now apparent ; and the man whose vanity she had 
 outraged, by preferring another in the dance, was now in full 
 possession of the power to revenge himself upon both offenders. 
 In that very moment, remembering his mortification, he formed 
 a resolution of vengeance, which declared all the venom of a 
 mean and malignant nature. He needed no art beyond his own 
 to devise an ingenious torture for his victim. A few words suf- 
 ficed to instruct the willing Renaud in the duty of the executioner. 
 He commanded that the Indian woman should be scourged from 
 the fort in the presence of the garrison. Then it was that the 
 sullen soul of Guernache shuddered and succumbed beneath his 
 tortures. With husky and trembling accents, he appealed to his 
 tyrant in behalf of the woman of his heart. 
 
 " Oh ! Captain Albert, as you are a man, do not this cruel 
 thing. Monaletta is innocent of any crime but that of loving 
 one so worthless as Guernache. She is my wife ! Do with me 
 as you will, but spare her have mercy on the innocent woman !" 
 
 " Ah ! you can humble yourself now, insolent. I have found 
 the way, at last, to make you feel. You shall feel yet more. I 
 will crush you to the dust. What, ho ! there, Pierre Renaud ! 
 Have I not said ? the lash ! the lash ! Wherefore do ye linger ?" 
 
 " Do not, Captain Albert ! I implore you, for your own sake, 
 do not lay the accursed lash upon this young and innocent crea- 
 ture. Remember ! She is a woman a princess a blood rela- 
 tion of our good friend, King Audusta. Upon me upon my 
 back bestow the punishment, but spare her spare her, in 
 mercy!" 
 
 But the prayers and supplications of the wretched man were 
 
76 THH LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 met only by denunciation and scorn. The base nature of Albert 
 felt only his own mortification. His appetite for revenge dark- 
 ened his vision wholly. He saw neither his policy nor humanity ; 
 and the creatures of his will were not permitted to hesitate in 
 carrying out his brutal resolution. Armed with little hickories 
 from the neighboring woods, they awaited but his command, and 
 with its repeated utterance, the lash descended heavily upon the 
 uncovered shoulders of the unhappy woman. With the first stroke, 
 she bounded from the earth with a piercing shriek, at once of 
 entreaty, of agony, and horror. Up to this moment, neither she, 
 nor, indeed, any of the spectators, except Renaud, and possibly 
 Guernache himself, had imagined that Albert would put in execu- 
 tion a purpose so equally impolitic and cruel. But when the blow 
 fell upon the almost fair and * naked shoulders of the woman 
 when her wild, girlish, almost childlike shriek rent the air, then 
 the long suppressed agonies of Guernache broke forth in a passion 
 of fury that looked more like the excess of the madman than the 
 mere ebullition, however intense, of a simply desperate man. 
 He had struggled long at endurance. He had borne, hitherto, 
 without flinching, everything in the shape of penalty which 
 his petty tyrant could fasten upon him much more, indeed, 
 than the ordinary nature, vexed with frequent injustice, is 
 willing to endure. But, in the fury and agony of that 
 humiliating moment, all restraints of prudence or fear were 
 forgotten, or trampled under foot. He flung himself loose from 
 the men who held him, and darting upon the individual by whom 
 the merciless blow had been struck, he felled him to the earth by 
 a single blow of his Herculean fist. But he was permitted to do 
 no more. In another instant, grappled by a dozen powerful 
 arms, he was borne to the earth, and secured with cords which 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 77 
 
 not only bound his limbs but were drawn so tightly as to cut re- 
 morselessly into the flesh. Here he lay, and his agony may be far 
 more easily conceived than described, thus compelled to behold 
 the further tortures of the woman of his heart, without being 
 able to struggle and to die in her defence. His own tortures 
 were forgotten, as he witnessed hers. In vain would his ears have 
 rejected the terrible sound, stroke upon stroke, which testified th 
 continuance of this brutal outrage upon humanity. "Without 
 mercy was the punishment bestowed; and, bleeding at every 
 blow from the biting scourge, the wretched innocent was at 
 length tortured out of the garrison. But with that first shriek 
 to which she gave utterance, and which declared rather the 
 mental horror than the bodily pain which she suffered from 
 such a cruel degradation, she ceased any longer to acknowledge 
 her suffering. Oh ! very powerful for endurance is the strength 
 of a loving heart! The rest of the punishment she bore with 
 the silence of one who suffers martyrdom in the approving eye of 
 heaven ; as if, beholding the insane agonies of Guernache, she 
 had steeled herself to bear with any degree of torture rather 
 than increase his sufferings by her complaints. In this manner, 
 and thus silent under her own pains, she was expelled from the 
 fortress. She was driven to the margin of the cleared space by 
 which it was surrounded. She heard the shouts which drove her 
 thence, and heard nothing farther. She had barely strength to 
 totter forward, like the deer with a mortal hurt, to the secret cover 
 of the forest, when she sank down in exhaustion ; nature kindly 
 interposing with insensibility, to save her from those physical 
 sufferings which she could no longer feel and live ! 
 
 With the morning of the next day, Guernache was brought 
 before the judgment-seat of Albert. The charges were sum- 
 
78 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 ciently serious under which he was arraigned. Ho had neglected 
 his duty had permitted, if not caused, the destruction of the 
 fort by fire had violated the laws, resisted their execution, and 
 used violence against the officer of justice ! In this last proven 
 offence all of these which had been alleged were assumed against 
 him. He was convicted by the rapid action of 'his superior, as a 
 traitor and a mutineer ; and, to the horror of his friends, and the 
 surprise of all his comrades, was 'condemned to expiate his faults 
 by death upon the gallows. Few of the garrison had anticipated 
 so sharp a judgment. They knew that Gruernache had been 
 faulty, but they also knew what had been his provocations. They 
 felt that his faults had been the fruit of the injustice under which 
 he suffered. But they dared not interpose. The prompt severity 
 with which Captain Albert carried out his decisions the merciless 
 character of his vindictiveness discouraged even remonstrance. 
 Guernache, as we have shown, was greatly beloved, and had many 
 true friends among his people ; but they were taken by surprise ; 
 and, so much stunned and confounded by the rapidity with which 
 events had taken place, that they could only look on the terrible 
 proceedings with a mute and self-reproachful horror. The transi- 
 tion from the seat of judgment to the place of execution was 
 instantaneous. Gruernache appealed in vain to the justice of 
 Ribault, whose coming from France was momently expected. 
 This denied, he implored the less ignoble doom of the sword or 
 the shot, in place of that upon the scaffold. But it did not suit 
 the mean malice of Albert to omit any of his tortures. Short 
 was the shrift allowed the victim ; ten minutes for prayer and 
 sure the cord which stifled it forever. In deep horror, in a 
 hushed terror, which itself was full of horror, his gloomy com- 
 rades gathered at the place of execution, by the commands of 
 
THE LEGEND OF GUERNACHE. 79 
 
 their petty despot. There was no concert among them, by which 
 the incipient indignation and fury in their bosoms might have de- 
 clared itself in rescue and commotion. One groan, the involun- 
 tary expression of a terror that had almost ceased to breathe, 
 answered the convulsive motion which indicated the last struggle 
 of their beloved comrade.* Then it was that they began to feel 
 that they could have died for him, and might have saved him. 
 But it was now too late ; and prudence timely interposed to 
 prevent a rash explosion. The armed myrmidons of Albert 
 were about them. He, himself, in complete armor, with his 
 satellite, Pierre Renaud, also fully armed, standing beside him ; 
 and it was evident that every preparation had been made to quell 
 insubordination, and punish the refractory with as sharp and 
 sudden a judgment as that which had just descended upon their 
 comrade. 
 
 The poor Monaletta, crouching in the cover of the woods, 
 recovered from her stupor in the cool air of the morning, but it 
 was sunset before she could regain the necessary strength to 
 move. Then it was, that, with the natural tendency of a loving 
 heart, curious only about the fate of him for whom alone her 
 heart desired life, she bent her steps towards that cruel fortress 
 which had been the source of so much misery to both. Very 
 feeble and slow was her progress, but it was still too rapid ; it 
 brought her too soon to a knowledge of that final blow which fell, 
 with worse terrors than the scourge, upon the soul. She arrived 
 
 * Says Charlevoix : " II pendit lui-meme un soldat, qui n'avoit point 
 merite la mort, il en degrada un autre des arms avec aussi peu de justice, 
 puis ii Pexila, et Ton crut que son dessein etoit de le laisser mourir de 
 faim et de misere, etc." But we must not anticipate the revelations of the 
 text. 
 
80 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 in season to behold the form of the unfortunate Guernache, 
 abandoned by all, and totally lifeless, waving in the wind from 
 the branches of a perished oak, directly in front of the fortress. 
 The deepest sorrows of the heart are those which are born dumb. 
 There are some woes which the lip can never speak, nor the pen 
 describe. There are some agonies over which we draw the veil 
 without daring to look upon them, lest we freeze to stone in the 
 terrible inspection. There is no record of that grief which 
 seized upon the heart of the poor Indian woman, Monaletta, as 
 she gazed upon the beloved but unconscious form of her husband. 
 She approached it not, though watching it from sunset till the 
 gray twilight lapsed away into the denser shadows of the night. 
 But, with the dawn of day, when the Frenchmen looked forth 
 from the fortress for the body of their comrade, it had disappeared. 
 They searched for it in vain. From that day Monaletta disap- 
 peared also. She was neither to be found in the neighboring 
 woods, nor among the people of her kindred. But, long after- 
 wards they told, with shuddering and apprehension, of a voice 
 upon the midnight air, which, resembled that of their murdered 
 comrade, followed always by the piercing shriek of a woman, 
 which reminded them of the dreadful utterance of the Indian 
 woman, when first smitten upon the shoulders by the lash of the 
 ruffian. Thus endeth the legend of Guernache, and the Princess 
 Monaletta. 
 
VII, 
 
 LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 
 
 BUT the sacrifice of Guernache brought no peace to the colony 
 Our Huguenots were scarcely Christians. They were of a rude, 
 wild temper, to which the constant civil wars prevailing in France 
 had brought a prejudicial training. Our chronicler tells us no- 
 thing of their devotions. We hear sometimes that they prayed, 
 but rather for the benefit of the savages than their own. Their 
 public religious services were ostentatious ceremonials, designed to 
 impress the red-men with an idea of their superior faith and wor- 
 ship. Laudonniere, who writes for them, and was one of their 
 number, seldom deals in a religious phraseology, which he might 
 reasonably be expected to have done as one of a people leaving 
 their homes for the sake of conscience. But there is good reason 
 to suppose that, with our Huguenots, as in the case of the New 
 England Puritans, the idea of religion was more properly the idea 
 of party. It was a struggle for political power that moved the 
 Dissenters, as well in France as England, quite as much as any 
 feeling of denial or privation on the score of their religion. This 
 pretext was made to justify a cause which might have well found 
 its sanction in its intrinsic merits ; but which it was deemed politic 
 
 to urge on the higher grounds of conscience and duty to God. 
 
 4* 
 
82 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Certain it is that we do not anywhere see, in the history of the 
 colony established by Coligny, any proofs of that strong devotional 
 sentiment which has been urged as the motive to its estab- 
 lishment. Doubtless, this was a prevailing motive, along with 
 others, for Coligny himself; but the adventurers chosen to begin 
 the settlement for the reception of the persecuted sect in Florida, 
 were evidently not very deeply imbued with religion of any kind. 
 They were a wild and reckless body of men, whose deeds were 
 wholly in conflict with the pure and lovely profession of sentiment 
 which has been made in their behalf. How far their deeds are to 
 be justified by the provocations which they received, and the tyr- 
 annies which they endured, may be a question ; but there can be 
 no question with regard to the general temper which they exhi- 
 bited the tone of their minds the feelings of their hearts by 
 all of which they are shown as stubborn, insubordinate and selfish. 
 It is not denied that they had great provocation to violence ; but 
 Laudonniere himself admits that they were, in all probability, 
 "not so obedient to their captain as they should have been." 
 " Misfortune," he adds, " or rather the just judgment of God 
 would have it that those which could not bee overcome by fire nor 
 water, should be undone by their ownselves. This is the common 
 fashion of men, which cannot continue in one state, and had 
 rather to overthrow themselves, than not to attempt some new 
 thing dayly." 
 
 Not only was no peace in the colony after the execution of 
 Guernache, but the evil spirit, in the mood of Captain Albert, 
 was very far from being laid. " His madness," in the language 
 of the chronicler, " seemed to increase from day to day." He 
 was not content to punish Guernache ; he determined to extend 
 his severities to the friends and associates of the unhappy victim. 
 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 83 
 
 Some of these he only frowned upon and threatened ; but hia 
 threats were apt to be fulfilled. Others he brought up for 
 punishment ; sympathy with his enemy, being a prime offence 
 against the dignity and safety of our petty sovereign. Among 
 those who had thus rendered themselves obnoxious, Lachane was 
 necessarily a conspicuous object. In the same unwise and violent 
 spirit in which he had pursued Guernache, Captain Albert was 
 determined to proceed against this man, who was really equally 
 inoffensive with Guernache, and quite as much beloved among 
 the people. But the aspect of the two cases was not precisely 
 the same. The friends of Lachane, warned by the fate of Guer- 
 nache, were somewhat more upon their guard, more watchful 
 and suspicious, and inclined to make the support and mainte- 
 nance of the one, a tribute to the manes of the other. Besides, 
 Pierre Renaud, who had some how been the deadly enemy of 
 Guernache, had no hostility to Lachane. The latter, too, had 
 not so singularly offended the amour propre of Captain Albert, 
 by his successful rivalry among the damsels of Audusta. They 
 had not so decidedly shown the preference for him as they had 
 for the fiddler, over his superior. No doubt he was preferred, for 
 he, too, like Guernache, was a person very superior in form and 
 physiognomy to Albert. But, if they felt any preference for the 
 former, they had not so offensively declared it, as the indiscreet 
 Monaletta had done ; and, with these qualifying circumstances, 
 in his favor, Lachane was brought up for judgment. His offence, 
 such as it was, did not admit of denial. Some palliation was 
 attempted by a reference to the claims of Guernache, the excel- 
 lence of his character, his usefulness, and the general favor he 
 had found equally among the red-men and his own people. 
 These suggestions were unwisely made. They censured equally 
 
84 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the justice and the policy of the tyrant, and thus irritated anew 
 his self-esteem. He thought himself exceedingly merciful, 
 accordingly, in banishing the offender, whom it was just as easy 
 and quite as agreeable to him, to hang. Lachane was accordingly 
 sentenced to perpetual exile to a desert island along the sea. To 
 this point he was conducted in melancholy state, by the trusted 
 creatures of the despot. 
 
 It is not known to us at the present day, though the matter is 
 still, probably, within the province of the antiquarian, to which of 
 the numerous sea islands of the neighborhood the unhappy man 
 was banished. It was one divided from the colony, and from the 
 main, by an arm of the sea of such breadth, and so open to the 
 most violent action of the waves, that any return of the exile by 
 swimming, or without assistance from his comrades, was not ap- 
 prehended or hoped for. His little desolate domain is described 
 as about three leagues from Fort Charles, as almost entirely bar- 
 ren, a mere realm of sand, treeless and herbless, without foliage 
 sufficient to shelter from sun and storm, or to provide against fa- 
 mine by its fruits. Should this island ever be identified with 
 that of Lachane 's place of exile, it should receive his name to 
 the exclusion of every other. 
 
 Here, then, hopeless and companionless, was the unhappy vic- 
 tim destined to remain, until death should bring him that escape 
 which the mercy of his fellows had denied. Yet he was not to 
 be abandoned wholly ; a certain pittance of provisions was allowed 
 him that he might not absolutely die of famine. This allowance 
 was calculated nicely against his merest necessities. It was to be 
 brought him on the return of every eighth day, and this period 
 was that, accordingly, on which, alone, could he be permitted to 
 gaze upon the face of a fellow being and a countryman. 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 85 
 
 Certainly, a more cruel punishment, adopted in a mere wan- 
 ton exercise of despotic power, could not have been devised for 
 any victim by the ingenuity of any superior. Death, even the 
 death by which Guernache had perished, had been a doom more 
 merciful ; for if, as was the case, the colonists at Fort Charles 
 themselves had already begun to find their condition of solitude 
 almost beyond endurance if they, living as they did together, 
 cheered by the exercise of old sports and homely converse, the 
 ties and assurances of support and friendship, the consciousness 
 of strength duties which were necessary and not irksome, and 
 the interchange of thoughts which enliven the desponding tem- 
 per ; if, with all these resources in their favor, they had sunk 
 into gloomy discontent, eager for change, and anxious for the re- 
 turning vessels of Ribault, that they might abandon for their old, 
 the new home which they found so desolate ; what must have 
 been the sufferings and agonies of him whom they had thus ban- 
 ished, even from such solace as they themselves possessed un- 
 cheered even by the familiar faces and the well-known voices of 
 his fellows, and deprived of all the resources whereby ingenuity 
 might devise some methods of relief, and totally unblessed by any 
 of those exercises which might furnish a substitute for habitual 
 employments. No sentence, more than this, could have shown 
 to our Frenchmen so completely the utter absence of sympathy 
 between themselves and their commander; could have shown how 
 slight was the value which he put upon their lives, and with what 
 utter contempt he regarded their feelings and affections. Albert 
 little drqamed how actively he was at work, while thus feeding his 
 morbid passions, in arousing the avenging spirit by which they 
 were to be scourged and punished. 
 
 These rash and cruel proceedings of their chief produced a 
 
86 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 great and active sensation among the colonists a sensation not 
 the less deep and active, because a sense of their own danger kept 
 them from its open expression. Had Albert pardoned Lachane, 
 or let him off with some slight punishment, it is not improbable 
 that the matter would have ended there ; and the cruel proceed- 
 ings against Guernache might have been forgiven if not forgotten. 
 But these were kept alive by those which followed against their 
 other favorite ; and some of the boldest, feeling how desperate 
 their condition threatened to become, now ventured to expostu- 
 late with their superior upon his wanton and unwise severities. 
 But they were confounded to find that they themselves incurred 
 the danger of Lachane, in the attempt to plead against it. It 
 was one of the miserable weaknesses in the character of Captain 
 Albert, to suppose his authority in danger whenever he was ap- 
 proached with the language of expostulation. To question his 
 justice seemed to him to defy his power to entreat for mercy, 
 such a showing of hostility as to demand punishment also. He 
 resented, as an impertinence to himself, all such approaches ; and 
 his answer to the prayers of his people was couched in the lan- 
 guage of contumely and threat. They retired from his presence 
 accordingly, with feelings of increased dislike and disgust, and 
 with a discontent which was the more dangerous as they suc- 
 ceeded most effectually in controlling its exhibition. 
 
 But if such was the state of the relations between Albert and 
 his people, how much worse did they become, when, at the close 
 the first eighth day after the banishment of Lachane, it was discov- 
 ered that the orders for providing him with the allowance of food 
 had been suspended, or countermanded. The captain was silent ; 
 and no one, unless at his bidding, could venture to carry the 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 87 
 
 poor exile his allotted pittance. The eighth day passed. The 
 men murmured among themselves, and their murmurs soon en- 
 couraged the utterance of a "bolder voice. Nicholas Barre, a 
 man of great firmness and intelligence, one of their number, at 
 length presented himself before the captain. He boldly reminded 
 him of the condition of Lachane, and urged him to hasten his 
 supplies of food before he perished. But the self-esteem and 
 consequence of Albert, under provocation, became a sort of mad- 
 ness. He answered the suggestion with indignity and insult. 
 
 "Begone!" he exclaimed, "and trouble me no more with 
 your complaints. What is it to me if the scoundrel does perish ? 
 I mean that he shall perish ! He deserves his fate ! I shall be 
 glad when ye can tell me that he no longer needs his allowance. 
 Away ! you deserve a like punishment. Let me hear another 
 word on this subject, and the offender shall share his fate !" 
 
 The insulting answer was accompanied by all the tokens 
 of brute anger and severity. The most furious oaths suf- 
 ficed equally to show his insanity and earnestness. His, in- 
 deed, was now an insanity such as seizes usually upon those 
 whom God is preparing for destruction. Barre deemed it only 
 prudent to retire from the presence of a rage which it was no 
 longer politic to provoke ; but, in his soul, the purpose was 
 already taking form and strength, which contemplated resistance 
 to a tyranny so wild and reckless. He was not alone in this 
 purpose. The sentiment of resistance and disaffection was 
 growing all around him, and it only needed one who should 
 embody it for successful exercise. But, for this, time was requi- 
 site. To decide for action, on the part of a conspiracy, it is 
 first required that what is the common sentiment shall become 
 the common necessity. 
 
88 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 u Meanwhile," said Barre, " our poor comrade must not 
 starve !" 
 
 This was said to certain of his associates when they met that 
 night in secret. When two or three get together to complain of 
 a tyranny, resistance is already begun. They echoed his senti- 
 ments, and arrangements were at once made for transmitting pro- 
 visions to the exile. A canoe was procured for this purpose, 
 and Barre, with one other comrade, set forth secretly at mid- 
 night on their generous and perilous mission. 
 
 The night was calm and beautiful the sea, unruffled by a 
 breeze, lay smooth as a mirror between the lonely island and the 
 main. Though barren, and without shrub or tree, the island 
 looked lovely also a very realm of faery, in the silver smiling 
 of the moon. With active and sinewy limbs, cheered by the 
 sight, our adventurous comrades pulled towards it, reaching it 
 with little effort, the current favoring their course. What, how- 
 ever, was their surprise and consternation, when, on reaching the 
 islet, there was no answer to their summons. Drawing their 
 boat upon the shore, they soon compassed the little empire with 
 hasty footsteps ; but they found nothing of the exile. The islet 
 lay bare and bright in the unshadowed moonlight, so that, whe- 
 ther asleep or dead, his prostrate form must still have been 
 perceptible. What bewildering imaginations seized upon the 
 seekers ? What had become of their comrade ? Had he been 
 carried off by the savages, by a foreign vessel, or, in his des- 
 peration, had he cast himself into the devouring sea ? What 
 more probable ? Yet, as there was no answer to their question- 
 ing, there was no solution of their doubts. Hopeless of his fate, 
 after a frequent and a weary search, and dreading the worst, they 
 re-entered their canoe, and re-crossed the bay in safety their 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 89 
 
 hearts more than ever filled with disgust and indignation at the 
 cruelty and malice of their commander. 
 
 But their quest was not wholly hopeless. When they had 
 reached the main, and while approaching the garrison, they were 
 greatly surprised by the sudden appearance of a human form 
 between the fortress and the river. They remembered the poor 
 Guernache, and, for a moment, a fearful superstition fastened 
 upon their hearts. At first, the fugitive seemed to be approach- 
 ing them ; but, in an instant, wheeling about, as if in panic, he 
 darted into the woods, and sought concealment in the thicket. 
 This re-inspired them. They gave chase instantly. The efforts 
 of the pursued were feebly made, and they soon overtook him. 
 To their great relief and surprise, they found him to be the per- 
 son they had been seeking the banished and half-starved La- 
 chane ! 
 
 His story was soon told. He was nearly perished of hunger. 
 Beyond the crude berries and bitter roots which he had gathered 
 in the woods, he had not eaten for three days. The food which 
 had been furnished him from the garrison had been partly carried 
 from him by birds or beasts he knew not which while he 
 slept ; and,in the failure of his promised supplies,he had become 
 desperate. 
 
 " For that matter," said the wretched exile, " I had become 
 desperate before. Food was not my only or my chief want. I 
 wanted shade from the desolating sun. I wanted rescue from 
 the heavy hand of fire upon my brain ; and, by day, I could 
 scarcely keep from quenching the furnace that seemed boiling in 
 my blood, by plunging deep down into the bowels of the sea. By 
 night, when the fiery feeling passed away, then I yearned, above 
 all, for the face and voice of man. It was this craving whic 1 
 
90 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 made me resolve to brave the death which threatened me which- 
 ever way I turned that, if I perished, it should still be in tha 
 struggle once more to behold the people of my love." 
 
 How closely did they press the poor fellow to their hearts ! 
 
 " You should not have perished," said Nicholas Barre, boldly 
 " I, for one, have become tired of this tyranny, under which we 
 no longer breathe in safety. I am resolved to bear it no longer 
 than I can. There are others who have resolved like me. But 
 of this hereafter. Tell us, Lachane, how you contrived to swim 
 across this great stretch of sea ?" 
 
 " By the mercy of God which made me desperate which 
 made the seas calm which gave me a favoring current, and 
 which threw yon fragment of a ship's spar within my reach. 
 But I nearly sunk. Twice did I feel the waters going over me ; 
 but I thought of France, and all, and the strength came back to 
 me. I can say no more. I am weak very weak. Give me to 
 eat.'' 
 
 A flask of generous wine with which they had provided them- 
 selves, cheered and inspirited the sufferer. They laid him down 
 at the foot of a broad palmetto, while one of them brought 
 food from the canoe. Much it rejoiced them to see him eat. 
 Ere he had satisfied his hunger, Lachane spoke again as follows : 
 
 " I rejoice to hear that you, and others, have resolved to sub- 
 mit no longer to this tyranny. It was not the desire of food, or 
 friendship, only, that strengthened me to throw myself into the 
 sea, in the desperate desire to see the garrison once more. But 
 while my head flamed beneath the sun's downward blaze upon that 
 waste of sand, while mine eyes burned like living coals fresh from 
 the furnace, and my blood leaped and bounded like a mad thing 
 about my temples and in all my veins, I saw all the terrible suffer- 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 91 
 
 ings of our poor Gruernaehe anew. I heard his voice his bitter 
 reproaches and then the terrible scream of the poor Indian wo- 
 man when the heavy rods descended upon her shoulder. Then I 
 felt that I had not done what my soul commanded ! that I had 
 abandoned my innocent comrade like a lamb to the butcher. I 
 swore to do myself justice to seek the garrison at Fort Charles, 
 if, for no other purpose, to have revenge upon Albert. I verily 
 believe, mes amis, that it was that oath that strengthened me in 
 the sea that lifted me when the waves went over me, and my 
 heart was sinking with my body. I thought of the blows which 
 might yet be struck for vengeance and freedom. I thought of 
 Guernache and his murderer, and I rose, I struck out. I had 
 no fear ! I got a strength which I had not at the beginning ; 
 and I am here ; the merciful Grod be praised forever more 
 ready to strike a fair blow at the tyrant, though I die the moment 
 after !" 
 
 " That blow must now be struck very soon," said Nicholas 
 Barre. " We are no longer safe. Albert rules us just as it 
 pleases him, by his mere humor, and not according to the laws or 
 usages of France. Every day witnesses against him. Some new 
 tyranny some new cruelty adds hourly to our afflictions, and 
 makes life, on such terms, endurable no longer. We are not men 
 if we submit to it." 
 
 " Hear me," said Lachane ; u you have not laid the plan for 
 his overthrow ?" 
 
 " Not yet ! But we are ready for it. All's ripe. The pro- 
 per spirit is at work." 
 
 " Let it work ! All right ; but look you, comrades, it is for 
 this hand to strike the blow. I demand the right, because Guer- 
 
92 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 nache was my closest friend. I demand it in compensation for 
 my own sufferings." 
 
 " It is yours, Lachane ! You have the right !" 
 " Thanks, mes amis ! And now for the plan. You have re- 
 solved on none yourselves. Hearken to mine." 
 
 They lent willing ears, and Lachane continued. His counsel 
 was that Captain Albert should be advised of an unusual multi- 
 tude of deer on one of the " hunting islands" in the neighbor- 
 hood. These islands are remarkable some of them for the 
 luxuriance and beauty of their forests. Here, the deer were 
 accustomed to assemble in great numbers, particularly when 
 pressed by clouds of Indian hunters along the main ; nor were 
 they loth to visit them at other seasons, when the tides were low 
 and the seas smooth. Swimming across the dividing rivers, and 
 arms of the sea, at such periods, in little groups of five or ten, 
 they found here an almost certain refuge and favorite browsing 
 patches. To one of these islands, Barre, or some other less ob- 
 jectionable person, was to beguile Captain Albert. His fondness 
 for the chase was known, and was gratified on all convenient 
 occasions. He was to be advised of numerous herds upon the 
 island, which passed to it the night before. They had been seen 
 crossing in the moonlight from the main. Lachane, meanwhile, 
 possessing himself of the canoe which his friends had just em- 
 ployed, armed with weapons which they were to provide, was to 
 place himself in a convenient shelter upon the island, and take 
 such a position as would enable him to seize upon the first safe 
 opportunity for striking the blow. Numerous details, not neces- 
 sary for our purpose, but essential to that of the conspirators, 
 were suggested, discussed, and finally agreed upon, or rejected. 
 Lachane simply concluded with repeating his demand for the 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 93 
 
 privilege of the first blow a claim farther insisted upon, as, in 
 the event of failure, he who had already incurred the doom of 
 outlawry, and had offended against hope, might thus save others 
 harmless, who occupied a position of greater security. We need 
 not follow the arrangement of the parties. Enough, that, when 
 they were discussed fully, the three separated Barre and his 
 companion to regain the fort, and Lachane to embark in the 
 canoe, ere day should dawn, for the destined islet where he was 
 equally to find security and vengeance. 
 
 Everything succeeded to the wishes of the conspirators. Albert, 
 who was passionately fond of the chase, was easily persuaded by 
 the representations of Barre and his comrades. The pinnace 
 was fitted out at an early hour, and, attended by the two con- 
 spirators, and some half dozen other persons, the greater number 
 of whom were supposed to be as hostile to the tyrant as them- 
 selves, the Captain set forth, little dreaming that he should be 
 the hunted instead of the hunter. Pierre Renaud, by whom he 
 was also accompanied, was the only person of the party upon 
 whom he could rely. But neither his creature nor himself had 
 the slightest apprehension of the danger. The jealousies of the 
 despot seemed for the moment entirely at rest, and, as if in the 
 exercise of a pleasant novelty, Albert threw aside all the terrors 
 of his authority. He could jest when the fit was on him. He, 
 too, had his moments of play ; a sort of feline faculty, in the 
 exercise of which the cat and the tiger seem positively amiable. 
 His jests were echoed by his men, and their laughter gratified 
 him. But there was one exception to the general mirth, which 
 arrested his attention. Nicholas Barre alone preserved a stern, 
 unbroken composure, which the gay humor of his superior failed 
 entirely to overcome. Nothing so much vexes superiority as 
 
94 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 that it should condescend in vain ; and the silence and coldness 
 of Barre, and the utter insensibility with which he heard the 
 good things of his captain, and which occasioned the ready 
 laughter of all the rest, finally extorted a comment from Albert, 
 which gave full utterance to his spleen. 
 
 " By my life, Lieutenant Barre," such was the rank of this 
 conspirator " but that I know thee better, I should hold thee to 
 be one of those unhappy wretches to whom all merriment is a 
 hateful thing to whom a clever jest gives offence only, and 
 whom a cheerful laugh sends off sullenly to bed. Pray, if it 
 be not too serious a humor, tell us the cause of thy present 
 dullness." 
 
 " Verily, Captain Albert," replied the person addressed, fixing 
 his eyes steadily upon him, and speaking in the most deliberate 
 accents, " I was thinking of the deer that we shall strike to-day. 
 Doubtless, he is even now making as merry as thyself among his 
 comrades little dreaming that the hunter hath his thoughts 
 already fixed upon the choice morsels of his flanks, which, a few 
 hours hence, shall be smoking above the fire. Truly, are we but 
 little wiser than the thoughtless deer. The merriest of us may 
 be struck as soon. The man hath as few securities from the 
 morrow as the beast that runs." 
 
 Captain Albert was not the most sagacious tyrant in the world, 
 or the moral reflections of our conspirator might have tended to 
 his disquiet. He saw no peculiar significance in the remark, 
 though the matter of it was all well remembered, when the sub- 
 sequent events came to be known. Little, indeed, did the victim 
 "ihen dream of the fate which lay in wait for him. He laughed 
 at the shallow reflection of Barre, which seemed so equally mis- 
 timed and unmeaning, and his merriment increased with every 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 95 
 
 stroke of the oar which sent the pinnace towards the scene chosen 
 for the tragedy. All his severities were thrown aside ; never had 
 he shown himself more gracious ; and, though his good humor 
 was rather the condescension of one who is secure in his authority, 
 and can resume his functions at any moment, than the proof o* 
 any sympathy with his comrades, yet he seemed willing for one 
 that it should not lose any of its pleasant quality by any frequem 
 exhibition of his usual caprice. But for an occasional sarcasm 
 in which he sometimes indulged, and by which he continued to 
 keep alive the antipathies of the conspirators, the gentler mood 
 in which he now suffered them to behold him, might have rendered 
 them reluctant to prosecute their purpose. They might have 
 relented, even at the last moment, had they been prepared to 
 believe that his present good humor was the fruit of any sincere 
 relentings in him. But he did not succeed to this extent, and, 
 with a single significant look to his comrades, the stern Nicholas 
 Barre showed to them that he, at least, was firm in the secret 
 purpose which they had in view. His silence and gravity for a 
 time served to amuse his superior, who exercised his wit at the 
 expense of the sullen soldier, little dreaming, all the while, at 
 what a price he should be required to pay for his temporary 
 indulgence. But as Barre continued in his mood, the pride of 
 the haughty superior was at length hurt ; and, when they reached 
 the shore, the insolence of Albert had resumed much of its old 
 ascendancy. 
 
 Albert was the first to spring to land. He was impatient to 
 begin the chase, of which he was passionately fond. The sport, 
 as conducted in that day and region, was after a very simple 
 fashion. It consisted rather in a judicious distribution of the 
 hunters, at various places of watch, than in the possession of any 
 
96 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 particular skill of weapon or speed of foot. The island was 
 small the woods not very dense or intricate, and the only outlet 
 of escape was across the little arm of the sea which separated 
 the island from the main. The hunters were required to watch 
 this passage, with a few other avenues from the forest. We need 
 not observe their order or arrangement. It will be enough to 
 note that Barre chose as the sentinel left in charge of the boat 
 one of the firmest of the conspirators. This was a person named 
 Lamotte a small but fiery spirit a man of equal passion and 
 vindictiveness, who had suffered frequent indignities from Albert, 
 which his own inferior position as a common soldier had compelled 
 him to endure without complaint. But he was not the less sensi- 
 ble of his hurts, because not suffered to complain of them ; and 
 his hatred only assumed a more intense and unforgiving character, 
 because it seemed cut off from all the outlets to revenge. 
 
 The arrangements of the hunters all completed, they began to 
 skirt slowly the woody region by which the centre of the island 
 was chiefly occupied. Gradually separating as they advanced, 
 they finally, one by one, found their way into its recesses. A 
 single dog which they carried with them, was now unleashed, and 
 his eager tongue very soon gave notice to the hunters that their 
 victim was afoot. As the bay of the hound became more 
 frequent, the blood of Albert became more and more excited, 
 and, pressing forward, in advance of all his companions, the 
 sinuosities of the route pursued soon scattered the whole party. 
 But this he did not heed. The one consciousness, that which 
 appealed to his love of sport, led to a forgetfulness of all others ; 
 and it was no disquiet to our captain to find himself alone in 
 forests where he had never trod before, particularly when his 
 eager eye caught a glimpse of a fine herd of the sleek-skinned 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 97 
 
 foresters, well-limbed, and nobly-headed, darting suddenly from 
 cover into the occasional openings before him. A good shot was 
 Captain Albert. He fired, and had the joy to see tumbled, head- 
 long, sprawling, in his tracks, one of the largest bucks of the 
 herd. He shouted his delight aloud ; shouted twice and clapped 
 his hands ! 
 
 His shouts were echoed, near at hand, by a voice at once 
 strange and familiar ! His instinct divined a sudden danger in 
 this strange echo. He stopped short, even as he was about to 
 bound forward to the spot in which the deer had fallen. Another 
 shout ! but this was to his companions ! He was now confound- 
 ed at the new echo and the fearful vision which this summons 
 conjured up. At his side, and in his very ears, rose another 
 shout a shriek rather much louder than his own a wild, in- 
 describable yell, which sent a thrill of horror through his soul. 
 At the same instant, a gaunt, wild man a half-naked, half- 
 famished form darted from the thicket and stood directly before 
 him in his path ! 
 
 " Ho ! Ho ! Ho !" howled the stranger. 
 
 " Guernache !" was the single word, forced from the guilty 
 soul of ihe criminal ! 
 
 " Guernache ! Yes ! Guernache, in his friend Lachane ! 
 Both are here ! See you not ? Look ! Ho ! Captain Albert, 
 look and see, and make yourself ready. Your time is short. 
 You will hang and banish no longer !" 
 
 Wild with exulting fury was the face of the speaker terrible 
 the language of his eyes threatening the action of the uplifted 
 arm. A keen blade flashed in his grasp, and the discovery which 
 Albert made, that, in the wild man before him, he saw the person 
 whom he had so wantonly and cruelly decreed to perish, sufficed 
 
98 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 to make him nerveless. The surprise deprived him of resource, 
 while his guilty conscience enfeebled his arm, and took all courage 
 from his soul. His match-lock was already discharged. The 
 couteau de ckasse was at his side ; but, before this could be drawn, 
 he must be hewn down by the already uplifted weapon of his foe. 
 Besides, even if drawn, what could he hope, by its employment, 
 against the superior muscle and vigor of Lachane ? These 
 thoughts passed with a lightning-like rapidity through the brain 
 of Albert. He felt that he had met his fate ! He shrunk back 
 from its encounter, and sent up a feeble but a painful cry for his 
 creature, " Pierre E-enaud !" 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! you cry for him in vain !" was the mocking answer 
 of Lachane. " Renaud, that miserable villain that wretch 
 after thy own heart and fashion hath quite as much need of 
 thee as thou of him ! Ye will serve each other never more to the 
 prejudice of better men. Hark ! hear you not ? Even now 
 they are dealing with him !" ' 
 
 And, sure enough, even as he spoke, the screams of one in 
 mortal terror, interrupted by several heavy blows in quick succes- 
 sion, seemed to confirm the truth of what Lachane had spoken. 
 In that fearful moment Albert remembered the words, now full of 
 meaning, which Nicholas Barre had spoken while they set forth. 
 The hunter had indeed become the hunted. Lachane gave him 
 little time for meditation. 
 
 " They have done with him ! Prepare ! To your knees, Cap- 
 tain Albert ! I give you time to make your peace with Grod 
 such time as you gave my poor Gruernache ! Prepare !" 
 
 But, though Albert had not courage for combat, he yet found 
 strength enough for flight. He was slight of form, small, and 
 tolerably swift of foot. Flinging his now useless firelock to the 
 
LACHANE, THE DELIVERER. 99 
 
 ground, lie suddenly darted off through the forests, with a degree 
 of energy and spirit which it tasked all the efforts of the less 
 wieldy frame of Lachane to approach. Life and death were on 
 the event, and Albert succeeded in gaining the beach where the 
 boat had been left before he was overtaken. But Lamotte, to 
 whom the boat had been given in charge, pushed off, with a 
 mocking yell of laughter, at his approach ! His cries for succor 
 were unheeded. Lamotte himself would have slain the fugitive 
 but that he knew Lachane had claimed for himself this privilege. 
 His spear had been uplifted as Albert drew nigh the water, but 
 the shout of Lachane, emerging from the woods, warned him to 
 desist. He used the weapon to push the pinnace into deep wa- 
 ter, leaving Albert to his fate ! 
 
 " Save me, Lamotte !" was the prayer, of the tyrant in his 
 desperation, urged with every promise that he fancied might prove 
 potent with the soldier. But few moments were allowed him for 
 entreaty, and they were unavailing. Lamotte contented himself 
 with looking on the event, ready to finish with his spear what 
 Lachane might leave undone. Albert gazed around him, and as 
 Lachane came, with one shriek of terror, darted into the sea. 
 The avenger was close behind him. The water rose to the waist 
 and finally to the neck of the fugitive. He turned in supplica- 
 tion, only to receive the stroke. The steel entered his shoulder, 
 just below the neck. He staggered and fell forwards upon the 
 slayer. The blade snapped in the fall, and the wounded man 
 sunk down irretrievably beneath the waters. Lachane raised the 
 fragment of his sword to Heaven, while, with something of a 
 Roman fervor, he ejaculated 
 
 " Guernache ! dear friend, behold ! the hand of Lachane hath 
 avenged thee upon thy murderer !" 
 
VIII. 
 
 FLIGHT, FAMINE, AND THE BLOODY FEAST OF THE 
 FUGITIVES. 
 
 THE assassination of Captain Albert restored peace, at least, 
 to the little colony of Fort Charles. He had been the chief dan- 
 ger to the garrison, by reason of his vexatious tyranny, fomented 
 ever by the miserable malice and espionage of Pierre Renaud. 
 Both of these had perished, and a sense of new security filled the 
 hearts of the survivors. They had also gratified all revenges. 
 The sequel of the narrative may be told, almost in the very 
 words of the simple chronicle from which our facts are mostly 
 drawn. 
 
 " When they (the conspirators^) were come home againe, they 
 assembled themselves together to choose one to be Governor over 
 them. 5 ' In this selection there was no difficulty. Jealousies and 
 dissensions had ceased to exist, and the choice naturally fell upon 
 Nicholas Barre,* whose former position, as Lieutenant under Al- 
 bert, and whose recent connection with the party by which he 
 
 * " II fallut songer ensuite a lui donner un successeur, et le choix que 
 'on fit, fut plus sage, qu'on ne devoit Pattendre de gens, dont les mains 
 fumoient encore du sang de leur Chef. Us mirent a leur tete un fort hon- 
 nete homme, nomme Nicholas Barre, lequel par son adresse et sa prudence 
 retablit en peu de terns la paix et le bon ordre dans la colonie." Charle- 
 voix y JV. Fran., Liv. 1. 
 
FLIGHT AND FAMINE. 101 
 
 was slain, had naturally given him a large influence among the co- 
 lonists. He was equal to his new duties. He " knewe so well to 
 quite himself of this charge that all rancour and dissentiou 
 ceased among them, and they lived peaceably one with another." 
 But, though harmony was restored among them, it was a harmo- 
 ny without hope. They had been abandoned by their country- 
 men. The supplies which Ribault had promised them had 
 utterly failed. They had never, indeed, been levied. Ribault 
 returned to France only to find it convulsed with a renewal of the 
 civil war, under the auspices of that incarnate mischief, Cathe- 
 rine de Medicis, and her fatherless and cruel son, in whose name 
 she swayed the country to its ruin. Coligny, the father of the 
 colony, had enough to do in fighting the battles of the Huguenots 
 at home. He could do nothing for those whom he had sent 
 abroad. The peace of Longjumean had been of short duration, 
 and there had been really no remission of hostilities on the part 
 of the Catholics. In the space of three months more than two 
 thousand of the former fell victims to the rage of the populace ; 
 and, though reluctantly, the Prince of Conde and Coligny were 
 forced into a resumption of arms for the safety of their own per- 
 sons. The immediate necessities of their situation were such as 
 to defeat their efforts in behalf of the remote settlement at Fort 
 Charles. They needed all their soldiers and Huguenots in 
 France. Feeling themselves abandoned they knew not why 
 the colonists in Florida ceased to behold a charm or solace in 
 their solitary realm of refuge. Its securities were no longer suf- 
 ficient to compensate for its loneliness. Better the strife, per- 
 haps, than this unmeaning and unbroken silence. They were too 
 few for adventure, and the discouragements resulting from their 
 domestic grievances were enough to paralyze any such spirit. 
 
102 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 But for this there had been no lack of the necessary inducement* 
 In their second voyage to King Ouade, seeking " mil and beans," 
 they had learned some of the secrets of the country which made 
 their eyes brighten. They had discovered that there was gold in 
 the land, and that the gold of the land was good. This prince 
 had freely given them of his treasure. He had bestowed on 
 them pearls of the native waters, stones of finest chrystal, and 
 certain specimens of silver ore, which he described, in reply to 
 their eager inquiries, as having been gathered at the foot of cer- 
 tain high mountains, the bowels of which contained it in greatest 
 quantity. These were the mountains of Apalachia, and the truth 
 of Ouade 's revelations have been confirmed by subsequent dis- 
 covery. The intelligence had greatly gladdened the hearts of our 
 Frenchmen, and nothing but the feebleness of the garrison pre- 
 vented Albert from prosecuting a search which promised so 
 largely to gratify the lusts of avarice. His subsequent errors and 
 fate put an end to the desire among his followers. They longed 
 for nothing now so much as home. They had been temporarily 
 abandoned by the Indians whose granaries they had emptied, and 
 who had been compelled to wander off to remote forests in search 
 of their own supplies. The gloom of the Frenchmen naturally 
 increased in the absence of their allies, who had furnished them 
 equally with food and recreation. Their provisions again began 
 to fail them. Their resources in corn and peas were quite ex- 
 hausted ; and no more could be procured from the red-men, who 
 had preserved a supply barely sufficient for the planting of their 
 little fields. In this condition of want, with this feeling of des- 
 titution and abandonment, it was resolved among the Huguenots, to 
 depart the colony. With a fond hope once more of recovering 
 the shores of that country, still most beloved, which had so 
 
FLIGHT AND FAMINE. 103 
 
 unkindly cast them forth, they began to build themselves a 
 vessel sufficiently large to bear their little company. " And 
 though there were no men among them," says the chronicle, 
 " that had any skill, notwithstanding, necessitye, which is the 
 maistresse of all sciences, taught them the way to build it." 
 But how were they to provide the sails, the tackle and the 
 cordage ? " Having no meanes to recover these things they were 
 in worse case than at the first, and almost ready to fall into 
 despayre." They were succored, when most desponding, by the 
 help of Providence. " That good God, which never forsaketh 
 the afflicted, did favor them in their necessitie." The Indians, 
 who had been for some time absent, seeking, by the chase, in 
 distant forests, to supply themselves with provisions in place of 
 those which they had yielded to the white men, now began to re- 
 appear ; and, in the midst of their perplexities, they were visited 
 by the Caciques, Audusta and Maccou, with more than two 
 hundred of their followers. These, our Frenchmen went forth to 
 meet, with great show of satisfaction ; and had they been suffi- 
 ciently re-assured by the return of their red friends had they 
 not been too much the victims of nostalgia^ or homesickness, the 
 cloud might have passed from their fortunes, and the little colony 
 might have been re-established under favoring auspices. But 
 their only thought was of their native land. They declared their 
 wishes to the Indian chieftains, and, showing in what need of 
 cordage they stood, they were told that this would be provided 
 in the space of a few days. The Caciques kept their word, and, 
 in little time, brought an abundance of cordage. But other 
 things were wanted, and " our men sought all meanes to recover 
 rosen in the woodes, wherein they cut the pine trees round about, 
 out of which they drew sufficient reasonable quantitie to bray the 
 
104 THH LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Vessel. Also they gathered a kind of mosse, which groweth on 
 the trees of this countrie, to serve to caulke the same withall. 
 There now wanted nothing but sayles, which they made of their 
 own shirtes and of their sheetes." Thus provided with the things 
 requisite, our Frenchmen hastened to finish their brigantine, and 
 " used so speedie diligence," that they were soon ready to launch 
 forth upon the great deep. They gave to their Indian friends all 
 their surplus goods and chattels, leaving to them all the merchan- 
 dise of the fort which they could not take away ; a liberality 
 which gave the red-men the " greatest contentation in the 
 worlde." But they re-embarked their forge, their artillery and 
 other munitions of war. Unhappily, they were too impatient to 
 begin their journey. In the too sanguine hope of reaching 
 France, with a speed proportioned to their eager desires, they 
 laid in no adequate provision for a long voyage. " In the meane 
 season the wind came so fit for their purpose, that it seemed to 
 invite them to put to sea. Being drunken with the too excessive 
 joy which they had conceived for their returning into France, or 
 rather deprived of all foresight and consideration : without 
 regarding the inconsistencie of the winds which change in a 
 moment, they put themselves to sea, and, with so slender victuals, 
 that the end of their enterprise became unlucky and unfortunate." 
 They had not sailed a third part of the distance, when they 
 were surprised with calms, which so much hindered their progress 
 that, during the space of three weeks, they had not advanced 
 twenty-five leagues. In this period their provisions underwent 
 daily diminution. In a short time their stock had sunk so low 
 that it was necessary to limit the allowance to each man. We 
 may conceive their destitution from this allowance. "Twelve 
 grains of mill by the day, which may be in value as much as 
 
FLIGHT AND FAMINE. 105 
 
 twelve peason !" But even this poor quantity was not long con- 
 tinued. It was " a felicity," in the language of the chronicle, 
 which was of brief duration. Soon the " mill " failed them 
 entirely all at once and they " had nothing for their more 
 assured refuge, but their shoes and leather jerkins, which they 
 did eate." But their misfortune was not confined to their food. 
 Their supplies of fresh water failed them also. Never had 
 adventurers set forth upon the seas with such wretched provision. 
 Their beverage finally became the water of the ocean the thirst- 
 provoking brine. Such beverage as this increased their miseries 
 atrophy and madness followed and death stretched himself 
 out among them on every side. Nor were they suffered to escape 
 from the most painful toils while thus contending against thirst 
 and famine. Their wretched vessel sprang a-leak. The water 
 grew upon them. Day and night were they kept busy in casting 
 it forth, without cessation or repose. Each day added to their 
 griefs and dangers. Their shoes and jerkins they had already 
 devoured in their desperation, and where to look for other mate- 
 rial to supply the materiel of distension, puzzled their thoughts. 
 While thus distressed by their anxieties, with their comrades 
 dying about them, a new danger assailed them, as if fortune was 
 resolved to crush them at a blow, and thus conclude their miseries. 
 The winds rose, the seas were lashed into fury by the storm. 
 Their vessel, no longer buoyant, "in the turning of a hand" 
 shipped a fearful sea, and was nearly swamped " filled halfe full 
 of water, and bruised in upon the one side." This was the las 
 drop in the cup of misfortune which finally makes it overflow. 
 Then it was that the hearts of our Frenchmen sunk utterly within 
 them. They no longer cared to contend for life. They gave 
 themselves up to despair. a Being now more out of hope than 
 
106 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 ever to escape out of this extreme peril, they cared not for cast- 
 ing out of the water which now was almost ready to drown them ; 
 and as men resolved to die, everie one fell downe backwarde, and 
 gave themselves over, altogether unto the will of the waves." 
 
 It was at this moment of extreme despondency, that Lachane 
 tried to cheer them with new hope, and to new exertions. He 
 encouraged them by various assurance, to hold out against fate, 
 and struggle manfully to the last. He told them " how little 
 way they had to sayle, assuring them that if the winde helde, 
 they should see land within three dayes." " At worst," he added, 
 " we can die when we can do no better. It will be always time 
 enough for that. But this necessity is not now. We can surely 
 put it off for some time longer. At present, let us live !" 
 
 Speaking thus, in the most cheerful manner, the brave fellow 
 set them a proper example by which to dissipate their fears and 
 to provide against them. He began to bail and cast out the water 
 in which, in their extreme indifference to their fate, they either 
 sat or lay. They took heart as they beheld him, and joined in 
 the labor with new vigor, and that elastic spirit which is so char- 
 acteristic of Frenchmen. But, when the three days had gone 
 by, and still their eyes were unblessed with the sight of the pro- 
 mised land when they had consumed every remnant of shoe and 
 jerkin, and nothing more was left them to consume, they turned 
 their eyes in bitter reproach upon the man who had persuaded 
 them to live. He met their reproachful glances with a smile 
 and instantly devised a remedy for their fears and weaknesses, 
 through one of those terrible thoughts which, at any other period, 
 would revolt, with extremest loathing, the humanity of the man, 
 however little human. 
 
 " My comrades !" said the noble fellow, " you hunger you 
 
FLIGHT AND FAMINE, 107 
 
 Starve ! You will perish unless you can get some food. I see it 
 in your eyes. They have no lustre, and the courage seems to 
 have gone out entirely from your hearts. You must not die ! 
 You must not lose your courage. You shall not. You shall 
 drink life and courage out of my breast. I have enough there 
 for all who thirst and faint. You shall feed upon my heart 
 you shall drink the blood of a brave man, and live for your friends 
 and country. I have few friends, and my country can spare me. 
 Better that one of us should die than that all should perish. I 
 am ready to die for you ! What ! You shake your heads you 
 would not have it so but it shall be so ! You have loved me 
 you have suffered for me. Well, Lachane loves you in return 
 he will die for you. You shall remember him hereafter, when 
 our own dear France receives you again in safety. You will 
 bless his memory !" 
 
 A groan was the only reply of those around him. Lachane 
 threw open his breast. 
 
 " There !" he cried ; " Look ! I am ready ! I fear net death. 
 Strike ! See you not, my bosom is open to the knife. My hand 
 is down there !" grasping the seat upon which he sate, 
 " There ! it shall not be lifted to arrest the blow !" 
 
 The famished wretches looked with wolfish yearnings upon the 
 white breast of the offered sacrifice ; but there was still a human 
 revolting in their hearts that kept them moveless and silent. 
 They longed for the horrible banquet, but still turned from it with 
 a lingering human loathing. But Lachane was resolute. 
 
 "Ah!" said he, reproachfully; "you fear you would not 
 that I should die in this manner ; but, mes amis, you know me not. 
 You know not how it will glad my heart to know that its dying 
 pulse shall add new life to yours Here, Lafourche, G-enet you are 
 
108 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 both beside me. You are the feeblest. You are dying fast. 
 You thirst ; another day and you perish ! You have a mother, 
 Genet a dear sister, Lafourche why will you not live for them ? 
 Lo ! you, now, when I strike the blow, do you both clap your 
 mouths upon the wound. Drink freely drink deep that you 
 may have strength and let the rest drink after you. There ! 
 my braves ! there." 
 
 With each of these last words, the brave fellow thence called 
 " Lachane, the Deliverer" struck two fatal blows, one upon his 
 heart, and one upon his throat. He leaned back between the 
 two famished persons whom he had especially addressed, and, 
 while the consciousness was yet in the eyes of the dying man, 
 they sprang like thirsting tigers, and fastened their mouths upon 
 each streaming orifice. The victim, smarting and conscious to 
 the last, sunk in a few seconds, into the sacred slumber of death. 
 This heroism saved the rest. He had struck with a firm hand and 
 a resolute spirit. In his death they lived. Slow to accept his 
 proffered sacrifice^ he was scarcly cold, ere the survivors fast- 
 ened upon his body ; and, ere the last morsel of the victim was 
 consumed, they had assurances of safety.* 
 
 It seemed as if expiation had been done ; as if the sacrifice had 
 purged their offences and made them acceptable to heaven. The 
 land rose upon their vision, a glimpse like that of salvation to 
 
 * Lest we should be suspected of exaggeration we quote a single sen- 
 tence from the condensed account in Charlevoix ; " Lachau, celui 1& 
 meme, que la Capitaine Albert avoit exile, apres 1'avoir degrade des 
 armes, de"clara qu'il vouloit bien avancer sa mort, qu'il croyoit inevitable, 
 pour reculer de quelques jours celle de ses compagnons. II fut pris au 
 mot, et on 1'Sgorgea sur le champ, sans qu'il fit la moindre resistance. U 
 ne fut pas perdu une goute de son sang, tous en burent avec aviditt, le 
 corps fut mis en pieces, et chacun en eutsapart." 
 
PLIGHT AND FAMINE. 109 
 
 the doomed one, a sight " whereof they were so exceeding glad, 
 that the pleasure caused them to remain a long time as men with- 
 out sense ; whereby they let the pinnesse floate this and that 
 way without holding any right way or course. n While thus wan- 
 dering, in sight of France, but still at the mercy of the winds and 
 waves, they were boarded by an English vessel. Here they were 
 recognized by a Frenchman who happened to be t>ne of the crew 
 that had accompanied Ribault in his voyage. The most feeble 
 were put upon the coast of France ; the rest were taken to Eng- 
 land, with the design that Queen Elizabeth, who meditated send- 
 ing an expedition to Florida, might have the benefit of their 
 report. 
 
IX. 
 
 THE SECOND EXPEDITION OF THE HUGUENOTS TO 
 FLORIDA. 
 
 The Fortress of La Caroline and the Colony of Laudonniere. 
 
 THUS, unhappily, as we have seen, ended the first experiment 
 of Coligny for the establishment of a Huguenot colony in the 
 territory of the Floridian. The disasters which had attended 
 the fortunes of the garrison at Fort Charles, were due, in some 
 degree,, to its seeming abandonment by their founder. But 
 Coligny was blameless in this abandonment. When Ribault 
 returned to France, from his first voyage, the civil wars had 
 again begun, depriving the admiral of the means for succoring 
 the colony, as had been promised. Nearly two years had now 
 elapsed from that period, before he could recover the power 
 which would enable him to send supplies or recruits for its main- 
 tenance. In all this time, with the exception of the small domain 
 occupied by Fort Charles, the country lay wholly derelict, and 
 in the keeping of the savages. But Coligny was now in a con- 
 dition to resume his endeavors in behalf of his colony. He 
 was again in possession of authority. The assassination 
 of the Duke of Guise had restored to France the blessings of 
 peace ; and Coligny seized upon this interval of repose, to in- 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION. Ill 
 
 quire after the settlement which had been made by Ribault. 
 Three ships, and a considerable amount of money, were accorded 
 to his application ; and the new armament was assigned to the 
 command of Rene Laudonniere a man of intelligence, a good 
 seaman rather than a soldier, and one who had accompanied 
 Ribault on his first expedition, though he had not remained with 
 the colony.* Laudonniere found it easy enough to procure his 
 men, not only for the voyage but the colony. The civil wars had 
 produced vast numbers of restless and destitute spirits, who 
 longed for nothing so much as employment and excitement. 
 Besides, there was a vague attraction for the imagination, in the 
 tales which had reached the European world, of the wondrous 
 sweetness and beauty of the region to which they were invited. 
 Florida still continued, even at this period, to be the country 
 beyond all others in the new world, which appealed to the fancies 
 and the appetites of the romantic, the selfish, and the merely 
 adventurous. Ribault's own account of it had described the 
 wondrous sweetness of its climate, and the exquisite richness and 
 variety of its fruits and flowers. Then, there were the old dreams 
 which had beguiled the Spanish cavalier, Hernando de Soto, and 
 had filled with the desires and the hopes of youth, the aged 
 heart of Juan Ponce de Leon. It did not matter if death did 
 keep the portals of the country. This guardianship only seemed 
 the more certainly to denote the precious treasures which were 
 concealed within. In the absence of any certain knowledge, 
 men dreamed of spoils within its bowels, such as had been 
 yielded to Cortes and Pizarro, by the great cities and teeming 
 mountains of Tenochtitlan and Peru. They had heard true 
 
 * Charlevoix describes Laudonniere as '* un gentilhomme de merite 
 bon officier de marine, et qui avoit meme servi sur terre avec distinction. 
 
112 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 stories of its fruits and flowers ; of its bland airs, so friendly to 
 the invalid ; of its delicious fountains, in which healing and joy 
 lay together in sweet communion. It was the region in which, 
 according to tradition, life enjoyed not only an exquisite, but an 
 extended tenure, almost equalling that of the antediluvian ages. 
 Its genial atmosphere was supposed to possess properties particu- 
 larly favorable to the prolongation of human life. Laudonniere 
 himself tells us of natives whom he had seen who were certainly 
 more than two hundred and fifty years old, and yet, who enter- 
 tained a reasonable hope of living fifty or a hundred years 
 longer. These may have been exaggerations, but they are such 
 as the human imagination loves to indulge in. But there was 
 comparative truth in the assertion. Portions of the Floridian 
 territory are, to this day, known to be favorable to health and 
 longevity in a far greater degree than regions in other respects 
 more favored ; and, in the temperate habits, the hardy exercises, 
 the simple lives of the red-men, unvexed by cares and anxieties, 
 and unsubdued by toils, they probably realized many of the 
 alleged blessings of a golden age. But the attractions of this 
 region were not estimated only with respect to attractions such 
 as these. The fountains of the marvellous which had been 
 opened by the great discoverers, Columbus and Cortes, Balboa 
 and Pizarro, were not to be quickly closed. The passion for 
 adventure, in the exploration of new countries, made men easy 
 of belief; and any number of emigrants were prepared to 
 accompany our second Huguenot expedition. The armament of 
 Laudonniere was ready for sea, and sailed from France on the 
 22d April, 1564.* A voyage of two months brought the voy- 
 
 * It was much superior to that originally sent out with Ribault. " On 
 lui donna des ouvriers habiles dans tous les arts, &c. 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION. 113 
 
 agers to the shores of New France, which they reached the 
 25th of June, 1564. The land made was very nearly in the 
 same latitude as in the former expedition. It was a favorable 
 period for seeing the country in all its natural loveliness ; and 
 the delight of the voyagers may be imagined, when, at May 
 River, they found themselves welcomed by the Indians, such of 
 the whites particularly as were recognized to have been of tho 
 squadron of Ribault. The savages hailed them as personal 
 friends and old acquaintances. When they landed, they were 
 eagerly surrounded by the simple and delighted natives, men 
 and women, and conducted, with great ceremonials, to the spot 
 where Ribault had set up a stone column, with the arms of 
 France, " upon a little sandie knappe, not far from the mouth 
 of the said river." It was with a pleased surprise that Laudon- 
 niere found the pillar encircled and crowned with wreaths of bay 
 and laurel, with which the affectionate red-men had dressed the 
 stone, in proof of the interest which they had taken in this im- 
 posing memorial of their intercourse with the white strangers. 
 The foot of the pillar was surrounded by little baskets of maize 
 and beans ; and these were brought in abundance, in token of 
 their welcome, and yielded by these generous sons of the forest 
 to their new visitors, at the foot of the pillar which they had thus 
 consecrated to their former friendship. They kissed the column, 
 and made the French do likewise. Their Paracoussy, or king, 
 was named Satouriova, the oldest of whose sons, named Athore, 
 
 que utilite dans une colonie naissante. Quantite" de jeune gens de fa- 
 mille, et plusiers gentilshommes voulurent faire ce voyage a leurs d- 
 pens, et on y joignoit des detachmens de soldats choises dans de vieux 
 corps. UJLdmiral eut soin surtout qu'il n'y eut aucwn, catholique dans cet ar- 
 mament.^ 
 
114 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 is described by Laudonniere as " perfect in beautie." Satou- 
 riova presented Laudonniere with a " wedge of silver"- one of 
 those gifts which by no means lessened the importance of tha 
 giver, or of his country, in the eves of our voyager. His natu- 
 ral inquiry was whence the silver came. 
 
 " Then he showed me by evident signes that all of it came 
 from a place more within the river > by certain days journeyes 
 from this place, and declared unto us that all that which they had 
 thereof, they gat it by force of armes of the inhabitants of this 
 place, named by them Thimogoa, their most ancient and natural 
 enemies, as hee largely declared. Whereupon, when I saw with 
 what affection and passion hee spake when hee pronounced 
 Thimogoa, I understood what he would say ; and to bring myself 
 more into his favour, I promised him to accompany him with all 
 my force, if hee would fight against them : which thing pleased 
 him in such sorte, that, from thenceforth, hee promised himselfe 
 the victorie of them, and assured mee that hee would make a 
 voyage thither within a short space, and would commaund his 
 men to make ready their bowes and furnish themselves with such 
 store of arrows, that nothing should bee wanting to give battaile 
 to Thimogoa. In fine, he prayed me very earnestly not to faile 
 of my promise, and, in so doing, he hoped to procure me golde 
 and silver, in such good quantitie, that mine affaires should take 
 effect according to mine owne and his desire." 
 
 Here then we see cupidity beginning to plant in place of 
 religion. Our Huguenot tells us of no prayers which he made, of 
 no religious services which he ordered, in presence of the savages, 
 for their benefit and his own. But his sole curiosity is to know 
 where the gold grows, and to prompt the evil passions of the red- 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION 115 
 
 men to violence and strife with one another, in order that he may 
 procure the object of his avarice. 
 
 With night, the parties separated, the French retiring to 
 their ships and the Indians to the cover of their forests. But 
 Laudonniere had something more to learn. The next day, 
 " being allured with this good entertainment," the visit was re- 
 newed. " We found him, (the Paracoussy) under shadow of an 
 arbor, accompanied with four-score Indians at the least, and 
 apparelled, at that time, after the Indian fashion ; to wit, with a 
 great hart's skin dressed like chamois, and painted with divers 
 colours, but of so lively a portraiture, and representing antiquity, 
 with rules so justly compassed, that there is no painter so exqui- 
 site that coulde finde fault therewith. The natural disposition of 
 this strange people is so perfect and well guided, that, without 
 any ayd and favour of artes, they are able, by the help of nature 
 onely, to content the eye of artizans ; yea, even of those which, 
 by their industry, are able to aspire unto things most absolute." 
 What Laudonniere means by the paintings of the Indians, 
 " representing antiquity," is not so clear. But it may be well, 
 in this place, to mention that we do not rely here on the opinions 
 of a mere sailor or soldier. In this expedition, Coligny had sent 
 out a painter of considerable merit, named James Le Moyne, 
 otherwise de Morgues, who was commissioned to execute colored 
 drawings of all the objects which might be supposed likely to in- 
 terest the European eye. To this painter are we indebted for 
 numerous pictures of the people and the region, their modes of 
 life, costume and exercises, which are now invaluable. 
 
 The Huguenots left their Indian friends with reluctance. As 
 the ships coasted along the shores, pursuing their way up the 
 river, the word " ami," one of the few French words which the 
 
116 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 simple red-men had retained, resounded, in varied accents, from 
 men and women, who followed the progress of the strangers, 
 running along the margin of the river, as long as the ships con- 
 tinued in sight. The French have not often abused the 
 hospitality of the aborigines. In this respect, they rank much 
 more humanly and honorably than either the English or the 
 Spanish people. With a greater moral flexibility, which yields 
 something to acquire more, they accommodated themselves to the 
 race which they discovered, and, readily conforming to some of the 
 habits of the red-men, acquired an influence over them which the 
 people of no other nation have ever been able to obtain. It was 
 with tears that the simple hunters along May River beheld the 
 vessels of the Frenchmen gradually sinking from their eyes. 
 
 The vessels of Laudonniere passed up the river, himself and 
 parties of his people landing occasionally, to examine particular 
 spots of country. They are everywhere received with kindness. 
 Two of the Indian words " Antipola Bonassou," meaning 
 " Friend and Brother," the French made use of to secure a 
 favorable welcome everywhere. 
 
 Monsieur de Ottigny, a lieutenant of Laudonniere, with a small 
 party, is conducted into the presence of a Cassique, whose great 
 apparent age prompts him to inquire concerning it. " Whereunto 
 he made answer, shewing that he was the first living originall 
 from whence five generations were descended, as he shewed unto 
 them by another olde man that sate directly over against him, 
 which farre exceeded him in age. And this man was his father, 
 which seemed to be rather a dead carkiss than a living body ; for 
 his sinewes, his veines, his arteries, his bones and other partes 
 appeared so cleerely thorow his skinne, that a man might easily tell 
 them and discerne them one from one another. Also his age was so 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION. 117 
 
 great that the goode man had lost his sight, and could not speake 
 one onely word but with exceeding great paine. Monsieur de 
 Ottigni, having scene so strange a thing, turned to the younger of 
 these two olde men, praying him to vouchsafe to answer to him 
 that which he demanded touching his age. Then the olde man 
 called a company of Indians, and striking twise upon his thigh, 
 and laying his hand upon two of them, he shewed him by synes 
 that these two were his sonnes ; again smiting upon their thighes, 
 he shewed him others not so olde which were the children of the 
 two first, which he continued in the same manner until the fifth 
 generation. But, though this olde man had his father alive, more 
 olde than himselfe, and that bothe of them did weare their haire 
 very long and as white as was possible, yet it was tolde them that 
 they might yet live thirtie or fortie yeeres more by the course of 
 nature : although the younger of them both was not lesse than 
 two hundred and fiftie yeeres olde. After he had ended his com- 
 munication he commanded two young eagles to be given to our 
 men, which hee had bred up for his pleasure in his house." 
 
 A fitting gift at the close of such a narrative ! Certainly, a 
 patriarchal family ; and, though we may doubt the correctness 
 of this primitive mode of computing the progress of the sun, 
 there can be no question that the Floridians were distinguished 
 by a longevity wholly unparalleled in modern experience. It is 
 claimed that the anglo- American races who have since occupied 
 the same region, have shared, in some degree, in this prolonged 
 duration of human life. 
 
 While the lieutenant of Laudonniere was thus held in discourse 
 by the aged Indians, his commander was enjoying himself in more 
 luxurious fashion. A particular eminence in the neighborhood 
 of the river had fixed his eye, which he explored. Here he 
 
118 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 reposed himself for several hours. It is pleasant to hear our 
 Frenchman's discourse of the beauty of the spot where his siesta 
 was enjoyed. 
 
 " Upon the top thereof, we found nothing else but cedars, 
 palms, and bay trees, of so sovereign odor, that balm smelleth 
 nothing in comparison. The trees were environed round with 
 vines, bearing grapes in such quantity that the number would 
 suffice to make the place habitable. Touching the pleasure of the 
 place, the sea may be seen plain and open from it ; and more 
 than five leagues off, near the river Belle, a man may behold the 
 meadowes, divided asunder into isles and islets, interlacing one 
 another. Briefly, the place -is so pleasant, that those who are 
 melancholic would be forced to change their humour." 
 
 There is no exaggeration in this. Such is the odor of the 
 shrubs such is the picturesqueness of the prospect. 
 
 Laudonniere departed with great reluctance from a region so 
 favorable to health, so beautiful to the eye, and which promised 
 go abundantly of fruits and mineral treasures. His course lay 
 northwardly, in search of the colony of Captain Albert. He 
 passes the river of Seine, four leagues distant from the May, and 
 continues to the mouth of the Somme, some six leagues further. 
 Here he casts anchor, lands, and is received with, friendly wel- 
 come by the Paracoussy, or king of the place, whom he describes 
 as u one of the tallest and best-proportioned men that may be 
 found. His wife sate by him, which, besides her Indian beautie, 
 wherewith she was greatly endued, had so virtuous a counte- 
 nance and modest gravitie, that there was not one amongst us but 
 did greatly commend her. She had in her traine five of her 
 daughters, of so good grace and so well brought up, that I easily 
 persuaded myself that their mother was their mistresse." 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION. 119 
 
 Here Laudonniere is again presented with specimens of the 
 precious metals, and here we find him already in consultation with 
 his men, touching the propriety of abandoning the settlement of 
 Fort Charles, the fate of which he has heard in his progress 
 from the Indians, for the more attractive regions of the river 
 May. His arguments for this preference, may be given in his 
 own language. 
 
 " If we passed farther to the north to seeke out Port Royall, it 
 would be neither very profitable nor convenient, .... although 
 the haven were one of the fairest of the West Indies : but that, in 
 this case, the question was not so much of the beautie of the place 
 as of things necessary to sustains life. And that for our inhabiting, 
 it was much more needful for us to plant in places plentiful of 
 victual!, than in goodly havens, faire, deepe and pleasante to the 
 view. In consideration whereof, I was of opinion, if it seemed 
 goode unto them, to seate ourselves about the river of May : see- 
 ing also, that, in our first voyage, wee found the same onely, among 
 all the rest, to abounde in maize and corn ; besides the golde and 
 silver that was found there ; a thing that put me in hope of some 
 happie discoverie in time to come" 
 
 Doubtless the last was the conclusive suggestion. The views 
 of Laudonniere were promptly agreed to by his followers ; and, 
 sailing back to the river of May, they reached it at daybreak on 
 .the 29th June. " Having cast anchor, I embarked all my stuffe 
 and the souldiers of my company, (in the pinnace we may sup- 
 pose,) to sayle right towards the opening of the river : wherein 
 we entered a good way up, and found a creeke of a reasonable 
 bignisse which invited us to refresh ourselves a little, while wee 
 reposed ourselves there. Afterward, wee went on shore to seeke 
 
120 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 out a place, plaine, without trees, which wee perceived from the 
 creeke." 
 
 But this spot, upon examination, does not prove commodious, 
 and it was determined to return to a point they had before dis- 
 covered when sailing up the river. " This place is joyning to a 
 mountaine (hill), and it seemed unto us more fit and commodious 
 
 to build a fortresse ; therefore we took our way towards 
 
 the forests Afterwards, we found a large plaine, covered 
 
 with high pine trees, distant a little from the other ; under which 
 we perceived an infinite number of stagges, which brayed amidst 
 the plaine, athwart the which we passed : then we discovered a 
 little hill adjoyning unto a great vale, very greene and in forme 
 flat : wherein were the fairest meadows of the worlde, and grasse 
 to feede cattel. Moreover, it is environed with a great number of 
 brookes of fresh water, and high woodes which make the vale most 
 delectable to the eye." 
 
 Laudonniere names this pleasant region after himself, the " vale 
 of Laudonniere." They pass through it, and, at length, after 
 temporary exhaustion from fatigue and heat, they recover their 
 spirits, and, penetrating a high wood, reach the brink of the river, 
 and the spot which they have chosen for the settlement. 
 
 We have preferred, at the risk of being tedious, to quote these 
 details, in order that the modern antiquarian may, if he pleases, 
 seek for the traces of this ancient settlement. The foundation was 
 not laid without due solemnity. Laudonniere remembers that his 
 people are Christians ; and, at the break of day, on the 30th June, 
 1564, the trumpets were sounded, and our Huguenots were called 
 to prayer. The banks of the May, otherwise the St. Johns,* then 
 
 * " The evidence," says Johnson, however, in an appendix to his life of 
 Greene, " is in favor of the St. Mary's, and would point to the first bluff 
 
SECOND EXPEDITION. 121 
 
 echoed, for the first time, with a hymn of lofty cheer from Eu- 
 ropean voices. 
 
 " There we sang a psalme of thanksgiving unto God." 
 Prayer was made, and, gathering courage from the exercise of 
 their devotions, our Huguenots applied themselves to the duty of 
 building themselves a fortress. In this work they were assisted 
 by the Indians.* A few days sufficed, with this help, to give their 
 fabric form. It was built in the shape of a triangle. " The 
 side towarde the west, which was towarde the lande, was enclosed 
 with a little trench and raised with towers made in forme of a 
 battlement of nine foote high : the other side, which was towarde 
 the river, was inclosed with a palisado of plankes of timber, after 
 the manner that gabions are made. On the south side, there was 
 a kinde of bastion, within which I caused an house for the munition 
 to be built. It was all builded of fagots and sand, saving about 
 two or three foote high with turfes, whereof the battlements were 
 made. In the middest I caused a great court to be made of 
 eighteen paces long and broad ; in the middest whereof, on. the 
 one side, drawing toward the south, I builded a corps de garde, 
 and an house, on the other side, towarde the north." * * * 
 
 on the south side of that river." But this is certainly a mistake. The 
 general conviction now is, that our St. John's was the May River of the 
 French. 
 
 * Jacques de Moyne de Morgues represents the Indian Chief or Para- 
 coussi of the neighborhood, Satouriova by name, as taking great umbrage 
 at the erection of the fortress La Caroline within his dominions ; thus 
 differing from Laudonniere, who describes him and his subjects as 
 cheerfully assisting -in its erection. Charlevoix undertakes to reconcile 
 the difference between them ; but in a manner which would soon leave 
 the chronicle and the historian at the mercy of the merest conjecture. 
 The matter is scarcely of importance. 
 6 
 
122 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " One of the sides that enclosed my court, "which I made very faire 
 and large, reached unto the grange of my munitions : and, on the 
 other side, towarde the river, was mine owne lodgings, round 
 which were galleries all covered. The principal doore of my 
 lodging was in the middest of the great place, and the other was 
 towarde the river. A good distance from the fort, I built an 
 oven." 
 
 It will be an employment of curious interest, whenever the 
 people of Florida shall happen upon the true site of the settlement 
 and structure of Laudonniere, to trace out, in detail, these several 
 localities, and fix them for the benefit of posterity. The work is 
 scarcely beyond the hammer and chisel of some Old Mortality, 
 who has learned to place his affections, and fix his sympathies, 
 upon the achievements of the Fast 
 
X. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 THUS, then, was founded the second European settlement 
 on the Continent of America, The fortress was named LA 
 CAROLINE, in honor of the French monarch, whom it was still 
 the policy of the Huguenots to conciliate. The houses were ot 
 frail structure, and thatched with leaves of the palmetto. The 
 domain was a narrow one, but it was probably sufficiently wide for 
 the genius of Laudonniere. He soon shows himself sensible of all 
 his dignities as the sole representative of his master in the New 
 World. From his own account, he does not appear to have been 
 the proper person for the conduct of so difficult, if not so great, 
 an enterprise. There is no doubt that he was sufficiently brave ; 
 but bravery, unsustained by judgment, is at best a doubtful virtue, 
 and, in a situation of great responsibility, is apt to show itself at 
 the expense of all discretion. The object of the colony of La 
 Caroline was a permanent establishment a place of refuge from 
 persecution where the seeds of a new empire might be 
 planted on a basis which should ensure civil liberty to the citizen. 
 The proper aim of such a settlement should have been security, 
 self-maintenance, and peace with all men. These could only have 
 been found in the economizing of their resources, in the applica- 
 
124 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 tion of all their skill and industry to the cultivation of the soil, 
 and in the preservation of the most friendly relations among the 
 Indians. These, unhappily, were not objects sufficiently ap- 
 preciated by Laudonniere. His first error was that which arose 
 from the universal passion of his time. He had seen the precious 
 metals of the country wedges of silver and scraps of gold 
 which declared the abundance of its treasures, and aroused all his 
 passions for its acquisition. His whole energies were accordingly 
 directed to the most delusive researches. He had scarcely built 
 his fortress before he sent off his exploring expeditions. " I 
 would not lose a minute of an hour," is his language, " without 
 imploying the same in some vertuous exercise," and therefore he 
 despatches his Lieutenant, Ottigny, in seeking for Thimogoa ; that 
 king, hostile to the Paracoussi Satouriova, whom he has pledged 
 himself to the latter to make war upon. Satouriova gives the 
 lieutenant a couple of warriors as guides, who were delighted at 
 the mission, " seeming to goe as unto a wedding, so desirous 
 they were to fight with their enemies." 
 
 But Ottigny, whose real purpose is to obtain the gold of the 
 people of Thimogoa, does not indulge his warlike guides in their 
 desires. They encounter some of the people whom they seek, 
 and make inquiries after the treasure. This is promised them 
 hereafter. With the report of a king named Mayrra, who lives 
 farther up the river, and abounds in gold and silver, Ottigny 
 returns to La Caroline. Other adventurers follow, other kings 
 and chiefs are brought to the knowledge of our Frenchmen. 
 Plates of gold and silver are procured ; large bars of the latter 
 metal ; and the lures are quite sufficient to keep the colonists 
 employed in the one pursuit to the complete neglect of every 
 other. Instead of planting, they rely for their provisions wholly 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 125 
 
 upon the Indians ; and, for eighteeen months, the lieutenants of 
 Laudonniere penetrated the forests in every possible direction. 
 They appear not only to have explored the interior of Florida, 
 Georgia and South Carolina, but to have prosecuted their insane 
 search even to the Apalachian mountains. It is not im- 
 probable that our antiquarians frequently stumble upon the proofs 
 of their progress, which they fondly ascribe to a much earlier 
 period. We preserve, as subjects of proper comparison with 
 aboriginal words still in use, and by which localities may yet be 
 identified, the names of many of the chiefs with whom our 
 Frenchmen maintained communion. From the Indians of King 
 Mollova, Captain Vasseur obtains five or six pounds of silver. 
 Mollova is the subject of a greater prince, named Olata Ovae 
 Utina. The tributaries of this great chief are numerous ; 
 Cadecha, Chilili, Eclavou, Enacappe, Calany, Anacharaqua, 
 Omittaqua, Acquera, Moquoso, and many others. Satouriova is 
 the chief sovereign along the waters of the May. He too hath 
 numerous tributaries. He is the great rival monarch of Olata 
 Utina. Potanou is one of his chiefs, " a manne cruel in warre, 
 but pitiful in the execution of his furie. " He usually took his 
 prisoners to mercy, branding them upon the arm, and setting 
 them free. Onatheaqua and Hostaqua are great chiefs, abound- 
 ing in riches, that dwell near the mountains. According to the 
 tales of the Indians of May River, the warriors of Olata Utina 
 " armed their breasts, armes, thighes, legs and foreheads with 
 large plates of gold and silver." Molona is a chief of the river 
 of May, near the Frenchmen, and hostile also to the Thimogoans. 
 Malica is another of these chiefs of Satouriova, eager, like all 
 the rest, to shed the blood of the hostile people whom the 
 Frenchmen have unwisely promised to destroy. In order to win 
 
126 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the favor of Molona, while that Paracoussi is entertaining them 
 at his dwelling, Capt. Vasseur, returning from an expedition to 
 the territories of Thimogoa, reports that nothing but their flight 
 prevented him from utterly destroying that people. Improving 
 upon his superior, one Francis La Caille, a sergeant, insisted that, 
 with his sword, he has run two of the Thimogoans through the 
 body. But this falsehood demands another for its security. The 
 suspicious Indian insists upon handling the sword, " which the 
 sergeant would not denie him, thinking that hee would have 
 beheld the fashion of his weapon ; but hee soon perceived that it 
 was to another ende ; for the old man, holding it in his hand, 
 behelde it a long while on every place, to see if he could find any 
 blood upon it which might show that any of their enemies had 
 beene killed. Hee was on the point to say that he had killed 
 none of the men of Thimogoa ; when La Vasseur preventing that 
 which hee might object, showing, that, by reason of the two 
 Indians which he had slain, his sword was so bloody, he was 
 enforced to wash and make it cleane a long while in the river." 
 
 Another of the chiefs, dwelling near the Frenchmen, is Omoloa, 
 an ally of Satouriova. These two summon Laudonniere to the 
 expedition for which they have prepared themselves against the 
 Thimogoans, and are offended that he now excuses himself. He 
 was too busy with his explorations for any other object. But he 
 sent to request two of his prisoners from Satouriova, which were 
 denied him ; the old savage properly saying that he owed him no 
 service, as he had taken no part in the expedition. This irri- 
 tated the Frenchman, who, with twenty soldiers, suddenly ap- 
 peared in the dwelling of the Paracoussi, and demanded and car- 
 ried off the prisoners. His policy was, by freeing these prisoners, 
 and sending them home to their sovereign, to conciliate his favor ; 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 127 
 
 but, in the meantime, he made an enemy of Satouriova. An 
 expedition was prepared to carry back the prisoners to Olata 
 Utina. It was confided to Monsieur D'Erlach, one of Laudon- 
 niere's lieutenants, and consisted of ten soldiers. Their course 
 lay up the river of May, more than fourscore leagues. They 
 were received by the great Paracoussi Utina, with much favor, 
 and were easily persuaded by him to take part in a war which 
 he was even then waging with his hereditary enemy, Potanou* 
 A surprise is attempted, and a battle ensues, in which the fire- 
 arms of the French confound Potanou, and subject him to a 
 sore defeat. One of his towns is captured, and all its men, 
 women, and children, are made prisoners. Monsieur D'Erlach 
 returns to La Caroline, with no inconsiderable spoil of gold and 
 silver, skins painted, and other commodities of the Indians. 
 
 While thus engaged in the avaricious search for the precious 
 metals, Laudonniere began to receive some intimations of the 
 error into which he had fallen. The mistakes of his policy were 
 beginning to appear in their consequences. His ships had long 
 since departed for France. He had no present hope but in him- 
 self and his neighbors ; and his garrison were about to suffer 
 from the want of necessaries such as they should have relied upon 
 their own industry to secure. The provisions furnished by the 
 Indians were rapidly failing them. They had offended Satouriova, 
 and thus forfeited the supplies which his favor might have fur- 
 nished. In the always limited stores of the natives, there was a 
 natural limit, beyond which they could neither sell nor give ; 
 since, to do so, would be to lose the grain necessary for sowing 
 their fields at the approaching season. The exigencies of the 
 colonies finally compelled them to seize upon the stores which the 
 providence of the Indians compelled them to retain. These 
 
128 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 thus despoiled, withdrew promptly from the dangerous neighbor- 
 hood, and, but for a fortunate, and seemingly providential circum- 
 stance, which afforded them succor for awhile, the distress of the 
 garrison might have realized anew the misfortunes of the people 
 of Fort Charles. We must let Laudonniere himself record the 
 event, which had such beneficial consequences, in his own lan- 
 guage: 
 
 " Thus," said he, " things passed on in this manner, and the 
 hatred of Paracoussi Satouriova against mee did still continue, 
 untill that, on the nine and twentieth of August, a lightning from 
 heaven fell within halfe a league of our fort, more worthy, I be- 
 lieve, to be wondered at, and to be put in writing, than all the 
 strange signes which have beene scene in times past. For, al- 
 though the meadows were at that season all greene, and halfe 
 covered over with water, neverthelesse the lightning, in one in- 
 stant, consumed above five hundred acres thereof, and burned, 
 with the ardent heate thereof, all the foules which took their 
 pastime in the meadowes which thus continued for three dayes 
 space which caused us not a little to muse, not being able to 
 judge whence this fire proceeded. One while we thought that 
 the Indians had burnt their houses and abandoned their places 
 for feare of us. Another while we thought that they had dis- 
 covered some shippes in the sea, and that, according to their 
 custome, they had kindled many fires here and there * * * I 
 determined to sende to Paracoussi Serranay to knowe the truth. 
 But, even as I was about to sende one by boate, sixe Indians 
 came unto me from Paracoussi Allimicany, which, at their first 
 entrie, made unto inee a long discourse, and a very large and 
 ample oration (after they had presented mee with certain baskets 
 full of maiz, of pompions, and of grapes), of the loving amity 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 129 
 
 which Allimicany desired to continue with mee, and that he 
 looked, from day to day, when it would please mee to employ 
 him in my service. Therefore, considering the serviceable affec- 
 tion that hee bare unto mee, he found it very strange that I thus 
 discharged mine, ordnance against his dwelling, which had burnt 
 up an infinite sight of greene meadowes, and consumed even 
 downe unto the bottom of the water." 
 
 The simple message of the Paracoussi, suggested some advan- 
 tages to Laudonniere, who did not now scruple to admit that all 
 the mischief had been done by his wanton ordnance. He had 
 shot, not really to injure his neighbor, but to let him form a pro- 
 per idea of what he might do, in the way of mischief, should he 
 have the provocation at any time. Since, however, the Para- 
 coussi had come to the recollection of his duties, he, Laudonniere, 
 would protect him hereafter. The red-man had only to continue 
 faithful, and the white man would stifle his ordnance. 
 
 The sequel of this strange fire from heaven, may be given in 
 few words. For three days it remained unextinguished, and, for 
 two more days, the heat in the atmosphere was insupportable. 
 The river suffered from a sympathetic heat, and seemed ready 
 to seethe. The fish in it died in such abundance, of all sorts, 
 that enough were founde to have laden fiftie carts. The air be- 
 came putrid with the effluvia ; the greater number of the garrison 
 fell sick, and suffered nearly to death ; while the poor savages 
 removed to a distance from the region, which, since the settle- 
 ment of the colonists, had been productive of little but mischief 
 unto them. The distress of Laudonniere, under these events, was 
 increased by discontents and mutinies among his people. They 
 were not of a class so docile as their predecessors under Albert. 
 These, certainly, would not have borne so patiently with such a 
 
130 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 sway. The government of Laudonniere, if not a wise, was not 
 a brutal or despotic one. But they threatened equally his peace 
 and safety. They had cause for apprehension, if not for com- 
 motion. The promised supplies from France, which were to be 
 brought by Ribault, had failed to arrive, and the discontent in 
 the colony was beginning to assume an aspect the most serious. 
 At this point, our narrative must enter somewhat more into de- 
 tails, and, for the sake of compactness, we must somewhat anti- 
 cipate events. 
 
XL 
 
 THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR&. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 THE necessities of the colony now began to open the eyes of 
 Laudonniere in respect to the errors of which he had been guilty. 
 He found it important to discontinue his explorations among the 
 Indian tribes, and to employ his garrison in domestic labors. 
 They must either work or starve. Their tasks in. the fields were 
 assigned accordingly. This produced discontent among those 
 who, having for some time, in Europe as well as recently in the 
 new world, been chiefly employed as soldiers, regarded labor as 
 degrading, and still flattered themselves with the more agreeable 
 hope of achieving their fortunes by shorter processes. Their appe- 
 tite for the precious metals had been sufficiently enlivened by the 
 glimpses which had been given them, during their intercourse 
 with the natives, of the unquestionable treasures of the country. 
 It was still farther whetted by the influence of two persons of the 
 garrison. One of these was named La Roquette, of the country 
 of Perigort ; the other was known as Le Genre, a lieutenant, and 
 somewhat in the confidence of Laudonniere. Le Genre was the 
 
132 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 bold conspirator. La Roquette was perhaps quite as potential, 
 though from art rather than audacity. He pretended to be a 
 great magician, and acquired large influence over the more igno- 
 rant soldiers on the score of his supposed capacity to read the 
 book of fate. Among his professed discoveries through this 
 medium, were certain mines of gold and silver, far in the interior, 
 the wealth of which was such and he pledged his life upon it 
 that, upon a fair division, after awarding the king's portion, each 
 soldier would receive not less than ten thousand crowns. The 
 arguments and assurances of La Roquette persuaded Le Genre, 
 among the rest. He was exceedingly covetous, and sought eagerly 
 all royal roads for the acquisition of fortune. He was more easily 
 beguiled into conspiracy, in consequence of the refusal of Laudon- 
 niere to give him the command of a packet returning into France. 
 It was determined to depose and destroy the latter. Several 
 schemes were tried for this purpose ; by poison, by gunpowder, 
 all of which failed, and resulted in the ruin only of the conspir- 
 ators. With this introduction we introduce the reader more 
 particularly to the parties of our history. 
 
XII. 
 
 THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENRE. CHAP. I. 
 
 LE GrENRfc, one of the lieutenants of Laudonniere, was of 
 fierce and intractable temper. His passions had been thwarted 
 by his superior, whose preferences were clearly with another of 
 his lieutenants, named D'Erlach.* This preference was quite 
 sufficient to provoke the envy and enmity of Le Genre. His 
 dislike was fully retorted, and with equal spirit by his brother 
 officer. But the feelings of D'Erlach, who was the more noble 
 and manly of the two, were restrained by his prudence and sense 
 of duty. It had been the task of Laudonniere more than once 
 to interfere between these persons, and prevent those outrages 
 which he had every reason to apprehend from their mutual 
 excitability ; and it was partly with the view to keep the parties 
 separate, that he had so frequently despatched D'Erlach upon 
 his exploring expeditions. One of these appointments, however, 
 which Le Genre had desired for himself, had given him no little 
 mortification when he found that, as usual, D'Erlach had received 
 
 * Laudonniere, in Hakluyt, spells this name improperly. It is properly 
 written D'Erlach. " Ce Gentilhomme," says Charlevoix, " etoit Suisse, 
 et il n'y a point de maison de Suisse plus connue que celle d'Erlach." 
 
134 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the preference from his superior. It was no proper disparagement 
 of the claims of others that D'Erlach had been thus preferred. 
 That he was a favorite, was, perhaps, quite as much due to his 
 own merits as to the blind partiality of his superior. In choosing 
 him for the command of his most important expeditions, Laudon- 
 niere was, in fact, doing simple justice to the superior endowments 
 of caution, prudence, moderation, and firmness, which the young 
 officer confessedly possessed in very eminent degree. But Le 
 Genre was not the person to recognize these arguments, or to 
 acknowledge the superior fitness of his colleague. His discon- 
 tents, fanned by the arts of others, and daily receiving provoca- 
 tion from new causes, finally wrought his blood into such a state 
 of feverish irritation, as left but little wanting to goad him to 
 actual insubordination and mutiny. 
 
 Laudonniere was not ignorant of the factious spirit of his dis- 
 contented lieutenant. He had been warned by D'Erlach that he 
 was a person to be watched, and his own observations had led 
 him equally to this conviction. His eye, accordingly, was fixed 
 keenly and suspiciously upon the offender, but cautiously, however, 
 so as to avoid giving unnecessary pain or provocation. But 
 Laudonniere 's vigilance was partial only ; and his suspicions were 
 by no means so intense as those of D'Erlach. Besides, his atten- 
 tion was divided among his discontents. He had become pain- 
 fully conscious that Le Genre was not alone in his factious feelings. 
 He felt that the spirit of this officer was widely spreading in the 
 garrison. The moods of others, sullen, peevish, and doubtful, 
 had already startled his fears ; and he too well knew the character 
 of his personnel, and from what sources they had been drawn, not 
 to be apprehensive of their tempers. Signs of insubordination 
 had been shown already, on various occasions ; and had not 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OP LE GENKfe. 135 
 
 Laudonniere been of that character which more easily frets with 
 its doubts than provides against them, he might have legitimately 
 employed a salutary punishment in anticipating worse offences. 
 The looks of many had become habitually sullen, their words few 
 and abrupt when addressed to their commander, while their tasks 
 were performed coldly and with evident reluctance. Without 
 exhibiting any positive or very decided conduct, by which to leave 
 themselves open to rebuke, their deportment was such as to 
 betray the impatience of bitter and resentful moods, which only 
 forbore open utterance by reason of their fears. Laudonniere, 
 without having absolute cause to punish, was equally wanting in 
 the nice tact which can, adroitly, and without a fall from dignity, 
 conciliate the inferior. Angry at the appearances which he could 
 neither restrain nor chastise, he was not sufficiently the com- 
 mander to descend happily to soothe. In this distracted condition 
 of mind, he prepared to despatch his third and last vessel to 
 France, to implore the long-expected supplies and assistance. 
 
 It was a fine evening, at the close of September, such an 
 evening as we frequently experience during that month in the 
 South, when a cool breeze, arising from the ocean, ascends to the 
 shores and the forests, and compensates, by its exquisite and 
 soothing freshness, for the burning heat and suffocating atmos- 
 phere of the day. Our Frenchmen at La Caroline were prepared 
 to enjoy the embraces of this soothing minister. Some walked 
 upon the parapets of the fortress, others lay at length along the 
 bluff of the river, while others again, in the shade of trees farther 
 inland, grouped together in pleasant communion, enjoyed the song 
 or the story, with as much gaiety as if all their cares were about 
 to be buried with the sun that now hung, shorn of his fiery locks, 
 just above the horizon. Laudonniere passed among these groups 
 
136 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 with the look of one who did not sympathize with their enjoy- 
 ments. He was feeble, dull, and only just recovering from a 
 sickness which had nigh been fatal. His eye rested upon the 
 river where lay the vessel, the last remaining to his command, 
 which, in two days more, was to be despatched for France. He 
 had just left her, and his course now lay for the deep woods, a 
 mile or more inland. He was followed, or rather accompanied, by 
 a youth, apparently about nineteen or twenty years of age a 
 younger brother of D'Erlach, his favorite lieutenant. This 
 young man shared in the odium of his brother, as he also was 
 supposed to enjoy too largely the favors of Laudonniere. The 
 truth was, that he was much more the favorite than his brother. 
 He was a youth of great intelligence and sagacity, observing 
 mind, quick wit, and shrewd, capacious remark. The slower 
 thought of his commander was quickened by his intelligence, and 
 relied, much more than the latter would have been willing to 
 allow, upon the insinuated, rather than expressed, suggestions of 
 the youth. Alphonse D'Erlach, but for his breadth of shoulders 
 and activity of muscle, would have seemed delicately made. He 
 was certainly effeminately habited. He had a boyish love of 
 ornament which was perhaps natural at his age, but it had been 
 observed that his brother Achille, though thirty-five, displayed 
 something of a like passion. Our youth wore his dagger and his 
 pistols, the former hung about his neck by a scarf, and the latter 
 were stuck in the belt about his waist. The dagger was richly 
 hilted, and the pistols, though of excellent structure, were rather 
 more remarkable for the beauty of their ornaments than for their 
 size and seeming usefulness as weapons for conflict. 
 
 " And you think, Alphonse," said Laudonniere, when they had 
 
THE CONSPIBACY OP LE GENRE. 137 
 
 entered the wood, " that Le Genre is really anxious to return to 
 France in the Sylph." 
 
 " I say nothing about his return to France, but that he will 
 apply to you for the command of the Sylph, I am very certain." 
 
 " Well ! And you ? " 
 
 " Would let him have her." 
 
 " Indeed ! I am sorry, Alphonse, to hear you say so. Le 
 Genre is not fit for such a trust. He has no judgment, no 
 discretion. It would be a hundred to one that he never reached 
 France." 
 
 " That is just my opinion," said the youth, coolly. 
 
 " Well ! And with this opinion, you would have me risk the 
 vessel in his hands ?" 
 
 " Yes, I would ! The simple question is, not so much the 
 safety of the vessel as our own. He is a dangerous person. His 
 presence here is dangerous to us. If he stays, unless our force is 
 increased, in another month he will have the fortress in his hands ; 
 he will be master here. You have no power even now to prevent 
 him. You know not whom to trust. The very parties that you 
 arm and send out for provisions, might, if they pleased, turn upon 
 and rend us. If he were not the most suspicious person in the 
 world doubtful of the very men that serve him he would soon 
 bring the affair to an issue. Fortunately, he doubts rather more 
 than we confide. He knows not his own strength, and your seem- 
 ing composure leads him to overrate ours. But he is getting wiser. 
 The conspiracy grows every day. I am clear that you should let 
 him go, take his vessel, pick his crew, and disappear. He will not 
 go to France, that I am certain. He will shape his course for the 
 West Indies as soon as he is out of our sight, and be a famous 
 picaroon before the year is over." 
 
138 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Alphonse, you are an enemy of Le Genre." 
 
 " That is certain," replied the youth ; " but if I am hia 
 enemy, that is no good reason why I should be the enemy of 
 truth." 
 
 " True, but you suspect much of this. You know nothing." 
 
 " I know all that I have told you," replied the young man, 
 warmly. . 
 
 "Indeed! How?" 
 
 " That I cannot tell. Enough that I am free to swear upon 
 the Holy Evangel, that all I say is true. Le Genre is at the 
 head of a faction which is conspiring against you." 
 
 " Can you give me proof of this ?" 
 
 " Yes, whenever you dare issue the order for his arrest and that 
 of others. But this you cannot do. You must not. They are 
 too strong for you. If Achille were here now !'' 
 
 "Ay! Would he were !" 
 
 They now paused, as if the end of their walk had been reached. 
 Laudonniere wheeled about, with the purpose of returning. They 
 had not begun well to retrace their steps before the figure of a 
 person was seen approaching them. 
 
 " Speak of the devil," said Alphonse, " and he thinks himself 
 called ; here comes Le Genre." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Laudonniere. 
 
 " See now if I am not right he comes to solicit the command 
 of the Sylph." 
 
 They were joined by the person of whom they had been speak- 
 ing. His approach was respectful his manner civil his tones 
 subdued. There was certainly a change for the better in his 
 deportment. A slight smile might have been seen to turn the 
 corner of the lips of young D'Erlach, as he heard the address of 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OP LE GENK&. 139 
 
 the new comer. Le Genre began by requesting a private inter- 
 view with his commander. Upon the words, D'Erlach went aside 
 and was soon out of hearing. His prediction was true. Le .Genre 
 respectfully, but earnestly, solicited the command of the vessel 
 about to sail for France. He was civilly but positively denied. 
 Laudonniere had not been impressed by the suggestion of his 
 youthful counsellor ; or, if he were, he was not prepared to yield 
 a vessel of the king, with all its men and munitions, to the con- 
 trol of one who might abuse them to the worst purposes The 
 face of Le Genre changed upon this refusal. 
 
 " You deny me all trust, Monsieur," he said. " You refused 
 me the command when my claim was at least equal to that of 
 Ottigny. You denied me that which you gave to D'Erlach, 
 and now Monsieur, do you hold me incompetent to this 
 command ?" 
 
 " Nay," said Laudonniere, " but I better prefer your services 
 here I cannot so well dispense with them." 
 
 A bitter smile crossed the lips of the applicant. 
 
 " I cannot complain of a refusal founded upon so gracious a 
 compliment. But, enough, Monsieur, you refuse me ! May I 
 ask, who will be honored with this command ?" 
 
 "Lenoir!" 
 
 " I thought so another favorite ! Well ! Monsieur, I wish 
 you a good evening." 
 
 " You have refused him, I see," said Alphonse, returning as 
 the other disappeared. 
 
 " Yes, I could do no less. The very suggestion that he might 
 convert the vessel to piratical purposes, was enough to make me 
 resolve against him." 
 
 And, still discussing that and other kindred subjects, Laudon- 
 
140 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 nierre and his young companion followed in the steps of La 
 Genre towards the fortress. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THAT night the young Alphonse D'Erlach might have been 
 seen stealing cautiously from the quarters of Laudonnierre, and 
 winding along under cover of the palisades to one of the entrances 
 of the fortress. He was wrapped in a huge and heavy cloak 
 which effectually disguised his person. Here he was joined by 
 another, whom he immediately addressed : 
 
 " Bon Pre ?" 
 
 "The same: all's ready." 
 
 " Have they gone ?" 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 "Let us go." ?V 
 
 They went together to the entrance. The person whom 
 Alphonse called Bon Pre, was a short, thick-set person, fully 
 fifty years of age. They approached the sentry at the gate. 
 
 " Let us out, my son," said Bon Pre ; " we are late.'' 
 
 When they were without the walls, they stole along through 
 the ditch, concealed in the deep shade of the place, cautiously 
 avoiding all exposure to the star-light. On reaching a certain 
 point, they ascended, and, taking the cover of bush and tree, 
 made their way to the river, and getting into a boat which lay 
 beneath the banks, pushed off, and suffered her to drop down the 
 stream, the old man simply using the paddle to shape her course. 
 A brief conversation, in whispers, followed between them. 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR^. 141 
 
 " You told him all ?" asked Bon Pre. 
 
 " No ; but just enough for our purpose. As I told you, he 
 believes nothing. He is too good a man himself to believe any 
 body thoroughly bad." 
 
 " He will grow wiser before he is done. You did not suffer 
 him to know where you got your information ?" 
 
 " No surely not. He would have been for having a court, 
 and a trial, and all that sort of thing. You would have sworn to 
 the truth in vain, and they would assassinate you. We must only 
 do what we can to prevent, and leave the punishment for another 
 season. If time is allowed us " 
 
 " Ay, but that " if !" said the old man. " Time will not be 
 allowed. Le Genre will be rather slow but there are some 
 persons not disposed to wait for the return of the parties under 
 Ottigny and your brother." 
 
 " Enough !" said D'Erlach " Here is the cypress." 
 
 With these words, the course of the canoe was arrested, the 
 prow turned in towards the shore, and adroitly impelled, by the 
 stroke of Bon Pre's paddle, directly into the cavernous opening 
 of an ancient cypress which stood in the water, but close to the 
 banks. This ancient tree stood, as it were, upon two massive 
 abutments. The cavern into which the boat passed was open in 
 like manner on the opposite side. The prow of the canoe ran in 
 upon the land, while the stern rested within the body of the tree. 
 Alphonse cautiously stepped ashore, and was followed by his older 
 companion. They were now upon the same side of the river 
 with the fortress. The course which they had taken had two 
 objects. To avoid fatigue and detection in a progress by land, 
 and to reach a given point in advance of the conspirators, who 
 had taken that route. Of course, our two companions had timed 
 
142 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 their movements with reference to the previous progress of the 
 former. They advanced in the direction of the fort, which lay 
 some three miles distant, but at the distance of fifty or sixty 
 yards from the place where they landed, came to a knoll thickly 
 overgrown with trees and shrubbery. A creek ran at its foot, in 
 the bed of which stood numerous cypresses amongst these 
 Alphonse D'Erlach disappeared, while Bon Pre ascended the 
 knoll, and seated himself in waiting upon a fallen cypress. 
 
 He had not long to wait. In less than twenty minutes, a 
 whistle was heard to which Bon Pre responded, in the notes of 
 an owl. The sound of voices followed, and, after a little interval, 
 one by one, seven persons ascended the knoll, and entered the 
 area which was already partially occupied by Bon Pre. There 
 were few preliminaries, and Le Genre opened the business. 
 Bon Pre, it is seen, was one of the conspirators and in their 
 fullest confidence. He had left the fort before them, or had 
 pretended to do so. They had each left at different periods. 
 We have seen his route. It is only necessary to add, that they 
 had come together but a little while before their junction at the 
 knoll. Of course, their several revelations had yet to be made. 
 Le Genre commenced by relating his ill success in regard to the 
 vessel. 
 
 " We must have it, at all hazards," said Stephen Le Genevois, 
 "we can do nothing without it." 
 
 " I do not see that ;" was the reply of Jean La Roquette. 
 This person, it may be well to say, was one possessing large in- 
 fluence among the conspirators. He claimed to be a magician, 
 dealt much in predictions, consulted the stars, and other signs, 
 as well of earth as of heaven ; and, among other things, pretended, 
 by reason of his art, to know where, at no great distance, was a mine 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENRfc 143 
 
 of silver, the richest in the world. Almost his sole reason for 
 linking himself with the conspirators, was the contempt with 
 which his pretensions had been treated by his commander, in re- 
 gard to the search after this mine. 
 
 " I do not see," he replied, " that this vessel is so necessary t 
 us. A few canoes will serve us better." 
 
 " Canoes for what ?" was the demand of Le Genevois. 
 
 " Why, for ascending the rivers, for avoiding the fatigue of 
 land travel, for bringing down our bullion." 
 
 " Pshaw ! You are at your silver mine again ; but that is slow 
 work. I prefer that which the Spaniard has already gathered ; 
 which he has run into solid bars and made ready for the king's 
 face. I prefer fighting for my silver, to digging for it.'' 
 
 Ay ! fighting no digging ;" said Le Genre and he was echoed 
 by other voices. But La Roquette was not to be silenced. His 
 opinions were re-stated and insisted upon with no small vehe- 
 mence, and the controversy grew warm as to the future course of 
 the party whether they should explore the land for silver ore, 
 or the Spanish seas for bullion. 
 
 * { Messieurs," said one named Fourneaux, " permit me to say 
 that you are counting your chickens before they are out of the 
 shell. Why cumber our discussion with unnecessary difficulties ? 
 The first thing to consider is how to get our freedom. We can 
 determine hereafter what use we shall make of it. There are 
 men enough, or will be enough, when we have got rid of Lau- 
 donniere, to undertake both objects. Some may take the seas, 
 and some the land ; some to digging. Each man to his taste. 
 All may be satisfied there need be no restraint. The only mat- 
 ter now to be adjusted, is to be able to choose at all. Let us not 
 torn aside from the subject." 
 
144 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 These sensible suggestions quieted the parties, and each pro- 
 ceeded to report progress. One made a return of the men he 
 had got over, another of the arms in possession, and a third of 
 ammunition. But the question finally settled down upon the fate 
 of Laudonniere, and a few of his particular friends, the young 
 D' Erlach being the first among them. On this subject, the con- 
 spirators not only all spoke, but they all spoke together. They 
 were vehement enough, willing to destroy their enemy, but their 
 words rather declared their anger, than any particular mode of 
 effecting their object. At length Fourneaux again spoke. 
 
 " Messieurs," said he, " you all seem agreed upon two things ; 
 the first is, that, before we can do anything, Laudonniere and that 
 young devil, D'Erlach, must be disposed of; the second, that this 
 is rather a difficult matter. It is understood that they may rally a 
 sufficient force to defeat us that we are not in the majority yet, 
 though we hope to be so ; and that a great number who are now 
 slow to join us, will be ready enough, if the blow were once struck 
 successfully. In this, I think, you all perfectly agree." 
 
 " Ay ay ! There you are right that's it ;" was the response 
 of Le Genre and Stephen Le G-enevois. 
 
 Yery well ; now, as it is doubtful who are certainly the friends 
 of Laudonniere, it is agreed that we must move against him 
 secretly. Is there any difficulty in this ? There are several ways 
 of getting rid of an enemy without lifting dagger or pistol. Is 
 not the magician here the chemist, La Roquette ? has he no 
 knowledge of certain poisons, which, once mingled in the drink of 
 a captain, can shut his eyes as effectually as if it were done with 
 bullet or steel ? And if this fails, are there not other modes of 
 contriving an accident ? I have a plan now, which, with your 
 leave, I think the very thing for our purpose. Laudonniere's 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR&. 145 
 
 quarters, as you all know, stand apart from all the rest, with the 
 exception of the little building occupied by the division of Le 
 Genre, with which it is connected by the old bath-room. This 
 bath-room is abandoned since Laudonniere has taken to the river. 
 Suppose Le Genre here should, for safe-keeping, put a keg of 
 gunpowder under the captain's quarters ? and suppose farther, 
 that, by the merest mischance, he should suffer a train of powder 
 to follow his footsteps, as he crawls from one apartment to tho 
 other ; and suppose again, that, while Laudonniere sleeps, some 
 careless person should suffer a coal of fire to rest, only for a mo- 
 ment, upon the train in the bath-house. By my life, I think such 
 an accident would spare us the necessity of attempting the life of 
 our beloved captain. It would be a sort of providential inter- 
 position." 
 
 " Say no more ! It shall be done !" said Le Genre. " I will 
 do it !" 
 
 " Ay, should the other measure fail ; but I am for trying the 
 poison first ;" said Fourneaux, " for such an explosion would send 
 a few fragments of timber about other ears than those of the cap- 
 tain. He takes his coffee at sunrise. Can we not drug it ?" 
 
 " Let that be my task ;" said old Bon Pre, who had hitherto 
 taken little part in this conference. 
 
 " You are the very man," said Fourneaux. " He takes his 
 coffee from your hands. La Roquette will provide the poison." 
 
 " When shall this be done ?" demanded Le Genre. " We can 
 do nothing to-night. It will require time to-morrow to prepare 
 the tram." 
 
 " Ay, that is your part ; but may not Bon Pre do his to-mor- 
 row ? and should he fail " 
 
 7 
 
146 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 " Why should he fail ?" demanded La Roquette. " Let him 
 but dress his coffee with my spices, and he cannot fail." 
 
 " Yes," replied Bon Pre, " but it is not always that Laudon- 
 niere drinks his coffee. If he happens to be asleep when I bring 
 it, I do not wake him, but put it on the table by his bedside, and, 
 very frequently, if it is cold when he wakes, he leaves it un- 
 tasted." 
 
 " Umph ! but at all events, there is the other accident. That 
 can be made to take effect at mid-night to-morrow eh ! what 
 say you, Le Genre ?" 
 
 " Without fail ! It is sworn !" 
 
 Their plans being adjusted, the meeting was dissolved, and the 
 parties separately dispersed, each to make his way back, as he 
 best might, so as to avoid suspicion or detection, to Fort Caroline. 
 They had scarcely disappeared when Alphonse D'Erlaeh emerged 
 from the hollow of a cypress which stood upon the edge of the 
 knoll where their conference had taken place. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ALPHONSE D'ERLACH was one of those remarkable persons 
 who seem, in periods of great excitement, to be entirely superior 
 to its influence. He appeared to be entirely without emotions. 
 Though a mere youth, not yet firm hi physical manhood, he was, 
 in morals, endowed with a strength, a hardihood and maturity, 
 which do not often fall to the lot of middle age. In times of 
 difficulty, he possessed a coolness which enabled him to contem- 
 plate deliberately the approach of danger, and he was utterly be- 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OP LE GENR&. 147 
 
 yond surprises. His . conference with old Bon Pre, when they 
 met again that night was remarkably illustrative of these char- 
 acteristics. 
 
 " What shall we do ?" demanded the old man. 
 
 " Your part is easily done," was the reply " you are simply 
 to do nothing to forbear doing. I understand your purpose in 
 volunteering to do the poisoning. I will see Laudonniere in an 
 hour. You will prepare the coffee nay, let Fourneaux, or that 
 fool of a magician himself, introduce the poison. Laudonniere 
 will sleep, you understand." 
 
 " But, Le Genre the gunpowder !" 
 
 "I will see to that." 
 
 " What will you do ?" 
 
 " Nay, time must find the answer. I am not resolved ; but, at 
 all events, for the present, Laudonniere must know nothing. He 
 must remain in ignorance." 
 
 " Why ?" 
 
 " For the best reason in the world. Did he guess what we 
 know, he would be for arming himself and all around him creat- 
 ing a confusion under the name of law attempting arrests, and 
 so proceeding as to give opportunities to the conspirators to do 
 that boldly, which they are now content to do basely. I think we 
 shall thwart them with their own weapons. Let us separate now. 
 I will see Laudonniere but a few moments before I sleep." 
 
 " Can you sleep to-night ? I cannot ! I shall hardly be able 
 to sleep till the affair is over. I do not think, honestly speaking, 
 that I have slept a good hour for the last week. I am certainly 
 not conscious of having done so." 
 
 " Nature provides for all such cases. For my part I never 
 want sleep I always have it. I can sleep in a storm and enjoy 
 
148 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 it just as well. The uproar of winds and seas never troubles me. 
 If it does, it is only to lull me into sleep again. I am a philoso- 
 pher without knowing it, and by accident. But come we must 
 part." 
 
 The chamber of D'Erlach was in the same building with that 
 of Laudonniere. They slept in adjoining apartments. D'Erlach 
 purposely made some noise in approaching his, and Laudonniere 
 cried out, 
 
 " Who is there ? Alphonse ?" 
 
 " The same, sir." 
 
 " Come in where have you been at this hour ; is it not very 
 late ?" 
 
 " Almost time for waking an hour probably from dawn, though 
 I know not exactly. But, suffer me to extinguish this light. We 
 can talk as well in the dark." 
 
 " What have you to say ?" demanded Laudonniere, half rising 
 at this preliminary. 
 
 " I have been getting some new lessons in chess from old Mar- 
 chand." 
 
 " Ah ! what new lesson ?" asked Laudonniere, whose passion 
 for the game had prompted D'Erlach with the suggestion he made 
 use of. 
 
 " Marchand, sir, is a most wonderful player. I have seen a 
 great many persons skilled at the game, not to speak of yourself, 
 and I am sure there is no one who can stand him. He absolutely 
 laughs at my opposition. I wish you could play with him, sir." 
 
 " I should like it, Alphonse," replied the other, " but you 
 know my position. This man, Marchand, is a turbulent person ; 
 scarcely respectful to me, and, if there be, as you think, a conspi* 
 racy on foot against me, he is at the head of it, be sure." 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR. 149 
 
 " Not so ;" said the other, quietly, but decisively ; " not so. 
 His bluntness is that of an honest man. His turbulence is that 
 of self-esteem. He is above a base action, and, secure in his own 
 character, he defies the scrutiny of superiority. I think you mis- 
 take him ; at all events it is necessary that you should know him 
 in chess. I am anxious to see you and him in conflict ; and, if 
 you will permit me, he shall bring his own men for he will play 
 with no other he has his notions on the point here, to-morrow 
 night, when you will discover that he is not only a great player 
 but a good fellow." 
 
 " You are a singular person, Alphonse ;" said Laudonniere, 
 smiling. " What should put chess into your head at such a time, 
 particularly when you say there is such danger ?" 
 
 " The man who can play chess when danger threatens is the 
 very man to discover it ; and the conspirator is never more likely 
 to become resolved in his purpose than when he finds his destined 
 victim in a state of anxiety. I should rather my enemy see me 
 at chess provided I can see him than that he should find me 
 putting my arms in readiness. They may be conveniently under 
 the table, while the chess-board is upon it ; and while I am moving 
 my pawn with one hand, I can prepare my pistol with the other. 
 But, sir, with your further permission, I will bring Challus and 
 Le Moyne to see the match. They are both passionately fond of 
 the game, and Le Moyne plays well, though nothing to compare 
 either with yourself or Marchand." 
 
 " By the way, Alphonse, how is Le Moyne getting on with his 
 pictures ? It certainly was a strange idea of the Admiral, that of 
 sending out, with such an expedition, painters of pictures and such 
 persons. I can see the use of a mineralogist and botanist, but 
 these painters ! > 
 
150 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Le Moyne has made some very lovely pictnres of the country. 
 His landscapes are to the life, and he has that rare knowledge of 
 the painter, which enables him to choose his point of view happily, 
 and tells him how much to take in, and how much to leave out. 
 The Admiral will be able to form a better idea of the country from 
 the pictures of Le Moyne, than he will from the pebbles of Delille 
 or the dried flowers and leaves of Serrier. Le Moyne shows him 
 the rivers and the trees, the valleys and the hills ; and, if his pic- 
 tures get safely to France, the people there will envy us the para- 
 dise here which we are so little able to enjoy." 
 
 Laudonniere heard the youth with half-shut eyes, and the dia- 
 logue languished on the part of the former ; but D'Erlach seemed 
 resolute to keep him wakeful, and suggested continually new pro- 
 vocatives to conversation, until his superior, absolutely worn out 
 with exhaustion, bade him go to sleep himself or suffer him to do 
 so. Alphonse smiled, and left the room perfectly satisfied, as h 
 beheld the faint streakings of daylight gliding through the inter* 
 stices between the logs of which the building was composed. In 
 less than an hour, hearing a sound as of one entering, he hastily 
 went out of his chamber, for he had neither undressed himself nor 
 slept, and met Bon Pre, with the salver of coffee, about to go into 
 the chamber of Laudonniere. 
 
 " Well, is it spiced ? Has La Roquette furnished the drug ?" 
 
 " His own hands put it in." 
 
 " Very well ; let us in together. Laudonniere is not likely to 
 awaken soon, and I will remain with him Hill he does. If the 
 coffee cools, and he offers not to drink, well. I will say nothing. 
 It is best that he should know nothing 'till alPs over. 
 
 " But the rest !" said Bon Pre, in a whisper. 
 
 " We must manage that, also, quite as well as this." 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR&. 151 
 
 " If you should want help ?" 
 
 " We must find it. But the thing must go forward to the end. 
 Remember that! This scoundrel must be suffered to burn his 
 fingers." 
 
 " Can you contrive it you, alone ?" 
 
 " I think so ; but, Bon Pre, you are here, and Challus, and 
 Le Moyne, and Beauvais and Marchand, and, perhaps, one or two 
 more true men upon whom we can rely and these, mark me, 
 must be in readiness. Of this you shall learn hereafter." 
 
 They entered the chamber of Laudonniere. He still slept. 
 Bon Pre placed the vessel of coffee beside him and disappeared. 
 D'Erlach seated himself at a little distance from the couch. 
 When Laudonniere wakened the liquor was cold. He laid it down 
 again. 
 
 " What ! you here, Alphonse ; but you have been to bed ?" 
 
 " I do not sleep as soundly as you. I left my chamber as old 
 Bon Pre brought your coffee, and entered with him. You do not 
 drink ?" 
 
 " The coffee is cold." 
 
 " It spoils your breakfast, too, I imagine. You do not eat 
 heartily at breakfast." 
 
 " No ; dinner is my meal. But, Alphonse did I dream, or 
 did we not have some conversation about Marchand and chess- 
 playing last night ?" 
 
 " We did ! This morning rather." 
 
 " Is he the great player you describe him ?" 
 
 " He is. I can think of none better." 
 
 " Well saucy as he is, I must meet him." 
 
 " You permitted me to arrange for it, to-night. I had your con- 
 sent to bring some amateurs." 
 
152 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Yes, I do recollect something of it Le Moyne and " 
 
 " Challus." 
 
 " Very well let them come ; but they must be patient. If 
 Marchand is such a player, I must be cool and cautious. I must 
 beat him." 
 
 "You will, but you will work for it. Marchand will keep you 
 busy. And now, sir, there is another matter which I beg leave to 
 bring to your remembrance. You remember the cypress canoe 
 that lies upon the river banks, three miles or more above. It was 
 claimed by the old chief Satouriova. We shall want it here for va- 
 rious, and, perhaps, important uses, when the ship sails. She will 
 take most of your boats with her. Let me recommend that you 
 send a detachment for this boat to-day. It should be an armed 
 detachment, for the old chief is most certainly our enemy, and may 
 be in the neighborhood. I would send Lieutenant Le Genre, as 
 he lacks employment. I would give him his choice of six or eight 
 companions, as, if he does not choose his own men, he might be 
 apt to tyrannize over those who are friendly to you. Perhaps it 
 would be better to give your orders early, that he should start at 
 noon, as, at mid-day, the tide will serve for bringing the boat up 
 without toil." 
 
 " Why, Alphonse, you are very nice in your details. But, you 
 are right, and the arrangement is a good one." 
 
 " The sooner Le Genre receives his orders the more time for 
 preparations ;" said the youth indifferently. 
 
 " He shall have them as soon as I go below." 
 
 By this time Laudonniere was dressed and they descended the 
 court together. 
 
 " Has he drunk," asked Le Genre anxiously, with Forneaux and 
 La Roquette on each side, as they beheld Bon Pre descending 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OP LE GENftfe. 153 
 
 from the chamber of Laudonniere with the vessel in his hand. 
 The old man raised the silver lid of the coffee-pot, and showed the 
 contents. 
 
 " Diablo !" was the half-suppressed exclamation of La Ro- 
 quette. 
 
 " Enough, comrade !" said Le Genre, in a whisper" it re- 
 mains for me." 
 
 They separated, and entered, from different points, the area 
 where Laudonniere stood. 
 
 " Lieutenant ;" said the latter, as Le Genre appeared in sight 
 " Take six men at noon and go up to the bluff of the old chief 
 Satouriova and bring away the cypress canoe of which we took pos- 
 session some time since. Launch her and bring her up. The tide 
 will serve at that hour. Let your men be armed to the teeth, and 
 keep on your guard, for you may meet the old savage on your 
 way. 
 
 Le Genre touched his hat and retired. 
 
 " It is well, said he to Fourneaux, whom he had chosen as one 
 of his companions, " that the commission did not send me off at 
 once. I must make my preparation quickly and before I go." 
 
 Unseen and unsuspected, Alphonse D'Erlach was conscious all 
 the while that the enemy was busy. But Laudonniere saw nothing 
 to suspect, either in his countenance, or in the proceedings of the 
 conspirator. At noon, Le Genre commenced his march, the only 
 toils of which were over, when once the canoe was in their posses- 
 sion. The vessel was amply large to carry twenty soldiers as well 
 as six, and the tide alone would bring them to the fortress in an 
 hour or two. 
 
 The labors of Alphonse began as soon as Le Genre had disap- 
 peared with his party. The six men whom he had taken with 
 7* 
 
154 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 him, were his confederates. The object of the youth was to oper- 
 ate in security, free from their surveillance. Still, his proceed- 
 ings were conducted with great caution. Laudonniere neither 
 suspected his industry nor its object. Arms and ammunition 
 were accumulated in his chamber. Beauvais, and one or two 
 brave and trusty friends, were placed there without the privity of 
 any one, and the chess-party, including Marchand, Le Moyne and 
 Challus, were properly apprized of the arrangements for the game 
 between the former and Laudonniere. They were all amateurs, 
 and there was good wine to be had on such occasions. They did 
 not refuse. Alphonse took pains to noise about the expected 
 meeting, and its object, and showed his own interest by betting 
 freely upon his captain. He soon found those who were willing 
 to risk their gold upon Marchand ; and the lively Frenchmen of 
 La Caroline, were very soon all agog for the approaching contest. 
 But the labors of the youth did not cease here. He explored the 
 cellar of the building in which he and Laudonniere slept, and 
 there, as he expected, the arrangements had been already made 
 for sending the Chief and himself by the shortest possible road 
 to heaven. A keg of powder had been wedged in beneath the 
 beams, with a train, following which, on hands and knees, Al- 
 phonse was conducted under the old bath-house, till he found 
 himself beneath that f Le Genre. He did not disturb the train. 
 He simply withdrew the keg of powder, carefully putting back, in 
 the manner he found them, the old boxes and piles of wood, with 
 which the incendiary had wedged it between the beams. This 
 done, he rolled the keg before him over the path, by which it had 
 evidently come, beneath the bath-house, and tc that of Le Genre. 
 Here he left it, still connected with the train of powder, but 
 rather less distant from the match than Le Genre had ever con- 
 
THE CONSPIRACY Of LE GENRfc. 155 
 
 templated. Perhaps, lie sprinkled the train anew with fresh 
 powder it is certain that he went away secure and satisfied, long 
 before Le Grenre returned from his expedition, with the canoe of 
 Satouriova. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AT the hour appointed that night, for the contest between tho 
 chess players, Marchand, accompanied by Le Moyne and Challus, 
 made his appearance in the apartments of Rene Laudonniere. 
 Those of Alplionse B*Erlach were already occupied by four or 
 five trusty fellows ; asad the arms which filled the apartment were 
 ample for the defence of the party, while in the building, against 
 any number assailing from without. The foresight of Alphonse 
 had made all the necessary preparations, to encounter any foe, 
 who might, after the explosion, attempt to carry their object in a 
 bold way. He had no fear of this, but his habitual forethought 
 led to the precautions. Meanwhile, of the designs against him 
 and of the means taken for his safety, Laudonniere had not the 
 slightest suspicion. His thoughts were occupied with one danger 
 only that of being beaten by Marchand. He valued himself 
 upon his play was one of those persons who never suffer them- 
 selves to be beaten when they can possibly help it even by a 
 lady. If our captain made any preparations, that day, it was for 
 the supper that night, and the contest which was to follow it. 
 His instruction, on the first matter, given to his cook, he retired 
 to his chamber and exercised himself throughout the day in a 
 series of studies in the game planning new combinations to be 
 
156 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 brought into play, if possible, in the contest which was to follow* 
 His welcome to Marchand declared the opinion which he himself 
 entertained of his studies. 
 
 " I shall beat you, Marchand." 
 
 "You can't you shan't," was the ready answer; "you're 
 not my match, captain." 
 
 This answer piqued Laudonniere. 
 
 " We shall see we shall see ; not your match ! "Well ! we 
 ghall see." 
 
 We need not waste time upon the preliminaries of the contest. 
 Enough that, about ten o'clock at night, we find the rival players 
 placed at the table ; the opposing pieces arrayed in proper order 
 of battle, with Le Moyne and Challus, looking on with faces filled 
 with expectation and curiosity. The face of Alphonse D'Erlach 
 might also be perceptible, in a momentary glance over the 
 shoulders of one or other of the parties ; but his movements were 
 capricious, and, passing frequently between his own and the cham- 
 ber of Laudonniere, he only looked at intervals upon the progress 
 of the game. Unhappily, the details of this great match, the 
 several moves, and the final position of the remaining pieces, at 
 the end of the contest, have not been preserved to us, though it is 
 not improbable that the painter Le Moyne, as well as Challus, 
 took notes of it. Enough, that Laudonniere put forth all his skilI 7 
 exercised all his caution, played as slowly and needfully as possi- 
 ble, and was but we anticipate. Marchand, on the contrary, 
 
 seemed never more indifferent. He scarcely seemed to look at 
 the board played promptly, even rapidly, and wore one of those 
 cool, almost contemptuous, countenances which seemed to say, 
 " I know myself and my enemy, and feel sure that I have no 
 cause of fear." That his opinions were of this character is be* 
 
THE CONSPIRACY (XP LE GENR&. 157 
 
 yond all question; but, though his countenance expressed as 
 much, Laudonniere reassured himself with the reflection that Mar- 
 chand was well understood to be one of those fortunate persons 
 who know admirably how to disguise their real emotions, however 
 deeply they may be excited or anxious. Laudonniere 's self-es- 
 teem was not deficient, in the absence of better virtues. He had 
 his vanity at chess, and the game was so played, that the issue 
 continued doubtful, except possibly to one of the spectators, 
 almost to the last moment. Leaving the parties at the" board, 
 silent and studious, let us turn to the counsels of the conspirators, 
 whom we must not suppose to be idle all this time, 
 
 They had assembled half a dozen of them at least and were 
 in close conference at the quarters of La Roquette, at the oppo- 
 site extremity of the fortress. They were all excited to the highest 
 pitch of expectation. The hour was drawing nigh for the attempt, 
 and all eyes were turned upon Le Grenre. 
 
 " It is half past eleven," he exclaimed, " and the thing is to be 
 done. But what is to be done, if those men whom we hold doubt- 
 ful should take courage, and, in the moment of uproar take arms 
 against us ? "We have made no preparations for this event. 
 Now, this firing the train from my lodgings is but the work of a 
 boy. It may be done by any body. It is more fitting that, with 
 six or eight select men, well armed, I should be in reserve, ready 
 to encounter resistance should there be any after the explosion. " 
 
 Villemain, a youth of twenty-two, a dark, sinister-looking person, 
 elight and short, promptly volunteered to fire the train. His offer 
 was at once accepted. 
 
 " It is half-past eleven, you say ? I will go at once," said Ville- 
 main. 
 
158 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 " We will go with you," cried La Roquette and Stephen Le 
 Genevois in the same breath. 
 
 " No ! no ! not so !" said Le Genre. " You have each duties to 
 perform. You must scatter yourselves as much as possible, so as to 
 increase the alarm at the proper moment. There will be little 
 danger, I grant you, with Laudonniere, and that imp of the devil, 
 D'Erlach, out of the way ; but it must be prepared for. Once 
 show the rest that these are done for, and we shall do as we think 
 proper." 
 
 " What a fortunate thing for us is this game of chess. It dis- 
 poses of the only persons we could not so easily have managed ;" 
 said Fourneaux. " Boxes them up, as one may say, so that they 
 only need a mark upon them to be ready for shipment." 
 
 " And yet, somehow, I could wish," said Le Genevois, " that 
 Marchand were not among them. I like that fellow. He is so 
 bold, so blunt, and plays his- game just as if it were his religion." 
 
 " I could wish to- save the painter, if any," remarked La Ro- 
 quette ; " but at all events, we shall inherit his pictures." 
 
 " Bah ! let the devil take him and them together ! Why bother 
 about such stuff; what's his pictures of the country to us, 
 when the country itself is our own, to keep or to quit just as it 
 pleases us ? We are wasting time. Where's Villemain ?" 
 
 "Here ready!" 
 
 " Depart, then," said Le Genre ; " the sooner you light the 
 match after you reach my quarters, the better. We shall be ready 
 for the blast." 
 
 " He is gone !" said Fourneaux. 
 
 " Let us follow, and each to his task ;" cried Le Genre. " Each 
 of you take care of the flying timbers ; find you covers as you 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GETTKfe. 159 
 
 may. My men are mustered behind the old granary. Adieu, my 
 friends, the time has come !" 
 
 With these words, the company dispersed, each seeking hifi 
 several position and duty. Let us adjourn our progress to the cham- 
 ber of Laudonniere, where that meditative gamester still sits delibe- 
 rate, with knotted brow, watching the movements of Marchand. 
 
 CHAPTER v. 
 
 THE game was still unfinished. The repeater of Alphonse 
 D'Erlaeh was in his hand, as he entered from his own chamber, 
 and threw a hasty glance across the chess-board. There Lau- 
 donniere sate, seeing nothing but the pieces before him. He 
 was in the brownest of studies. His thoughts were wholly with 
 the game, which had the power of contracting his forehead with a 
 more serious anxiety than possibly all the cares of his colony had 
 done. His opponent was the very personification of well-satisfied 
 indifference. He leaned back in his seat, smiling grimly, and 
 with a wink, now and then, to those who watched and waited upon 
 the movements of Laudonniere. Alphonse D'Erlach smiled also. 
 The slightest shade of anxiety might be observed upon his brow, 
 and his lips were more rigidly compressed than usual. He 
 leaned quietly towards the board, and remarked indifferently 
 
 " I see you are nearly at the close of your game." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Laudonniere, with some sharpness in his ac- 
 cents, " and pray Monsieur Alphonse, how do you see that ?" 
 
 " You will finish by twelve," was the reply. " I see that it now 
 lacks but a few minutes of that hour." 
 
160 THE LILY AND THE TOTt^k. 
 
 " Pshaw, Monsieur !" exclaimed Laudonniere " you talk illo- 
 gically, you know nothing about it. Chess is one of those 
 games " 
 
 And he proceeded to expatiate upon the latent resources of the 
 game, and how a good player might retrieve a bad situation in 
 the last perilous extremity, by a lucky diversion. 
 
 " But there is no such extremity now," he continued to say, 
 " and it is not improbable that we shall keep up the struggle till 
 morning. The game cannot finish under an hour, let him do his 
 best, even if he conquers in the end, which is very far from cer- 
 tain, though I confess he has some advantages." 
 
 " We shall see," was the reply, as Alphonse left the room, and 
 returned in a few moments after. It was not observed by the 
 parties, so intent were they on the game, that he now made his 
 appearance in complete armor, nor did they hear the bustle in 
 the adjoining apartment. Alphonse still held his watch in his 
 grasp. 
 
 " The .game is nearly finished. According to my notion, you 
 have but two minutes for it." 
 
 u Two ! how !" said Laudonniere, not lifting his head. 
 
 "But one!" 
 
 " There !" said Laudonniere, making the move that Marchand 
 had anticipated. Marchand bent forward with extended finger 
 to the white queen, when a shade of uneasiness might be traced 
 by a nice observer in the countenance of D'Erlach. His lips 
 were suddenly and closely compressed. The hand of the time- 
 piece was upon the fatal minute. On a sudden, a hissing sound 
 was heard, and, in the next instant, the house reeled and quivered 
 as if torn from its foundation. A deep roar followed, as if the 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR&. 161 
 
 thunderbolt had just broke at their feet, and the whole was suc- 
 ceeded by a deafening ringing sound in all their ears. 
 
 Jesus mercy !" exclaimed Laudonniere " The magazine !" 
 " Checkmate !" cried Marchand, as he set down the white 
 queen in the final position which secured the game. 
 
 " Ay ! it is checkmate to more games than one ! Gentlemen, 
 to arms, and follow me !" exclaimed Alphonse. "We are safe 
 now!" 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THEY rushed out, and were immediately joined by the select 
 party from the chamber of D'Erlach, all armed to the teeth. 
 Another party, under Bon Pre, of which none knew but the same 
 person, encountered them when they emerged into the Place 
 D'Armes. Alphonse led the way with confidence, and, while all 
 was uproar and confusion below while men were seen scattered 
 throughout the area, uncertain where to turn, the sharp, stern voice 
 of command was heard in their midst, in tones that forbade the idea 
 of surprise. The drums rolled. The faithful were soon brought 
 together, and presented such an orderly and strong array, that 
 conspiracy would have been confounded by their appearance, even 
 was there nothing else in the event to palsy their enterprise. But 
 their engine had exploded in their own house. The dwelling of 
 Laudonniere was only shaken by the explosion. It was that of 
 Le Genre which was overthrown, and was now in flames. Its 
 blazing timbers were soon scattered, and the flames extinguished, 
 when the body of the conspirator was drawn forth, blackened and 
 
162 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 mangled, from the place where he had met his death ; still grasp-, 
 ing between his fingers the fragment of match with which he had 
 lighted the train to his own destruction. The conspirators, in an 
 instant, felt all their feebleness. Already were the trusted soldiers 
 of Laudonniere approaching them. Baffled in the scheme from 
 which they had promised themselves so much, and apprehending 
 worse dangers, they lost all confidence in themselves and one 
 another; and Le Genre, apprehending everything, seizing. the 
 moment of greatest confusion, leaped the walls of the fortress, and 
 succeeded in escaping to the woods. The other leading conspira- 
 tors, Le Genevois, La Fourneaux, and La Roquette, at first 
 determined not to fly, not yet dreaming that they were the objects 
 of suspicion ; but when they beheld Bon Pre, late one of their 
 associates, marshalling one of the squads of Laudonniere, they at 
 once conjectured the mode and the extent of the discovery. 
 They saw that they had been betrayed, and soon followed the 
 example of Le Genre. In regard to the inferior persons con- 
 cerned in the conspiracy, D'Erlach said nothing to Laudonniere, 
 and counselled Bon Pre to silence also. He was better pleased 
 that they should wholly escape than that the colony should lose 
 their services, and easily persuaded himself that in driving Le 
 Genre and his three associates from the field, he had effectually 
 paralyzed the spirit of faction within the fortress. He had made 
 one mistake, however, but for which he might not have been so 
 easily content. Not anticipating the change in the plan of the 
 conspirators, by which it had been confided to Villemain to fire 
 the train instead of Le Genre, he had naturally come to the 
 conclusion that the only victim was the chief conspirator. He 
 was soon undeceived, and his chagrin and disappointment were 
 great accordingly. 
 
THE CONSPIRACY OF LE GENR&. 
 
 " Whose carcass is this ?" demanded Laudonniere, as they 
 threw out the mangled remains of the incendiary from the scene 
 of ruin. 
 
 " That of your lieutenant, Le Genre," was the answer of 
 D'Erlach, given without looking at the object. 
 
 " Not so !" was the immediate reply of more than one of the 
 persons present. " This is quite too slight and short a person 
 for Le Genre." 
 
 " Who can it be, then ?" said D'Erlach, looking closely at the 
 body, which was torn and blackened almost beyond identification. 
 The face of the corpse was washed, and with some difficulty it was 
 recognized as that of Philip Villemain, a thoughtless youth, whom 
 levity rather than evil nature had thrown into the meshes of 
 conspiracy. 
 
 " But what does it all mean, Alphonse ?" demanded the bewil- 
 dered Laudonniere, not yet recovered from his astonishment and 
 alarm. 
 
 '< Treason ! as I told you !" was the reply. " There lies one 
 of the traitors the poor tool of a cunning which escapes. I had 
 looked to make his principal perish by his own petard. But we 
 must look to this hereafter. We must stir the woods to-morrow. 
 They will shelter the arch traitor for a season only. Enough 
 now, captain, that we are safe. Let us in to our fish. Those 
 trout were of the finest, and I somehow have a monstrous appetite 
 for supper." 
 
XIII. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 THE policy of Laudonniere, influenced by the judgment of 
 Alphonse D'Erlaeh suffered the proceedings of the conspiracy to 
 pass without farther scrutiny. His chief care was to provide 
 against future attempts of the same character. He had been for 
 some time past engaged, among other labors, in putting the 
 fortress in the best possible order, and he now strenuously ad- 
 dressed all his efforts to the completion of this work. A portion 
 of his force was employed in sawing plank, and getting out tim- 
 ber ; others were engaged in making brick for buildings, at or near 
 an Indian village called Saravahi, which stood about a league and 
 a half from the fort, upon an arm of the same river ; others were 
 employed in gathering food, and still other parties in exploring 
 the Indian settlements for traffic. Le Genre, meanwhile, wrote 
 to Laudonniere, in repentant language, from the neighboring 
 forests. He had taken shelter among the red-men, probably of 
 the tribes of Satouriova, at present the enemy of the Frenchmen. 
 He admitted that he deserved death, but declared his sorrow for 
 his crime and entreated mercy. But his professions did not 
 soothe or deceive his superior. About this time, a vessel with 
 supplies arrived from France which enabled Laudonniere to send 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 165 
 
 despatches home, containing a full narrative of the events which 
 had passed. It was the misfortune of the garrison to have re- 
 ceived an addition by the arrival of this vessel. Six or seven of 
 the most refractory of the soldiers of the garrison were put on 
 board ship, and others left in their place with our captain. 
 These proved in the end, quite as mischievous as those which he 
 had dismissed. They leagued with the old discontents of the 
 colony. They stole the barks and boats of the garrison, ran 
 away to sea, and became picaroons, seizing, among others, upon 
 a Spanish vessel of the Island of Cuba, from which they gathered 
 a quantity of gold and silver. Laudonniere proceeded to build 
 other boats ; which were seized when finished by the leaders of a 
 new conspiracy, among whom were La Fourneaux, Stephen le 
 Genevois, and others who were distinguished in this manner be- 
 fore. They finally seized Laudonniere in person, and extorted 
 from him a privateer's commission. Then, compelling him to 
 yield up artillery, guns, and the usual munitions of war, together 
 with Trenchant, his most faithful pilot, they hurried away to sea 
 under the command of one of his sergeants, Bertrand Conferrant, 
 while La Croix became their ensign. Thus was the commandant 
 of La Caroline stripped of every vessel of whatever sort, his stores 
 plundered, and his garrison greatly lessened by desertions, while 
 select detachments of his men, under favorite lieutenants, were 
 engaged in new explorations among the red-men of the country. 
 Our detailed narrative of these proceedings will employ the fol- 
 lowing chapters. 
 
XIV. 
 
 THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE. CHAP. I. 
 
 MOUVEMENT. 
 
 . 
 
 THERE was bustle of no common sort in the fortress of La Caro 
 line. The breezes of September had purged and relieved of its 
 evil influences the stagnant atmosphere of summer. The sick of 
 the garrison had crawled forth beneath the pleasant shadows of 
 the palms, that grew between the fortress and the river banks, 
 and there were signs of life and animation in the scene and among 
 its occupants, which testified to the favorable change which heal- 
 thier breezes and more encouraging moral influences, were about 
 to produce among the sluggish inhabitants of our little colony. 
 There were particular occasions for movement apart from the 
 cheering aspects of the season. Enterprise was afoot with all its 
 eagerness and hope. Men were to be seen, in armor, hurrying to 
 and fro, busy in the work of preparation, while Monsieur Laudon- 
 niere himself, just recovered from a severe illness, conspicuous in 
 the scene, appeared to have cast aside no small portion of his 
 wonted apathy and inactivity. He was in the full enjoyment of his 
 authority. He had baffled the disease which preyed upon him, and 
 bad defeated the conspiracy by which his life and power had been 
 
THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE. 167 
 
 threatened. He was now disposed to think lightly of the dangers 
 he had passed, though his having passed them, in safety, had 
 tended greatly to encourage his hope and to stimulate his ad- 
 venture. He now stood, in full uniform, at the great gate of the 
 fortress, reading at intervals from a paper in his grasp, while ex- 
 tending his orders to his lieutenants. He was evidently preparing 
 to make considerable use of his authority. It is, perhaps, permit- 
 ted to a Gascon to do so, at all seasons, even when he owes his se- 
 curity to better wits than his own, and has achieved his successes 
 in his own despite. Our worthy captain of the Huguenot gar- 
 rison upon the river of May, was not the less disposed to insist upon 
 his authority, because it had been saved to him without his own 
 participation. It might have been difficult, under any circum- 
 stances, to persuade him of that, and certainly, the conviction, 
 even if he had entertained it, would, at this juncture, have done 
 nothing to dissipate or lessen the confident hope which prompted 
 his present purposes. The present was no ordinary occasion. It 
 was as an ally of sovereigns that Laudonniere was extending his 
 orders. He had, already, on several occasions, permitted his lieu- 
 tenants to take part in the warfare between the domestic chieftains, 
 and he was now preparing to engage in a contest which threatened 
 to be of more than common magnitude and duration. A warfare 
 that seldom knew remission had been long waged between the rival 
 warriors, whose several dominions embraced the western line of tho 
 gjreat Apalachian chain. Already had the Huguenots fought on 
 the side of the great potentate Olata Utina, commonly called 
 Utina, against another formidable prince called Potanou. He 
 was now preparing to second with arms the ambition of Kings Hos- 
 taqua and Onathaqua, who were preparing for the utter annihila- 
 tion of the power of the formidable Potanou. Of the two former 
 
168 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 kings, such had been the account brought to Laudonniere, that he 
 at first imagined them to be Spaniards. They were described as 
 going to battle in complete armor, with their breasts, arms and 
 thighs covered with plates of gold, and with a helmet or head- 
 piece of the same metal. Their armor defied the arrows of the 
 savages, and proved the possession of a degree of civilization 
 very far superior to anything in the experience or customs of the 
 red-men. Subsequently it was ascertained that they were Indians 
 like the rest, differing from the rest, however, in this other remark- 
 able trait, that, while all the other tribes painted their faces red, 
 these warriors of Hostaqua and Onathaqua employed black only to 
 increase the formidable appearance which they made in battle. 
 The golden armor used by this people, and the excess of the 
 precious metals which this habit implied, were sufficient induce- 
 ments for our Huguenot leader to attempt his present enterprise. 
 It had furnished the argument of the conspirators against him, 
 that he done so little towards the discovery of the precious metals ; 
 having provoked that cupidity, which his necessities alone com- 
 pelled him to refuse to gratify. His error, at the present moment 
 was, in employing other than the discontents of his colony in mak- 
 ing the discovery. But of this hereafter. 
 
 Laudonniere had not been wholly neglectful, even while he 
 seemed to sleep upon his arms, of the reported treasures of the 
 country. He had sent two of his men, La Roche Ferriere a 
 clever young ensign, and another, to dwell in the dominions of 
 King Utina, and these two had been absent all the summer, en- 
 gaged in rambling about the country. Others, as we have seen, 
 were sent in other directions. Lieutenant Achille D'Erlach, the 
 brother of the favorite Alphonse, had been absent in this way, 
 during all the period when Laudonniere was threatened by con- 
 
THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE. 169 
 
 spiracy ; and it was now decreed that, even while his brother 
 continued absent, Alphonse should depart also. The eagerness 
 of Laudonniere would admit of no delay. His curiosity had just 
 received a new impulse from a present which had been sent him 
 by Hostaqua, consisting of a " Luzerne's skinne full of arrows, a 
 couple of bowes, foure or five skinnes painted after their manner, 
 and a chaine of silver weighing about a pounde weight." These 
 came with overtures of friendship and alliance, which the Hugue- 
 not chief did not deem it polite to disregard. He sent to the 
 savage king, " two whole sutes of apparell, with certain cutting 
 hookes or hatchets," and prepared to follow up his gifts, by send- 
 ing a small detachment of picked soldiers, under Alphonse d'Er- 
 lach, still more thoroughly to fathom the secrets of the country, 
 but ostensibly to unite with Hostaqua and his ally against the 
 potent savage Potanou, who was described as a man of boundless 
 treasures, also. 
 
 The bearer of these presents from Hostaqua was an inferior 
 chieftain named Oolenoe. This cunning savage, of whom we 
 shall know more hereafter, did not fail to perceive that the ruling 
 passion of our Huguenots was gold. It was only, therefore, to 
 mumble the precious word in imperfect Gallic to extend his 
 hand vaguely in the direction of the Apalachian summits, and 
 cry " gold gold !" and the adroit orator of the Lower Chero- 
 kees, on behalf of his tribe or nation, readily commanded the 
 attention of his gluttonous auditors. His auguments and en- 
 treaties proved irresistible, and the present earnestness of Lau- 
 donniere, at La Caroline, was in preparing for this expedition. 
 To conquer Potanou, and to obtain from Hostaqua the clues to 
 the precious region where the gold was reputed to grow, with al- 
 most a vegetable nature, was the motive for arming his Euro- 
 8 
 
170 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 pean warriors. It was also his policy, borrowed from that of the 
 Spaniards, to set the native tribes upon one another ; a fatal 
 policy in the end, since they must invariably, having first destroy- 
 ed the inferior, turn upon the superior, through the irresistible 
 force of habit. But, even with the former object, we do not per- 
 ceive that there was any necessity to take any undue pains in its 
 attainment. Tribes that live by hunting only, must unavoidably 
 come into constant collision. No doubt the natural tendency of 
 the savage might be stimulated and made more inveterate and 
 active, by European arts ; and Laudonniere, however Huguenot, 
 was too little the Christian to forbear them. With this policy he 
 proposed to justify himself to those who were averse to the pre- 
 sent enterprise. One of these was his favorite, Alphonse D'Er- 
 lach, the youth to whom he owed his life. This young man, on 
 the present occasion, approached him where he stood, eager and 
 excited with the business of draughting the proper officers and 
 men for the present hopeful expedition. At a little distance, 
 stood the stern old savage, Oolenoe, grimly looking on with a sat- 
 isfaction at his heart, which was not suffered to appear on hia 
 immovable features. The artist of the statuesque might have 
 found in his attitude and appearance, an admirable model. 
 While his eye caught and noted every look and movement, and 
 his ear every known and unknown sound and accent, the calm 
 unvarying expression of his glance and muscles was that of the 
 most perfect and cool indifference. They only did not sleep. 
 He leaned against a sapling that stood some twenty paces removed 
 from the entrance of the fort, a loose cotton tunic about his loins, 
 and his bow and quiver suspended from his shoulders, in a richly- 
 stained and shell-woven belt, the ground work of which was cot- 
 ton also. A knife, the gift of Laudonniere, was the only other 
 
THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE. 171 
 
 weapon which he bore ; but this was one of those very precious 
 acquisitions which the Indian had already purposed to bury with 
 him. 
 
 As Alphonse D'Erlach approached his commander, a close ob- 
 server might have seen in the eyes of Oolenoe, an increased bril 
 liancy of expression. The sentiment which it conveyed was not 
 that of love. It is with quick, intelligent natures to comprehend, 
 as by an instinct of their own, in what quarter to find sympathies, 
 and whence their antipathies are to follow. Oolenoe had soon 
 discovered that D'Erlach was not friendly to his objects. With 
 this conviction there arose another feeling, that of contempt, with 
 which the extreme youth, and general effeminacy of the young 
 man's appearance, had inspired him. He did not seem the war- 
 rior, and the Indian is not apt to esteem the person of whose 
 conduct in battle he has doubts. Besides, the costume of D'Er- 
 lach was that of dandyism ; and, though the North American 
 savage was no humble proficient in the arts of the toilet, yefc 
 these are never ventured upon until the reputation of the hunter 
 and warrior have been acquired. Of the abilities of D'Erlach, 
 in these respects, Oolenoe had no knowledge ; and his doubts, 
 therefore, and disrespects, were the natural result of his convic- 
 tion that the youth was suspicious of, and hostile to, himself. Of 
 these feelings, D'Erlach knew nothing, and perhaps cared as lit- 
 tle. His features, as he drew nigh to Laudonniere, were marked 
 with more gravity and earnestness than they usually expressed ; 
 and, touching the wrist of his commander, as lie approached him, 
 he beckoned him somewhat farther from his followers : 
 
 " It is not too late," said he, " to escape this arrangement." 
 " And why seek to escape it, Alphonse ?" replied the other, 
 with something like impatience in his tones. 
 
172 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " For the best of reasons. You can have no faith in this sav- 
 age. If there be this abundance of gold in the country, why 
 brings he so little. Where are his proofs ? But this is not all 
 But lately our enemy, jealous of our presence, and only respect- 
 ful because of his fears, we can have no confidence in him, as an 
 ally. He will lead the men whom you give him, into ambuscade 
 into remote lands, where provision will be found with difficulty, 
 require to be fought for at every step, and where the best valor 
 in the world, and the best conduct will be unavailing for their ex- 
 trication." 
 
 " To prevent this danger, Alphonse, you shall have command 
 of the detachment," said Laudonniere, with a dry accent, and a 
 satirical glance of the eye. 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for this proof of confidence," replied the 
 other, no ways disquieted, " and shall do my best to avoid or 
 prevent the evils that I apprehend from it ; but " 
 
 " I have every confidence in your ability to do so, Alphonse,'' 
 said the other, interrupting him in a tone which still betrayed the 
 annoyance which he felt from the expostulations of his favorite. 
 The latter proceeded, after a slight but respectful inclination of 
 the head. 
 
 " But there is another consideration of still greater importance. 
 Your security in La Caroline is still a matter of uncertainty. You 
 know not the extent of the late conspiracy. You know not who 
 are sound, and who doubtful, among your men. Le Genre, 
 Fourneaux, Le Genevois, and La Roquette, are still in the woods. 
 You are weakening yourself, lessening the resources of the for- 
 tress, and may, at any moment " 
 
 " Pshaw !" exclaimed Laudonniere, with renewed impatience. 
 " You are only too suspicious, Alphonse. You make too much 
 
THE SEDITION OF LA CAROLINE. 173 
 
 of this conspiracy. It does not seem to me that it was ever so 
 dangerous. At all events, the danger is over, the ringleaders 
 banished and in the woods, and will rot there, if the wolves do 
 not devour them. They, at least, shall not be made wolves of 
 for me." 
 
 D'Erlach bowed in silence. His mouth was sealed against all 
 further expostulation. He saw that it was hopeless that his 
 captain had got a fixed idea, and men of few ideas, making one 
 of them a favorite, are generally as immovable as death. Besides, 
 Alphonse saw that the obligations which he had so lately conferred 
 upon his commander, in baffling the conspiracy of Le Genre, by 
 his vigilance, had somewhat wounded his amour propre. It is a 
 misfortune, sometimes, to have been too useful. The conscious- 
 ness of a benefit received, is apt to be very burdensome to the 
 feeble nature. The quick instinct of Alphonse D'Erlach readily 
 perceived the condition of his captain's heart. A momentary 
 pause ensued. Lifting his cap, he again addressed him, but with 
 different suggestions. 
 
 " Am I to hope, sir, that you really design to honor me with 
 this command r" 
 
 " Certainly, if you wish it, Alphonse." 
 
 " I certainly wish it, sir, if the expedition be resolved on." 
 
 " It is resolved on," said Laudonniere, with grave emphasis. 
 
 " I shall then feel myself honored with the command." 
 
 " Be it yours, lieutenant. In one hour be ready to receive 
 your orders." 
 
 u One minute, sir, will suffice for all personal preparation ;" 
 and, with the formal customs of military etiquette, the two officers 
 bowed, as the younger of them withdrew to his quarters. In one 
 
374 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 hour, he was on the march with twenty men, accompanied by 
 Oolenoe and his dusky warriors. 
 
 CHAPTER II. THE OUTLAWS. 
 
 THE little battalion of Alphonse D'Erlach marched along the 
 edge of a wood which skirted a pleasantly rising ground one of 
 those gentle undulations which serve to relieve the monotonous 
 levels of the lower regions of Florida. Deep was the umbrage 
 dense in its depth of green, and dark in its voluminous foliage, 
 the thicket which overlooked their march. Their eyes might not 
 penetrate the enclosure, from which eyes of hate were yet look- 
 ing forth upon them. The wood concealed the outlaws who had 
 lately made their escape from La Caroline, after the exposure of 
 their conspiracy. They had not ceased to be conspirators. Bold, 
 bad men sleepless discontents, yearning for plunder and power 
 the defeat of their schemes, and the necessity of their sudden 
 flight from the scene of their operations, had not lessened the 
 bitterness of their feelings, nor their propensity to evil. Fierce 
 were the glances which they shot forth upon the small troop which 
 D'Erlach conducted before their eyes on his purposes of doubtful 
 policy. Little did he dream what eyes were looking upon him. 
 Could they have blasted with a glance or curse, he had been 
 transformed with all his followers where he passed. But the 
 three conspirators had no power for more than curses. These, 
 though " not loud, were deep." With clenched fists extended 
 towards him on his progress, they devoted him to the wrath of a 
 power which they did not themselves possess ; and, watching his 
 
THE SEDITION OF LA CAROLINE. 175 
 
 course through the parted foliage, until he was fairly out of sight, 
 they delivered themselves, in muttered execrations, of the hate 
 with which his very sight had inspired them. Stephen Le Gene- 
 vois was the first to speak. He was a stalwart savage, of broad 
 chest, black beard, and most dauntless expression. 
 
 " Death of my soul !" was his exclamation ; " but that we 
 have lost so much by the game, it were almost merry to laugh at 
 the way in which that brat of a boy has outwitted us. We have 
 been children in his hands." 
 
 " He is now in ours," said La Roquette, gloomily. 
 
 " Aye, if the Indian keeps his faith," was the desponding 
 comment of Fourneaux. 
 
 "And why should he not keep faith," said Le Genevois. " He 
 has good reason for it. When did the hope of plunder fail to 
 secure the savage ?" 
 
 * You must give him blood with it," responded Fourneaux. 
 
 " Aye, it must be seasoned. He must have blood," echoed La 
 Roquette. 
 
 " Well, and why not ? Do we not give him blood 1 will he 
 not have this imp of Satan in his power ? may he not feed on him 
 if he will ? Aye, and upon all his twenty !" exclaimed Le Gene- 
 vois, fiercely. 
 
 " True but " 
 
 " But, but, but ever with your buts ! You lack confidence, 
 courage, heart, Fourneaux you despair too easily ! I wonder 
 how you ever became a conspirator !" 
 
 " I sometimes wonder myself. Ask La Roquette, there. He 
 can tell you. I owe it all to his magic." 
 
 " What says your magic now, Roquette have you any signs 
 for us ?" 
 
176 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Aye, good ones ! We shall have what we desire. I have 
 seen I have said ! Be satisfied." This was spoken with due 
 solemnity by the person in whom the credulity of his companions 
 Lad found sources of power unknown to their experience. 
 
 " But why not show us what you have seen ? Speak plainly, 
 man. Out with it, and leave that mysterious shaking of the head, 
 which has really nothing in it." 
 
 Such was the language of the more manly and impetuous Le 
 Genevois. It provoked only a fierce glance from the magician. 
 
 " All in good time," said the latter. " Be patient. We shall 
 soon hear from Oolenoe." 
 
 " Good ! and you have seen that we shall be successful ?" 
 demanded Fourneaux. 
 
 " We shall be successful." 
 
 " That will depend upon ourselves, rather than upon your 
 visions, I'm thinking," said Le Genevois. "We must have 
 courage, my friends. The signs are not good when we call for 
 signs. If we despond, we are undone." 
 
 " Stay hark !" said Fourneaux, interrupting him eagerly. 
 " I hear sounds." 
 
 " The wind only." 
 
 No ! hist." 
 
 They bent forward in the attitude of listeners, but heard 
 nothing. They had begun again to speak, when an Indian, cov- 
 ered with leaves artfully glued upon his person, stood suddenly 
 among them. They started to their feet and grasped their 
 weapons. 
 
 " Ami /" was the single word of the intruder, at he stretched 
 out his arms in signification of friendship. 
 
THE SEDITION OP LA CAROLINE. 177 
 
 tt Said I not ?" demanded the magician, confidently. " This 
 is OUT man." 
 
 His assurance was confirmed by the savage, who spoke the 
 French sufficiently to make himself understood. He came from 
 Oolenoe, and a few sentences sufficed to place both parties in 
 possession of their mutual plans. The outlaws were not without 
 friends in La Caroline. They were to find their way once more 
 into that fortress. They had no fears from the sagacity of Lau- 
 donniere, during the absence of the youthful but vigilant D'Erlach ; 
 and, for the latter, he was to be disposed of by Oolenoe. And 
 now the question arose, who should venture to " bell the cat ?" 
 who should venture himself within the walls of La Caroline ? 
 
 " Ah !" said one of the conspirators, " if we could only bring 
 Le Genre to his senses. He would be the man." 
 
 " Speak nothing of him," cried Le Genevois, quickly ; " he 
 is no longer a man. He is a priest. That defeat has killed his 
 courage. He repents, and is constantly writing to Laudonniere 
 for mercy and pity, and all that sort of thing. He must not 
 know what we design." 
 
 " Who has seen him lately ?" 
 
 " I know not. He was crossed to the other side of the river 
 by Captain Bourdet in his boats. He crossed to seek refuge with 
 the people of Mollova." 
 
 " He is not far, be sure. He will linger close to the fort, in 
 the hope to get back to it, and, finally, to France. He is not to 
 be thought of in this expedition." 
 
 " Who then ?" was the demand of Le G-enevois. " Somebody 
 must muzzle the cannon. Who ? Who will take the peril and 
 the glory of the enterprise, and in the character of an Indian will 
 
 put his head in the jaws of the danger ?" 
 8* 
 
178 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 The question remained unanswered. Fourneaux excused him- 
 self on a variety of pleas, not one of which would be satisfactory 
 with a brave man. La Roquette declared that his magical powers 
 were always valueless when any restraint was set upon his per- 
 son ; in other words, he could better perform his incantations 
 when the danger threatened everybody but himself. He cer- 
 tainly would not think of risking them within La Caroline, while 
 Laudonniere was in power. Besides " he had no arts of imita- 
 tion. He had no abilities as an actor." Stephen Le G-enevois 
 smiled as he listened to their pleas and excuses. 
 
 " My friends !" he exclaimed. " Did you think that I would 
 suffer a good scheme to be spoiled by such as you ? I but waited 
 that you should speak. This adventure is mine, and I claim it. 
 I will return to La Caroline. I will play the spy, and take the 
 danger. Mark ye, now, comrade !" addressing the Indian, 
 " prepare me for the business. Clothe me in copper, and make 
 me what you please. I have no beauty that you need fear to 
 spoil." 
 
 Thus saying, he threw off, with an air of scornful recklessness, 
 the costume which he wore. Wild was the toilet, and wilder still 
 the guise of our buoyant Frenchman. In an open space within 
 the thicket, beneath a great moss-covered oak, which wore the 
 beard of three centuries upon his breast, the chief conspirator 
 yielded himself to the hands of the Indian. A keen knife shore 
 from his head the thick black hair with which it was covered. A 
 thin ridge alone was suffered to remain upon the coronal region, sig- 
 nificant of the war-lock of that tribe of Apalachia, to which 
 Oolenoe belonged. The small golden droplets which hung from 
 the Frenchman's ears, were made to give way to a more massive 
 ornament of shells, cunningly strung upon a hoop of copper wire. 
 
THE SEDITION OF LA CAROLINE. 179 
 
 His body, stripped to the buff, was then stained with the brown 
 juices of a native plant, which, with other dye-stuffs, the Indian 
 produced from his wallet. His brow was then dyed with deeper 
 hues of red his cheeks tinged with spots of the darkest crimson, 
 while a heavy circlet of black, about his eyes, gave to his counte- 
 nance the aspect of a demon rather than that of a man. This 
 done, the savage displayed a small pocket mirror before the eyes 
 of the metamorphosed outlaw. With an oath of no measured 
 emphasis, the Frenchman bounded to his feet, his eyes flashing 
 with a strange delight. 
 
 " It will do !" he shouted. " It likes me well ! Were I now 
 in France, there would be no wonder beside myself. I should 
 stir the envy of the men I should win the hearts of the women. 
 I should be the loveliest monster. Ho ! Ho ! Would that my 
 voice would suit my visage !" 
 
 A cotton tunic with which the Indian had provided himself, 
 was wrapped round the loins of our new-made savage, his feet 
 were cased with moccasins, and his legs with leggins made of 
 deerskin a bow and quiver at his shoulder a knife in his girdle 
 a string of peag or shells about his neck ; and his toilet was 
 complete. That very night, accompanied by his Indian comrade, 
 Stephen Le Genevois entered the walls of La Caroline, bear- 
 ing messages from Oolenoe and Alphonse D'Erlach the latter 
 of which, we need scarcely say, were wholly fraudulent. The 
 credulous Laudonniere, delighted with assurances of success on 
 the part of his lieutenant, was not particularly heedful of the na- 
 ture of the evidence thus afforded him, and laid his head on an 
 easy pillow, around which danger hovered in almost visible forms, 
 while he, unconsciously, dreamed only of golden conquests, and 
 discoveries which were equally to result in fame and fortune. 
 
180 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 His guardian angel was withdrawn. His mortified vanity had 
 driven from his side the only person whose vigilance might have 
 saved him. His own unregulated will had yielded him, bound, 
 hand and foot, into the power of a relentless enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER III . T HE MIDNIGHT ARREST. 
 
 SWEET were the slumbers of Monsieur Laudonniere, command- 
 ant of the fortress of La Caroline. Anxious was the wakening of 
 Stephen Le Genevois, the conspirator, who, in garbing himself 
 after the fashion of the Indian, had not succeeded in clothing hig 
 mind in the stolid and stoic nature of his savage companion. The 
 conspirators watched together in one of the inner chambers of the 
 fortress. They had not restricted themselves to watching merely. 
 Already had Le G-enevois made his purpose known to one of his 
 ancient comrades. The name of this person was La Croix. He 
 was one of the trusted followers of Laudonniere, whose superior 
 cunning alone had saved him from suspicion, even that of D r Er- 
 lach, at the detection of the former conspiracy. La Croix, in the 
 absence of the latter, was prepared for more decisive measures 
 He was one of those whose insane craving for gold had surrendered 
 him, against all good policy, to the purposes of the conspirators. 
 He was now in charge of the watch. As captain of the night, he 
 led the way to the gates, which, at midnight, he cautiously threw 
 open to the two companions of Le Genevois. Fourneaux and 
 Koquette had been waiting for this moment. They were admitted 
 promptly and in silence. Darkness was around them. The 
 fortress slept, none more soundly than its commander. I> 
 
THE SEDITION OP LA CAROLINE. 181 
 
 silence the outlaws led by La Croix, all armed to the teeth, made 
 their way to his chamber. The sentinel who watched before it, 
 joined himself to their number. They entered without obstruc- 
 tion and without noise ; and, ere the eyes of the sleeper could un- 
 close to his danger, Or his lips cry aloud for succor, his voice was 
 stifled in his throat by thick bandagings of silk, and his limbs 
 fastened with cords which, at every movement of his writhing 
 frame, cut into the. springing flesh. He was a prisoner in the 
 very fortress, where, but that day, he exulted in the conscious- 
 ness of complete command. A light, held above his eyes, re- 
 vealed to him the persons of his assailants ; the supposed Indians, 
 in the outlaws whom he had banished, and others, whom, for the 
 first time, he knew as enemies. "When his eyes were suffered to 
 take in the aspects of the whole group, he was addressed, in his 
 own tongue, by the leading conspirator. 
 
 " Rene Laudonniere," said Stephen Le G-enevois, in his bitter 
 tones, " you are in our 'power. What prevents that we put you 
 to death as you merit, and thus revenge our disgrace and banish- 
 ment ?" 
 
 The wretched man, thus addressed, had no power to answer. 
 The big tears gathered in his eyes and rolled silently down his 
 cheeks. He felt the pang of utter feebleness upon him. 
 
 " We will take the gag from your jaws, if you promise to make 
 no outcry. Nod your head in token that you promise." 
 
 The prisoner had no alternative but to submit. He nodded, 
 and the kerchief was taken from his jaws. 
 
 " You know us, Rene Laudonniere ?" demanded the conspirator. 
 
 " Stephen Le G-enevois, I know you !" was the answer. 
 
 " 'Tis well ! You see to what you have reduced me. You 
 have held a trial upon me in my absence. You have sentenced 
 
182 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 me and my companions to banishment. You have made us out- 
 laws, and we are here ! You see around you none but those on 
 whom you have exercised your tyranny. What hope have you 
 at their hands and mine? Savage as you have made me in 
 aspect, what should prevent that I show myself equally savage in 
 performance. The knife is at your throat, and there is not one 
 of us who is not willing to execute justice upon you. Are you 
 prepared to do what we demand ?" 
 
 " What is it ?" 
 
 " Read this paper." 
 
 A light was held close to the eyes of the prisoner, and the paper 
 placed near enough for perusal. The instrument was a commis- 
 sion of piracy a sort of half-legal authority, common enough in 
 that day, to the marine of all European countries, under maxims 
 of morality such as made the deeds of Drake, and Hawkins, and 
 other British admirals, worthy of all honor, which, in our less 
 chivalric era, would consign them very generally to the gallows. 
 
 As Laudonniere perused the document, he strove to raise him- 
 self, as with a strong movement of aversion ; but the prompt 
 grasp of Genevois fastened him down to the pillow. 
 
 " No movement , or this !" showing the dagger. " Have you 
 read ?" 
 
 " I will not sign that paper!" said the prisoner, hoarsely. 
 
 "Will you not?" 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 " You have heard the alternative !" -.4 
 
 Laudonniere was silent. 
 
 " You do not speak ! Beware, Rene Laudonniere. We have 
 no tender mercies ! We are no children ! We are ready for any 
 crime. We have already incurred the worst penalties^ and have 
 
THE SEDITION AT LA CAROLINE. 183 
 
 nothing to fear. But you can serve us, living, quite as effectually 
 as if dead. We do not want your miserable fortress. We are 
 not for founding colonies. It is your ships that we will take, and 
 your commission. We will spare your life for these. Beware ! 
 Let your answer square with your necessities." 
 
 " Genevois !" said the prisoner, " even this shall be pardoned 
 you shall all be pardoned if you will forego your present 
 purpose." 
 
 "Pshaw!" exclaimed the person addressed. "This to me! 
 I scorn your pardon as I do your person ! Speak to what con- 
 cerns you, and what is left for you to do. Speak, and quickly, 
 too, for the dawn must not find us here." 
 
 " I will not sign !" said. the prisoner, doggedly. 
 
 " Then you die !" and the dagger was uplifted. 
 
 " Strike why do you stop ?" exclaimed Fourneaux ; " we can 
 slay him, and forge the paper." 
 
 His threatening looks and attitude, with the stern air which 
 overspread the visage of Genevois, and, indeed, of all around him 
 contributed to overcome the resolution of the wretched com- 
 mander. Besides, a moment's reflection served to satisfy him, 
 that the conspirators, having gone too far to recede, would not 
 scruple at the further crime which they threatened. 
 
 " Will my life be spared if I sign ? Have I your oath, 
 Stephen Le Genevois ? I trust none other." 
 
 " By G d and the Blessed Saviour ! as I hope to be saved, 
 Rene Laudonniere, you shall have your life and freedom !" 
 
 " Undo my hands and give me the paper." 
 
 " The right hand only," said Fourneaux, with his accustomed 
 timidity. 
 
184 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 "Pshaw, unbind him!" exclaimed Q-enevois ; "unbind him, 
 wholly. There, Rene Laudonniere, you are free !" 
 
 " I cannot forgive you, Genevois ; you have disgraced me for- 
 ever," said the miserable man, as he dashed his signature upon 
 the paper. 
 
 " You will survive it, mon ami," replied the other, with some- 
 thing like contempt upon his features. " You are not the man to 
 fret yourself into fever, because of your hurts of honor. And 
 now must you go with us to the ships. We will muffle your jaws 
 once more." 
 
 " You will not carry me with you," demanded the commander, 
 with something like trepidation in his accents. 
 
 " No ! You were but an incumbrance. We will only take 
 you to the ships, and keep you safe until we are ready to cast off. 
 To your feet, men, and get your weapons ready. Softly, softly 
 we need rouse no other sleepers. Onward, the night goes ! 
 away ! 
 
XV. 
 
 THE MUTINEERS AT SEA. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 FOR fifteen days was Laudonniere kept a close prisoner by the 
 conspirators on board of one of his own vessels, attended by one 
 of their own number, and denied all intercourse with his friends 
 and people. One of the objects of this rigid duresse, was the 
 coercion of the garrison. With its captain in their power, even 
 were his followers better prepared, with the proper spirit and en- 
 ergy, to give them annoyance, they were thus able to put them at 
 defiance ; since any show of hostility on the part of the garrison 
 might be visited upon the head of their prisoner. By this means 
 they got possession of the armory, the magazines, the granaries ; 
 and, when ready to put to sea, and not before, did they release the 
 unhappy commandant from his degrading durance. 
 
 It was at dawn on the morning of the 8th of December, that 
 the two barks which the conspirators had prepared for sea, might 
 have been seen dropping down the waters of May River, their 
 white sails gleaming through the distant foliage. At the same 
 moment, with head bowed upon his bosom, the unhappy Laudon- 
 niere, for the first time fully conscious of his weakness and his 
 
186 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 misfortune, deeply sensible now to all his shame as he reflected 
 upon the roving commission which had been extorted from him by 
 the mutineers, turned his footsteps from the banks of the river, 
 and made his way slowly towards the fortress; confident no 
 longer in his strength suspicious of the faith of all around him 
 and half tempted to sink his shame forever, with his dishonored 
 person, in the waters of the river which ha<J witnessed his dis- 
 grace. But he gathered courage to live when he thought of the 
 revenge which fortune might yet proffer to his embrace. 
 
 We must now follow the progress of our maritime adventurers. 
 They had, as we have seen, succeeded in fitting out two barks ; 
 one on which was confided to Bertrand Conferrant, one of Lau- 
 donniere's sergeants ; the other to a soldier named D 'Orange. 
 La Croix was named the ensign to the former ; Trenchant, the 
 pilot of Laudonniere, was compelled, against his will, to assume 
 this station on board the vessel of D 'Orange. The original plan 
 of the rovers Was to pursue a common route, and mutually to sup- 
 port each other : but the plans of those who have given them- 
 selves up to excess, are always marked by caprices, and the two 
 parties quarrelled before they had left the mouth of the river. 
 They had arranged to descend together upon one of the Spanish 
 islands of the Antilles, and on Christmas night, while the inhab- 
 itants were assembled at the midnight mass, at their church, to 
 set upon and murder the inmates and sack the building and the 
 town. Their dissentions affected this purpose ; and when they 
 emerged from the river May, they parted company ; one of the 
 vessels keeping along the coast, in order the more easily to 
 double the cape and make for Cuba ; the other boldly standing 
 out to sea and making for the Lucayos. Both vessels proceeded 
 with criminal celerity to the performance of those acts of piracy 
 
THE MUTINEERS AT SEA. 187 
 
 which had seduced them from their duties. The bark which took 
 her way along the- coast, was that of D' Orange. Near a place 
 called Archaha, he took a brigantine laden with cassavi, the In- 
 dian breadstuff, and a small quantity of wine. Two men were 
 slain, two taken in a sharp encounter with the people of Archaha. 
 Transferring themselves and stores to the brigantine which they 
 had captured, on account of its superiority, the pirates made sail 
 for the cape of Santa Maria ; and from thence, after repairing a 
 leak in their vessel, to Baracou, a village of the island of Jamaica. 
 Here they found an empty caravel which they preferred to their 
 brigantiner; and after a frolic among the people of Baracou, 
 which lasted five days, they made a second transfer of their per- 
 sons and material to the caravel. Dividing their force between 
 their own and this vessel, which was of fifty or sixty tons burthen, 
 they made for the Cape of Tiburon, where they met with a pa- 
 tackj to which chase was immediately given. A sharp encounter 
 followed. The patach was well manned and provided, for her 
 size. She had particular reasons for giving battle and for fight- 
 ing bravely. Her cargo was very precious. It consisted of 
 a large supply of gold and silver plate and bullion, merchandise, 
 wines, provisions, and much besides to tempt the rovers, and 
 quite as much to move the crew to a vigorous defence. But, 
 over all, it had a-board the Governor of Jamaica himself, with 
 two of his sons. This nobleman was equally fearless and skilful. 
 He directed the resistance of his people, and gave them efficient 
 example. But the force of our rovers was quite too great to be 
 successfully resisted by one so small as that of the Governor, and 
 he directed his people to yield the combat, as soon as he saw its 
 
 Greatly, indeed, were our free companions delighted with their 
 
188 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 successes. The treasure they had acquired was large, but they 
 were not the persons to be content with it. They were apprised 
 of another caravel laden with greater wealth and a more valuable 
 merchandise, and they followed eagerly after this prey. But she 
 escaped them, getting in safety into the port of Jamaica. The 
 governor was a subtle politician. He soon discovered the charac- 
 ter of the men with whom he had to deal, and he wrought succes- 
 fully upon their cupidity. He proposed to ransom himself at an 
 enormous price ; and, with this object, they stood towards the 
 mouth of the harbor in which the caravel had taken shelter. 
 Blinded by their avarice, our rovers were persuaded to suffer the 
 governor to despatch his two boys to their mother, his wife, in a 
 boat which his captors were to furnish. The boys were to pro- 
 cure his ransom, and supplies were to bo sent to the vessel also. 
 But the secret counsel of the Governor to his sons, contemplated 
 no such ransom as the free companions desired. They knew not 
 that, in one of the contiguous havens, there lay two or more ves- 
 sels, superior in burthen to their own, and manned and equipped 
 for war. The Governor, with but a look and a word, beheld his 
 sons depart. The lads knew the meaning of that look, and that 
 single word ; they felt all the ignominy of their father's position, 
 and they knew their duty. A noble and courageous dame was 
 the mother of those boys. With tears and tremors did she clasp 
 her children to her breast ; with horror did she hear of her lord's 
 captivity ; but she yielded to no feminine weaknesses which could 
 retard her in the performance of her duty. Her movements were 
 prompt and resolute. The Governor concealed his anxieties, and 
 epoke fairly to his captors. Quite secure in their strength and 
 position, eager with expectations of further gain, rioting in the 
 rich wines they had already won, they entertained no apprehen 
 
THE MUTINEERS AT SEA. 189 
 
 sions of defeat or disappointment. They lay at the mouth of the 
 haven, which stretched away for two leagues into the mainland. 
 Here, suddenly, about the break of day, they saw emerging through 
 a heavy fog, a couple of vessels of greater size than their own. 
 Apprehending no danger, the pirates were taken by surprise 
 The enemy was upon them before they could prepare for action, 
 and they had scarcely an opportunity to attempt their flight. A 
 volley of Spanish shot soon rang against their sides, and as the 
 trumpets of D'Orange, from his brigantine, blew to announce their 
 danger to those in charge of the captured vessels, he cut his 
 cables and stood off for sea, closely pressed by his swift-footed 
 enemies. Then it was that, watching his moment, the Governor 
 of Jamaica seized upon the enemy nearest him and plunged him 
 into the sea. His example was followed by his people, and the 
 Spaniards coming up with the captured patach at the fortunate 
 moment, the Frenchmen, with whom it was left in charge, threw 
 down their arms, and yielded themselves at discretion to their 
 enemies. Both vessels were recovered, while the brigantine of 
 D'Orange, well navigated by Trenchant, succeeded in showing a 
 clean pair of heels to her pursuers. The chase continued for 
 several leagues without success ; and the brigantine, passing Cape 
 des Aigrettes, and the Cape of St. Anthony, swept on to the 
 Havanna. This was the desired destination of D'Orange ; but his 
 people were not wholly with him. Several of them, like Tren- 
 chant, the pilot, had been forced to accompany the expedition. 
 These were anxious to escape from a connection which was not 
 only against their desires, but was likely, by the crimes of their 
 superiors, to result in the destruction of the innocent. Accord- 
 ingly, under the guidance of Trenchant, a conspiracy was con- 
 ceived against the conspirators. The wind serving, while D'Orange 
 
190 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 slept, Trenchant passed the channel of the Bahamas, and made 
 over for the settlement on May River. The route taken was un- 
 suspected, until the morning of the 25th of March, when they 
 found themselves upon the coast of Florida. By this time, it 
 was too late to prevent the determination of those who had re- 
 solved upon their return to La Caroline. The latter had grown 
 strong by consultation together, and the true men urged the less 
 guilty of the conspirators with promises of pardon at the hands 
 of Laudonniere. This hope gradually extended to some of the 
 most guilty ; but the discussion which led to this conclusion, was 
 productive of a scene which strikingly illustrates the profligacy 
 of the human heart, particularly when it once throws off the re- 
 straints of social authority. The unhappy criminals, in nominal 
 command of the roving brigantine were prepared to dance upon 
 the brink of the precipice, to sport with the dangers imme- 
 diately before them, and convert into a farce the very tragedy 
 whose denouement they had every reason to dread. Well charged 
 with wine, and quaffing full beakers to fortune, they suddenly 
 conceived the idea of a mock court of justice, for the trial of 
 their own offences. The idea was scarcely suggested than it was 
 fastened upon by the wanton imaginations of this besotted crew. 
 The court was convened, on the deck of the vessel, as it would have 
 been at La Caroline. One of the parties personated the character 
 of the judge : another counterfeited the costume and manner of 
 Laudonniere, and appeared as the accuser. Counsel was heard on 
 both sides. There were officers to wait upon and obey the de- 
 crees of the court. The cases were elaborately argued. Heavy 
 accusations were made ; ingenious pleas put in ; and in the very 
 excess of their recklessness, their ingenuity became triumphant. 
 They showed themselves excellent actors, if not excellent men ; 
 
THE MUTINEERS AT SEA. 191 
 
 and caught from their own art, a momentary respite from the op- 
 pressive doubts which hung upon their destinies. It was some- 
 what ominous, however, that their judge himself ope of the most 
 guilty should say to them, when summing up for judgment . 
 " Make your case as clear as you please exert your ingenuity as 
 you may, in finding excuses, yet, take my word for it, that, when 
 you reach La Caroline, if Laudonniere causes you not to swing 
 for it, then I will never take him for an honest man again." 
 
 This may have been intended as a mere jocularity. But fate 
 frequently shapes our own words, as she does those of the oracle, 
 in that double sense, which confounds the judgment while it ensures 
 the doom. The counterfeit judge spoke prophetically. It was 
 only when the offenders were fairly in the hands of Laudonniere, 
 beyond escape or remedy, that they were taught to ap- 
 prehend that they had too greatly exaggerated their sense 
 of his mercy. He detached immediately from the rest 
 four of the leading criminals, who were put in fetters. That 
 was the judgment that prefigured their doom. They were 
 sentenced to be hanged. They strove to question this judgment. 
 The pleasant jest which they had enjoyed on ship-board was quite 
 too recent, to suffer them to forego the hope that this summary 
 decision upon their fate would turn out a jest also. But when 
 they could doubt no longer, three of them took to their prayers 
 with an appearance of much real contrition. The fourth, a 
 sturdy villain, still had his faith in human agency. He appeal- 
 ed for protection to his friends and comrades. 
 
 " What," said he, " brethren and companions, will you suffer us 
 to die so shamefully ?" 
 
 " These are none of your companions," said Laudonniere ; 
 
192 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " they are no authors of seditions no rebels unto the king's ser* 
 vice. Ye appeal to them in vain." 
 
 A corps of thirty soldiers with their matchlocks ready, and 
 under the command of Alphonse D'Erlach, who had returned 
 from his Indian expedition, and who now stood ready and prompt 
 to execute the orders of the chief, were, perhaps,more potent in 
 silencing the appeal of the mutineer, and quieting the active sym- 
 pathies of those to whom he prayed, than all the words of Lau- 
 donniere. But, at the entreaty of his people, the form of pun- 
 ishment was changed, and the criminals, instead of perishing by 
 the rope, met their death from the matchlock. Among the vic- 
 tims of this necessary justice, were three of the original conspi- 
 rators, and the ringleader, Stephen le Genevois. Thus ends the 
 history of one of our roving vessels. The other, commanded by 
 Bertrand Conferrent, which we parted with, on her progress to- 
 wards the Lucayos, was never heard of after, and probably per- 
 ished in the deeps, with all her besotted crew. Let us now leave 
 the ocean, and follow, for a season, the progress of Alphonse 
 D'Erlach upon the land, and into the territories of Paracoussi 
 Hostaqua. 
 
XVI. 
 
 THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH. 
 
 IT was in sullen and half resentful mood that Alphonse D'Ar- 
 lach parted from his superior at the gates of La Caroline. Not 
 that he felt any chagrin because of an outraged self-esteem, on 
 account of his rejected counsels. His mortification and annoy- 
 ance arose from his vexation at leaving a man in the hands of his 
 enemies, whom he could not persuade of his danger, and who 
 was, by this very proceeding, depriving himself of the only 
 means with which he may have safely combated their hostility. 
 It was probably with a justifiable sense of his own efficiency, that 
 D'Erlach felt how necessary was his presence in the garrison at 
 this juncture. He was quite familiar with the vanity of Laudon- 
 niere, his several weaknesses of character, and the facility with 
 which he might be deluded by the selfish and the artful. But he 
 had counselled him in vain ; and it was with a feeling somewhat 
 allied to scorn, that he was taught to see that his superior, having 
 hitherto regarded him with something more than friendship as a 
 favorite indeed had now, in consequence of the most important 
 services, begun to look upon him somewhat in the light of a 
 rival. We have witnessed the last interview between them. We 
 are already in possession of the events which followed the absence 
 
194 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 of the lieutenant ; events which positively would not have taken 
 place, had not the scheme proved successful for procuring his ab- 
 sence from the fortress. Laudonniere's conscience smote him 
 with a sense of his ingratitude, as the flowing plumes of D'Erlach 
 disappeared amidst the distant umbrage ; but he had no misgiv- 
 ings of that danger which the prescient thought of his lieutenant 
 had described as already threatening. He had sufficient time al- 
 lowed him to meditate equally upon his own blindness and the 
 foresight of the youth, while his mutineers, for fifteen days kept 
 him a close prisoner on board his own brigantine ! 
 
 During this period, his young lieutenant, with his twenty 
 Frenchmen, was making his way from forest to forest, under the 
 somewhat capricious guidance of the subtle savage, Oolenoe. 
 D'Erlach was more than once dissatisfied with this progress. He 
 found himself frequently doubling, as it wore, upon his own 
 ground ; not steadily ascending the country in the supposed direc- 
 tion of the Apatahhian Mountains, but rather inclining to the 
 southwest, and scarcely seeming to leave those lower steppes 
 which belonged wholly to the province of the sea. Without ab- 
 solutely suspecting his dusky guide, D'Erlach was eminently 
 watchful of him, and frequently pressed his inquiries in regard to 
 the route they were pursuing, when noting the course of the 
 sun, he found himself still turning away from those distant moun- 
 tain summits which were said to await them in the north, with all 
 their world of treasure. The plea of Oolenoe, while acknowledg- 
 ing a temporary departure from the proper path, alleged the diffi- 
 culties of the country, the spread of extensive morasses, or the 
 presence of nations of hostile Indians, which cut off all direct 
 communication with the province which they sought. 
 
 To all this D'Erlach had nothing to oppose. The pretences 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D 5 ERLACH. 195 
 
 seemed sufficiently specious, and he continued to advance deep 
 and deeper into the internal intricacies of the unbroken wild, 
 making a progress, day by day, into regions which the European 
 had never penetrated before. On this progress, each soldier had 
 been provided with a certain allowance of food of a portable 
 nature, which was calculated to last many days. The adop- 
 tion of the Indian customs, in several respects, had made it easy 
 to provide. The maize and beans of the country constituted the 
 chief supply. The former, and sometimes both, crushed or 
 ground, separately or together, and browned slightly before the 
 fire, furnished a wholesome and literally palatable provision for 
 such a journey. They were also to receive supplies from the 
 contributions of Indian tribes through who&e settlements they 
 were to pass, and to traffic with other nations whom as yet they 
 did not know. With this latter object the party was provided 
 with a small stock of European trifles knives, reaphooks, small 
 mirrors, and things of this description. 
 
 Thus provided, they pressed forward for several days, on a 
 journey which brought them no nearer to the province which they 
 sought. Still the country through which they travelled was 
 unbroken by a mountain. Gentle eminences saluted their eyes, 
 and they sometimes toiled over hills which, even their exhaus- 
 tion, which rendered irksome the ascent, did not venture to 
 compare with those mighty ranges, scaling the clouds, of which 
 the swelling narratives of the savage chiefs, and their own adven- 
 turers, had given such extravagant ideas. In this march they 
 probably reached the Savannah, and crossed its waters to the 
 rivers of Carolina. The scenery improved in loveliness, and to 
 those who are accessible to the influences of mere external 
 beauty, the progress at every step was productive of its own 
 
196 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 charm. Gentle valleys spread away before them in the embrace 
 of guardian ranges of hill, and clear streams gushed out through 
 banks that seemed to gladden in perpetual green. Enormous 
 trees spread over them a grateful cover from the sun, and lus- 
 cious berries of the wood, and unknown fruits, green and purple, 
 were to be found lying in their path, which was everywhere tra- 
 versed by the trailing vines which produced them. Birds of 
 unknown plumage, and of wild and startling song, darted out 
 from the brake to cheer them as they passed; and as they reached 
 the steeps of sudden hills, they could catch glimpses of herds of 
 sleek deer, that sped away with arrowy fleetness from the green 
 valleys where they browsed, to the cover of umbrageous thickets 
 where they lodged in safety. 
 
 The mind of the soldier, however, particularly the adventurer 
 whom one passionate thirst alone impels, is scarcely ever sensible 
 to the charms and attractions of the visible nature. Where they 
 appeal simply to his sense of the beautiful, they are but wasted 
 treasures, like gems that pave the great bed of ocean, and have 
 no value to the finny tribes that glide below each seeking the 
 selfish object which marks his nature. The passion for the beau- 
 tiful, with but few exceptions, is a passion that belongs to training 
 and education ; and even these seldom suffice, in the presence of 
 more morbid desires, to wean the attention to the things of taste, 
 unless these are recognized as accessories of the object of a more 
 intense appetite. Even Alphonse D'Erlach, the eleve of a supe- 
 rior class one who had been benefitted by society and the 
 schools, appreciated but imperfectly the loveliness of the land- 
 scape, and the fresh luxuriance of a vegetable life in a region that 
 seemed so immediately from the hands of its Creator. His thoughts 
 were of another nature. His anxieties were elsewhere. His eye 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH. 197 
 
 was fixed upon his Indian guide, of whom his doubts had now 
 become suspicions. Nightly had Oolenoe disappeared from the 
 encampment. It was in vain that our lieutenant set spies upon 
 his movements. He would disappear without giving the alarm, 
 and re-appear, when least expected, before the dawning. D'Er- 
 lach 's vigilance was increased. He did not suffer his men to 
 straggle ; marching with care by day, his watches were equally 
 divided by night, and his own eyes were kept open by intense 
 anxiety, through hours when most were sleeping. Occasionally, 
 glimpses of Indians were caught on distant hills, or on the edge 
 of suddenly glancing waters. But any attempt to approach sent 
 Tihem into their canoes, or over the hill side increasing the suspi- 
 cions of D'Erlach, and awakening the apprehensions of his men. 
 A something of insolence in the tone and manner of Oolenoe led 
 our young lieutenant to suppose that the moment of trial was at 
 hand ; and he already began to meditate the seizure of his guide, 
 as a security for the conduct of the Indians, when an incident 
 occurred which the foresight of our lieutenant, great as it was, 
 had never led him to anticipate. 
 
 It was at the close of a lovely evening in September, when the 
 little detachment of Frenchmen were rounding a ravine. Oolenoe 
 tvas advanced with D'Erlach some few paces before the rest. 
 - >oth of them were silent ; but they pressed forward stoutly, 
 irough a simple forest trail, over which the Frenchmen followed 
 a Indian file. Suddenly, their march was arrested by a cry from 
 he foot of the ravine, in the rear of the party, and along the 
 ,ath which they had recently traversed. The cry was human, 
 .t was that of a voice very familiar to the ears of the party. It 
 fas evidently meant to compel attention and arrest their progress. 
 It the instant, D'Erlach wheeled about and made for the rear. 
 
198 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 A similar movement changed in like manner the faces of his fol- 
 lowers ; and, in a moment after, a strange, but human form darted 
 out of the forest and made towards them. 
 
 The appearance of the stranger was wild beyond description. 
 He had evidently once been white ; but his face, hands, breast, 
 and legs, for these were all uncovered, had been blackened by 
 smoke, bronzed by the sun, and so affected by the weather, that 
 it was with the greatest difficulty that his true complexion was 
 discernible. But sure instincts and certain features soon enabled 
 our Huguenots to see that he was a brother Frenchman. Of his 
 original garments, nothing but tatters remained ; but these tatters 
 sufficed to declare his nation. His beard and hair, both black, 
 long, and massive, were matted together, and hung upon neck 
 and shoulders in flakes and bunches, rather than in shreds or 
 tresses. His head was without covering, and the only weapon 
 which he carried was a couteau de chasse, which, as it was of 
 peculiar dimensions, silver-hilted, and altogether of curious shape, 
 was probably the only means by which the Frenchmen identified 
 the stranger. 
 
 The keen, quick eye of Alphonse D'Erlach seemed first, of 
 the whites, to have discovered him. It is probable, from what 
 took place at the moment, that Oolenoe had made him out in 
 the same moment. The stranger was no other than Le Genre 
 the banished man who had headed the first conspiracy against 
 Laudonniere. As he approached, rushing wildly forward, with 
 his couteau de chasse grasped firmly in uplifted hand, D'Erlach 
 raised his sword, prepared to cut him down as he drew nigh ; 
 when the words of his voice, shouted at the utmost of his strength, 
 caused them to cast their eyes in another direction. 
 
 u Seize upon Oolenoe. Suffer him not to escape you." 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH. 199 
 
 At that moment, the keen, quick glance of the lieutenant be- 
 held the rapid bounds of the savage, as he made for the cover of 
 the neighboring thicket. His orders were instantly given. A 
 dozen bodies instantly sprang forward in pursuit a dozen match- 
 locks were lifted in deadly aim, but the lithe savage doubling 
 like a hare, bounding forward, now squat, and seeming to 
 fly along the surface of the ground like a lapwing, stealthy in 
 every movement as a cat, as swift and agile, succeeded in gain- 
 ing the woods, though the carbines rang with their volley, and, 
 throwing down their weapons, a score of the light-limbed French- 
 men started in the chase. A wild warwhoop followed the discharge 
 of the pieces, declaring equally the defiance and disdain of the 
 savage. The pursuit was idle, as a few seconds enabled him to 
 find shelter in a morass, which the inexperienced Europeans knew 
 not how to penetrate. Alphonse D'Erlach recalled his men from 
 pursuit, fearing lest they might fall into an ambush, in which, 
 wasting their ammunition against invisible enemies, they would 
 only incur the risk of total destruction. He prepared to confront 
 the stranger, whose first appearance had been productive of such 
 a startling occurrence. Le Genre, meanwhile, had paused in his 
 progress. He no longer rushed forward like a maniac ; but satis- 
 fied with having given the impulse to the pursuit of Oolenoe, and 
 apparently conscious of how much was startling in his appearance, 
 he now stood beside a pine which overhung the path, one hand 
 resting against the mighty shaft, as if from fatigue, while from 
 the other his couteau de ehasse now drooped, its sharp extremity 
 pointing to the ground. 
 
 His appearance thus indicated a pacific disposition ; but remem- 
 bering his ancient treacheries only, and suspicious of his relations 
 with Oolenoe, D'Erlach approached him with caution, as if to the 
 
200 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 encounter with an enemy. As he drew nigh, followed by his 
 band, Le Genre addressed them with mournful accents. 
 
 " Is there no faith for me hereafter, mes amis ? Am I forever 
 cut off from the communion with my comrades ? Shall there be 
 no fellowship between us, D'Erlach ? Shall we not forget the 
 past shall I not be forgiven for my crime, even when I repent it 
 in bitterness and bloody tears. Behold, my brother I proffer 
 you the last assurance." 
 
 These words were accompanied by a sign, that of the mystic 
 brotherhood the ancient masons which none but a few of the 
 party beheld or comprehended. The weapon of Alphonse D'Er- 
 lach was dropped instantly, and his hand extended. He, too, 
 belonged to the ancient order, and the security which was guaran- 
 teed by the exhibition of its token, on the part of the offender, 
 served, when all other pleas would have failed, to secure him 
 sympathy and protection. 
 
 u I have sinned, Alphonse I know it beyond forgiveness 
 sinned like a madman ; but I have borne the penalty. Seldom 
 has human sinner suffered from mental penalty, as I from mine. 
 Behold me ! look I longer human ? I have taken up my covert 
 with the wild beasts of the desert, and they fly from my presence 
 as from a savage more fearful than any they know. In my 
 own desperation I have had no fears. I have herded with beast 
 and reptile, and longed for their hostility. I have lived through 
 all, though I craved not to live, ancf the food which would have 
 choked or poisoned the man not an outcast from communion with 
 his fellows, has kept me strong, with a cruel vitality that has 
 increased by suffering. The crude berries of the wood, the indi- 
 gestible roots of the earth, I have devoured with a hideous crav- 
 ing ; and, in the griefs and privations of my body, my mind has 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D ? ERLACH. 201 
 
 been purged of its impurities. I have seen my sin in its true 
 colors my folly, my vicious passions, the wretch that I was the 
 miserable outlaw and destitute that I am ! That I repent of the 
 crimes that I have done and sought to do, is the good fruit of this 
 bitter on which I have rather preyed than fed. I wrote to 
 Laudonniere of my sorrow and repentance, but he refused to hear 
 me. Bourdet I sought, that he might take me once more to 
 France ; but he too dreaded communion with me ; and when I 
 rushed into his boat, he only bore me to the opposite shore of the 
 river, and set me down to the exploration of new forests, and the 
 endurance of new tortures. I blame them not, that they would 
 not believe me that they refused faith in one who had violated all 
 faith before that, equally due to his God and to his sovereign. 
 Oh ! brother, do not you drive me from you also !" 
 
 And the miserable outlaw clasped his hands passionately together 
 in entreaty, with a face wild with woe and despair, and would 
 have fallen prostrate in humiliation before his comrades, if the 
 arm of Alphonse D'Erlach had not sustained him. 
 
 li But what of this savage, Oolenoe !" demanded the lieutenant, 
 when the first burst of grief had subsided from the lips of Le 
 Genre. 
 
 " Ah ! you know that I have been the prisoner to this savage, 
 
 nd to the very comrades of my sin. For this I have pursued 
 
 you hither. While you march onward to snares such as the 
 
 savages of Potanou have provided for you by means of this 
 
 Oolenoe, treachery is busy and successful at La Caroline." 
 
 " Successful ?" 
 
 " Ay ! successful ! But hear me. When I fled to the forest, 
 took shelter first with the people of Satouriova. I was found 
 at and followed by Fourneaux, Stephen Le Genevois, and La 
 
202 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Roquette. To them, at times, came La Croix, whom Laudon- 
 niere still trusted, and whom even you did not suspect. They 
 came to me with new plans. They were to contrive pretexts for 
 sending you off to a distance, with the best men of the garrison. 
 Oolenoe was a ready agent at once of Potanou, Satouriova, and 
 the conspirators. In your absence, they were to get possession of 
 the garrison and secure the person of Laudonniere." 
 
 " You mean not to say, Le Genre, that they have succeeded 
 in this ?" 
 
 " Ay, do 1 the garrison is in their hands the shipping ; and 
 Laudonniere is himself a close prisoner on board the unfinished 
 brigantine." 
 
 " God of heaven ! and I am here !" 
 
 " When the conspirators found that I no longer agreed to 
 second them in their machinations, and when I threatened to 
 expose them to Laudonniere, they employed Oolenoe to secure 
 my person. Five of his people beset me at the same moment, 
 and held me fast in one of their wigwams until their scheme had 
 been carried into execution. With Laudonniere in their hands, 
 I was abandoned by my keepers, and suffered to go forth. From 
 them I learned the history of all that had taken place in the 
 colony. I saw the danger, and felt that the only hope for Laudon- 
 niere lay in you. Fortunately, I had only to follow those who 
 had held me captive, in order to find the route that you had taken. 
 The people of Oolenoe were soon upon his tracks. I compassed 
 theirs. It is one profit in the outlawed life which I have been 
 doomed to endure, that it has taught me the arts of the savage 
 taught me the instincts of the beast, his stealth, his endurance, 
 his far-sight, and his eager and appreciating scent. Hark ! dost 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH. 203 
 
 hear ! Put thy men in order. The subtle savage is about to gird 
 thee in." 
 
 Scarcely had he spoken, when the forest was alive with cries of 
 warfare. Wild whoops rang through the great avenues of wood, 
 and sudden glimpses of the red-men, followed by nights of arrows, 
 warned the Frenchmen still more emphatically to prepare against 
 the danger. But the arrows, though discharged with skill and 
 muscle, were sent from far ; the dread of the European fire- 
 arms prompting a decent caution, which, in a great degree, less- 
 ened the superiority which the savages possessed in numbers. 
 The woods were now filled with enemies. Tribe after tribe had 
 collected, along their route, as the Frenchmen had advanced, 
 and every forward step had served only to increase the great im- 
 pediments in the way of their return. It was due wholly to the 
 excellence of the watch nightly kept by D'Erlach, that they had 
 not been butchered while they slept. It was in consequence of 
 his admirable caution, and provision against attack while they 
 marched, that they had not fallen into frequent ambush, as they 
 moved by noonday. Nightly had the subtle chief, Oolenoe, stolen 
 away to his comrades, arraying his numbers, and counselling their 
 pursuit and progress. His schemes detected, the mask was 
 thrown aside as no longer of use, and open warfare was the cry 
 through the forests. The necessity was before our Frenchmen of 
 fighting their way back. The effort of the red-men was to cut 
 them off in detail, by frequent surprises, by incessant assaults and 
 annoyances, and by straitening them in the search after water and 
 provisions. 
 
 It would be a weary task to pursue, day by day, and hour by 
 hour, the thousand details, by which each party endeavored to 
 attain its object. The events of such a conflict must necessarily 
 
204 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 be monotonous Enough to say, that the whole genius of 
 Alphonse D'Erlach was brought forth during the constant emer- 
 gencies of his march and proved equal to them all. His first ob- 
 ject was to pursue a new route on his return. This greatly short 
 ened the distance, and increased the chances of food 5 since it was 
 only from the route along which he came that Oolenoe had con- 
 trived the removal of all the provisions. The progress was thus 
 varied on their return. It was enlivened by incessant attacks of 
 the savages. Their arrows were continually showered upon our 
 Frenchmen from every thicket that could afford an ambush ; but, 
 habited as they were with the escaupil, or stuffed cotton doublets, 
 which the Spaniards had invented for protection in their warfare 
 with the Indians, the damage from this source was comparatively 
 small. Some few of the Frenchmen were galled by slight wounds, 
 one or two were seriously hurt, and one of them suffered the loss 
 of an eye. In all these conflicts, Le Genre fought with the 
 greatest bravery with a valor, indeed, that seemed to set at 
 scorn every thought of danger or disaster. He was always the 
 first to rush forward to the assault, and always the last to leave 
 the pursuit, when the trumpets sounded the recal. He proved an 
 admirable second to Alphonse D'Erlach, and materially contri- 
 buted to the success of the various plans adopted by the latter 
 for the safety of his people. 
 
 It was the ninth day from "that on which they left La Caroline, 
 when Le Genre made his appearance, and Oolenoe fled to the 
 forests. Six days had they been engaged in their backward 
 journey. In this route, diverging greatly from that which they 
 had pursued before, and following the course indicated by the sun 
 with a remarkable judgment, which tended still more to raise the 
 reputation of Alphonse D'Erlach in the eyes of his followers, they 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH. 205 
 
 suddenly struck into a path with which Le Genre himself was 
 familiar. It proved to be one of those which he had pursued on 
 a previous occasion, when, in the possession of the confidence of 
 his chief, he had been permitted to lead forth a party for explora- 
 tion. Our Frenchmen now knew where they were, and thirty-six 
 hours of steady travelling would, they felt assured, bring them 
 within sight' of the fortress of La Caroline. But, as if the in- 
 veterate chieftain, Oolenoe, had made a like discovery at the same 
 moment, his assaults became more desperate, and were urged with 
 a singular increase of skill and fury. Now it was that the bar- 
 barian tribes of Florida seemed to gather into a host such a 
 host as encountered the famous Ponce de Leon and other Spanish 
 chieftains when they sought to overrun the land. They no longer 
 sped their arrows from a distance, which, in giving themselves 
 security from the fire-arms of the Frenchmen, rendered their own 
 shafts in great degree innocuous. But it was observed that, 
 when they had succeeded in drawing the fire of the Frenchmen by 
 two successive assaults, they usually grew bolder at a third, and 
 oame forward with an audacity which seemed to put at defiance 
 equally the weapons and the spirit of their enemies. The in- 
 equality of numbers between the respective parties, made this 
 subtle policy of Oolenoe particularly dangerous to the weaker. 
 Alphonse D'Erlach felt his danger, and the openly-expressed ap- 
 prehensions of Le Grenre declared it. The subject was one of great 
 anxiety. The whole day had been spent in conflicts, conflicts 
 which were interrupted, it is true, by frequent intervals of rest, 
 but which continued to increase in their violence as evening 
 approached. Several of the Frenchmen were now wounded, two 
 of them dangerously, and all of them were greatly wearied. Le 
 Genre urged D'Erlach to a night movement, in which they might 
 
206 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 leave their enemies behind them, and perhaps cause them to give 
 up the pursuit, particularly as they would then be almost within 
 striking distance of La Caroline ; but the coolness and judgment 
 of D'Erlach had not deserted him, or been impaired by his 
 increase of difficulties. 
 
 " And how," said he, " am I to know whether we shall find 
 friends or foes in possession of La Caroline ? This is not the 
 least of my dangers. I must preserve my force against that doubt ; 
 but keep them fresh, certainly, and if possible without diminution, 
 so that I may rescue Laudonniere or sustain myself. Besides, to 
 attempt the night march I must leave these poor fellows, Mercoeur 
 and Dumain, to be scalped by the savages, or force them forward 
 only that they may drop by the way. No ! we must take rest 
 ourselves, and give them all the rest we can. We must encamp 
 as soon as possible, and the shelter of yon little bay, to which we 
 are approaching, seems to offer an excellent cover. "We will make 
 for that." 
 
 He did as he said. His camp was formed on the edge of one 
 of those basins which, in the southern country is usually termed a 
 bay so called in consequence of the dense forests of the shrub 
 laurel that covers the region with the most glistening green, and 
 fills the languid atmosphere with a most rich but oppressive 
 perfume. Here he disposed his little command, so that the ap- 
 proaches were few and such as could be easily guarded. Here he 
 was secure from those wild flights of arrows which, in a spot less 
 thickly wooded, might have been made to annoy a company, dis- 
 charged even in the darkness of the night. But Alphonse 
 D'Erlach had another reason for selecting this as his present place 
 of shelter. As soon as he had taken care of his wounded men, he 
 examined the munitions of all. He had been sparing his powder, 
 
THE ADVENTURE OP D'ERLACH. 207 
 
 and lie was now rejoiced to find that the quantity was quite 
 sufficient, according to the exigencies of the warfare of that day, 
 to suffice for two or more days longer. This enabled him to devise 
 a project by which to ensnare the savages to their ruin. Hitherto 
 he had classed his men in three divisions. The first of these en- 
 countered the first onslaught of the enemy, and the second were 
 prepared for its renewal, while tlfe third was a reserve for a 
 continuance of the struggle, giving time to the two first divisions 
 to reload. But it had been seen, during the day, that the savage-s 
 had made a corresponding division of their force ; that successive 
 attacks, followed up with great rapidity, drew the fires of his 
 several squads, and so well aware did the assailants now appear to 
 be of this practice, that, after the third fire, they boldly rushed 
 almost within striking distance of the Frenchmen, hurling their 
 stone hatchets with wonderful dexterity and precision. To provide 
 for this contingency to convert it to profitable results was the 
 study of D'Erlach. He felt that, but for some stratagem, it was 
 not improbable that the whole party would loss their scalps before 
 the closing of another day. He had observed that the bay in 
 which he harbored his men contained, interspersed with its laurels, 
 a perfect wilderness of canes, the fluted reeds of the swamp and 
 morass, common to the country, some of which grew to be nearly 
 twenty feet in height. These were still green in September, their 
 feathery tops waving to and fro in every breeze, while, under the 
 pressure of the sudden gust, their shafts, in seeming solid 
 phalanx, laid themselves almost to the earth, to recover, like an 
 artful and plumed warrior, when the danger had overblown. 
 Without declaring his plans, D'Erlach had a number of these 
 canes cut down in secresy, and divided into sections of four or five 
 feet. The extreme barrel of each of these sections was filled 
 
208 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 tightly with gunpowder, and a fuse introduced at the orifice which 
 received the powder. Strips from the shirts of his people were 
 employed to bind the portion of the reed thus filled, and two of 
 these shafts were lashed tightly to each matchlock, the charged 
 portion protruding near the muzzle. He needed no words to 
 explain his policy to his people. They understood the object in 
 beholding the process, and admired the ingenuity which promised 
 them hereafter the most signal advantages. 
 
 Rigid was the watch maintained that night in the camp of our 
 Frenchmen. Fortunately, they had obtained that day a fresh 
 supply of food while passing through a miserable hamlet, from 
 which the occupants had fled at their approach. Their supper was 
 eaten in silence and anxiety. The watches throughout the night 
 were two, Le Genre taking the first, while D'Erlach, from twelve 
 till daylight, maintained the last. There were no alarms. The 
 Indians had retired, as was conjectured, to place themselves in 
 some favorite place of ambush against the coming of the French- 
 men the next day. One of the two men who had been most se- 
 verely wounded among the Frenchmen, died that night in great 
 agony. The arrow of the savage had penetrated to his lungs. 
 He had imprudently thrown off his coat of escaupil, in consequence 
 of the great heat of the noonday, and a skirmish took place before 
 he could reclothe himself, in which he received his hurt. D'Erlach 
 had the body laid in the deepest portion of the bay, its only 
 covering being a forest of canes, which were cut down and thrown 
 over the corpse. 
 
 With the first rosy blush of the dawn, the little troop was in 
 motion. At setting off D'Erlach gave ample directions for the 
 anticipated conflict. His command was divided into three com- 
 panies. From the first of these, three men were commissioned 
 
THE ADVENTURE OP D'ERLACH. 209 
 
 o deliver the fire of their pieces on the appearance of the In- 
 lians. The rest were to discharge one of the two loaded sec- 
 tions of cane attached to the matchlocks. The second and third 
 were to do likewise. The effect of this arrangement would be to 
 leave ten out of nineteen pieces undischarged, and ready for fatal 
 use on the more daring approach of the savages. Their prepara- 
 tions, and the proposed ruse were soon put to proof. It was 
 about nine o'clock in the morning, when the company was about 
 to enter a defile which led to an extensive tract of pines. At the 
 entrance, on each hand, stretched a morass that seemed intermin- 
 able. The opening to the pine forest seemed a narrow gorge, the 
 jaws of which were densely occupied with a tangled thicket that 
 seemed to bafHe approach. D'Erlach saw the dangers which 
 awaited him in such a defile. His three bands were made to 
 march separately as they approached it, and very slowly. A 
 moderate interval lay between them, which would enable them, 
 while an enemy could only attack them singly, in turn to support 
 each other. The judgment of our young lieutenant did not 
 deceive him. On each side of this gorge, Oolenoe had posted 
 his warriors. They occupied the shelter of the thicket on both 
 hands. Their eagerness and impatience, increased by the slow 
 progress of the Frenchmen, whom they regarded as only march- 
 ing to the slaughter, lost them some of the advantages of this 
 position. They showed themselves too soon. With a horrid 
 howl the young warriors discharged their arrows from the covert, 
 and then boldly dashed out among the pines. The Frenchmen 
 were nerved for the struggle. Forewarned, they had been fore- 
 armed. There was no surprise. Coolly, the three select men de- 
 livered the fire of their pieces, and each with fatal effect. In the 
 same moment the charged barrels of the cane were ignited and 
 
210 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 torn asunder by an explosion which was sufficiently gun-like to 
 deceive the unpractised ear of the Indian. The savages answered 
 this fire by a cloud of arrows, and began to advance. It was 
 now that the remaining section of the division, which had re- 
 tained their fire, delivered it with great precision and an effect 
 similar to the former ; those who had emptied their pieces on the 
 previous occasion, contenting themselves with discharging a cane. 
 By this time, the two other divisions, under D'Erlach, had pushed 
 through the gorge, and were spreading themselves right and left, 
 among the pines, in a situation to practice the same game with 
 their assailants, which had been played so well by the foremost 
 party. We must not follow the caprices of the battle. It is 
 enough to say that, deceived by the apparent discharge of all the 
 pieces of the Frenchmen, the Indians, headed by Oolenoe him- 
 self, dashed desperately upon their enemies, and were received 
 by the fatal fire from more than a dozen guns, which sent their 
 foremost men headlong to the ground, the subtle chief, Oolenoe 
 himself, among them. At this sight, the savages set up a howl 
 of dismay, and fled in all directions ; while Oolenoe, thrice stag- 
 gering to his feet, at length sunk back upon the ground, writhing 
 in an agony which did not, however, prevent him, on the approach 
 of D'Erlach, from making a desperate effort to smite him with 
 his stone hatchet. His whole form collapsed with the effort, 
 and wrenching the rude but heavy implement from the dying 
 savage, the lieutenant drove it into his brain and ended his 
 agonies with a single stroke. 
 
 With this adventure, the difficulties of the party ceased. That 
 night they reached the fortress, in season to confirm the authority 
 of Laudonniere ; and, as we have seen, to assist in the execution 
 of the mutineers by whom he had been temporarily overthrown. 
 
XVI. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 SUSTAINED and reassured by the return of his lieutenant, Lau- 
 donniere, released from his bonds, proceeded to re-organize his 
 garrison. He promoted those who had proved faithful when all 
 threatened to be false, and deprived the doubtful, or the danger- 
 ous, of all their previous trusts.. To improve and strengthen his 
 forts, to build vessels, which were to supply the places of those 
 which the mutineers had taken, and others of smaller burthen for 
 the express navigation of the river, were his immediate cares, in 
 all of which his progress was considerable. During this period 
 he lived on relations of tolerable amity with his Indian neighbors. 
 Their little crops had, by this time, been harvested, and they 
 were not unwilling to exchange their surplus productions for the 
 objects of European manufacture which they coveted. The sup- 
 plies brought by the red-men were " fish, deere, turki-cocks, 
 leopards, little beares, and other things, according to the place of 
 their habitation," for which they were recompensed with " cer- 
 taine hatchets, knives, beades of glasse, combs, and looking- 
 glasses." The " leopards and little beares" were probably wild 
 cats and raccoons, or opossums, all of which furnished excellent 
 feeding to our hungry Frenchmen in September. The wild-cat 
 
212 
 
 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 is usually a fat beast, differing very considerably from the more 
 savage tribes to whom we liken him, the wolf and the panther ; 
 while the opossum is probably the fattest of all animals at seasons 
 when the forest mast is abundant. Of the quality of the meat 
 ,ve will say nothing. To those with whom the appetite has been 
 nade properly subservient to the taste, and who suffer from no 
 leeessitieSj his flavor is scarcely such as legitimates his admission 
 into the kitchen. But the case is far otherwise with those inferior 
 tribes with whom the appetites are coarse and eager. The negro 
 is seldom so well satisfied as when he feeds on 'possum. " 'Pos- 
 sum," is the common remark among this people, " 'possum heap 
 better than pig !" To those who know how high is the estimate 
 which the negro sets upon the pig family an estimate which is 
 the occasion of an epidemic under which a fat pig, straying into 
 the woods in June and July, is sure to perish the compliment is 
 inappreciable. 
 
 Thus, feeding well, with his health and self-esteem gradually 
 recovering, Laudonniere began to resume his explorations, and to 
 cast his eyes about him with his old desire for precious discoveries 
 It was about this time that he was visited by a couple of savages 
 from the dominions of King Maracou. This potentate dwelt 
 some forty leagues to the south of La Caroline. The Indians, 
 among other matters, related to Laudonniere that, in the service 
 of another native monarch named Onathaqua, there was a man 
 whom they called " Barbu, or the bearded man," who was not of 
 the people of the country. Another foreigner, whose name they 
 knew not, was said to inhabit the house of King Mathiaca, a 
 forest chieftain, whose tribes occupied a contiguous region. From 
 the descriptions thus given him, Laudonniere readily conceived 
 that these strange men were Christians. He accordingly opened 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 213 
 
 a communication with the tribes by which the intermediate 
 country was occupied, and under the stimulus of a liberal 
 recompense, promised them in European goods, the two strangers 
 were brought in safety to La Caroline. The conjecture of 
 Laudonniere proved rightly founded. They were white men and 
 Christians Spaniards who had suffered shipwreck some fifteen 
 years before, upon the flats called " The Martyrs," and 
 over and against that region of the country, which at this 
 period was called Calos from a great native prince of that 
 name.* This savage repaired to the wreck, and carried off into 
 captivity its crew and passengers. Many of these were women x 
 who became the wives of their conquerors. The king of Calos, 
 whom a Spaniard described as the " goodliest and the tallest 
 Indian of the country, a mighty man, a warrior, and having many 
 subjects under his obedience," not only saved the Europeans 
 from their wreck, but, by diligent and indefatigable perseverance, 
 rescued most of the treasure that was in the vessel ; the wealth 
 which had been gleaned with unsparing cruelties from the bowels 
 of the earth in Peru and Mexico. The treasures thus obtained 
 by King Calos, were represented to be of almost limitless value. 
 " He had great store of golde and silver, so farre forth that, in a 
 ccrtaine village, he had a pit full thereof, which was at the least 
 as high as a man, and as large a^ a tunne." According to our 
 Spaniards, it might be easy, " with an hundred shot," to obtain all 
 this spoil ; to say nothing of the scattered treasures which might 
 be gleaned from the common people of the country. That the ex- 
 tent of their resources might not be under-valued, the captive Chris- 
 
 * " Ces Calos ou Carlos, sont anthropophages, et fort cruel, ils demeur- 
 ent dans une 13aye, qui porte e'galement leur nom, et celui de Ponce de 
 Leon." CHARLEVOIX. 
 
214 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 tians farther informed him, that the young women of the coun 
 try, when engaged in their primitive dances, assembled to their 
 festivities in a glorious costume, such as would be an irresistible 
 charm in any European assembly. They were not only lovely 
 in themselves, with their dark beauties partially unfolded to the 
 gaze, and the tawny hues enlivened by the warm lustre of the 
 sun, shining in crimson flushes through the prevailing hue of the 
 complexion, but they wore, suspended from their girdles, plates 
 of gold, large as a saucer, the number and weight of which 
 would have totally impeded the action as well as agility of any 
 but a people so exquisitely and vigorously proportioned. The 
 men wore similar decorations, though not perhaps in such great 
 profusion. This gold, according to their account, was derived 
 chiefly from vessels cast away the coasts of the territory of 
 King Calos being particularly treacherous, and their secret, lurk- 
 ing shoals frequently rising up suddenly to rob the king of Spain 
 of his hardly-won ingots. The residue of his wealth in the pre- 
 cious metals, King Calos derived from the kings and chiefs of the 
 interior. Perhaps more of it was obtained in this way than our 
 Spaniards knew. There can be no doubt but that the mines of 
 the great Apalachian ranges were explored, however imperfectly, 
 by the red-men of the country, following, in alt probability, some 
 superior races, who first taught ^hem where to look, and of whom 
 we have now but the most imperfect vestiges. 
 
 Among the articles of traffic, which the people of Calos sold to 
 the interior tribes, was a domestic root, constituting a favorite 
 bread-stuff which was particularly grateful to the palates of their 
 people. This is described as forming a fine flour, than which it 
 it is impossible to find better, and as supplying the wants of an 
 immense tract of country. It was undoubtedly the breadstuff 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 215 
 
 known as coonti in modern periods. This, and a species of date, 
 taken from a sort of palm tree the persimmon probably were 
 commodities in which they dealt to great extent. Of the root 
 from which they made their favorite breadstuff, it is written, that 
 the proprietors were very slow to part with, unless well paid for 
 it. The people of King Calos are probably to be traced through 
 a thousand fluctuations of place, character and fortune, to the 
 Seminoles of recent periods a like people, living in the same 
 region, and rejoicing in the same fruits and freedom. 
 
 Of this King Calos, the narrative of our Spaniards goes farther, 
 passing finally into the province of the miraculous. He is describ- 
 ed as a prince held in special reverence by his subjects ; not sim- 
 ply for his valor as a soldier, or his wisdom as a ruler, but his 
 wondrous powers as a magician. He seems to have combined the 
 civil and the religious powers of the nation to have been priest 
 and prophet as well as Governor. The government of his coun- 
 try, like that of simple nations generally, was theocratic and pa- 
 triarchal. His people were taught to believe that it was through 
 his spells and incantations, that,, the earth brought forth her 
 fruits. He resorted to various arts to perpetuate this faith, and 
 various cruelties to subdue and punish that spirit of inquiry which 
 might test too closely the propriety of his spiritual claims. 
 Twice a year he retired from the sight of all his subjects, two or 
 three of his friends alone excepted, and was supposed, at this sea- 
 son, to be busy with his mighty sorceries. Woe to the unlucky 
 wretch who, whether purposely or by accident, intruded upon his 
 mysteries. The dwelling to which he had resort was tabooed on 
 every hand ; and death, with the most fearful penalties, stooc 
 warningly at all the avenues by which it was approached. Each 
 year a prisoner was sacrificed to the savage god he served ; and 
 
216 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 this prisoner, so long as Barbu had been a captive, had been a 
 Spaniard always the supply being sufficient, from the frequency 
 of wrecks upon the coast, by which an adequate number of captives 
 was always to be had. The dominions of Calos are described as 
 lying along a river, beyond the cape of Florida, forty or fifty leagues 
 towards the southwest ; while those of Onathaqua were nearer to 
 La Caroline, on the northern side of the cape, " in a place which 
 we call in the chart, Cannaverel, which is in 28 degreees." 
 
 When the two Spaniards were brought before Laudonniere they 
 were entirely naked. Their hair hung below their loins, as did 
 that of the savages ; and so completely had they become ac- 
 customed to the habits of the red-men, that the resumption of the 
 costume of civilization was not only strange but irksome. But 
 Laudonniere was not disposed to permit their acquired habits to 
 supersede those of their origin. He caused the hair of his newly- 
 found Christians to be shorn, as heedless of the loss of strength 
 which might follow as ever was Dalilah while docking the long 
 locks of her giant lover. It was with great reluctance that the 
 wild men submitted to this shearing. When the hair was finally 
 taken off they insisted upon preserving it, and rolling it in linen 
 put it away carefully, to be shown in Europe as a proof of their 
 wild and cruel experience. In removing the shock from one of 
 them, a little treasure of gold was found hidden in its masses, to 
 the value of five-and-twenty crowns, by which the Spaniard 
 conclusively proved that one portion of his Spanish education had 
 never deserted him. What a commentary upon the wisdom of 
 civilization, that, in such a state, with such bonds, after such 
 losses, of freedom, position, and the society of all the well-beloved 
 and equal, his heart should still yearn for the keeping of a trea- 
 sure which must, at every moment, have only served to mock 
 

 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 217 
 
 the possessor with the dearer treasures of home, country, friends, 
 religion, of which his fortunes had made utter forfeit. But let ua 
 pasa to the narrative of Barbu, himself one of the recovered 
 Spaniards which we owe, in some degree to history, but mostly 
 to tradition. 
 
 10 
 
XVII. 
 
 THE NARRATIVE OF LE BARBU: 
 
 THE BEARDED MAN OF CALOS. 
 
 Now when Barbu, the bearded man, who had been dwelling 
 among the people of Calos,had been shorn of the long and matted 
 hair and beard, which had made him much more fearful to the 
 eye than any among the savages themselves, and when our right 
 worthy captain had commanded that we should bathe and cleanse 
 him, and had given him shirts of fine linen and clothes from his own 
 wardrobe, so that he should once more appear like a Christian man 
 among his kindred, albeit he seemed to be greatly disquieted, and 
 exceedingly awkward therein, then did he conduct him into the 
 corps de garde, where our people were all bidden to assemble. 
 There, being seated all, Barbu, the Spaniard, being entreated thereto 
 by our right worthy captain, proceeded to unfold the full relation of 
 the grievous strait and peril by which he had fallen into the power 
 of King Calos, and of what happened to him thereafter. And it 
 was curious to see how that he, a Spaniard born, and not ill- 
 educated in one of the goodly towns of old Spain, in all gentle 
 learning, should, in the space of fifteen years sojourn among the 
 savages, have so greatly suffered the loss of his native tongue. 
 Slow was he of speech, and greatly minded to piece out with the 
 
THE NARRATIVE OF LE BARBU. 219 
 
 Indian language the many words in which the memory of his own 
 had failed him. Well was it for our understanding of what he 
 delivered, that so many of us had been dwelling among the red- 
 men at other times, to speak nothing of Monsieur D'Erlach, 
 Monsieur Ottigny, both lieutenants in the garrison, and Monsieur 
 La Roche Ferriere, who, with another, by special commandment 
 of our captain, had dwelt for a matter of several months among 
 the people of King Olata Utina. By means of the help brought 
 by these, we were enabled to find the meaning of those words in 
 which Barbu failed in his Spanish. So it was that we followed 
 the fortunes of the bearded man, according to the narrative as here 
 set down. 
 
 Then, at the repeated entreaty of Monsieur Laudonniere, 
 Barbu arose and spoke : 
 
 " First, Senor Captain, I have to declare how much I thank 
 you for the protection you have given me, the kindness which has 
 clad me once more in Christian garments, and the cost and travail 
 with which you have recovered me from my bonds among the 
 heathen. Albeit, that I feel strangely in these new habits, and 
 that my native tongue comes back to me slowly when I would 
 speak from a full and overflowing heart, yet will I strive to make 
 you sensible of all the facts in my sad history, and of the great 
 gratitude which I feel for those by whose benevolence I may fondly 
 hope that my troubles are about to end. I know not now the day 
 or season when we left the port of Nombre de Dios, in an excellent 
 ship, well filled with treasures of the mine, and a goodly company, 
 on our return to the land of our fathers beyond the sea. My own 
 share in the wealth of this vessel was considerable, and I had 
 other treasures in the person of a dear brother, and a sister who 
 
220 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 accompanied us. Our sister was married to one who was with us 
 also, and the united wealth of the three, such was our fond ex- 
 pectations, would enable us to retire to our native town of Burgos, 
 and commend us to the favor of our people. But it was written 
 that we should not realize these blessed expectations, and that I 
 alone, of the four, should be again permitted to dwell among a 
 Christian people. Yet I give not up the hope that I shall yet 
 see my brother, who was carried away among the Indians of the 
 far west, when we were scattered among the tribes, in the 
 grand division of our captives. But this part of my story comes 
 properly hereafter. 
 
 " We put to sea from the port of Nombre de Dios with 
 very favoring winds ; but these lasted us not long, ere they 
 came out from all quarters of the heavens, and we ran before the 
 storm under a rag of sail, without knowing in what course 
 we sped. Thus, for three days, we were driven before the baffling 
 winds ; and when the storm lulled, the clouds still hung about us, 
 and our pilot wot nothing of that part of the sea in which we 
 went. Two days more followed, and still we were saddened 
 by the clouds that kept evermore coming down from hea- 
 ven, and brooding upon the deep like great fogs that gather in 
 the morn among the mountains. Thus we sped, weary and de- 
 sponding as we were, without any certainty as to the course we 
 kept, or the region of space or country round about us. Mean- 
 while, the seams of our vessel began to yawn, and great was the 
 labor which followed, to all hands, to keep her clear of water. 
 This we did not wholly ; and it was in vain that our carpenter 
 sought for, in order to stop, the leak. Thus, weary and sad, we 
 continued still sweeping forward slowly, looking anxiously, with 
 many prayers, for the sun by day and the moon and stars by 
 
THE ADVENTURE OP LE BARBU. 221 
 
 night. But the Blessed Virgin was implored in vain. We had 
 offended. There was treasure on board the vessel, but it was 
 stained with blood. You have not heard in your histories of the 
 bloody Juan de Mores y Silva, who tortured the unhappy 
 Mexicans by fire, even in the caverns where they resided, seeking 
 the gold, which they gained not sufficiently soon, or in sufficient 
 quantity, to satisfy his cruel lust for. wealth. He was one of our 
 companions on this voyage, bound homewards with an immense 
 subsidy in ingots huge chests of gold and silver with which he 
 aimed to swell into grandeur with new titles, when he arrived in 
 Spain. But the just Providence willed it otherwise. He was, 
 doubtless, the Jonah in our vessel, who fought against the prayers 
 for mercy and protection which the true believers addressed to 
 the Holy Virgin in our behalf." 
 
 Here our captain, Laudonniere, interrupted Barbu, and said 
 
 " Verily, Senor Spaniard, had thy prayer been addressed to 
 God himself, the Father, through the intervention and the media- 
 tion of the Blessed Saviour, his Son, whose blood was shed for sin- 
 ners, it might have better profited thy case. Thy prayers to the 
 Virgin were an unseemly elevation of a mortal woman over the 
 divinity of the Godhead. But I will not vex thee with disputa- 
 tion. Thou art a Christian, though it is after a fashion which, to 
 me seems scarcely more becoming than that of these poor savages 
 of Calos, who yield faith, as thou tellest me, to the spells and 
 enchantments of their bloody sovereign. But, proceed with thy 
 story, which I shall be slow to break in upon again until thou art 
 well ended." 
 
 With the permission thus vouchsafed him, Barbu, the bearded 
 man, thus resumed his discourse : 
 
 " We plead for the interposition of the Virgin, Monsieur le 
 
222 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Capitaine, not as we deem her the source of power and of mercy, 
 but as we hold it irreverent to rush even with our prayers to the 
 feet of the awful Father himself ; and rejoice to believe that she 
 who was specially chosen, as one who" should bear the burden of 
 the Saviour-child, was of a spirit properly sanctified and pure for 
 such purposes of interposition. But, as thou sayest, we will leave 
 this matter. If we offend in our rites and offices, it is because 
 we err in judgment, and not that our hearts wish to afflict the 
 feelings or the thoughts of those who see with other eyes 
 the truth. Besides, my long and outlandish abode among the 
 red-men, might well excuse me many errors." 
 
 " And so, indeed, it might, Seiior Spaniard," said Laudonniere 
 graciously ; then, as the latter remained silent, Barbu continued : 
 
 " Doubtless, Seftor, as I said before, the bloody Juan de Mores 
 y Silva, was the Jonah of our vessel, on whose account the 
 Blessed Providence turned a deaf ear to our prayers and entrea- 
 ties. It was not decreed that he should escape to rejoice in his 
 ill-gotten treasure ; and his fortunes were so mixed up with ours, 
 that the overthrow of one was necessarily at the grievous loss and 
 peril of us all. How many days we lay tossing on the tumultuous 
 waves, or swept to and fro, beaten and sore distressed by the vio- 
 lent and changeful winds, I do not now remember, but it was in 
 very sickness and hopelessness of heart, that we lay down at night 
 as one lies down and submits to a power with which he feels him- 
 self wholly powerless to contend. Thus did we cast ourselves 
 down as the dreary shades of night came over us, with a deeper 
 and drearier cloud than ever, not seeking sleep, but seized upon by 
 it, as it were, to save us from the suffering, akin to madness, which 
 must haply follow upon our fearful waking thoughts. While we slept, 
 our vessel struck upon the low flats of the Martyrs those shoals 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 223 
 
 which have laid bare the ribs of so many goodly and gold-laden 
 ships of my countrymen, sucking down their brave hearts and all 
 their treasures in the deep. We were lifted high by the surges, 
 and rested, beyond recovery, upon the shoals, from which the re- 
 morseless seas refused again to lift us off. Our vessel lay upon 
 one side, and the greedy waves rushed into her hold. We were 
 stunned rather than awakened by the shock. We strove not for 
 safety or repair. How many perished in the moment when the 
 ship fell over I know not, but one of these was the husband of my 
 sister. He was drowned in the first rush of the billows into the 
 ship, though, as it was night, we knew it not. My sister had 
 thrown herself beside my brother, and was sleeping upon his arm. 
 She was the first to learn her misfortune, awaking, as she averred, 
 to hear the faint cries of her lord for succor, though she knew not 
 whence the sounds arose. When our eyes opened upon the scene, 
 strange to say, the clouds had disappeared. The dark waves 
 of the tempest had sped away to other regions. A gentle 
 breeze from the land had arisen, full of sweet fragrance and a 
 healing freshness, and, bright over head, in the blessed heavens, 
 blossomed fresh the eternal host of the stars. Oh ! the life and 
 soothing in that smile of God. But we were not strong for the 
 blessing, nor sufficiently grateful that life was still vouchsafed us. 
 The day dawned upon us to increase our wretchedness. It left 
 us without hope. Our food was ruined by the waves that filled 
 the vessel, and though the land was spread before us in a length- 
 ened stripe, bearing forests which were surely full of fragrance, 
 we beheld not the means by which we should gain its pleasant 
 shores with safety. Our boats had perished in the surf ; one of 
 them stove to pieces, and the other swept away. In our despon- 
 dency and our sleep we had yielded our courage and our provi- 
 
224 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 dence, and we lay now in the sight of heaven, amidst the equal 
 fealm of sea and sky, with the land spreading lovelily before us, 
 yet could we do nothing for ourselves. We lay without food or 
 drink all day, seeing nothing but the bare skies, the sea, and the 
 shore, which only mocked our eyes. My sister sorrowed and 
 sickened in my arms. She cried for water as one cries in the 
 delirious agonies of fever. She would drink of the water of the 
 deep, but this we denied her ; and the day sunk again, and with it 
 her hope and strength. With the increase of the winds that 
 night, she grew delirious ; and, when we knew not and this was 
 Strange, for I cannot believe that I closed mine eyes that night 
 she disappeared. Once, it seemed that I heard her voice, in a 
 wild scream, calling me by name, and I started forward to feel 
 that she was gone. She left my arms while I lay insensible. It 
 was not sleep. It was stupor. My consciousness was drowned 
 in my great grief, and in the exhaustion of all my strength for 
 lack of food. 
 
 " My brother and myself alone survived of all our family. 
 With the knowledge that our sister was really gone swallowed 
 up, doubtless, in the remorseless deep, into which she had darted 
 in her delirium we came to a full consciousness. Then, when 
 it was only misery to know, we were permitted to know all, and 
 to feel the whole terrible truth pressing upon us, that we were 
 alone in that dreary world of sea. Not alone of our company ; 
 only of our people. Many there were who still kept in life, 
 watchful but hopeless. We could see their dusky forms by the 
 faint light of the stars, crouching along the slanting plane of the 
 vessel, upon which, by cord, and sail, and spar, we still contrived 
 to maintain foothold ; and, anon, our company would lessen. 
 The solemn silence of all things, except the dash of the waves 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 225 
 
 against us, rolling up with murmurs, and breaking away in wrath, 
 was interrupted only by a sullen plunge, ever and anon, into the 
 engulphing deep, as the hope went out utterly in the heart of the 
 victim, and he yielded to death, rather than prolong the wretched 
 endurance of a life so full of misery. 
 
 " Thus the night passed ; not without other signs to cheer as 
 well as startle us. Through the darkness we could see lights in 
 the direction of the shore, as if borne by human hands. With 
 the dawn of day, our eyes were turned eagerly in that direction. 
 Nor did we look in vain. The shore swarmed with human forms. 
 A hundred canoes were already darting along the margin of the 
 great deep, and evident were the preparations of the people of 
 this wild region, to visit our stranded vessel. In a little time 
 they came. Their canoes were some of them large enough to 
 carry forty warriors, though made from a single tree. They 
 came to us in order of battle ; a hundred boats, holding each 
 from ten to fifty warriors. These carried spear and shield, huge 
 lances, and well-curved bows, drawn with powerful sinews of the 
 deer. Their arrows were long shafts of the feathery reed, such 
 as flourish in all these forests. The feather from the eagle's wing 
 gave it buoyancy, and the end of the shaft was barbed with a 
 keen flint, wrought by art to an edge such as our best workmen 
 give to steel. Many were the chief men among these warriors, 
 who approached us in full panoply of barbaric pomp. Turbans 
 of white and crimson-stained cotton, such as the Turk is shown 
 to wear, though folded in a still nobler fashion, were wrapped 
 about their heads, over which shook bunches of plumes taken 
 from the paroquet, the crane, and the eagle. Robes of cotton, 
 white, or crimson, or scarlet, colored with native dies of the 
 forest, clothed their loins, and fell flowing from their shoulders ; 
 10* 
 
226 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 and, ever and anon, as they came, they shook a thousand gourds 
 which they had made to rattle with little pebbles, which, with their 
 huge drum, wrought of the mammoth gourd, and covered with 
 raw deer skin, made a clamor most astounding to our hapless 
 ears. Thus they hailed our vessel, making it appear as if they 
 intended to have fought us ; but when they beheld how famishing 
 we lay before them, with scarcely strength and courage enough to 
 plead for mercy speaking only through our dry and scalded eyes, 
 and by clasping our hard and weary hands together then it 
 seemed as if they at once understood and felt for us ; and they 
 drew nigh with their canoes, and lowered their weapons, and 
 darting with lithe sinews upon the sides of our leaning vessel, 
 they held gourds of water to our lips, which cheered us while we 
 swallowed, as with the sense of a fresh existence. 
 
 " Thus were we rescued from the yawning deep. The savages 
 took us, with a rough kindness, from the wreck. They carried 
 us in their canoes to the shore ; and several were the sur- 
 vivors, as well women as men. They gave us food and 
 nourishment, and when we were refreshed and strengthened, they 
 separated us from our comrades, sharing us among our captors, 
 each according to his rank, his power, or his favor with his sove- 
 reign. Seventeen of our poor Christians were thus scattered 
 among the tribes and over the territories of the king of Calos. 
 Some were kept in his household ; but my hapless brother was 
 not among them. He was given to a chief of the far tribes of 
 the West, who made instant preparation to depart with him. 
 When they would have borne us apart, with a swift bound and a 
 common instinct, we buried ourselves in a mutual embrace. The 
 chiefs looked on with a laugh that made us shudder ; while he to 
 whom my brother was given, with a savage growl, thrust his hands 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 227 
 
 into the flowing locks of my brother, and hurled him away to the 
 grasp of those who stood in waiting for the captive. He struggled 
 once more to embrace me, and long after I could hear his cry 
 4 Brother, brother, shall we see each other never more !' They 
 heeded not his cries or struggles, or mine. They threw him to 
 the ground with violence, bound him hand and foot, with gyves of 
 the forest, and placing him in one of their great canoes, they sped 
 away with him along the shores, as they treaded to &e mighty 
 West, where roll the great waters of the Mechachebe. 
 
 " Thus was I separated from my only surviving kinsman ; and 
 neither of us could tell the fate which was in waiting for the 
 other. Verily, then did I look to find the worst. I no longer 
 had a hope. It is my shame, as a Christian, that, in that desolate 
 moment, I ceased to have a fear. I not only expected death, 
 but I longed for it. I could have kissed the friendly hand that 
 had driven the heavy stone hatchet of the savage into my brain. 
 But, the Blessed Mother of Grod be praised, I thought not, in my 
 despair, to do violence to my own self. That sin was spared me 
 among my many sins, in that hour of despondency and woe ; and 
 all my crime consisted in the criminal indifference which made 
 me too little heedful to preserve life. But this indifference lasted 
 not long. I was the captive of the king of Calos himself. Nine 
 others were kept by him including me, and among these was the 
 cruel tyrant upon whose head lay the blood of so many of the 
 wretched people of Mexico, Don Juan de Mores y Silva. He 
 was the tyrant no longer. All his strength and courage had de- 
 parted in his afflictions ; and in the hour of our despair and terror, 
 he was feebler than the meanest among us ; feebler of soul than 
 the girl whose heart beats with the dread that she cannot name, 
 fearfully, as that of the little bird which you cover with your 
 
228 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 hand. We loathed him the worse for his miserable fear ; and it 
 made us all more resolute in courage to see one so cast down with 
 his terrors, whom we had seen of late so insolent in his triumphs. 
 
 " When the lots were determined, the king of Calos drew nigh to 
 examine us more needfully. He had not before regarded us with 
 any consideration. Verily, he was a noble savage to the eye. 
 His person was tall, like one of the sons of Anak, and his car- 
 riage was that of a great warrior, born a prince, to whom it was 
 natural equally to conquer and to rule. Rich were the garments 
 of flowing cotton which he wore loosely, like a robe, mostly white, 
 but with broad stains of crimson about the skirts and shoulders. 
 
 " A great baldrick hung suspended at his back, which bore a 
 quiver, made of the skin of the rattle-snake, filled with arrows, 
 each shaft better than a cloth-yard's length. The macana which 
 he carried in his grasp, was a mighty club of hard wood, close in 
 grain, and weighty as stone, which, save at the grasp or handle, 
 was studded with sharp blades of flint, which resembled it to the 
 mighty blade of the sword-fish. With this weapon mine eyes 
 have seen him smite down two powerful enemies at a single 
 stroke. Great was his forehead and high, and his cheek bones 
 stood forth like knots upon his face, as if the cheeks were 
 guarded by a shield. Black was his piercing eye, which grew 
 red and fiery when he was angered ; and, at such seasons, it was 
 easier for him to smite than to speak. Unlike his people, he 
 wore the natural growth of his hair, long and flowing straight 
 adown his back, glossy with its original blackness, and with the 
 oil of the bear, of which, like all his people, the lord of Calos 
 made plentiful use. This king might be full forty years of age. 
 Yet looked he neither young nor old neither so young that you 
 might not hold him the gravest and best counsellor of wisdom in 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 229 
 
 the land, nor so old, but that he might better and more ingeniously 
 lead in battle than any of his warriors. Certes, he was the most 
 ready first to march when the invasion of the distant tribes had 
 been resolved on ; and,of a truth, never was statesman in the 
 great courts of Europe not the counsellors of the great Carlos 
 himself so cool in speculation, so just in judgment, so heedful to 
 consider all the advantages and all the risks of an enterprise, 
 before the first step was set down in the adoption of a policy. For 
 seven years had I sufficient means, in the immediate service of his 
 household, to watch the courses of his thoughts and character, and 
 to know the virtues and the strength thereof. I saw him devise 
 among his chiefs, and inform them with his own devices. I have 
 seen him lead in battle, when all the plans were his own, and it 
 was his equal teaching and valiancy by which the field was won. 
 Verily, I say that this lord of Calos were a prince to mate with 
 the best in Europe ; and, but that we have in European warfare 
 such engines of mischief as come not within the use or knowledge 
 of his race, it were difficult to circumvent him in stratagem, or 
 overcome his braves in battle. With an hundred shot no less 
 and employing at the same time all the red-men as allies, who 
 are hostile to this king of Calos and they are many and I 
 doubt not Monsieur Laudonniere, but that you could penetrate 
 his dominions and make the conquest thereof. But of him could 
 you make no conquest. He is a warrior of the proudest stomach, 
 who would rather perish than lose the victory ; and who, most 
 surely, would never survive the overthrow of his dominion. 
 
 " Me, did this great king examine with more curious eyes 
 than he bestowed upon the other captives. I know not for what 
 reason, unless because of the superior size and strength which I 
 possess, and the extreme length and thickness of my beard and 
 
230 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 hair, of which, as a Christian man, I have always made too much 
 account. All of us did he assign to labor ; to the gathering of 
 wood,and work in the maize fields, with the women. By-and-by, 
 there came a preference for me beyond the others. I was 
 brought into the king's household, and barbed his arrows, and 
 wrought upon his great macanas, and strove, among the Indians, 
 in hewing out his canoes from the cypress, first burning out the 
 greater core with fire. But when harvest time came, a great 
 festivity was held among the savages. Bitter roots were gathered 
 in the woods, and great vessels of the beverage which was made 
 thereof, was placed within the council or round-house of the nation. 
 Thither did the chiefs resort and drink ; and ever as they drank 
 they danced, though the liquor wrought upon them like aguar- 
 diente with the European, and moved them even as the most violent 
 of emetic medicines. Still danced they, and still they danced for 
 the space of three whole days. But the lord of Calos seemed not 
 to mingle at this strange festival. He purposed rites still more 
 strange rites, which even now, I think upon with horror only. 
 He had a dwelling to himself in the deep woods, whither he re- 
 tired the night before the day when the great feast of the nation 
 was to begin. Here he waited all the night, watching with re- 
 verence and patience the burning of a strange fire which had been 
 wrought of many curious and fragrant herbs and roots. Three of 
 the ancient people, the priests or lawas, as they style themselves, 
 retired with him to build this fire, which, when it began to burn, 
 placing in store a sufficient supply of aromatic fuel that he 
 might feed it still, they left him, with 'strange exorcising, to him- 
 self. And there he kept watch throughout the night. But 
 early with the next morning he came forth, and he sprinkled the 
 ashes of the fire upon the maize field, and he cried thrice,with a 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 231 
 
 loud voice, of Yo-he-wah, which, I believe to mean the sacred 
 name as known among the red-men. With each cry, as our poor 
 Spaniards, myself among them, were gathering the green ears 
 from the maize stalks, the priests who followed the king of Calos, 
 seized bodily upon three of our brethren, taking us by surprise, 
 and putting us all in a quaking fear. These three were all 
 brought before the lord of Calos, who, not looking upon them 
 as they lay bound at his feet, threw yet another vessel of sacred 
 ashes into the air, and as these three Spaniards lay separate, with 
 their faces looking up, I beheld the ashes sink immediately upon 
 the breast of him whom I have already named to you the Jonas 
 by whom our vessel was doomed to wreck the cruel Don Juan 
 de Mores y Silva. Now, though the king surely looked not as he 
 threw the ashes into the air, yet did it descend upon the breast of 
 this said Spaniard, as certainly as if the eye and arm of this lord 
 had been upon this particular person at the moment when he 
 threw. Verily, though I know not well how it should be being 
 counselled by Holy Church against such belief yet, verily, had 
 this lord of Calos certain powers which did seem to justify the 
 saying among his people, that he was a master of magic and of 
 arts superior to those of common men. 
 
 " Now, when the lawas, or priests, beheld where the ashes 
 fell, they seized incontinently upon the Spaniard aforesaid. They 
 bore him away from us, wondering and fearing all the while. 
 But those who remained loosed the other two who had been 
 bound, and they were set free with the rest, to pursue their 
 labors in the corn-field. But we were not let to know the awful 
 fate which befel the Spaniard who was taken. Verily, he saw his 
 danger in the moment when the ashes lighted on his breast. His 
 face was whiter than the blossom of the dogwood when it first 
 
232 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 opens to the spring. His eye glared, and his lip quivered like a 
 leaf in the gusts of March, though nothing he spake at anything 
 they did to him. But when they bore him away from our eyes, 
 then a terrible fear and agony caused him to cry aloud ( Oh ! 
 my countrymen, will you not save me from the bloody savage ! ' I 
 cannot soon forget that cry, which was clearly that of a person 
 who beholds his doom. But of what avail ? We had not the 
 people, nor the strength, nor the weapons ! A thousand savages 
 danced wildly around the council-house, and the fields were full of 
 these who came to drink and dance. Besides, we thought not of 
 any danger but our own. We knew not how soon the fate was 
 to befal us ; for had it not seized upon Don Juan without a 
 warning or a sign. 
 
 " They bore him to the secret tabernacle in the woods, where 
 {he lord of Calos watched alone. We saw not then, but after- 
 wards we knew, what had been his fate. There they laid him 
 upon a great mound of earth, with the sacred fire burning at his 
 head in a large vessel of baked clay, formed with a nice art by 
 the savages, and painted with the mystic figure of a bloody hand. 
 The garments which he wore were taken off, and his limbs were 
 fastened separately to great stakes driven in places about the 
 mound. Thus were his hands and legs, his body and his very 
 neck made fast, so that whatever might be the deed done upon 
 him, he could oppose it not even in the smallest measure. But it 
 was permitted him to cry aloud and those of us who stole into 
 the woods seeking to hear, with a terrible curiosity which our 
 very apprehensions fed, we heard, we heard, and even as the 
 awful scream of our late companion came piercing through the 
 woods upon our ears, we fled afar from the sound, which was 
 that of a mortal agony and anguish. And, verily, the torture to 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 233 
 
 which he was doomed was that which might well compel the poor 
 outraged heart of humanity to cry aloud. With a keen knife, 
 and the hand of one who had practised long at the cruel rite, the 
 lord of Cabs laid bare the breast of the victim, he not able to 
 struggle even, only to shriek, he laid it bare as one peels the 
 ripe fruit, and exposes the precious heart thereof ! Even this did 
 the lord of Calos. He stripped the skin from the breast of his 
 victim, then, with sharp strokes, he smote away the flesh, until 
 the quaking ribs lay bare to his point. With a sharp stone chisel 
 he smote the breast-bone asunder, lifted the ribs, and tore away 
 the smoking heart, which he cast, reeking red, into the burning 
 fire of odorous woods and herbs, which then flamed up and 
 brightened in the dark chamber, as if fed with some ichorous 
 fuel. In that terrible agony, when the soul and the human life 
 were thus rudely torn apart from the mutual embrace, it was told 
 me by the lord of Calos, himself, that the victim burst one of the 
 wythes that bound him, and freed his right hand, which he waved 
 violently thrice, even while his murderer was plucking his heart 
 away from its quivering fastenings ! Oh ! the horror, though for 
 a moment only, of that awful consciousness ! Verily, my friends, 
 if the lord of Calos did possess a power of magic such as his peo- 
 ple affirm, verily, I say, he paid a terrible price to the eternal 
 hater of human souls, when he gat from him his perditions 
 privilege ! 
 
 " But the sufferings of that wretched victim, who then and thus 
 perished, were they greater than those which followed our foot- 
 steps, we, the survivors, haunting us by night and day, with 
 the mortal terrors of a fear that such must be our doom also ? 
 Every rustle of an approaching footstep among the maize-stalks 
 where we toiled, breaking the stems and gathering the ripened 
 
234 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 jf, 
 
 ears, seemed to our woe-stricken souls, as the step of one who 
 came as an executioner ; while we labored in the gloomy thicket, 
 gathering fuel for the winter fires, the same fear was hanging over 
 us with a threat of the impending doom. We lived and slept in 
 a continual dread of death, which made the hair whiten on every 
 brow, even of the youngest, before that terrible winter was gone 
 over. 
 
 " To us it was assigned to put away the body of our murdered 
 comrade. But this was only after the three days of the feast was 
 elapsed, and when the duty was tenfold distressing. Still, though 
 all our senses revolted at the task, a fearful curiosity compelled a 
 close examination of the victim. Then it was that we saw how 
 the execution had been done, though we knew not then, nor until 
 some time after, that the cell which enshrined and kept the heart 
 had been torn open, and the sacred possession wrenched away with 
 violent hands, even while the wretched victim had eyes to see, as 
 well as sensibilities to feel, the sacrilegious and bloody theft. We 
 bore the body far into the woods, wrapping it with leaves so as to 
 hide it from our eyes, while we carried it in the bottom of an old 
 canoe which we found for this purpose. Our burial was conducted 
 after the fashion of the red-men. We laid the corse of our comrade 
 upon a bed of leaves on the naked earth, and laid heavy frag- 
 ments of pine and other combustible wood about him. With this 
 we made a great pile, which we set on fire, and let to burn until 
 everything was consumed. We then, with sad, sorrowing, and 
 trembling hearts, returned, each one of us, in a mournful silence 
 that wist not what to say, to our separate tasks, and the places 
 which had been assigned us. 
 
 " Now, many months had passed in this manner, and still J 
 was employed about the king's household. This lord of Calos 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 235 
 
 distinguished me, as I have said, beyond my comrades. I had 
 a great vigor of limb which is not common among this people, 
 except in so much as it moves them to great agility. They are 
 rather light, swift and expert, than powerful in war ; and trust 
 rather to great cunning than superior strength, in the meeting 
 with their enemies. The king of Calos greatly admired to see me 
 lift heavy logs of timber, such as would have borne down any 
 among his people if laid upon his shoulders. But he himself had 
 a strength superior to his people, and he wondered even more 
 when, striving to lift the logs which I laid down, he found it be- 
 yond his mastery. Then, he put his bow into my hand, and 
 giving me a cloth-yard shaft of reed, well tipped with a flinty 
 barb, and dressed with an eagle's feather, he bade me draw it to 
 the head, and send it as I would. Upon which, doing so, he 
 greatly wondered to see how rapid and distant was the flight, for 
 well he knew that the ability to shoot the arrow far comes rather 
 from sleight than from strength, and is an art that only grows 
 from practice. But this, perhaps, had not fully given me to the 
 confidence of the king, had it not been for a service which I ren- 
 dered on one occasion to his favorite son, a boy of but twelve 
 years of age, whom I plucked from beneath the feet of a great 
 stag, which the hunters had wounded in the forest. The red-men 
 greatly delight to see their sons take part in the chase, even while 
 their gristle is yet soft and their limbs feeble ; for by this early 
 practice they desired to make them strong and skilful. The son 
 of the lord of Calos was a .youth, tall and strong beyond his 
 years; and because of the fondness of his father, exceedingly 
 audacious in all manner of sports and strifes. Thus it was that, 
 having seen a great stag wounded by the shaft of his sire, he had 
 run in upon him with his slender spear. The staff of the spear 
 
236 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 broke, even as the barb penetrated the breast of the beast, and 
 the boy fell forward at the mercy of his mighty antlers. Then 
 was it that, seeing the lad's danger, for I was at hand, bearing 
 the victuals for the hunters I threw down the basket, and rush- 
 ing in, took the stag by his horns, in season for the lad to recover 
 himself. The lord of Calos drew nigh and saw, but he offered no 
 help, leaving it to his son to draw the keen knife which he carried, 
 over the throat of the struggling beast. And, excepting what the 
 boy said to me of thanks, nothing did I hear of the thing which I 
 had done. But, three weeks after, the king made his preparations 
 for a war party against the mountain Indians. Then he spoke to 
 me, saying, in his own language, which, by this time, I could 
 understand, Barbu, this was the name which had been given 
 me because of my beard Barbu, it is not fit that one with such 
 limbs and skill as thou hast, should labor still in the occupation of 
 the women. G-et thee a spear, such as will suit thy grasp, and 
 there are bows and arrows for thy choice, make thee satisfied 
 with sufficient provision, and get thee ready to go against mine 
 enemies. Thou shalt have to tear the flesh of a strong man ! 
 
 " Verily, my friends, though it shames me to confess, that I, a 
 Christian man, could lift weapon in behalf of one against another 
 savage of the wilderness ; yet such had been my sorrow, and so 
 wretched did I feel at the base tasks to which I had been given, 
 so very unlike the valiant duties which had distinguished mine 
 ancient service in the armies of Castile, that I even rejoiced at 
 the chance of putting on the armor of war, and the meaner 
 weapon of the red-men satisfied me then, who of old had carried, 
 with great favor, the matchlock and the sword. But the weapon 
 of the savage, as perchance thou knowest, is not greatly inferior, 
 according to their usage, and in their country, to the superior im- 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 237 
 
 plements with which the Christian warrior takes the field. If the 
 arquebuse is more fatal than the barbed arrow of the Indian, it is 
 yet less frequently ready for the danger. While you shall have 
 put your pieces in readiness for a second fire, the savage will 
 deliver thirty javelins, each of which, if within bullet reach, 
 shall inflict such an injury, short of death, as may disarm the 
 wounded person. Their reeds are always ready at hand. To 
 them every bay and river bank affords an armory, and the loss 
 of their weapons, which were fatal to Frenchman or Spaniard, 
 causes them but little mischief, since a single night will repair all 
 their losses. Neither much time nor much cost is it to them to 
 supply their munitions, of which they can always carry a more 
 abundant provision than can we. The great superiority of the 
 European, in his encounter with the red-man, is in his wisdom, 
 the fruit of many ages of civilization, and not in the weapons 
 which he wields in conflict. Let him exchange weapons with the 
 savage, and he will still obtain the victory. 
 
 " It was because of this showing of superiority, together with 
 the service which I had thus rendered to his son, that made the 
 lord of Calos take me with him, armed as a warrior, on his ex- 
 pedition against the mountain Indians of Apalachy. I hastened 
 to provide myself with weapons, as I was commanded, and I made 
 for myself a great mace, such as that which the strongest warriors 
 carried, which was a billet of hard wood, not more than four feet 
 in length, with a handle easy to the grasp, while at each side ran 
 down a great row of flinty teeth, each broad and sharpened like 
 to a spear-head. It is a fatal weapon, with a well-delivered blow. 
 In like manner did I imitate the practice of the red-men in dress- 
 ing the head and breast for war. I put on the paints, red and 
 black, which I beheld them use ; but, instead of the unmeaning 
 
238 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 and rude figures which they scored upon the breast, I drew there 
 the figure of a large cross, by which, though none but myself 
 might know, I made anew my assurance to Holy Mother, of a 
 faith unperishing, in Him who bore its burthen ; and implored His 
 protection against the perils which might lurk along the path. In 
 the same manner, with a bloody cross, did I inscribe my forehead 
 and each cheek, while I dipped my hands above the wrist in the 
 black dyes which they also used as paints, and which they took 
 from the walnut and other woods of the forest. Greatly did my 
 Christian comrades wonder to behold me, painted after this 
 fashion, with a bunch of turkey feathers tied about my head like 
 the savage, and the strange weapons of the red-men in my 
 grasp. These rejoiced exceedingly as they beheld me, and 
 laughed and chatted among themselves, saying * Yah-hee-wee ! 
 Yah-hee-wee !' with other words, by which they testified their 
 satisfaction." But our Spaniards were in the same degree sorry, 
 as it seemed to them that, in spite of the holy emblem upon my 
 breast, I had delivered myself up to the enemy, and had put on, 
 whh the habit, all the superstitions of the Heathen. They had 
 sorrow upon other grounds, since I was about to leave them, and, 
 from the favor I had found with the lord of Calos, I had grown to 
 be one to whom they began to look as to a mediator and pro- 
 tector. 
 
 " We set out thus for the country of the enemy, the lord of 
 Calos leading the way upon the march, as is the custom with the 
 Indians, while the foe is yet at a distance from the spot. But, as 
 we drew nigh to the hills of the Apalachian, the young men were 
 scattered on every hand, as so many light troops. They covered 
 all the paths, they harbored in all places where they could main- 
 tain watch and find security, and nightly they sent in runners to 
 
THE ADVENTURE OP LE BARBU. 239 
 
 the camp, reporting their discoveries. I entreated of the lord of 
 Calos to be sent with these young men ; but, whether he feared 
 that I would seek an opportunity to fly and escape to the enemy, 
 I know not. He refused, saying that it required scouts of ex- 
 perience, men who knew the ways of the country, and that I 
 could be of no use in such adventures. He was pleased to add 
 that he wished me near him, as one of his own warriors that is, 
 the warriors of his family or tribe that I might do battle at his 
 side, and in his sight ! 
 
 " We were not long in finding the enemy, who had received 
 tidings of our approach. Several battles were fought, in which 
 I did myself credit in the eyes of our warriors. The lord of Calos 
 was greatly pleased. He took me with him into counsel, and it 
 was fortunate that the advice which I gave, as to the conduct of 
 the war, was adopted, and was greatly successful. Many were 
 the warriors of the mountain whom we slew. Many scalps were 
 taken, and more than a hundred captive boys and damsels. 
 These, if young, are always spared, and taken into the conquering 
 tribe. The former are newly marked with the totem of the peo- 
 ple who take them, while the latter become the wives of the 
 chiefs, who greatly value them. I confess to you, my brethren, 
 that I was guilty of the sin of taking one of these same women 
 into my cabin, who was to me as a wife, though no holy priest, 
 with appointed ceremonials of the church, gave his sanction to our 
 communion. She was a lovely and a loving creature, scarcely 
 sixteen, but very fair, almost like a Spaniard, and of hair so long 
 that she hath thrice wrapt it around her own neck and mine." 
 
 " Why didst thou not tell me of that woman ?" said Laudon- 
 niere, interrupting the narrator. " Had we known, she should 
 have been procured with thee. But, even now, it is not too late. 
 
240 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 We will bid the chief, Onathaqua, send her after thee, so that 
 thou may'st wed her according to the rites of the church." 
 
 " Alas !" replied Barbu, " thou compellest me, Seiior Lau- 
 donniere, to unravel sin after sin before thee. I have greatly 
 erred and wandered from the paths of virtue, and from the laws 
 of Holy Church, in my grievous sojourn among the savages. 
 That woman filled no longer the place which she had at first in 
 my affections. With increase of power and security, I grew 
 wanton. I grew weary of her, and sold her to one of the chiefs 
 for a damsel of his own house, which mine eyes coveted." 
 
 The Spaniard hung his head as he made this confession, while 
 Laudonniere with severe aspect rated him for his lecheries. 
 When the captain had ceased his rebuke, Le Barbu continued his 
 story thus : 
 
 " We gained many battles in this war with the mountain Indians, 
 who are neither so fierce, nor so subtle as those who dwell along 
 the regions of the sea. Verily, the people of the lord of Calos 
 are great dissemblers, treacherous beyond the serpent, valiant of 
 their persons, and fight with excellent address. Great was the 
 favor which I found with them because of my conduct in the war ; 
 and, in each succeeding war, for a space of six years, I became, 
 in like manner, distinguished, until I became a most favorite 
 chief with the lord of Calos, and a bosom friend and companion 
 of his son he whom I had rescued from the stag, and who had 
 now grown up to manhood. Greatly did this lad favor his father. 
 He was of a light olive complexion, scarcely more dark than the 
 people of Spanish race, but superior in stature, well-limbed, and 
 of admirable dexterity. With him- 1 hunted from the fall of the 
 leaf in autumn, to the budding of the leaf again in spring ; and, 
 when the summer time came, we sped away in our canoes, up the 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 241 
 
 vast rivers of the country, through great lakes, many of which 
 lie embadey in forests of mangrove and palm, where the forest 
 swims upon the water. If it were possible for a Christian man 
 for one who has heard the sound of a great bell in the cities of 
 the old world, and who has communed with the various good and 
 wondrous things of civilization to be content with a loss of these, 
 and their utter exclusion from sight for ever, then might I have 
 passed pleasantly the years of my captivity among the people of 
 Calos. I had become a chief and was greatly honored. I had 
 power and I was much feared. I had wealth such wealth as 
 the savage estimates and I was loved; and the lord of Calos and 
 his noble son, put in me a faith which never betrayed a doubt or 
 a denial. But I had not power to shield my brother Christians, 
 save in one case. Each year witnessed the sacrifice of a com- 
 rade. They were the victims to the lawas. The priesthood 
 was a power under which the kings themselves were made to 
 tremble. With them was it to determine upon peace or war, 
 life or death, bonds or freedom ; and the strength of the king lay 
 greatly in his alliance with the priesthood. But for this, the rule 
 among the savage nations would be wholly with the people. 
 Season after season, when came the harvest, one of our luckless 
 Spaniards was taken away from the rest and doomed to the 
 sacrifice. In this way the savages propitiate the unknown God, 
 to whom they looked for victory over their enemies. Do not sup- 
 pose that I beheld this cruelty without toiling against it. But I 
 spoke in vain. I made angry the lawas, until the lord of Calos 
 himself addressed me, after this fashion * Son of the stranger, 
 art thou not well thyself? Why wouldst thou be sick, being 
 well ? Art thou not thyself safe ? Why, being so, put thy 
 
 head under the macana ? It is not wise in thee to see the things 
 11 
 
 
242 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 over which the power is denied thee. Go then, with Mico 
 Wa-ha-la,' such was the name of his son ' go then with him 
 into the great lake of the forest, and come not back for a season. 
 Depart thou thus, always, when the maize is ready for the har- 
 vest.' 
 
 " I obeyed him ; but not until I found that I was endangering 
 my own safety to attempt further expostulation ; and then it was 
 that my companions perished, all save the one who now sits be- 
 fore thee with myself, and whom I saved because of a service 
 which I rendered to the lawa, and whom I persuaded to take my 
 white brother into his wigwam. He went, even before myself, 
 but through my means, into the service of Onathaqua." 
 
 Here Captain Laudonniere interrupted the speaker. 
 
 " For what reason," said he, " being such a favorite with the 
 king of Calos and his son, didst thou at last leave his service 
 for that of the King Onathaqua ?" 
 
 " Alas, Sefior Laudonniere, thy question shames me again, 
 since it requires of me to lay bare another of the vices of my 
 evil heart, and to confess how the bad passions thereof could 
 lead me into follies which proved fatal to my better fortune. I 
 had gained great honor among the savages by my prudence and 
 my skill in war, my strength in battle, and the excellence of my 
 counsel in the country of the enemy. I had gained the good will 
 and protection of the great king of Calos, and the affection of 
 his son, the noble young Mico Wa-ha-la ! But these contented 
 me nothing, though they brought plenty and security to my 
 wigwam, and such delights as might satisfy the man, a dweller in 
 the wilderness. I have said that I was greatly trusted by the 
 king, the prince, and the head men of the country. These then, 
 after I had been eight years in their service, confided to my 
 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 243 
 
 charge a great and sacred commission. The time had come 
 when it became proper that this Mico Wa-ha-la should take to 
 himself a wife. Now, tidings had reached Calos of a creature, 
 lovely as a daughter of the sun, who was the youngest child of 
 the King Onathaqua. A treaty was agreed upon between the 
 two kings for the marriage of their children ; and I was dis- 
 patched, with a select body of warriors, to bring the maiden 
 home to her new sovereign. It was not the custom for a chief 
 desiring a wife, that he should seek her in person. Acccordingly 
 I was dispatched, and I reached the territories of Onathaqua in 
 safety. Here I beheld the maiden in pursuit of whom I came, 
 and my froward heart instantly conceived the wildest affection for 
 her beauty. Beautiful she was as any of our Castilian maidens, 
 and as delicate and modestly proper in her bearing, as one may 
 see in the gentlest damsel of a Christian country. Deeply was I 
 smitten with this new flame, and greatly did I strive to please 
 the maiden who had fired me with these fresh fancies. I spake 
 with her in the Indian language, with charms of thought which 
 had been taken from the Castilian, such as were vastly superior 
 to those which belonged to Indian courtship. I sang to her many 
 a glorious ballad of the sweet romance of my country, discours- 
 ing of the tender loves between the Castilian cavaliers and the 
 dark-eyed and dark-tressed maidens of Grenada. Verily, the 
 beauty of the delicate daughter of Onathaqua, the precious 
 Istakalina by which the people of Onathaqua understand the 
 white lily of the lake before it opens was no unbecoming repre- 
 sentative of that choice dark beauty which made the charm of 
 the Moorish damsel of my land, ere Boabdil gave up his sceptre 
 into the hands of the holy Ferdinand. For Istakalina, I ren- 
 dered the language of the Castilian romance into the dialect of 
 
 
244 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 her people ; and with a sad fondness in her eyes, that drooped 
 ever while looking upwards at the passionate gaze of mine, did 
 she listen to the story of feelings and affections to which her own 
 young and innocent nature did now tenderly incline. Thus was 
 it that she was delivered into my keeping by her sire, that I 
 should conduct her to the young Mico Wa-ha-la, my friend. 
 And thus, with fond discourse of song and story, which grew 
 more fond with every passing hour with me to speak and she to 
 listen did we commence our journey homeward to the dominions 
 of the lord of Calos. Alas ! for me, and alas ! for the hapless 
 maiden, that, in the fondness of my passion, I forgot my trust ; 
 forgot preciously to guard and protect the precious treasure in 
 my keeping ; and, in the increase of my blind love, forgot all the 
 lessons of war and wisdom, and all the necessary providence 
 which these equally demand. Thus was it that I was dispos- 
 sessed of my charge, at the very moment when it was most dear 
 to my delight. Didst thou ask me for the hope which grew with 
 this blind passion, verily, sefior, I should have to say tp thee that 
 I had none. I thought not of the morrow ; I dared not think of 
 the time when Istakalina should fill the cabin of Wa-ha-la. I 
 knew nothing but that she was with me, with her dark eyes ever 
 glistening beneath their darker lids, as she met the burning 
 speech of mine ; that we thridded the sinuous paths of silent and 
 shady forests, with none to reproach our speech or glances ; our 
 attendants, some of them going on before, and some following ; 
 and that,when she ascended the litter, which was borne by four 
 stout savages, or sat in the canoe as we sped across lake or 
 river for both of these modes of travel did we at times pursue 
 I was still the nearest to her side, drunk with her sweet beauty, 
 and the sad tenderness which dwelt in all her looks and actions. 
 
THE ADVENTURE OP LE BARBU. 245 
 
 Nor was it less my madness that I fondly set to the account of 
 her fondness for me, the very sadness with which she answered 
 my looks, and the sweet sigh which rose so often to her softly 
 parted lips. Verily, was never man and Christian so false and 
 foolish as was I, in those bitter blessed moments. Thus was I 
 blinded to all caution thus was I heedless of all danger thus 
 was I caught in the snare, to the loss of all that was precious as 
 well to my captor as myself. 
 
 " How was this ? How happened it ?" demanded Laudonniere 
 as Le Barbu paused, and covered his face with his hands in 
 silence, as if overcome with a great misery. 
 
 " Thou shalt hear, Sefior. I will keep nothing from thee of 
 this sad confession ; for, verily, have I long since repented of 
 the sin and folly which brought after them so much evil. Thou 
 shalt know that, distant from the territories of the lord of Calos, 
 a journey of some three days, and nearly that far distant also 
 from the dwelling of Onathaqua, there lieth a great lake of fresh 
 water, in the midst of which is an island named Sarropee. This 
 island and the country which surrounds the lake, is kept by a 
 very powerful nation, a fierce people, not so numerous as strong, 
 because they have places of retreat and refuge, whither no enemy 
 dare pursue them. On the firm land, and in open conflict, the 
 lord of Calos had long before conquered this strange people ; 
 bnt in their secure harborage and vast water thickets, they 
 mocked at the power of all the surrounding kings. These, 
 accordingly, kept with them a general peace, which was seldom, 
 broken, except under circumstances such as those which I shall 
 now unfold. The people of this lake and island are rich in the 
 precious root called the Coonti, of which they have an abundance, 
 of a quality far superior to that of all the neighboring country. 
 
246 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Their dates, which give forth a delicious honey, are in great 
 abundance also, and of these their traffic is large with all other 
 nations. But that they are a most valiant people, and occupy a 
 territory so troublesome to penetrate, they had been destroyed by 
 other nations, all of whom are greedy for the rich productions 
 which their watery realm bestows. Now, it was, that, in our 
 journey homewards, we drew nigh to the great lake of the people 
 of the isle of Sarropee. Here it was that my discretion failed me 
 in my passion. Here it was that my footstep faltered, and the 
 vision of mine eyes was completely shut. I knew that our people 
 were at peace with the people of Sarropee, and I thought not of 
 them. But had I not been counselled to vigilance in bringing 
 home the daughter of Onathaqua, even as if the woods were 
 thick with enemies ? But I had forgotten this caution. I sent 
 forth no spies ; I sought for no wisdom from my young warriors ; 
 and, like an ignorant child that knows not of the deep gulf 
 beneath, I stepped confidently into the little canoe which was to 
 take Istakalina and myself across an arm of the lake which set 
 inwards, while our warriors fetched a long compass around it. 
 Alas ! sefior, I was beguiled to this folly by the fond desire that I 
 might have the lovely maiden wholly to myself in the little canoe, 
 for already did I begin to grieve with the thought that in a few 
 days, the journey would be at an end, and I should then yield her 
 unto the embraces of another. And thus we entered the canoe. 
 I made for her a couch, in the bottom of the little boat, of leaves 
 gathered from the scented myrtle. With the paddle in my 
 hand, I began to urge the vessel, but very slowly, lest that we 
 should too soon reach the shore, and find the warriors waiting for 
 us. Sweetly did I strive to discourse in her listening ears ; and 
 with what dear delight did I behold her as she answered me only 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 247 
 
 with her tears. But these were as the cherished drops of hope 
 about mine heart, which gave it a life which it never knew before. 
 While thus we sped, dreaming nothing of any danger, over the 
 placid waters, with the dark green mangrove about us, and a soft 
 breeze playing on the surface of the great lake, suddenly, from 
 out the palm bushes, darted a cloud of boats, filled with painted 
 warriors, that bore down upon us with shows of fury and a 
 mighty shout of war. I answered them with a shout, not un- 
 like their own, for already had 1 imbibed something of the Indian 
 nature. I shouted the war-whoop of the lord of Calos, and 
 tried to make myself heard by the distant warriors that formed 
 my escort. And they did hear my clamors ; for already had they 
 rounded the bayou or arm of the lake which I had sought to 
 cross, and were pressing down towards us upon the opposite banks. 
 Then did I bestir the paddle in my grasp, making rapid progress 
 for the shore, while the canoes of the Sarropee strove to dart 
 between us and the place for which I bent. But what could my 
 single paddle avail against their better equipment ? Theirs 
 were canoes of war, carrying each more than a score of power- 
 ful warriors armed for action, and prepared to peril their lives in 
 the prosecution of their object. I, too, was armed as an Indian 
 warrior, and with their approach, I betook me to my weapon. I 
 had learned to throw the short lance, or the javelin of the 
 savage, with a dexterity like his own ; and, ere they could ap- 
 proach me, I had fatally struck with these darts two of their 
 most valiant warriors. They strove not to return the arrows 
 lest they should hurt the maiden, Istakalina, who had raised her- 
 self at the first danger, and now strove with the paddle which I 
 had thrown down. As one of the canoes which threatened us 
 drew nigh, I seized the great macana which I carried, and pre- 
 
248 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 pared myself to use it upon the most forward warriors ; but when 
 I expected that they would assail me with war-club and spear, 
 the cunning savages thrust their great prow against our little 
 boat, amidships, and even while my macana lighted on the head 
 of one of the assailants, smiting him fatally, I fell over into the 
 lake with the upsetting of our vessel. In a moment had they 
 grasped Istakalina from the lake, and taken her to themselves in 
 their own canoe, and as I raised my head from the water, be- 
 holding this mishap, a heavy stroke upon my shoulder, which 
 narrowly missed my head, warned me of my danger. Then, 
 seeing that I could no longer save the captive maiden, I dived 
 deeply under, making my way like an otter, beneath the water, 
 for the shore. A flight of arrows followed my rising to take the 
 air, but they were hurriedly delivered, with little aim, and only 
 one of them grazed my cheek. The mark is still here as thou 
 seest. Again 1 dived beneath the water, still swimming shore- 
 ward, and when I next rose into the light and air, I was among 
 the people of the lord of Calos. They were now assembled along 
 the banks of the lake, as near as they could go to the enemy, 
 some of them, indeed, having waded waist deep in their wild fury 
 and desperate defiance. But of what avail were their weapons 
 or their rage ? The maiden, Istakalina, the princess and the 
 betrothed of Wa-ha-la, was gone. The people of the Sarropee 
 had borne her off, heeding me little even as they had taken her. 
 She was already far off, moving towards the centre of the lake, 
 and faint were the cries which now came from her, though it 
 delighted my poor vain heart, in that desperate hour, to perceive 
 that, in her last cries, it was my unhappy name that she uttered. 
 They bore her away to the secret island where they dwelt, in 
 secure fastnesses ; and long and fruitless, though full of despera- 
 
THE ADVENTURE OF LE BARBU. 249 
 
 tion, was the war that followed for her recovery. But, though I 
 myself fought in this war, as I never have fought before, yet did 
 I not dare to do battle under the eye, or among the warriors of 
 the lord of Calos. I fled from his sight and from the reproaches 
 of my friend, the Mico Wa-ha-la, for, in my soul, I felt how 
 deep had been my guilt, and my conscience did not dare the 
 encounter with their eyes. I took refuge with Onathaqua, the 
 father of Istakalina ; and when he knew of the valor with which 
 I strove against the captivity of the maiden, he forgave me 
 that I lost her through my own imprudence. Of the blind and 
 selfish passion which prompted that imprudence, he did not 
 dream, and he so forgave me. Under his lead, I took up arms 
 against the tribes of Sarropee, and for two years did the war 
 continue, with great slaughter and distress among the several 
 nations. But, in all our battles, I kept ever on the northern side of 
 the great lake, and never allowed myself to join with the warriors 
 of Calos. They but too well conceived my guilt. The keen 
 eyes of mine escort distinguished my passion, and saw that it was 
 not ungracious in the sight of Istakalina. Too truly did they 
 report us to the lord of Calos, and to my friend, the young Mico 
 Wa-ha-la. Bitter was the reproach which he made me in a last 
 gift which he sent me, while I dwelt with Onathaqua. It con- 
 sisted of a single arrow, from which depended a snake skin, with 
 the warning rattles still hanging thereto. * Say to the bearded 
 man,' said the Mico, i when you give him this, that it comes from 
 Wa-ha-la. Tell him that his friend sends him this, in token that 
 he knows how much he hath been wronged. Say to the bearded 
 man, that Wa-ha-la had but one flower of the forest, and that 
 his friend hath gathered it. Let his friend beware the arrow of 
 11* 
 
250 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the warrior, and the deadly fang of the war-rattle, for the path 
 between us is everywhere sown with the darts of death.' 
 
 Thus he spake, and I was silent. I was guilty. I could 
 not excuse myself, and did not entreat. I felt the truth of 
 his complaint and the justice of his anger. I felt how great had 
 been my folly and my crime. Istakalina was lost to us both. 
 Thus then, a fugitive, and an outlaw from Calos, dreading every 
 moment the vengeance of Wa-ha-la and his warriors, I dwelt 
 for seven years with Onathaqua, who hath ever treated me as a 
 son. I have fought among his warriors, and shared the fortunes 
 of his people, of which nothing more need be said. Tidings at 
 length came to me, of a people in the country bearded like 
 myself. Then came your messengers to Onathaqua, and you 
 behold me here. I looked not for Frenchmen but for Spaniards 
 I thank and praise the Blessed Mother of God, that I have found 
 friends if not countrymen, and that I see, once more, the faces 
 of a Christian people." 
 
 Thus ended the narrative of Le Barbu, or the Bearded Man 
 of Calos. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 WE have already mentioned that, with the restoration of 
 Laudonniere to power, and the complete subjection of his 
 mutineers, he resumed by degrees his projects of exploration and 
 discovery. Among other places to which he sent his barks, was 
 the territory of King Audusta, occupying that region in which 
 Fort Charles had been erected by Ribault, in the first attempt to 
 colonize in the country. To Audusta, himself, were sent two suits 
 of apparel, with knives, hatchets and other trifles ; " the better," 
 as Laudonniere says, " to insinuate myselfe into his friendship." 
 To render this hope more plausible, " I sent in the barke, with 
 Captaine Vasseur, a souldier called Aimon, which was one of those 
 which returned home in the first voyage, hoping that King 
 Audusta might remember him." This Aimon was instructed to 
 inquire after another soldier named Rouffi, who, it appears, had 
 preferred remaining in the country, when it had been abandoned 
 by the colonists under Nicolas Barre. 
 
 Audusta received his visitors with great favor, sent back to 
 Laudonniere a large supply of " mil, with a certaine quantity of 
 beanes, two stagges, some skinnes painted after their manner, and 
 certaine pearles of small value, because they were burnt." The 
 
252 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 old chief invited the Frenchmen once more to remove and plant 
 in his territories. He proffered to give him a great country, and 
 would always supply him with a sufficient quantity of grain. 
 Audusta had known the Frenchmen almost entirely by benefits 
 and good fellowship. The period of this visit to Audusta, which 
 was probably in the month of December, is distinguished in the 
 chronicle of Laudonniere, by expressions of delightful surprise at 
 the number of stock doves (wild pigeons) which came about the 
 garrison "in so greate number, that, for the space of seven 
 weekes together," they " killed with harquebush shot at least two 
 hundred every day." This was good feeding. On the return of 
 Capt. Vasseur from his visit to Audusta, he was sent with a pre- 
 sent u unto the widow of Kinge Hiocaia, whose dwelling was 
 distant from our fort about twelve leagues northward. She 
 courteously received our men, sent me backe my barkes, full of 
 mil and acornes, with certaine baskets full of the leaves of 
 cassine, wherewith they make their drinke. And the place where 
 this widow dwelleth, is the most plentiful! of mil that is in all the 
 coast, and the most pleasante. It is thought that the queene is 
 the most beautifull of all the Indians, and of whom they make the 
 most account : yea, and her subjects honour her so much that 
 almost continually they beare her on their shoulders, and will not 
 suffer her to go on foot." 
 
 The visit of Laudonniere, through his lieutenant, was returned, 
 in a few days, by the beautiful widow, through her Hiatiqui, 
 " which is as much as to say, her Interpreter." 
 
 Laudomnere continued his explorations, still seeking provisions, 
 and with the view to keeping his people from that idleness which 
 hitherto had caused such injurious discontents in his garrison. 
 His barks were sent up May River, to discover its sources, and 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 253 
 
 make the acquaintance of the tribes by which its borders were oc- 
 cupied. Thirty leagues beyond the place called Mathiaqua, 
 " thoy discovered the entrance of a lake, upon the one side 
 whereof no land can be seene, according to the report of the 
 Indians, which had oftentimes climbed on the highest trees in the 
 country to see land, and notwithstanding could notdiscerne any." 
 
 These few sentences may assist in enabling the present oc- 
 cupants of the St. John's to establish the location along that 
 river, at the period of which we write. The ignorance of the 
 Indians in regard to the country opposite, along the lake, 
 indicates equally the presence of numerous tribes, and the absence 
 of much adventure or enterprise among themresults that would 
 seem equally to flow from the productive fertility of the soil, and 
 the abundance of the game in the country. With this account of 
 it as a terra incognita, the explorers ceased to advance. In re- 
 turning, they paid a visit to the island of Edelano one of those 
 names of the Indians, which harbors in the ear with a musical 
 sweetness which commends it to continued utterance. We should 
 do well to employ it now in connection with some island spot of 
 rare beauty in the same region. 
 
 This island of Edelano is " situated in the midst of the river ; 
 as fair a place as any that may be seene thorow the world ; for, 
 in the space of some three leagues that it may containe, in length 
 and breadth, a man may see an exceedingly rich countrey and 
 marvellously peopled. At the coming out of the village of 
 Edelano, to goe unto the river side, a man must passe thorow an 
 alley about three hundred paces long and fifty paces broad ; on 
 both sides whereof great trees are planted, the boughes whereof 
 are tied [blended ?] together like an arch, and meet together so 
 artificially [as if done by art] that a man would thinke it were an 
 
254 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 arbour made of purpose, as faire, I say, as any in all Christendom, 
 although it be altogether naturall." 
 
 Leaving the island of Edelano, thus equally famous for its 
 beauties of nature and name, our voyagers proceeded "to 
 Eneguape, then to Chilily, from thence to Patica, and lastly they 
 came unto Coya." This place seems to have been, at this period, 
 one of the habitations of the powerful king Olata Utina. In the 
 name Olata, we find an affix such as is common to the Seminoles 
 and Creeks of the present day. Holata, as we now write the 
 word, is evidently the Olata of Laudonniere. It was probably a 
 title rather than a name.* Olata Utina received his visitors with 
 great favor, as he had always done before ; and six of them were 
 persuaded to remain with him, in order the better to see the 
 country, while their companions returned to La Caroline. Some 
 of these remained with the Indian monarch more than two months. 
 One of them, named Groutald, a gentleman who had taken great 
 pains in this exploration, reported 4o Laudonniere that he had 
 never seen a fairer country. " Among other things, he reported 
 to me that he had seene a place, named Hostaqua, and that the 
 king thereof was so mighty, that he was able to bring three or four 
 thousand savages into the field." Of this king we have heard 
 before. It was the counsel of Monsieur Groutald to Laudonniere 
 that he should unite in a league with this king, and by this means 
 reduce the whole country into subjection. " Besides, that this 
 king knew the passages unto the mountaine of Apalatci, which 
 the Frenchmen desired so greatly to attaine unto, and where the 
 enemy of Hostaqua made his abode, which was easie to be sub- 
 dued, if so be wee would enter into league together." Hostaqua 
 
 * Holata Mico (or Blue King), and Holata Amathla, were distinguished 
 leaders of the Seminoles in the late war in Florida. 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 255 
 
 sent to Laudonniere " a plate of a minerall that came out of this 
 mountaine, out of the foote whereof " such was the glowing 
 account given by the Indian monarch " there runneth a streams 
 of golde or copper." The process by which the red-men obtain 
 the pure treasures of this golden stream was an exceedingly 
 primitive one, and reminds us of the simple process of gathering 
 golden sands in California. " They dig up the sand with an 
 hollow and drie cane of reed, until the cane be full ; afterward 
 they shake it, and find that there are many small graines of 
 copper and silver among this sand ; which giveth them to under- 
 stand that some rich mine must needs be in the mountaine." 
 Laudonniere is greatly impressed by this intelligence, " and 
 because the mountaine was not past five or six days journey from 
 our fort, lying towards the north-west, I determined, as soone as 
 our supply should come out of France, to remove our habitation 
 unto some river more towards the north, that I might be nearer 
 thereunto." 
 
 An incident, which occurred al)out this time, still further in- 
 creased the appetites of Laudonniere. He had suffered, and 
 indeed sent, certain favorite soldiers to go into several parts of 
 the country, among the savage tribes with whom he kept terms of 
 amnesty and favor, in order that they should acquire as well a 
 knowledge of the Indian language as of the country. One of 
 these was named Peter Gambier. This man had rambled 
 somewhat farther than his comrades. He had shared in all the 
 more adventurous expeditions of the Indians, and had succeeded 
 in gathering a considerable quantity of gold and silver, all of 
 which was understood to have been directly or indirectly from the 
 Indians, who dwelt at the foot of the Apalachian Mountains. 
 These were tribes of the Cherokee nation, with whom the Indian 
 
256 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM 
 
 nations along the sea-board were perpetually at war. Full of 
 news, and burdened with his treasure, Peter Gambier prepared' to 
 return to La Caroline. He had made his way in safety until he 
 reached the beautiful island with the beautiful name, Edelano, 
 lying in the midst of but high up May River. On the same 
 stream which was occupied by his countrymen, in force, the 
 thoughtless soldier conceived himself to be quite safe. He was 
 hospitably entertained by the chief or kmg of Edelano, and a 
 canoe was accorded him, with two companions, with whom to 
 descend the river to the fort. But the improvident Frenchman, 
 allowed his precious treasures to glitter in the eyes of his host. 
 He had not merely gold and silver, but he had been stocked with 
 such European merchandises as were supposed most likely to 
 tempt the savages to barter. A portion of this stock remained 
 in his possession. The natural beauties of the island which they 
 occupied had not softened the hearts of the savages with any just 
 sense of humanity. They were as sensible to the auri sacra 
 fames as were the Europeans, and just as little scrupulous, we 
 shame to say it, in gratifying their appetites as their pale-faced 
 visitors. The possessions of the Frenchmen were sufficient to 
 render the Mico of Edelano indifferent to all considerations of 
 hospitality, and the two Indians whom he lent to Gambier were 
 commissioned to take his life. Thus, accompanied by his assas- 
 sins, he entered the canoe, and they were in progress down the 
 river, when, as the Frenchman stooped over some fish which he 
 was seething in the boat, the red-men seized the opportunity to 
 brain him with their stone hatchets, and possess themselves of 
 his treasures. When the tidings came to Laudonniere, he was 
 not in a situation to revenge the crime ; but the large acquisitions 
 of gold and silver procured by his soldier, as reported to him, 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 257 
 
 confirmed him in his anxiety to penetrate these tantalizing 
 realms, in which the rivers ran with such glittering abundanae 
 from rocks whose caverns promised to outvie all that Arabian 
 story had ever fabled of the magical treasures of Aladdin. 
 
 Scarcely had this event taken place, when the war was renewed 
 between Olata Utina and Potanou. The former applied for 
 assistance to Laudonniere, who, adopting the policy of the 
 " Spaniards, when they were imployed in their conquests, who 
 did alwayes enter into alliance with some one king to ruine 
 another," readily sent him thirty arquebusiers, under Lieutenant 
 Ottigny. These, with three hundred Indians, led by Utina, 
 penetrated the territories of Potanou, and had a severe fight, 
 which lasted for three hours, with the people of that potentate. 
 " Without doubt, Utina had been defeated, unlesse our harque- 
 busiers had borne the burthen and brunt of all the battell, and 
 slaine a great number of the soldiers of Potanou, upon which oc- 
 casion they were put to flight." The lieutenant of the French 
 would have followed up the victory, but Utina, the Paracoussi, 
 had gathered laurels quite enough for a single day, and was 
 anxious to return home to show his scalps and enjoy his triumphs 
 among his people. His tribes and villages were assembled at his 
 return, and, for several days, nothing but feasts, songs and 
 dances, employed the nation. Ottigny returned to the fort, after 
 two days spent in this manner with Utina, and his return was 
 followed by visits from numerous other chiefs, nearer neighbors 
 than Utina, and enemies of that savage, who came to expostulate 
 with Laudonniere against his lending succor to a prince who was 
 equally faithless and selfish. They, on the other hand, entreated 
 him to unite with them in the destruction of one who was a com- 
 mon enemy. This application had been made to him before ; 
 
258 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 but his policy had been rather to maintain terms of alliance, 
 offensive and defensive, with a powerful chieftain, at some little 
 distance, than to depend wholly upon others more near at hand. 
 This policy was again drawn from that of the Spaniard. He was 
 soon to be taught how little was the reliance which he could place 
 in any of the forest tribes. He was about to suffer from those 
 deficiencies and evils which were due to his anxious explorations 
 of the country, when his people had been much better employed 
 in the wholesome labors of the field, in the very eye of the 
 garrison. 
 
 It was the custom of the Indian tribes, after the gathering and 
 storing away of their harvests, to commence hunting with the first 
 fall of the leaves, probably about the middle of September. The 
 chase, during this period, was seldom such as to carry them far 
 from the fields which they had watched during the summer. 
 Near at hand, for a season at least, the game was in sufficient 
 quantity to supply their wants. But, as the season advanced, 
 and towards the months of January, February and March, they 
 gradually passed into the deeper thickets, and disappeared from 
 their temporary habitations. During this period, they build up 
 new abodes, which are equally frail, in the regions to* which they 
 go, and which are contiguous to tho hunting-grounds which they 
 are about to penetrate. To these retreats the whole tribe retires ; 
 and hither they carry all the commodities which are valuable in 
 their eyes. Their summer dwellings are thus as completely 
 stripped as if the region were abandoned forever. 
 
 This removal, for which their previous experience should 
 sufficiently have prepared our Frenchmen, was yet destined to 
 have for them some very pernicious results. We have seen that 
 certain subsidies of corn and beans had been procured from 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 259 
 
 various tribes and nations ; enough, according to Laudonniere, to 
 serve them until the arrival of expected succors from France. 
 But, calculating on these succors, and confident of their arrival 
 during the month of April, our Frenchmen had become profligate 
 of their stores. April found them straitened for provisions, and 
 not an Indian could be seen. April passed slowly and brought no 
 succor. With the month of May the Indians had returned to their 
 former abodes ; but, by this time, their remaining stock of grain 
 had mostly found its way into the ground, in the setting of ano- 
 ther crop. From the savages, accordingly, nothing but scanty 
 supplies of fish could be procured, without which, says Laudon- 
 niere, " assuredly wee had perished from famine." Of the 
 incompetence of this captain, and the wretched order which 
 prevailed among his garrison, his incapacity and other incompe- 
 tence, this statement affords sufficient proof. They neither tilled 
 the earth for its grain, nor sounded the river for its finny tribes ; 
 though these realms were quite as much under their dominion as 
 that of the savages ; but they relied solely upon this capricious 
 and inferior race, hi the exploration of land and sea, for main- 
 taining them against starvation. 
 
 May succeeded to April, and still in vain did our Frenchmen 
 look forth upon the sea, for the ships of their distant countrymen. 
 June came, and their wants increased. They fell finally into 
 famine, of which Laudonniere himself affords us a sufficiently im- 
 pressive picture. 
 
 " We were constrayned to eate rootes, which the most part of 
 our men punned in the mortars which I had brought with me to 
 beate gunnepowder in, and the graine which came to us from 
 other places. Some tooke the wood of esquine, (?) beate it, and 
 made meale thereof, which they boiled with water, and eate it. 
 
260 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Others went with their harquebusies to seeke to kill some foule. 
 Yea, this miserie was so great, that that one was founde that had 
 gathered up all the fish-bones that he could finde, which he dried 
 and beate into powder to make bread thereof. The effects of 
 this hidious famine appeared incontinently among us, for our bones 
 eftsoones beganne to cleave so neare unto the skinne, that the 
 most part of the souldiers had their skinnes pierced thorow with 
 them in many partes of their bodies, in such sort that my greatest 
 feare was, least the Indians would rise up against us, considering 
 that it would have beene very harde for us to have defended our- 
 selves in such extreme decay of all our forces, besides the scarsitie 
 of all vittualls, which fayled us all at once. For the very river 
 had not such plentie of fish as it was wont, and it seemed that 
 the very land and water did fight against us." In this condition 
 were they till the beginning of June. " During which time," 
 says the chronicler, further "the poore souldiers and handi- 
 craftsmen became as feeble as might be, and being not able to 
 worke, did nothing but goe, one after another, as centinels, unto 
 the clift of an hill, situate very neare unto the fort, to see if they 
 might discover any French ship." 
 
 But their watchings still ended with disappointment. Thus 
 was the hope with which the heart sickens, deferred too long. 
 No ships greeted their famishing eyes, and they at length appeal- 
 ed to their commander, in a body, to take measures for returning 
 to France, and abandoning the colony, " considering that if wee 
 let passe the season to embarke ourselves, wee were never like to 
 gee our country ;" and alleging, plausibly enough, that new 
 troubles had probably broken out in France, which was the 
 reason that they had failed to receive the promised succors. 
 Laudonniere lent an easy ear to their demands. He, himself, was 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 261 
 
 probably quite as sick of the duties, to which he was evidently 
 unequal, as were his followers. It was, perhaps, prudent to sub- 
 mit to those for whom he could no longer provide. The bark 
 " Breton" was fitted up, and given in charge to Captain Vasseur ; 
 and, as this vessel could carry but a small portion of the colony, 
 it was determined to build a " faire ship," which the shipwrights 
 affirmed could be made ready by the 8th of August. u Imme- 
 diately I disposed of the time to worke upon it. I gave charge to 
 Monsieur de Ottigny, my lieutenant, to cause timber necessary 
 for the finishing of bothe the vessels to be brought, and to Mon- 
 sieur D'Erlach, my standard-bearer, to goe with a barke a league 
 off from the forte, to cut down trees fit to make plankes." 
 Sixteen men, under the charge of a sergeant, were set " to labour 
 in making coals ; and to Master Hance, keeper of the artillery," 
 was assigned the task of procuring rosin to bray the vessels. 
 " There remained now but the principal, [object,] which was to 
 recover vittualls, to sustain us while the worke endured." 
 Laudonniere, himself, undertook to seek for this supply. He 
 embarked with thirty men in the largest of his vessels, with the 
 purpose of running along the coast for forty or fifty leagues. But 
 his search was taken in vain. He procured no supplies. He 
 returned to the fort only to defraud the expectations of his peo- 
 ple, who now grew desperate with hunger and discontent. They 
 assembled together, riotously, and, with one voice, insisted that 
 the only process by which to extort supplies from the savages was 
 to seize upon the person of their kings. 
 
 To this, at first, Laudonniere would not consent. The enter- 
 prise was a rash one. The consequences might be evil, in regard 
 to any future attempts at settlement. He proposed one more trial 
 among them, and sent despatches communicating his desire to 
 
262 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 traffic for food with the surrounding tribes. The Indians were 
 not averse to listen. But they knew the distress under which 
 the Frenchmen suffered, and were prepared to turn it to account. 
 They came into the garrison with small supplies of grain and fish, 
 enough to provoke appetite rather than to satisfy it. For these 
 they demanded such enormous prices, as, if conceded, would have 
 soon exhausted all the merchandise of the garrison. With one 
 hand they extended their produce, while the other was stretched 
 for the equivalent required. Knowing the desperation of the 
 Frenchmen, they took care, while thus tantalizing their hopes and 
 hunger, to keep out of reach of shot of arquebuse. In this way, 
 they took the very shirts from the backs of the starving soldiers. 
 When Laudonniere remonstrated against their prices, their 
 answer was a bitter mockery. 
 
 " Very good," said the savages, " if thou make such great 
 account of thy merchandise, let it stay thy hunger. Do thou eat 
 of it and we will eat of our fish." This reply would be cheered 
 with their open-throated laughter. The old ally of the French, 
 the Paracoussi Utina, mocked them in like manner. His subjects 
 followed his example ; and, in the end, goaded to madness, Lau- 
 donniere resolved on adopting the course which his people had 
 counselled ; that, by which, taking one of their kings prisoner, 
 food could be extorted for his ransom. The ingratitude of Utina, 
 for past services, a recent attempt which he had made to employ 
 the French soldiers in his own conquests, while professing to lead 
 them only where they should find provisions, and the supposed 
 extent of his resources, pointed him out to all parties as the 
 proper person upon whom to try the experiment, on a small scale, 
 which Cortez and Pizzarro had used, on a large one, in the con- 
 quest of Peru and Mexico. 
 
XIX. 
 
 Of the captivity of the Great Paracoussi Olata Ouvae Utina, and the war which followed 
 between his people and the French. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It being determined by Laudonniere, in the necessities of his 
 people, to seize upon the person of the great Paracoussi, Olata 
 Ouvae Utina, in order, by the ransom which he should extort, to 
 relieve the famine which prevailed among the garrison, he pro- 
 ceeded to make his preparations for the event. Two of his 
 barks were put in order for this purpose, and a select body of 
 fifty men was chosen from his ranks to accompany him on the 
 expedition. But this select body, though the very best men of 
 the garrison, exhibited but few external proofs of their adequacy 
 for the enterprise. So lean of flesh, so shrunk of sinew, so 
 hollow-eyed were they, that their picture recals to us the descrip- 
 tion given by Shakspeare of the famished and skeleton regiments 
 of Henry of Monmouth at the famous field of Agincourt l A 
 poor and starved band,' the very i shales and husks of men,' 
 with scarcely blood enough in all their, veins, to stain the 
 Indian hatchet, which they travel to provoke. But famine 
 endows the sinews with a vigor of its own. Hunger enforced to 
 the last extremities of nature, clothes the spirit of the man in the 
 
264 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 passions of the wolf and tiger. Lean and feeble as are our 
 Frenchmen, they are desperate. They are in the mood to brave 
 the forest chief in his fastnesses, and to seize upon his own heart, 
 in the lack of other food. The very desperation of their case 
 secures them against any misgivings. 
 
 The dominions of Holata Utina were distant from La Caroline, 
 between forty and fifty leagues up the river. His chief town, 
 where he dwelt, lay some six more leagues inland, a space over 
 which our Frenchmen had to march. Leaving a sufficent guard 
 in their vessels, Laudonniere and his company landed and pro- 
 ceeded in this quarter. He marched with caution, for he knew 
 his enemy. His advance was conducted by Alphonse D'Erlach, 
 his standard-bearer one, whose experience and skill had been 
 too frequently tried to leave it doubtful that his conduct would bo 
 a safe one. He had traversed the space before, and he knew the 
 route thoroughly. The progress was urged with as much secrecy 
 as caution. The cover of the woods was carefully maintained, 
 the object of the party being a surprise. They well knew that 
 Utina had but little expectation of seeing them, at this juncture, 
 in his own abodes. None,so well as himself,knew how feeble was 
 their condition, how little competent to any courageous enter- 
 prise. They succeeded in appearing at the village of the chief 
 without provoking alarm. He himself was at home, sitting in 
 state in the royal wigwam, with but few warriors about him. 
 The fashion of the Indian, with less royal magnificence, in other 
 words, with less art and civilization is not greatly unlike that of 
 the Turk. Olata Utina sat crossed legs upon a dais prepared of 
 dressed skins of the deer, the bear and panther. The spotted 
 hides hung over the raised portions of the seat which he kept, 
 upon which also might be seen coverlets of cotton ingeniously 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 265 
 
 manufactured, and richly stained with the bright crimson, scarlet, 
 and yellow, of native dye-woods. This art of dyeing, the savages 
 had brought to a comparatively high state of perfection. His 
 house itself stood upon an artificial eminence of earth, raised in 
 the very centre of his village, and overlooking it on every hand. 
 It was an airy structure, with numerous openings, and the breeze 
 played sweetly and capriciously among the coverlets which hung 
 as curtains before the several places of egress and entrance. 
 Utina himself was a savage of noble size and appearance. He 
 carried himself with the ease and dignity of one born to the 
 purple. His form, though an old man, was still unbending and 
 tall. His countenance was one of great spirit and nobleness. 
 With forehead equally large and high, with a dark eye that 
 flashed with all the fires of youth, with lips that opened only to 
 discourse in tones of a sweet but majestic eloquence, and with a 
 shrewd sagacity, that made him, among a cunning people, a 
 recognised master of all the arts of the serpent, he was necessa- 
 rily a person to impress with respect and admiration those eyeu 
 who came with hostility. 
 
 It is probable that Utina knew nothing of the approach of the 
 Frenchmen, until it was too late to escape them. But, before 
 they entered the opened space assigned to the settlement, he was 
 advised of their coming. Then it was that he threw aside his do- 
 mestic habit and assumed his state. Then it was that he resumed 
 his dignity and ascended the dais of stained cotton and flowing 
 deer-skin. His turban of purple and yellow cotton was bound 
 skilfully about his brow, his bow and quiver lay beside him, while 
 at his feet was extended his huge macana, or war-club, which it 
 scarcely seemed possible that his aged hands should now grasp 
 with vigor sufficient for its formidable use. His hands, when the 
 12 
 
266 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Frenchmen entered the dwelling, held nothing more formidable 
 than the earthen pipe, and the long tubulated reed which he busied 
 himself in inserting within the bowl. Two of his attendant war- 
 riors retired at the same moment. These, Laudonniere did not 
 think proper to arrest, though counselled to do so by D'Erlach. 
 He knew not that they had been despatched by the wily Para- 
 coussi for the purpose of gathering his powers for resistance. 
 
 Laudonniere appeared in the royal wigwam with but ten com- 
 panions. Forty others had been dispersed by D'Erlach at proper 
 points around the village. Of their proximity the king knew no- 
 thing. His eye took in, at a single glance, the persons of his 
 visitors ; and a slight smile, that looked derisive, was seen to over- 
 spread his visage. It was with something like good humor in his tones 
 that he gave them welcome. A page at the same time brought forth 
 a basket of wicker-work, which contained a large collection of pipes 
 of all sorts and sizes. Another basket afforded a sufficient quan- 
 tity of dried leaves of the tobacco and vanilla. The Paracoussi 
 nodded to his guests as the boy presented both baskets, and Lau- 
 donniere, with two others of his company, helped themselves to 
 pipes and weed. Thus far nothing had been said but " Ami," and 
 " Bonjour ." The welcome of the Indians was simple always, and 
 a word sufficed among them as amply as the most studied and 
 verbose compliment. The French had learned to imitate them in 
 this respect, to be sparing of words, and to restrain the expression 
 of their emotions, particularly when these indicated want or suf- 
 fering. 
 
 But the necessities of our Frenchmen were too great and press- 
 ing, at the present time, to be silenced wholly by convention ; and 
 when, as if in mockery, a small trencher of parched corn was set 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 267 
 
 before them, with a vessel of water, the impatience of Laudonniere 
 broke into utterance. 
 
 " Paracoussi Utina," said he, " you have long known the want 
 which has preyed upon our people," 
 
 " My brother is hungry," replied Utina, with a smile more 
 full of scorn than sweetness "let my brother eat. Let his 
 young men eat. There is never famine among the people of 
 Utina." 
 
 " And if there be no want among the people of Utina, where- 
 fore is it that he suffers the French to want ? Why has he for- 
 gotten his allies ? Did not my young men fight the battles of 
 Utina against the warriors of the mighty Potanou? Did not 
 many captives grace the triumph of Utina ? Has the Paracoussi 
 forgotten these services ? Why does he turn away from his 
 friends, and show himself cold to their necessities ?" 
 
 " Why will my pale brother be talking ?" said the other, with 
 a most lordly air of indifference. " The people of Utina have 
 fought again&t the warriors of Potanou for more than a hundred 
 winters. My French brother is but a child in the land of the 
 red-people. What does he know of the triumphs of my warriors ? 
 He saw them do battle once with the tribes of Potanou, and he 
 makes account because he then fought on behalf of my people. 
 My people have fought with the people of Potanou more than a 
 hundred battles. Our triumphs have been witnessed by every 
 bird that flies, every beast that runs, every fish that swims, be- 
 tween the villages of Potanou and the strong house of the French- 
 man where he starves below. What more will our pale brother 
 say, being thus a child among the red-men ?" 
 
 " Why parley with the savage ?" said Alphonse D'Erlach, 
 " if you mean to take him ? I care not for his insolence which 
 
268 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 chafes me nothing ; but we lose time. You have suffered some 
 of his warriors to depart. They are gone, doubtless, to gather 
 the host together. We shall need all the time to carry ou* 
 captive safely to the boats." 
 
 These words were spoken aloud, directly in the rear of Utina. 
 D'Erlach having taken a place behind him in the conference. The 
 Paracoussi was startled by the language. Some of it was beyond 
 his comprehension. But he could not misunderstand the tone 
 and manner of the speaker. D'Erlach was standing above him, 
 with his hand stretched over him, and ready to grasp his victim 
 the moment the word should be spoken. His slight form and 
 youthful features, contrasted with the cold, inflexible expression 
 of his eyes and face, very forcibly impressed the imagination of 
 the Indian monarch, as, turning at the interruption, he looked up 
 at the person of the speaker. But, beyond the first single start 
 which followed the interruption, Utina gave no sign of surprise 
 or apprehension. 
 
 "Awhile, awhile, Alphonse be not too hasty, my son j" was 
 the reply of Laudonniere. He continued, addressing himself to 
 the Paracoussi : 
 
 " My red brother thinks he understands the French. He is 
 mistaken. He will grow wiser before he grows much older. But 
 it will be time then that I should teach him. It matters now 
 only, that I should say to the Paracoussi Utina, we want, and 
 you have, plenty. We have fought your battles. "We are your 
 friends. We will trade with you for mil and beanes. Give us 
 of these, according to our need, and you shall have of the mer- 
 chandize of the French in just proportion. Let it be so, brother, 
 that peace may still nourish between our people." 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 269 
 
 " There is mil and beanes before my white brother. Let him 
 take and divide among his people." 
 
 " But this will not suffice for a single meal. Does the Para- 
 coussi laugh to scorn the sufferings of my people ?" 
 
 u The Paracoussi laughs because the granaries of the red-men 
 are full. There is no famine among his people. Hath the Great 
 Spirit written that the red-man shall gather food in the proper 
 season that the white man may sleep like the drowsy buffalo in 
 the green pasture ? Let my white brother drive from his ear the 
 lying bird that sings to him : l Sleep take thy slumber under 
 the pleasant shade tree, while the people of Utina get thee 
 food !' 
 
 " Would the Paracoussi make the Frenchmen his enemies ? Is 
 their anger nothing ? Is their power not a thing to be feared ?" 
 
 " And what is the Paracoussi Olata Ovae Utina ? Hath he not 
 many thousand warriors ? The crane that rises in the east in the 
 morning, though he flies all day, compasses not the land at sun- 
 set, which belongs to my dominions. East and west my people 
 whoop like the crane, and hear no birds that answer but their 
 own. Let my pale brother hush, for he speaks a foolish thing 
 of his warriors. Did I dream, or did any runners tell me that 
 the bones of the Frenchmen break through the skin, lacking food, 
 and their sinews are so shrunken that they can never more strive 
 in battle ? Who shall fear them ? I had pity on my brother 
 when I heard these things. I sent him food, and bade my people 
 say ' take this food which thou needest ; the great Paracoussi 
 asks for nothing in recompense, but thy guns, thy swords, and 
 thy lances ; weapons which they tell me thou hast strength to use 
 no longer." 
 
 " Did they tell thee so, Utina ? But thou shalt see. Once 
 
270 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 more, my brother, I implore thee to give us of thy abundance, 
 and we will cheerfully impart to thee from our store of knives, 
 reap-hooks, hatchets, mirrors, and lovely beads, such as will 
 delight thy women. Here, behold, this is some of the treasure 
 which I have brought thee for the purposes of barter." 
 , The lordly chieftain deigned not a single glance to the Euro- 
 pean wares, which, at a word from Laudonniere, one of the 
 French soldiers laid at his feet. The French captain, as if lotli 
 to proceed to extremities, continued to entreat ; while every new 
 appeal was only answered, on the part of the savage prince, with 
 a new speech of scorn, and new gestures of contempt. At length, 
 Laudonniere's patience was exhausted, and he gave the signal 
 which had been agreed upon with his lieutenant. In the next 
 moment, the quick grasp of Alphonse D'Erlach was laid upon 
 the Paracoussi's shoulders. He attempted to rise, and to grasp, 
 at the same time, the macana which lay at his feet. But D'Er- 
 lach kept him down with his hands, while his foot was struck 
 down upon the macana. In that moment, the war-conch was 
 sounded at the entrance by several Indians who had been in wait- 
 ing. It was caught up and echoed by the bugles of D'Erlach ; 
 the blast of which had scarcely been heard throughout the village, 
 before it had been replied to, four several times, from as many 
 different points where the French force had been stationed, ten 
 soldiers in each. One desperate personal struggle which the 
 Paracoussi made, proved fruitless to extricate him from the grasp 
 of his captor ; and he then sat quietly, without a word, coldly 
 looking his enemies in the face. 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 271 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE captive Paracoussi lost none of his dignity in his capti- 
 vity. He scorned entreaty. He betrayed no symptom of fear. 
 That he felt the disgrace which had been put upon him, was evi- 
 dent in the close compression of his lips ; but he was sustained by 
 the secret conviction that his warriors were gathering, and that 
 they would rescue him from his captors by the overwhelming 
 force of their numbers. At first his stoicism was shared by his 
 family and attendants ; but when Laudonniere declared his pur- 
 pose to remove his prisoner to the boats, then the clamors of 
 women, not less eloquent in the wigwam of the savage, than in 
 the household of the pale faces, became equally wild and general. 
 The Paracoussi had but one wife, foregoing, in this respect, 
 some of his princely privileges, to which the customs of the red- 
 men afforded a sufficient sanction. But there were many females 
 in the' royal dwelling, all of whom echoed the tumultuous cries of 
 of its mistress. This devoted woman, with her attendants, 
 accompanied the captive to the boats, where, following the pre- 
 cautions adopted by D'Erlach, the Frenchmen arrived in safety. 
 The warriors of the red-men had not yet time to gather and 
 array themselves. Laudonniere gave the women and immediate 
 companions of the Paracoussi to understand that his purpose was 
 not to do his captive any injury. The French were hungry and 
 must have food. When a sufficient supply was brought them, 
 Olata Utina should be set free. 
 
 But these assurances they did not believe. They themselves, 
 seldom set free their captives. Ordinarily, they slew all their 
 male prisoners taken by surprise or in war, reserving the young 
 females only. They naturally supposed, that what was the 
 
272 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 custom with them, founded upon sufficient reasons, at once of 
 fear and superstition, must be the custom with the white men 
 also. Accordingly, the queen of Utina, was not to be comforted. 
 She followed him to the river banks, clinging to him to the last, 
 and stood there ringing her hands and filling the air with her 
 shrieks, while the people of Laudonniere lifted him into the bark, 
 and pushed out to the middle of the river. It was well for them 
 that this precaution was taken. The warriors of the Paracoussi 
 were already gathering in great numbers. More than five hun- 
 dred of them showed themselves on the banks of the river, en- 
 treating of Laudonniere to draw nigh that they might behold 
 their prince. They brought tidings that, taking advantage of his 
 captivity, the inveterate Potanou had suddenly invaded his chief 
 village, had sacked and fired it, destroying all the persons whom 
 he encountered. But Laudonniere was properly suspicious, . and 
 soon discovered, that, while five hundred archers showed them- 
 selves to him as suppliants, the shores were lined with thrice five 
 hundred in snug ambush, lying close for the signal of attack. 
 Failing to beguile the Frenchmen to the land, a few of them, in 
 small canoes, ventured out to the bark in which their king was 
 a prisoner, bringing him food meal and peas ? and their favorite 
 beverage, the cassina tea. Small supplies were brought to the 
 Frenchmen also ; but without softening their hearts. Laudon- 
 niere had put his price upon the head of his captive, and would 
 'bate nothing of his ransom. 
 
 But it so happened, that the Indians were quite as suspicious 
 and inflexible as the Frenchmen. They believed that Laudon- 
 niere only aimed to draw from them their stores, and then 
 destroy their sovereign. A singular circumstance, illustrative of 
 the terrible relations in which all savage tribes must stand toward 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 273 
 
 each other, even when they dwell together in near neighborhood, 
 occurred at this time, and increased the doubts and fears of 
 the people of Utina. As soon as it was rumored about that this 
 mighty potentate, whom they all so much dreaded, was a prisoner 
 to the white man, the chiefs of the hostile tribes gathered to the 
 place of his captivity, as the inhabitant of the city goes to behold 
 in the menagerie the great lion of Sahara, the lord of the desert, 
 of whom, when free in his wild ranges, it shook their hearts only 
 to hear the roar. With head erect, though with chains about his 
 limbs, with heart haughty, though with hope humbled to the 
 dust the proud Paracoussi sate unmoved while they gathered, 
 gazing upon him with a greedy malice that declared a long history 
 of scorn and tyranny on the one hand, and hate and painful sub- 
 mission on the other. They walked around the lordly savage, 
 scarcely believing their eyes, and still with a secret fear, lest, in 
 some unlucky moment, he should break loose from his captivity, 
 and resume his weapon for the purposes of vengeance. Eagerly 
 and earnestly did they plead with Laudonniere either to put him 
 to death, or to deliver him to their tender mercies. Among 
 those who came to see and triumph over his ancient enemy, and, 
 if possible, to get him into his power, was the Paracoussi Satou- 
 riova, one of Laudonniere's first acquaintances, whose power, 
 perhaps, along the territories of May River, was only next to that 
 of Utina. He, as well as the rest of the chiefs, brought bribes 
 of maize and beans, withheld before, in order to persuade Lau- 
 donniere to yield to their desires. In this way he procured sup- 
 plies, much beyond those which were furnished by the people of 
 the prisoner, though still greatly disproportioned to his wants. 
 The people of Utina, mean while, persuaded that their monarch 
 could not escape the sacrifice, and aware of the several and strong 
 12* 
 
THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 influences brought to bear upon his captors, proceeded to do that 
 which was likely to defeat all the hopes and calculations of the 
 French. Their chiefs assembled in the Council House, assuming 
 that Utina was dead already, and elected another for their sove- 
 reign, from among his sons. The measure was a hasty one, ill 
 considered, and promised to lead to consequences the most inju- 
 rious to the nation. The new prince immediately took possession 
 of the royal wigwam, and began the full assertion of his authority. 
 Parties were instantly formed among the tribes, from among the 
 many who were dissatisfied with this assumption, and, but for the 
 great efforts of the nobles of the country, the chiefs, the affair 
 would have found its finish in a bloody social war ; since, already 
 had one of the near kinsmen of Olato Utina set up a rival claim 
 to the dominion of his people. 
 
 But, it was sufficient that the election of the son of their cap- 
 tive, to the throne of his father, rendered unavailing the bold 
 experiment of the Frenchmen, and threatened to defeat all the 
 hopes which they had founded on the securing his person. The 
 savages had adopted the most simple of all processes, and the 
 most satisfactory, by which to baffle the invaders. Olata Utina 
 was an old man, destined, in the ordinary course of nature, to give 
 way in a short time to the very successor they had chosen. Why 
 should they make any sacrifices to procure the freedom of one 
 whom they did not need. Their reverence for royalty in exile 
 was hardly much greater than it is found to-day in civilized 
 Europe ; and they resigned themselves to the absence of Olata 
 Utina with a philosophy duly proportioned to the quantities of 
 corn and peas which they should save by the happy thought 
 which had already found a successor to his sway. In due degree 
 with their resignation to the chapter of accidents, however, was 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 275 
 
 the mortification of our Frenchmen, who thus found themselves 
 cut off from all the hopes which they had built upon their bold 
 proceeding. They had made open enemies of a powerful race, 
 without reaping those fruits of their offence, which might have 
 reconciled them to its penalties. Still they suffered in camp as 
 well as in garrison, from want of food, and were allowed to enter- 
 tain no expectations from the anxieties of the savages in regard to 
 the fate of the captive monarch. His importance naturally 
 declined in the elevation of his successor. Whether governed by 
 policy or indifference, his people betrayed but little sympathy in 
 his condition ; and though keeping him still in close custody, 
 treating him with kindness the while, Laudonniere was compelled 
 to seek elsewhere for provisions. Apprised by certain Indians 
 that, in the higher lands above, but along the river, there were 
 some fields of maize newly ripening, he took a detachment of 
 his men in boats and proceeded thither. Coming to a village 
 called Enecaque, he was hospitably entertained by the sister of 
 Utina, by whom it was governed. She gave him good cheer, a 
 supper of mil, beans, and fish, with gourds of savory tea, made 
 of cassina. Here it was found that the maize was indeed ripe : 
 but the hungry Frenchmen suffered by the discovery and their 
 own rapacity. They fastened upon it in its fresh state, without 
 waiting for the slow process of cooking, to disarm it of its hurtful 
 juices, and they became sick accordingly. Yet how could men 
 be reproached for excess, who had scarcely eaten for four days, 
 and for whom -a portion of the food that silenced hunger during 
 this time, consisted of a dish of young puppies newly whelped. 
 
 While on this expedition, it occurred to Laudonniere to 
 revenge upon the lord of Edelano, the cruel murder of his soldier, 
 Peter Gambier, whose story has been given in previous pages. 
 
276 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 He was now drawing nigh to that beautiful island; and after 
 leaving Enecaque, he turned his prows in search of its sweet 
 retreats. But, with all his caution, the bird had flown. The 
 lord of Edelano had been advised of what he had to fear, and, at 
 the approach of the Frenchmen he disappeared, crossing the 
 stream between, to the opposite forests, and leaving his village at 
 the mercy of the enemy. Baffled of their revenge upon the 
 offender, the Frenchmen vented their fury upon his empty 
 dwellings. The torch was applied to the village, which was soon 
 consumed. Returning to Enecaque, Laudonniere swept its fields 
 of all their grain, with which he hastened back to his starving 
 people at La Caroline. These, famishing still, " seeing me 
 afar off coming, ranne to that side of the river where they thought 
 I would come on land ; for hunger so pinched them to the heart, 
 that they could not stay until the victuals were brought them to 
 the fort. And that they well showed as soon as I was come, and 
 had distributed that little maize among them which I had given 
 to each man, before I came out of the barke ; for they eate it 
 before they had taken it out of the huske." 
 
 The necessity of the garrison continued as great as ever. The 
 wretched fields of the red-men afforded very scanty supplies. 
 Other villages were sought and ransacked, those of Athore, 
 swayed by King Emola, and those of a Queen named Nia Cuba- 
 cani. In ravaging the fields of the former, two of the French- 
 men were slain. But the provisions got from Queen Nia Cubacani, 
 were all free gifts. a The pale faces seem to have been favorites 
 with the female sovereigns wherever they went. In the adventures 
 of the Huguenots, as in those of the Spaniards under Hernan de 
 Soto and other chiefs, the smiles of the Apalachian women 
 seemed to have been bestowed as freely as were the darts and 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 277 
 
 arrows of their lords and masters. In this way was the path of 
 enterprise stripped of many of its thorns, and he whose arm was 
 ever lifted against the savage man, seldom found the heart of the 
 savage woman shut against his approach. This is a curious his- 
 tory, but it seems to mark usually the fortunes of the superior, 
 invading the abodes of the inferior people. The women of a 
 race are always most capable of appreciating the social morals of 
 a superior 
 
 The Paracoussi Olata Utina, now made an effort to obtain his 
 liberty. The hopes of the Frenchmen, in respect to his ransom, 
 had failed. His people had shown a stubbornness, which, to do 
 the Indian monarch justice, had not been greater than his own. 
 He saw the poverty and distress which prevailed among his 
 captors, in spite of all their attempts at concealment. He saw 
 that the lean and hungry famine was still preying upon their 
 hearts. He said to Laudonniere 
 
 " Of what avail is it to you or to me, that you hold me here a 
 captive ? Take me to my people. The maize is probably 
 ripened in my fields. One of these shall be set aside for your 
 use wholly, with all its store of corn and beans, if you will set me 
 free in my own country." 
 
 Laudonniere consulted with his chief men. They concurred 
 in granting the petition of the Paracoussi. The two barks were 
 accordingly fitted out, and, with a select detachment, Laudon- 
 niere proceeded with his captive to a place called Patica, some 
 eight or nine leagues distant from the village of Utina. The red- 
 men fled at their approach, seeking cover in the forests, though 
 their king, himself, cried to them to await his coming. To 
 pursue them was impossible. To trust the king out of their pos- 
 session, without any equivalent, was impolitic. Another plan was 
 
278 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 pursued. One of the sons of the Paracoussi, a mere boy, had 
 been taken with his father. It was now determined to dismiss 
 this boy to the village, accompanied by one of the Frenchmen, 
 who had been thither before, and who knew the character and 
 condition of the country. His instructions were to restore the 
 boy to his mother and his kindred, and to say that his father 
 should be delivered also, if an adequate supply of provisions was 
 brought to the vessel. The ancient chronicle, briefly, but very 
 touchingly, describes the welcome which was given to the enfran- 
 chised child. All were delighted to behold him, the humblest 
 making as much of him as if he had been the nearest kindred, 
 and each man thinking himself never so happy as when permitted 
 to touch him with his hand. The wife of Utina, with her father, 
 came to the barks of the Frenchmen, bringing bread for the 
 present wants of the company ; but the policy of the Indians did 
 not suffer the pleadings of the woman to prevail. The parties 
 could not agree about the terms of ransom ; the red-men, mean- 
 while, practised all their arts to delay the departure of the vessels. 
 It was discovered that they were busy with their forest strategy, 
 seeking rather to entrap the captain of the French, than to bar- 
 gain for the recovery of their own chieftain. Laudonniere was 
 compelled finally to return with his prisoner to La Caroline, as 
 hungry as ever, and with no hopes of the future. 
 
 Here, a new danger awaited the captive. Furious at their 
 disappointment, the starving Frenchmen, as soon as the failure of 
 the enterprise was known, armed themselves, and with sword and 
 matchlock assailed the little cavalcade which had the chief in 
 custody, as they were about to disembark. With gaunt visages 
 and staring eyes, that betrayed terribly the cruel famine under 
 which they were perishing, and cries of such terrible wrath, as 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 279 
 
 left but little doubt of the direst purpose, they darted upon their 
 prey. But Laudonniere manfully interposed himself, surrounded 
 by his best men, between their rage and his victim. Captain La 
 Vasseur and Ensign D'Erlach, each seized upon a mutineer whom 
 they held ready to slay at a stroke given ; and other good men 
 and true, coming to the rescue, the famishing mutineers were 
 shamed and frightened into forbearance. But bitterly did they 
 complain of the lack of wisdom in their captain, who had released 
 the son, the precious hope of the nation, retaining the sire, *'v 
 whom, having a new king, the savages cared nothing. Their 
 murmurs drove Laudonniere forth once more. Taking the Para- 
 coussi with him, after a brief delay, he proceeded to explore 
 other villages along the river. The red-men planted two crops 
 during the growing season. Their maize ripened gradually, and 
 fields that yielded nothing during one month, were in full grain in 
 that ensuing. For fifteen days the French commandant con- 
 tinued his explorations with small success ; when the Paracoussi, 
 whom nothing had daunted, of his proper and haughty firmness, 
 during all his captivity, once more appealed to his captors : 
 
 " That my people did not supply you with maize and beanes 
 when you sought them last, was because they were not ripe> I 
 spake to you then as a foolish young man, anxious to set foot once 
 more among my people. I should have known that the grain 
 could not be ready then for gathering. But the season is now 
 It is ripened everywhere, and, in the present abundance of my 
 people, they will gladly yield to your demands, and give full ran- 
 som for their king. Take me thither then, once more, and my 
 people will not stick to give you ample victual." 
 
 The necessities of the French were too great to make them hesi- 
 tate at a renewal of the attempt, where all others had proved so 
 
280 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 profitless ; particularly when the old king, with some solemnity, 
 placing his hand upon the wrist of the French captain, said to 
 him 
 
 " Brother, doubt me not doubt not my people. If they an- 
 swer thee not to thy expectations as well as mine, bring me back 
 to thy people, and let them do with me even as they please ?" 
 
 Again was the Paracoussi brought into the presence of his sub- 
 jects. They assembled to meet him on the banks of a little river, 
 which emptied into the main stream, and to which Laudonniere 
 had penetrated in his vessels. They appeared with considerable 
 supplies of bread, fish and beans, which they shared among the 
 Frenchmen. They put on the appearance of great good feeling 
 and friendship, and entered into the negotiations for the release of 
 their king, with equal frankness and eagerness. But in all this 
 they exhibited only the consummate hypocrisy of their race ; a 
 hypocrisy not to be wondered at or complained of, as it is the 
 only natural defence which a barbarous people can ever possibly 
 oppose to the superior power of civilization. Their effort was 
 simply still so to beguile the Frenchmen, as to ensnare their 
 leader, get him within their power, and then compel an exchange 
 with his people of chief for chief. For this purpose they pro- 
 longed the negotiations. Small supplies of food, enough to pro- 
 voke expectation, without satisfying demand, were brought daily 
 to their visitors. But, in the meantime, their warriors began to 
 accumulate along the shores, covered in the neighboring thickets, 
 or crouching in patient watch along the reedy tracts that fringed 
 the river. The vigilant eye of Alphonse D'Erlach soon de- 
 tected the ambush ; and at length, finding Laudonniere prepar- 
 ing to leave them, still keeping their king a captive, the savages 
 
CAPTIVIT^ OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 281 
 
 resumed their negotiations with more activity, and withdrew their 
 archers from the neighborhood. 
 
 It must not be supposed that their love for their monarch was 
 small, because they showed themselves so slow in bringing the 
 humble ransom of corn and beans, which the French demanded. 
 To them, that ransom was by no means insignificant. It swept 
 their granaries. It took the food from their children. It drove 
 them into the woods in winter without supplies, leaving them to 
 the rigors of the season, the uncertainties of the chase, and with 
 no other dependence than the common mast of the forest. It de- 
 prived them of the very seed from which future harvests were to 
 be gathered. The drain for the supply of the hungry mouths at 
 La Caroline, seemed to them perpetual, and Laudonniere aimed 
 now not only to meet the wants of the present, but to store ships 
 and fort against future necessities. It was of the last impor- 
 tance to the people of Olata Utina, that they should recover their 
 king without subjecting their people to the horrors of such a 
 famine as was preying upon the vitals of the Frenchmen. 
 
 They over-reached Laudonniere at last. They persuaded him 
 that the presence of the king, among his people, was necessary 
 to compel each man to bring in his subsidy ; that they must see 
 him, in his former abodes, freed entirely from bonds, before they 
 would recognize his authority ; that they feared, when they 
 should have brought their grain, that the French would still re- 
 tain their captive ; and, in short, insisted so much upon the 
 freedom of Utina, as the sine qua non, that the doubts of Lau- 
 donniere were overcome. It was agreed that two chiefs should 
 become hostages for Olata Utina, and, in guaranty of the fulfil- 
 ment of his pledges. 
 
 We are not told of the exact amount of ransom required for 
 
. 
 
 282 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the surrender of their king. It was probably enormous, according 
 to the equal standards of Indian and Frenchmen, in this period 
 and region. Willingly came the two chiefs to take the place of 
 Olata Utina. They were admitted on board the bark, where he 
 was kept in chains. They were warriors, and as they approached 
 him, they broke their bows and arrows across, and threw them 
 before him : Then, as they beheld his bonds, they rushed to his 
 feet, lifted up and kissed his chains, and supported them, while 
 the Frenchmen unlocked them from the one captive to transfer 
 them to the hands and feet of those who came to take his place. 
 These looked not upon the bonds as they were riveted about their 
 limbs. They only watched the movements of their king with 
 eyes that declared a well-satisfied delight. He rose from -his 
 place, and shook himself slowly, as a lion might be supposed to 
 do, rousing himself after sleep. Never was head so erect, or car- 
 riage so like one who feels all his recovered greatness. He waved 
 his hand in signal to the shore, where hundreds of his people 
 were assembled to greet his deliverance. 
 
 The signal was understood, a mantle of fringed and gorgeously- 
 dyed cotton was brought him by one of his sons. His macana, 
 or war-club, and a mighty bow from which he could deliver a 
 shaft more than five English feet in length, were also brought 
 him. Over his shoulder the mantle was thrown by one of his at- 
 tendants. The war-club was carried before him by a page. But, 
 before he left the vessel, he bent his bow, fixed one of the shafts 
 upon the deer sinews, which formed the cord, and drawing it to 
 its head, sent it high in air, until it disappeared for a few seconds 
 from the sight. This was a signal to his people. Their king, 
 like the arrow, was freed from its confinement. It had gone 
 like a bird of mighty wing, into the unchained atmosphere. A 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 283 
 
 cloud of arrows from the shore followed that of their sovereign. 
 To this succeeded a great shout of thanks and deliverance 
 "He! He! yo-he-wah ! He he yo-he-wah." The echo of 
 which continued to ring through the vaulted forests, long after 
 the Paracoussi had disappeared within their green recesses. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE Paracoussi, on parting with Laudonniere, renewed his 
 assurances of good will, and repeated the promises which had been 
 given to ensure his deliverance from captivity. The engagement 
 required that a certain number of days should be allowed him, in 
 which to gather supplies in sufficient quantity to discharge his 
 ransom. Laudonniere left his lieutenants, Ottignyand D'Erlach, 
 with the two hostages, in one of the barks, to receive the pro- 
 visions which Utina was to furnish, while he himself returned to 
 La Caroline. The lieutenants moored their vessel within a little 
 creek which emptied into the May, and adopted all necessary 
 precautions against savage artifice. The vigilance of Alphonse 
 D'Erlach, in particular, was sleepless. He knew, more certainly 
 than his superior, the necessities and dangers of the French, and 
 the subtlety of the Indians. By day and night they lurked in the 
 contiguous thickets, watchful of every opportunity for assault. 
 An arquebuse presented in wantonness against the ledge which 
 skirted the river, would frequently expel a group of shrieking 
 warriors, well armed and covered with the war paint ; and, with 
 the dawn of morning, the first thing to salute the eyes of our French- 
 men would be long strings of arrows, planted in the earth, their 
 barbs of flint turned upwards, from which long hairs shreds from 
 
284 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 heads which had been shorn for war, were to be seen waving in the 
 wind. These were signs, too well understood by previous ex- 
 perience, of a threatened and sleepless hostility 
 ; It was soon found that the Paracoussi either could not or would 
 not comply with his engagements. He sent a small supply of 
 grain to the lieutenant, but said that more could not be provided 
 except by a surrender of the hostages. The Frenchmen were 
 required to bring the captives to the village, when and where they 
 should be furnished with the full amount of the promised ransom 
 Satisfied that all this was mere pretence, indicating purposes of 
 treachery, the Frenchmen were yet too much straitened by want 
 to forego any enterprise which promised them provisions. They, 
 accordingly, set forth for the place appointed, in two separate 
 bodies, marching so that they might support each other promptly, 
 tinder the several leads of D'Erlach and Ottigny. The former 
 held the advance. The village of Utina was six French leagues 
 from the river where they left their barque, and the route which 
 they were compelled to pursue was such as exposed them frequently 
 to the perils of ambuscade. But so vigilant was their watch, so 
 ready were they with matches lighted, and so close was the cus- 
 tody in which they kept their hostages, that the Indians, whom 
 they beheld constantly flitting through the thickets, dared never 
 make any attempt upon them. They reached the village in 
 safety, and immediately proceeded to the dwelling-house of Olata 
 Utina, raised, as before described, upon an artificial eminence. 
 Here they found assembled all the chiefs of the nation ; but the 
 Paracoussi was not among them. He kept aloof, and was not to 
 be seen at present by the Frenchmen. His chiefs received their 
 visitors with smiles and great professions ; but, as their own pro- 
 verb recites, when the enemy smiles your scalp is in danger. 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 2St 
 
 They pointed to great sacks of mil and beans which had alread;- 
 bccn accumulated, and still they showed the Frenchmen wher- 
 hourly came other of their subjects adding still more to the pile 
 
 " But wherefore," they demanded, " wherefore come our whit 
 brethren, with the fire burning in their harquebuses ? See the t 
 not that it causes our women to be afraid, and our children t 
 tremble in their terror. Let our brethren put out this fire, whicl 
 makes them dread to come nigh with their peace-offerings, an< 
 know us for a friend, under whose tongue there is no serpent." 
 
 To this D'Erlach replied " Our red brothers do themselves 
 wrong. They do not fear the fire in our harquebuses. They knor 
 not its danger. The Frenchmen have always forborne to shor 
 them the power that might make them afraid. But this power i 
 employed only against our enemies. Let the chiefs of the peopL 
 of the Paracoussi Utina show themselves friends, and the thun- 
 der which we carry shall only send its fearful bolts among the foe 
 of Utina, the people of Potanou, and the warriors of the grefr- 
 mountain of Apalatchy. 
 
 " If we are thus friends of the Frenchmen, why do they kee} 
 our beloved men in bondage ? Are these the ornaments proper 
 to a warrior and a great chief among his people ?" 
 
 They pointed as they spoke to the fetters which embraced thr 
 legs and arms of the hostages, who sat in one corner of tht 
 council-house. 
 
 " Our red brothers have but to speak, and these chains fal 
 from the limbs of their well beloved chiefs." 
 
 " Heh ! Wo speak ! Let them fell !" 
 
 " Speak to your people that these piles be complete," pointing 
 to the grain. 
 
 " They have heard. See you not they come ?" 
 
286 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " But very slowly ; and hearken to us now, brothers of the 
 red-men, while we ask, do the skies that pavilion the territories 
 of the Paracoussi Utina rain down such things as these." 
 
 Here D'Erlach showed them a bunch oTlhe arrows which they 
 had found planted by the wayside as they came. The thin lips of 
 the savages parted into slight smiles as they beheld them. 
 
 " These grow not by nature," continued D'Arlach ; " they fall 
 not from heaven in the heavy showers. They are sown by the 
 red-men along the path which the white man travels. What is 
 the fruit which is to grow from such seed as this ?" 
 
 The chiefs were silent. The youth proceeded : 
 
 " Brothers, we are calm ; we are not angry, though we well 
 know what these arrows mean. We are patient, for we know our 
 own strength. The Paracoussi has promised us supplies of grain, 
 and hither we have come. Four days shall we remain in waiting 
 for it. Till that time, these well-beloved men shall remain in our 
 keeping. When we receive the supplies which have been pro- 
 mised us, they shall be yours. We have spoken." 
 
 Thus ended the first conference. That night the French 
 lieutenants found their way to the presence of the Paracoussi. He 
 was kept concealed in a smaU'wigwam, deeply embowered in the 
 woods, but in near and convenient neighborhood to the village. 
 He himself had sent for them, and one of his sons had shown the 
 way. They found the old monarch still maintaining the state of 
 a prince, but he was evidently humbled. His captivity had 
 lessened his authority ; and his anxiety to comply with the en- 
 gagements made with the French had in some degree impaired his 
 influence over, his people. They had resolved to destroy the 
 pale-faces, as insolent invaders of their territory, consumers of its 
 substance and enemies of its peace It was this hostility and this 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI 287 
 
 determination that had interposed all the obstacles in the way of 
 procuring the supplies promised. 
 
 " They resist me, their Paracoussi," said Utina bitterly, " and 
 have resolved on fighting with you ! They will wage war against 
 you to the last. See you not the planted arrows that marked 
 your pathway to my village ? These arrows are planted from 
 the territories of Utina, by every pathway, to the very gates of 
 La Caroline. They will meet your eyes wherever you shall return 
 to the fortress. They mean nothing less than war, and such 
 warfare as admits of no peace. Go you, therefore, go you with 
 all speed to your vessels, and make what haste you can to the 
 garrison. The woods swarm with my warriors, and they no 
 longer heed my voice. They will hunt you to your vessel. 
 They mean to throw trees athwart the creek so that her escape 
 may be cut off, while they do you to death with their arrows, 
 and I cannot be there to say to my people f stay your shafts, 
 these be our friends and allies.' They no longer hearken to my 
 voice. I am a Paracoussi without subjects, a ruler without obe- 
 dience, a shadow, where I only used to be the substance." 
 
 The despondency of the king was without hypocrisy. It 
 sensibly impressed our Frenchmen. They felt that he spoke the 
 truth. He was then, in fact, excluded from the house of coun- 
 cil, as incurring the suspicion of the red-men as fatally friendly 
 to the whites. While they still conversed, they were alarmed by 
 violent shrieks, as of one in mortal terror. 
 
 " That scream issues from a French throat !" exclaimed 
 D'Erhch, as he rushed forth. He was followed by Lieutenant 
 Ottigny and another. The Paracoussi never left his seat. The 
 screams guided them into a neighboring thicket, into which they 
 hurried, arriving there not a moment too soon. A Frenchman 
 
288 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 struggled in the grasp of five stalwart savages, who had him down 
 and were preparing to cut his throat. He had been beguiled 
 from the place which had been assigned him as a watch, and was 
 about to pay the penalty of his folly with his life. In an instant 
 the gallant Alphonse D'Erlach had sprung among them, his sword 
 passing clear through the back of the most prominent in the 
 group of assailants. His body, falling upon that of the captive, 
 prevented the blows which the rest were showering upon him. 
 They started in sudden terror at this interruption. Their own 
 and the clamors of the Frenchman had kept them from all know- 
 ledge of the approaching rescue. In an instant they were gone. 
 They waited for no second stroke from a weapon whose first ad- 
 dress was so sharp and sudden. They left their captive, bruised 
 and groaning, but without serious injury to life or limb. 
 
 The warnings and assurances of the Paracoussi were sufficiently 
 enforced by this instance of the hostility of the red-men. But 
 the necessity of securing all the supplies they might possibly pro- 
 cure from the natives, either through their own artifices or because 
 of the apprehension for their chiefs, caused our Frenchmen to 
 linger at the village of Utina. They were determined to wait the 
 full period of four days which they had assigned themselves. In 
 this period they saw the Paracoussi more than once. At each 
 interview his admonitions were delivered with increased solemnity. 
 They found his chiefs less and less accommodating at every inter- 
 view. The piles of grain at the council-house increased slowly. 
 Occasionally an Indian might be seen to enter and cast the con- 
 tents of his little basket among the rest. The Frenchmen en- 
 deavored to persuade the chiefs to furnish men to carry the grain 
 to their vessel, but this was flatly denied. Resolved, finally, to 
 depart, each soldier was required to load himself with a sack 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 289 
 
 as well filled as it was consistent with his strength to bear. This 
 was slung across his shoulder, and, in this way, burdened with 
 food for other mouths as well as their own, and carrying their 
 matchlocks besides, the Frenchmen prepared to depart, on the 
 morning of the 27th July, 1565, from the village of Utina to the 
 bark which they had left. It was a memorable day for our ad- 
 venturers. In groups, scornfully smiling as they beheld the sol- 
 diers staggering beneath their burdens, the chiefs assembled to 
 see them depart from the village. Alphonse D'Erlach beheld 
 the malignant triumph which sparkled in their eyes. 
 
 " We shall not be suffered to reach the bark in quiet ;" was his 
 remark to Ottigny. " Let me have the advance, Monsieur, if you 
 please; I have dealt with the dogs before." 
 
 To this Ottigny consented ; and leading one of the divisons of 
 the detachment, as at coming, D'Erlach prepared to take the 
 initiate in a progress, every part of which was destined to bo 
 marked with strife. The immediate entrance to the village of 
 the Paracoussi, the only path, indeed, by which our Frenchmen 
 could emerge, lay, for nearly half a mile, through a noble avenue, 
 the sides of which were densely occupied by a most ample and 
 umbrageous forest. The trees were at once great and lofty, and 
 the space beneath was closed up with a luxuriant undergrowth 
 which spread away like a wall of green on either hand. D'Erlaeh 
 remembered this entrance. > 
 
 " Here," said he to Ottigny, " Here, at the very opening of the 
 path, our trouble is likely to begin. Let your men be prepared 
 with matches lighted, and see that your fire is delivered only in 
 squads, so that, at no time, shall all of your pieces be entirely 
 empty." 
 
 Ottigny prepared to follow this counsel. His men were all 
 13 
 
290 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 apprised of what they had to expect ; and were told, at the first 
 sign of danger, to cast down their corn bags, and betake them- 
 selves to their weapons wholly. The grain might be lost pro- 
 bably would be but better this, than, in a vain endeavor to 
 preserve it, lose life and grain together. Thus prepared, 
 D'Erlach began the march. He was followed, at a short interval, 
 by Ottigny, with the rest of the detachment ; a small force of 
 eight arquebusiers excepted, who, under charge of a sergeant, 
 were sent to the left of the thicket which bounded the avenue on 
 one hand, with instructions to scour the woods in that quarter, 
 yet without passing beyond reach of help from the main body. 
 
 All fell out as had been anticipated. D'Erlach was en- 
 countered as he emerged from the avenue, by a force of three 
 hundred Indians. They poured in a cloud of arrows, but fortu- 
 nately at such a distance as to do little mischief. With the first 
 assault the Frenchmen dispossessed themselves of their burdens, 
 and prepared themselves for fight. The savages came on more 
 boldly, throwing in fresh flights of arrows as they pushed forward, 
 and rending the forests with their cries. D'Erlach preserved all 
 his steadiness and coolness. He saw that the arrows were yet 
 comparatively ineffectual. 
 
 " Do not answer them yet, my good fellows," he cried, " but 
 Btoop ye, every man, and break the arrows, as many as ye can, 
 that fall about ye." 
 
 He had seen that the savages, having delivered a few fires, were 
 wont to rush forward and gather up the spent shafts, which, thus 
 recovered, afforded them an inexhaustible armory, upon which it 
 is their custom to rely. When his assailants beheld how his men 
 were engaged, they rushed forward with loud shouts of fury, and 
 delivering another storm of darts, they made demonstrations of a 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 291 
 
 desire for close conflict, with their stone hatchets and macanas. 
 At this show, D'Erlach spoke to his men in subdued accents. 
 
 " Make ye still as if ye would stoop for the fallen arrows, ye 
 of the first rank ; but blow ye your matches even as ye do so, 
 and falling upon your knees deliver then your fire ; while the 
 second rank will cover you as ye do so, and while ye charge 
 anew your pieces." 
 
 The command was obeyed with coolness ; and, as the Indians 
 darted forward, coming in close packed squadrons into the gorge 
 of the avenue, the soldiers delivered their fire with great pre- 
 cision. Dreadful was the howl which followed it, for more than 
 thirteen of the savages had fallen, mortally hurt, and two of their 
 chief warriors had been made to bite the dust. Seizing the 
 bodies of their slain and wounded comrades, the survivors imme- 
 diately hurried into cover, and D'Erlach at once pushed forward 
 with his command. But he had not advanced more than four 
 hundred paces, when the assault was renewed, the air suddenly 
 being darkened with the flight of bearded shafts, while the forest 
 rang with the yells of savage fury. They were still too far 
 for serious mischief, and were besides covered with the woods ; 
 so, giving the assailants little heed, except to observe that they 
 came not too nigh, or too suddenly upon him, D'Erlach continued 
 to push forward, doing as he had done before with the hostile 
 arrows whenever they lay in the pathway. But the courage of 
 the red-men increased as they warmed in the struggle, and they 
 grew bolder because of the very forbearance of the Frenchmen 
 Besides, their forces had been increased by other bodies, each 
 approaching in turn to the assault, so as to keep their enemies 
 constantly busy. In parties of two or three hundred, they darted 
 from their several ambushes, and having discharged their arrows, 
 
292 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 and met with repulse, retired rapidly to other favorite places of 
 concealment to renew the conflict as it continued to advance. 
 By this time, the whole bdy of the Frenchmen had become en- 
 gaged in the fight. The force under Ottigny, following the 
 example of that led by D'Erlach, had succeeded in pressing for- 
 ward, though not without loss, while making great havoc with the 
 red-men. These people fought, never men more bravely ; and, 
 but for the happy thought, that of destroying their arrows as fast 
 as they fell, it is probable that the detachment had never reached 
 La Caroline. They hovered thus about the march of the French- 
 men all the day, encouraging each other with shouts of vengeance 
 and delight, and sending shaft upon shaft, with an aim, which, 
 had they not been too greatly sensible of the danger of the ar- 
 quebuse, to come sufficiently nigh, would have been always fatal. 
 Yet well did the savage succeed, so long as they remained unin- 
 toxicated by their rage, in dodging the aim of the weapon. As 
 Laudonniere writes " All the while they had their eye and foot 
 so quicke and readie, that as soone as ever they saw the harque- 
 buse raised to the cheeke, so soon were they on the ground, and 
 eftsoone to answer with their bowes, and to flie their way, if by 
 chance they perceived that we were about to take them." 
 
 This conflict lasted from nine o'clock in the morning until night. 
 It only ceased when the darkness separated the combatants. 
 Even then, but for the deficiency of their arrows, they probably 
 would not have withdrawn from the field. It was late in the 
 night when the Frenchmen reached their boats, weary and ex- 
 hausted, their grain wrested from them, their hostages rescued, 
 and twenty-four of their number killed and wounded. The 
 Floridians had shown themselves warriors of equal spirit and 
 capacity. The determined exclusion of their Paracoussi from 
 
CAPTIVITY OF THE GREAT PARACOUSSI. 293 
 
 counsels which it was feared that he would dishonor, their manly 
 resistance to the white invaders, their scornful ridicule of their 
 necessities, their proud defiance of their power, and the fierce 
 and unrelenting hostility with which they had chased their adver- 
 saries, remind us irresistibly of the degradation of Montezuma 
 by his subjects, their prolonged warfare with the Spaniards, 
 their sleepless hostility, and that bloody struggle which first drove 
 them over the causeways of Tenochtitlan. The inferior state 
 and wealth of the Paracoussi, Olata Ouvae Utina, constitutes no 
 such sufficient element of difference, as to lessen the force of the 
 parallel between himself and people, and those of the Atzeo 
 
XX. 
 
 ^XxMPWMVfc 
 
 IRACANA, 
 
 OR THE EDEN OF THE FLORIDIAN. 
 
 THE disasters which befel his detachment, brought Laudon- 
 niere to his knees. He had now been humbled severely by the 
 dispensations of Providence punished for that disregard of the 
 things most important to the colonization of a new country, which, 
 in his insane pursuit of the precious metals, had marred his admin- 
 istration. His misfortunes reminded him of his religion. 
 
 " Seeing, therefore, mine hope frustrate on that side, I made 
 my prayer unto God, and thanked him of his grace which he had 
 showed unto my poore souldiers which were escaped." 
 
 But his prayers did not detain him long. The necessities of 
 the colony continued as pressing as ever. " Afterward, I thought 
 upon new meanes to obtaine victuals, as well for our returne into 
 France, as to drive out the time untill our embarking." These 
 were meditations of considerable difficulty. The petty fields of 
 the natives, never contemplated with reference to more than a 
 temporary supply of food ; never planted with reference to pro- 
 viding for a whole year, were really inadequate to the wants of 
 such a body of men, unless by grievously distressing their proprie- 
 
IRACANA. 295 
 
 tors. The people of Olata Utina had been moved to rage in all 
 probability, quite as much because of their grain crops, about to 
 be torn from them, as with any feeling of indignation in conse- 
 quence of the detention of their Paracoussi. In the sacks of corn 
 which the Frenchmen bore away upon their shoulders, they be- 
 held the sole provisions upon which, for several months, their 
 women and children had relied to feed ; and their quick imagina- 
 tions were goaded to desperation, as they depicted the vivid horrors 
 of a summer consumed in vain search after crude roots and indi- 
 gestible berries, through the forests. No wonder the wild wretches 
 fought to avert such a danger ; as little may we wonder that they 
 fought successfully. The Frenchmen, compelled to cast down 
 their sacks of grain, to use their weapons, the red-men soon re- 
 possessed themselves of all their treasure. When Laudonniere 
 reviewed his harrassed soldiers on their return from this expedi- 
 tion, " all the mill that he found among his company came but to 
 two men's burdens." To attempt to recover the provisions thus 
 wrested from them, or to revenge themselves for the indignity 
 and injury they had undergone, were equally out of the question. 
 The people of the Paracoussi could number their thousands ; and, 
 buried in their deep fortresses of forest, they could defy pursuit. 
 Laudonniere was compelled to look elsewhere for the resources 
 which should keep his company from want. 
 
 Two leagues distant from La Caroline, on the opposite side of 
 May River, stood the Indian village of Saravahi. Not far from 
 this might be seen the smokes of another village, named Emoloa. 
 The Frenchmen, wandering through the woods in search of game, 
 had alighted suddenly upon these primitive communities. Here 
 they had been received with gentleness and love. The natives 
 were lively and benevolent. They had never felt the wrath of 
 
THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the white man, nor been made to suffer because of his improvi- 
 dence and necessities. His thunderbolts had never hurled among 
 their columns, and mown them down as with a fiery scythe from 
 heaven. The Frenchmen did not fail to remark that they were 
 provident tribes, with corn-fields much more ample than were 
 common among the Indians. These, they now concluded, must 
 o covered with golden grain, in the season of harvest, and 
 thither, accordingly, Laudonniere dispatched his boats. A judi- 
 cious officer conducted the detachment, and stores of European 
 merchandize were confided to him for the purposes of traffic. He 
 was not disappointed in his expectations. His soldiers were 
 received with open arms ; and a "good store of mil," speaking 
 comparatively, was readily procured from the abundance of the 
 Indians. 
 
 But, in preparation for the return to France, other and larger 
 supplies were necessary. The boats were again made ready, and 
 confided to La Vasseur and D'Erlach. They proceeded to the 
 river to which the French had given their name of Somme, now 
 known as the Satilla, but which was then called among the 
 Indians, the Iracana, after their own beautiful queen. Of this 
 queen our Frenchmen had frequently been told. She had been 
 described to them as the fairest creature, in the shape of woman, 
 that the country had beheld : nor was the region over which 
 she swayed, regarded with less admiration. This was spoken of 
 as a sort of terrestrial paradise. Here, 'the vales were more 
 lovely ; the waters more cool and pellucid than in any other of 
 the territories of earth. Here, the earth produced more abun- 
 dantly than elsewhere ; the trees were more stately and magnifi- 
 cent, the flowers more beautiful and gay, and the vines more 
 heavily laden with grapes of the most delicious flavor. Sweetest 
 
IRACANA. 297 
 
 islets rose along the shore over which the moon seemed to linger 
 with a greater fondness, and soft breezes played ever in the 
 capacious forests, always kindling to emotions of pleasure, the 
 soft beatings of the delighted heart. The influences of scene and 
 climate were felt for good amongst the people who were repre- 
 sented at once as the most generous and gentle of all the Floridian 
 natives. They had no wild passions, and coveted no fierce 
 delights. Under the sway of a woman, at once young and beau- 
 tiful, the daughter of their most favorite monarch, their souls had 
 become attuned to sympathies which greatly tended to subdue 
 and to soothe the savage nature. Their lives were spent in sports 
 and dances. No rebukes or restraints of duty, no sordid cares or 
 purposes, impaired the dream of youth and rapture which pre- 
 vailed everywhere in the hearts of the people. Gay assem- 
 blages were ever to be found among the villages in the forests ; 
 singing their own delights and imploring the stranger to be 
 happy also. They had a thousand songs and sports of youth and 
 pleasure, which made life a perpetual round of ever freshening 
 felicity. Innocent as wild, no eye of the ascetic could rebuke 
 enjoyments which violated no cherished laws of experience and 
 thought, and their glad and sprightly dances, in the deep shadows 
 of the wood, to the lively clatter of Indian gourds and tambourines, 
 ^vere quite as significant of harmless fancies as of thoughtless lives. 
 Happy was the lonely voyager, speeding along the coast, in his 
 frail canoe, when, suddenly darting out from the forests of Ira- 
 cana, a slight but lovely creature, with flowing tunic of whit 
 cotton, stood upon the head land, waving her branch of palm or 
 myrtle, entreating his approach, and imploring him to delay his 
 <'ourney, while he shared in the sweet festivities of love and youth, 
 "or a season, upon the shore, crying with a sweet chant, 
 13* 
 
298 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Love you me not, oh, lonely voyager love you me not ? 
 Lo ! am I not lovely ; I who serve the beautiful queen of Iracana ? 
 will you not come to me, for a while ! come, hide the canoe 
 among the reeds, along the shore, and make merry with the dam- 
 sels of Iracana. I give to thee the palm and the myrtle, in 
 token of a welcome of peace and love. Come hither, oh ! 
 lonely voyager, and be happy for a season !" 
 
 And seldom were these persuasions unavailing. The lonely 
 voyager was commonly won, as was he who, sailing by Scylla and 
 Charybdis, refused to seal his ears with wax against the song of 
 the Syren. But our charmers, along the banks of the Satilla, 
 entreated to no evil, laid no snares for the unwary, meditat- 
 ing their destruction. They sought only to share the pleasures 
 which they themselves enjoyed. The benevolence of that love 
 which holds its treasure as of little value, unless its delights may 
 be bestowed on others, was the distinguishing moral in the Indian 
 Eden of Iracana ; and he who came with love, never departed 
 without a sorrow, such as made him linger as he went, and soon 
 return, when this were possible, to a region, which, among our 
 Floridians, realized that period of the Classic Fable, which has 
 always been designated, par excellence, as the "age of gold." 
 
 Our Frenchmen, under the conduct of La Vasseur and D'Er- 
 lach, reached the frontiers of Iracana, at an auspicious period. 
 The season of harvest, among all primitive and simple nations, 
 is commonly a season of great rejoicing. Among a people like 
 those of Iracana, habitually accustomed to rejoice, it is one in 
 which delight becomes exultation, and when in the supreme feli- 
 city of good fortune, the happy heart surpasses itself in the ex- 
 traordinary expression of its joy. Here were assembled to the 
 harvest, all the great lords of the surrounding country. Here 
 
IRACANA. 
 
 was Athoree, the gigantic son of Satouriova, a very Anak, 
 among the Floridians. Here were Apalou, a famous chieftain, 
 Tacadocorou, and many others, whom our Frenchmen had met 
 and known before ; some of whom indeed, they had known in 
 fierce conflict, and a strife which had never been healed by any 
 of the gentle offices of peace. 
 
 But Iracana was the special territory of peace. It was not 
 permitted, among the Floridians, to approach this realm with 
 angry purpose. Here war and strife were tabooed things,- shut, 
 out, denied and banished, and peace and love, and rapture, were 
 alone permitted exercise in abodes which were too grateful to all 
 parties, to be desecrated by hostile passions. When, therefore, 
 our Frenchmen, beholding those only with whom they had so 
 lately fought, were fain to betake themselves to their weapons, 
 the chiefs themselves, with whom they had done battle, came 
 forward to embrace them, with open arms. 
 
 " Brothers, all brothers here, in Iracana ;" was the common 
 speech. " Be happy here, brothers, no fight, no scalp, nothing 
 but love in Iracana, nothing but dance and be happy." 
 
 Even had not this assurance sufficed with our Frenchmen, the 
 charms of the lovely Queen herself, her grace and sweetness, not 
 unmixed with a dignity which declared her habitual rule, must 
 have staled every feeling of distrust in their bosoms, and effect- 
 ually exorcised that of war. She came to meet the strangers with 
 a mingled ease and state, a sweetness and a majesty, which 
 were inexpressibly attractive. She took a hand of La Vasseur 
 and of D'Erlach, with each of her own. A bright, happy smile 
 lightened in her eye, and warmed her slightly dusky features 
 with a glow. Rich in hue, yet delicately thin, her lips parted 
 with a pleasure, as she spoke to them, which no art could simu- 
 
300 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 late. She bade them welcome, joined their hands with those of 
 the great warriors by whom she was attended, and led them away 
 among her damsels, of whom a numerous array were assembled, 
 all habited in the richest garments of their scanty wardrobes. 
 , The robes of the Queen herself were ample. The skirts of her 
 dress fell below her knees, a thing very uncommon with the 
 women of Florida. Over this, she wore a tunic of crimson, which 
 descended below her hips. A slight cincture embraced, without 
 confining, her waist. Long strings of sea-shell, of the smallest 
 size, but of colors and tints the most various and delicate, droop- 
 ed across her shoulders, and were strung, in loops and droplets, 
 to the skirts of her uress and her symar. Similar strings encir- 
 cled her head, from which the hair hung free behind, almost to 
 the ground, a raven-like stream, of the deepest and most glossy 
 sable. Her form was equally stately and graceful her carriage 
 betrayed a freedom, which was at once native and the fruit of ha- 
 bitual exercise. Nothing could have been more gracious than the 
 sweetness of her welcome ; nothing more utterly unshadowed than 
 the sunshine which beamed in her countenance. She led her 
 guests among the crowd, and soon released La Vasseur to one of 
 the loveliest girls who came about her. Alphonss D'Erlach she 
 kept to herself. She was evidently struck with the singula, 
 union of delicacy and youth with sagacity and character, whict 
 declared itself in his features and deportment. 
 
 Very soon were all the parties engaged in the mazes of th 
 Indian dance of Iracana, a movement which, unlike the waits 
 of the Spaniards, less stately perhaps, and less imposing yet re 
 quires all its flexibility and freedom, and possesses all its seduc- 
 tive and voluptuous attractions. Half the night was consumed 
 with dancing ; then gay parties could be seen gliding into canoes. 
 
IRACANA. 301 
 
 and darting across the stream to other villages and places of 
 abode. Anon, might be perceived a silent couple gliding away 
 to sacred thickets ; and with the sound of a mighty conch, which 
 strangely broke the silence of the forest, the Queen herself re- 
 ired with her attendants, having first assigned to certain of her 
 chiefs the task of providing for the Frenchmen. Of these 'she 
 had already shown herself sufficiently heedful and solicitous. Not 
 sparing of her regards to La Vasseur, she had particularly devot- 
 ed herself to D'Erlach, and, while they danced together, if the 
 truth could be spoken of her simple heart, great had been its 
 pleasure at those moments, when the spirit of the dance re- 
 quired that she should yield herself to his grasp, and die away 
 languidly in his embrace. 
 
 " Ah ! handsome Frenchman," she said to her companion, 
 " You please me so much." 
 
 His companions were similarly entertained. Captain La Vas- 
 seur was soon satisfied that he too was greatly pleasing to the 
 fair and lovely savage who had been assigned him ; and not one 
 of the Frenchmen, but had his share of the delights and endear- 
 ments which made the business of life in Iracana. The soldiers 
 had each a fair creature, with whom he waltzed and wandered ; 
 and fond discourse, everywhere in the great shadows of the wood, 
 between sympathizing spirits, opened a new idea of existence to 
 the poor Huguenots who, hitherto, had only known the land of 
 Florida by its privations and its gold. The dusky damsels, alike 
 sweet and artless, brought back to our poor adventurers precious 
 recollections of youthful fancies along the banks of the Garonne 
 and the Loire, and it is not improbable, that, under the excite- 
 ment of new emotions, had Laudonniere proposed to transfer La 
 Caroline to the Satilla, or Somme, instead ctf May River, they 
 
302 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 might have been ready to waive, for a season at least, their im- 
 patient desire to return to France. 
 
 Night was at length subdued to silence on the banks of the Sa- 
 tilla. The sounds of revelry had ceased. All slept, and the 
 transition from night to day passed, sweetly and insensibly, al- 
 most without the consciousness of the parties. But, with the 
 sunrise, the great conch sounded in the forest. The Eden of 
 the Floridian did not imply a life of mere repose. The people 
 were gathered to their harvesting, and the labors of the day, 
 under the auspices of a gracious rule, were made to seem a plea- 
 sure. Hand in hand, the Queen Iracana, with her maidens, 
 and her guests, followed to the maize fields. Already had she 
 found D'Erlach, and her slender fingers, without any sense of 
 shame, had taken possession of his hand, which she pressed at 
 moments very tenderly. He had already informed her of the 
 wants and the sufferings of his garrison, and she smiled with a 
 new feeling of happiness, as she eagerly assured him that his 
 people should receive abundance. She bent with her own hands 
 the towering stalks ; and, detaching the ears, flung to the ground 
 a few in all these places, on which it was meant that the heaps 
 should be accumulated. " Give these to our friends, the French- 
 men," she said, indicating with a sweep of the hand, a large tract 
 of the field, through which they went. D'Erlach felt this libe- 
 rality. He squeezed her fingers fondly in return, saying words 
 of compliment which, possibly, in her ear, meant something more 
 than compliment. 
 
 Then followed the morning feast ; then walks in the woods ; 
 then sports upon the river in their canoes ; and snaring the fish 
 in weirs, in which the Indians were very expert. Evening 
 brought with it a renewal of the danc3, which again continued late 
 
IRACANA. 303 
 
 in the night. Again did Alphonse D'Erlach dance with Iracana ; 
 but it was now seen that her eyes saddened with the overfulness 
 of her heart. Love is not so much a joy as a care. It is so vast 
 a treasure, that the heart, possessed of the fullest consciousness 
 of its value, is for ever dreading its loss. The happiness of the 
 Floridian Eden had been of a sort which never absorbed the 
 soul. It lacked the intensity of a fervent passion. It was the 
 life of childhood a thing of sport, and play, of dance and 
 dream not that eager and avaricious passion which knows never 
 content, and is never sure, even when most happy, from the 
 anxieties and doubts which beset all mortal felicity. Already did 
 our Queen begin to calculate the hours between the present, and 
 that which should witness the departure of the pleasant French- 
 men. 
 
 " You will go from me," said she to D'Erlach, as they went 
 apart from the rest, wandering along the banks of the river and 
 looking out upon the sea. " You will go from me, and I shall 
 never see you any more." 
 
 " I will come again, noble Queen, believe me," was the assur- 
 ance. 
 
 " Ah ! come soon," she said, a come soon, for you please me 
 very much, Aphon." 
 
 Such was the soft Indian corruption of his christened name. 
 No doubt, she too gave pleasure to ' Aphon.' How could it be 
 otherwise ? How could he prove insensible to the tender and 
 fervid interest which she so innocently betrayed in him ? He did 
 not. He was not insensible ; and vague fancies were quickening 
 in his mind as respects the future. He was opposed to the plan 
 of returning to France. He was for carrying out the purposes of 
 Coligny, and fulfilling the destinies of the colony. He had 
 
304 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 / 
 
 warned Laudonniere against the policy he pursued, had foreseen 
 all the evils resulting from his unwise counsels, and there was 
 that in his bosom which urged the glorious results to France, of 
 a vigorous and just administration of a settlement in the western 
 hemisphere, in which he was to participate, with his energy and 
 forethought, without having these perpetually baffled by the im- 
 becility and folly of an incapable superior. In such an event, 
 how sweetly did his fancy mingle with his own fortunes those of 
 the gentle and loving creature who stood beside him. He told 
 her not his thoughts they were indeed, fancies, rather than 
 thoughts but his arm gently encircled her waist, and while her 
 head drooped upon her bosom, he pressed her hand with a tender 
 earnestness, which spoke much more loudly than any language to 
 her heart. 
 
 The hour of separation came at length. Three days had 
 elapsed in the delights of the Floridian Eden. Our Frenchmen 
 were compelled to tear themselves away. The objects for which 
 they came had been gratified. The bounty of the lovely Iracana 
 had filled with grain their boats. Her subjects had gladly borne 
 the burdens from the fields to the vessels, while the strangers 
 revelled with the noble and the lovely. But their revels were 
 now to end. The garrison at La Caroline, it was felt, waited 
 with hunger, as well as hope and anxiety for their return, and 
 they dared to delay no longer. The parting was more difficult 
 than they themselves had fancied. All had been well entertained, 
 and all made happy by their entertainment. If Alphonse 
 D'Erlach had been favored with the sweet attentions of a queen, 
 Captain La Vasseur had been rendered no less happy by the 
 smiles of the loveliest among her subjects. He had touched her 
 heart also, quite as sensibly as had the former that of Iracana. 
 
IRACANA. 305 
 
 Similarly fortunate had been their followers. Authority had 
 ceased to restrain in a region where there was no danger of insub- 
 ordination, and our Frenchmen, each in turn, from the sergeant 
 to the sentinel, had been honored by regards of beauty, such as 
 made him forgetful, for the time, of precious memories in France. 
 Nor had these favors, bestowed upon the Frenchmen, provoked 
 the jealousy of the numerous Indian chieftains who were present, 
 and who shared in these festivities. It joyed them the rather to 
 see how frankly the white men could unbend themselves to un- 
 wonted pleasures, throwing aside that jealous state, that sus- 
 picious vigilance, which, hitherto, had distinguished their bearing 
 in all their intercourse with the Indians. 
 
 " Women of Iracana too sweet," said the gigantic son of 
 Satouriova, Athore, to Captain La Vasseur, as the parties, each 
 with a light and laughing damsel in his grasp, whirled beside each 
 other in the mystic maze of the dance. 
 
 " I much love the&e women of Iracana," said Apalou, as fierce 
 a warrior in battle, as ever swore by the altars of the Indian 
 Moloch. " I glad you love them too, like me. Iracana woman 
 good for too much love ! They make great warrior forget his 
 enemies." 
 
 " Ha !" said one addressing D'Brlach, " You have beautiful 
 women in your country, like Iracana, the Queen ?" 
 
 But, we need not pursue these details. The hour of separa- 
 tion had arrived. Our Frenchmen had brought with them a 
 variety of commodities grateful to the Indian eye, with which 
 they designed to traffic ; but the bounty of Iracana, which had 
 anticipated all their wants, had asked for nothing in return. The 
 treasures of the Frenchmen were accordingly distributed in gifts 
 among the noble men and women of the place. Some of these 
 
306 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Iracana condescended to take from the hands of Aphon. Her 
 tears fell upon his offering. She gave him in return two small 
 mats, woven of the finer straws of the country, with her own 
 hands wrought, indeed, while D'Erlach sat beside her in the 
 shade of a great oak by the river bank and u so artificially 
 wrought," in the language of the chronicle, " as it was impossi- 
 ble to make it better." The poor Queen had few words 
 
 " You will come to me, Aphon you will ? you will ? I too 
 much want you ! Come soon, Aphon. Iracana will dance never 
 no more till Aphon be come." 
 
 " Aphon" felt, at that moment, that he could come without 
 sorrow. He promised that he would. Perhaps he meant to keep 
 his promise ; but we shall see. The word was given to be 
 aboard, and the trumpet rang, recalling the soldier who still 
 lingered in the forest shadows, with some dusky damsel for com- 
 panion. All were at length assembled, and with a last squeeze 
 of her hand, D'Erlach took leave of his sorrowful queen. She 
 turned away into the woods, but soon came forth again, unable to 
 deny herself another last look. 
 
 But the Frenchmen were delayed. One of their men was miss- 
 ing. Where was Louis Bourdon ? There was no answer to his 
 name. The boats were searched, the banks of the river, the 
 neighboring woods, the fields, the Indian village, and all in vain. 
 The Frenchmen observed that the natives exhibited no eagerness 
 in the search. They saw that many faces were clothed with 
 smiles, when their efforts resulted fruitlessly. They could not 
 suppose that any harm had befallen the absent soldier. They 
 could not doubt the innocence of that hospitality, which had 
 shown itself so fond. They conjectured rightly when they sup- 
 posed that Louis Bourdon, a mere youth of twenty, had gone 
 
IRACANA 307 
 
 off with one of the damsels of Iraeana, whose seductions he had 
 found it impossible to withstand. D'Erlach spoke to the Queen 
 upon the subject She gave him no encouragement. She pro- 
 fessed to know nothing, and probably did not, and she would 
 promise nothing. She unhesitatingly declared her belief that he 
 was in the forest, with some one that " he so much loved :" but 
 she assured D'Erlach that to hunt them up would be an impossi- 
 bility. 
 
 " Why you not stay with me, Aphon, as your soldier stay 
 with the woman he so much love ? It is good to stay. Iraeana 
 will love you too much more than other woman. Ah ! you love 
 not much the poor Iraeana." 
 
 " Nay, Iraeana, I love you greatly. I will come to you again. 
 I find it hard to te^r myself away. But my people " 
 
 " Ah ! you stay with Iraeana, and much love Iraeana, and you 
 have all these people. They will plant for you many fields of 
 corn; you shall no more want; and we will dance when the 
 evening comes, and we shall be so happy, Aphon and Iraeana, to 
 live together; Aphon the great Paracoussi, and Iraeana to be 
 Queen no more." 
 
 It was not easy to resist these pleadings. But time pressed. 
 Captain La Vasseur was growing impatient. The search after 
 Louis Bourdon was abandoned, and the soldiers were again ordered 
 on board. The anxieties of La Vasseur being now awakened, lest 
 others of his people should be spirited away. Of this the danger 
 was considerable. The Frenchman was a more flexible being 
 than either the Englishman or Spaniard. It was much easier for 
 him to assimilate with the simple Indian ; and our Huguenot 
 soldiers, who had very much forgotten their religion in their 
 diseased thirst after gold, now, in the disappointment of the one 
 
308 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 appetite were not indifferent to the consolations afforded by a life 
 of ease and sport, and the charms which addressed them in forms 
 so persuasive as those of the damsels of Iracana. La Vasseur 
 began to tremble for his command, as he beheld the reluctance 
 of his soldiers to depart. He gave the signal hurriedly to 
 Alphonso D'Erlach, and with another sweet single pressure of the 
 hand, he left the lovely Queen to her own melancholy musings. 
 She followed with her eyes the departing boats till they were 
 clean gone from sight, then buried herself in the deepest thickets 
 where she might weep in security. 
 
 Other eyes than hers pursued the retiring barks of the French- 
 men, with quite as much anxiety ; and long after she had ceased 
 to see them. On a little headland jutting out upon the river 
 below, in the shade of innumerable vines and flowers, crouching 
 in suspense, was the renegade, Louis Bourdon. By his side sat 
 the dusky damsel who had beguiled him from his duties. While 
 his comrades danced, he was flying through the thickets. The 
 nation were, many of them, conscious of his flight; but they held 
 his offence to be venial, and they encouraged him to proceed. 
 They lent him help in crossing the river, at a point below ; the 
 father of the woman with whom he fled providing the canoe with 
 which to transport him beyond the danger of pursuit. Little did 
 our Frenchmen, as the boats descended, dream who watched them 
 from the headland beneath which they passed. Many were the 
 doubts, frequent the changes, in the feelings of the capricious 
 renegade, as he saw his countrymen approaching him, and felt 
 that he might soon be separated from them and home forever, by 
 the ocean walls of the Atlantic. Whether it was that his Indian 
 beauty detected in his face the fluctuations of his thoughts, and 
 feared that, on the near approach of the boats ? he would change 
 
IRACANA. 309 
 
 his purpose and abandon her for his people, cannot be said ; but 
 just then she wound herself about within his arms, and looliod up 
 in his face, while her falling hair enmeshed his hands, and con- 
 tributed, perhaps, still more firmly to ensnare his affections. His 
 heart had been in his mouth ; he could scarcely have kept from 
 crying out to his comrades as the boats drew nigh to the cliff; 
 but the dusky beauties beneath his gaze, the soft and delicate 
 form within his embrace, silenced all the rising sympathies of 
 brotherhood in more ravishing emotions. In a moment their boats 
 had gone by ; in 'a little while they had disappeared from sight, 
 and the arms of the Indian woman, wrapped about her captive, 
 declared her delight and rapture in the triumph which she now 
 regarded as secure. .Louis Bourdon little knew how much he had 
 escaped, in thus becoming a dweller in the Floridian Eden. 
 
XXI. 
 
 HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 
 
 THE glowing accounts of the delights of the Floridian Eden 
 which were brought by our returning voyagers, were not sufficient 
 to persuade the garrison to forego their anxious desire to return 
 to France. The home-sickness under which they labored had 
 now reached such a height as to sufier no appeal or opposition. 
 Nothing but the stern decree of authority could have silenced 
 the discontents ; and the authority lay neither in the will nor in 
 the numbers under the control of Laudonniere. To such a de- 
 gree of impatience had this passion for their European homes 
 arisen, that, when it was found that the building of the vessel for 
 their deportation would be delayed beyond the designated period, in 
 consequence of the death, in battle with the savages, of two of the 
 carpenters, the multitude rose in mutiny setting upon Jean de 
 Hais, the master-carpenter, who had innocently declared the im- 
 possibility of doing the work within jthe given time, with such 
 ferocity, as to make it scarcely possible to save his life. With 
 this spirit prevailing among his garrison, Laudonniere was com- 
 pelled to abandon the idea, altogether, of building the ship ; and 
 to address all his energies to the repair, for the desired purpose, 
 of the old brigantine, which had been brought back to La Caro- 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 311 
 
 line, by the returning pirates. To work, with this object, all 
 parties were now set with the utmost expedition. The houses 
 which had been built without the fort were torn down, in order 
 that the timber should be converted into coal for the uses of the 
 forge ; this being a labor much easier than that of using the axe 
 upon the trees of the forest. The palisade which conducted from 
 the fort to the river was torn down also by the soldiery, for the 
 same purpose, in spite of the objections of Laudonniere. It was 
 their policy to make their determination to depart inevitable, by 
 rendering the place no longer habitable. The fort, itself, it was 
 determined to destroy, when they were ready to sail, " lest some 
 new-come guest should have enjoyed and possessed it." Our 
 Frenchmen were very jealous of the designs of the English queen. 
 They well knew that the haughty and courageous Elizabeth was 
 meditating a British settlement in the New World ; and though, 
 after their own voluntary abandonment of the country, they had no 
 right to complain that another should occupy the waste places, yet 
 their jealousy was too greatly that of the dog in the manger, to 
 behold, with pleased eye, the possession by another of the things 
 which they themselves had been unable to enjoy. " In the mean- 
 while," says Laudonniere seeking to excuse his own unwise 
 management and feeble policy " In the meanwhile, there was 
 none of us to whome it was not an extreme griefe to leave a 
 country wherein wee had endured so greate travailes and neces- 
 sities, to discover that which wee must forsake through our owne 
 countrymen's default. For if wee had beene succoured in time 
 and place, and according to the promise that was made unto us, 
 the war which was between us and Utina had not fallen out, neither 
 should wee have had occasion to offend the Indians, which, with 
 all paincs in the world, I entertained in good amitie, as well with 
 
312 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 merchandize and apparel, as with promise of greater matters ; and 
 with whome I so behaved myself, that although sometimes I was 
 constrained to take victuals in some few villages, yet I lost not 
 the alliance of eight kings and lords, my neighbours, which con- 
 tinually succoured and ayded me with whatever they were able to 
 afford. Yea, this was the principal scope of all my purposes, to 
 winne and entertaine them, knowing how greatly their amitie might 
 advance our enterprise, and principally while I discovered the 
 commodities of the country, and sought to strengthen myself 
 therein. I leave it to your cogitation to think how neare it went 
 to our hearts to leave a place abounding in riches (as we were 
 thoroughly enformed thereof) in coming whereunto, and doing 
 service unto our prince, we lefte our owne countrey, wives, children, 
 parents and friends, and passed the perils of the sea, and were 
 therein arrived as in a plentiful treasure of all our heart's desire." 
 It was while distressing himself with these cogitations that Lau- 
 donniere, on the 3d of August, 1565, took a walk,"aswas his cus- 
 tom of an afternoon," to the top of a little eminence, in the 
 neighborhood of the fort, which afforded a distant prospect of the 
 sea. Here, looking forth with yearning to that watery waste 
 which he was preparing to traverse, he was suddenly excited, as 
 he beheld four sail of approaching vessels. At first, the tidings 
 made the soldiers of the garrison to leap for joy. The vessels 
 were naturally supposed to be those of their own countrymen ; 
 and such was the gladness inspired by this supposition, that " one 
 would have thought them to be out of their wittes, to see them 
 laugh and leap." But, something in the behavior of the strange 
 ships, after a while, rendered our Frenchmen a little doubtful of 
 their character. Instead of boldly approaching, they were seen to 
 cast anchor and to send out one of their boats. A prudent fear 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 313 
 
 of the Spaniards made Laudonniere get his soldiers in readiness ; 
 while Captain La Yasseur, with a select party, advanced to the 
 river side to meet the visitors. They proved to be Englishmen 
 a fleet under the command of the celebrated John Hawkins ; and 
 had on board one Martin Atinas, of Dieppe ; a Frenchman, who 
 had been one of the colonists of Fort Charles, one of those who 
 returning to France, had been taken up at sea and carried into 
 England. He had guided the English admiral along the coast, 
 and his information had contributed to prompt the voyage of ex- 
 ploration which Hawkins had in hand. But the object of the 
 British admiral was quite pacific, and his conduct exceedingly 
 generous and noble. His ostensible purpose in putting into May 
 River was to procure fresh water. Laudonniere permitted him to 
 do so. Hawkins, perceiving the distressed condition of the 
 Frenchmen, relieved them with liberal supplies df bread, wine and 
 provisions. Apprised of their desire to return to France, he, with 
 greater liberality and a wiser policy, offered to transport the whole 
 colony. But Laudonniere was still jealous of the Englishman, 
 and was apprehensive that, while he carried off the one colony, he 
 would instantly plant another in its place. He declined the 
 generous offer, but bargained with him for one of his vessels, for 
 which Laudonniere chiefly paid by the furniture of the fortress, 
 the cannon, &c., viz. : "two bastards, two mynions, one 
 thousand of iron (balls), and one thousand (pounds) of powder." 
 These items included only a portion of the purchase consideration, 
 in earnest of the treaty. Moved with pity at the wretched con- 
 dition of the Frenchmen, the generous Englishman offered sup- 
 plies for which he accepted Laudonniere's bills. These the sub- 
 sequent misfortunes of the latter never permitted him to satisfy. 
 In this way our colonists procured " twenty barrels of meale, six 
 14 
 
314 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 pipes of beanes, one hogshead of salt, and a hundred (cwt. ?) of 
 waxe to make candles. Moreover, forasmuch as hee saw my soul- 
 diers goe barefoote, hee offered me besides fifty paires of shoes, 
 which I accepted." " He did more than this," says Laudonniere. 
 " He bestowed upon myselfe a great jarre of oyle, a jarre of 
 vinegar, a barell of olives, a great quantitie of rice, and a barell 
 of white biscuit. Besides, he gave divers presents to the princi- 
 pal officers of my company according to their qualities : so that, I 
 may say, that we received as many courtesies of the G-enerall as 
 was possible to receive of any man living." 
 
 Here, we are fortunately in possession of the narrative of Hawkins 
 himself, and his report of the encounter with our Frenchmen. It 
 affords a good commentary upon the bad management of Laudon- 
 niere, and the worthless character of his followers ; the sturdy 
 Englishmen seeing, at a glance, where all the evils of the colony 
 lay. He describes their first settlement as gathered from their 
 own lips ; their numbers, the period they had remained in the 
 country, their frequent want, and the modes resorted to for escap- 
 ing famine. His details comprise all the facts of our history, as 
 already given. Of their discontents and rebels, he speaks as of a 
 class, " who would not take the paines so much as to fishe in the 
 river before their doores, but would have all thinges put in their 
 mouthes. They did rebell against the Captaine, taking away first 
 his armour, and afterwards imprisoning him, &c." The narrative 
 of Hawkins gives the subsequent history of the rebels, their 
 piracy, capture and fate. He mentions one particular, which we 
 do not gather from Laudonniere, showing the sagacity of the 
 Floridian warriors. Finding that the Frenchmen, in battle, were 
 protected by their coats of mail, or escaupil, and the bucklers in 
 familiar use at the time, they directed their arrows at the faces 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 315 
 
 and the legs of their enemies, which were the parts in which they 
 were mostly wounded. - At the close of this war, according to our 
 Englishmen, Laudonniore had not forty soldiers left unhurt. 
 After detailing the supplies accorded to the colonists from his 
 stores, he adds, " notwithstanding the great want that the French- 
 men had, the ground doth yield victuals sufficient, if they would 
 have taken paines to get the same ; but they being souldiers, de- 
 sired to live by the sweat of other men^s browes." Here speaks 
 the jealous scorn of the sailor. " The ground yieldcth naturally 
 great store of grapes, for in the time the Frenchmen were there 
 they made twenty hogsheads of wine." Our poor Huguenots 
 could seek gold and manufacture wine, but could not raise pro- 
 visions. They were of too haughty a stomach to toil for any but 
 the luxuries of life. " Also," says Hawkins, " it (the earth) 
 yieldeth roots passing good, deere marvellous store, with divers 
 other beastes and fowle serviceable to man. These be things 
 wherewith a man may live, having corne or maize wherewith to 
 make bread, for maize maketh good savory bread, and cakes as 
 fine as flowre ; also, it maketh good meale, beaten and sodden 
 with water, and nourishable, which the Frenchmen did use to drink 
 of in the morning, and it assuageth their thirst, so that they have 
 no need to drink all the day after. And this maize was the 
 greatest lack they had, because they had no labourers to sowe the 
 same ; and therefore, to them that should inhabit the land, it 
 were requisite to have labourers to till and sowe the ground ; for 
 they, having victuals of their owne, whereby they neither spoil nor 
 rob the inhabitants, may live not only quietly with them, who 
 naturally are more desirous, of peace than of warre^ but also shall 
 have abundance of victuals proffered them for nothing, &c." 
 The testimony of Hawkins is as conclusive in behalf of^he Flori- 
 
316 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 dians as it is unfavorable to our Frenchmen. He speaks in the 
 highest terms of the qualities and resources of the country, as 
 abounding in commodities unknown to men, and equal to those of 
 any region in the world. He tells us of the gold procured by the 
 Huguenot colonists, one mass of two pounds weight being taken 
 by them from the Indians, without equivalent. The latter he de- 
 scribes as having some estimation of the precious metals ; " for it 
 is wrought flat and graven, which they wear about their necks, 
 &c." The Frenchmen eat snakes in the sight of our English- 
 men, to their " no little admiration ;" and affirm the same to be 
 a delicate meat. Laudonniere tells Hawkins some curious snake 
 stories, which could not well be improved upon, even in the 
 " Hunter's Camp," on a " Lying Saturday." " I heard a miracle 
 of one of these adders," snakes a yard and a half long, " upon 
 the which a faulcon fhawk) seizing, the sayd adder did claspe her 
 taile about her ; which, the French captaine seeing, came to the 
 rescue of the faulcon, and took her, slaying the adder." There 
 is no improbability in this story ; but we shall be slow to give our 
 testimony in behalf of that which follows : " And the Captaine of 
 the Frenchmen saw also a serpent with three heads and foure 
 feet, of the bignesse of a great spaniel, which, for want of a har- 
 quebuse, he durst not attempt to slay." Laudonniere had evident- 
 ly some appreciation of the marvellous ; but only four feet to 
 three heads was a monstrous disproportion. The account which 
 Hawkins gives of the abundance of fish in the neighborhood of 
 the garrison, is no exaggeration, and only adds to the surprise 
 that we feel at the wretched indolence and imbecility of the 
 colonists, who, with this resource " at their doores," depended for 
 their supply upon the Floridians. 
 Hawkifs's account of the coast and characteristics of Florida 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 317 
 
 is copious and full of interest, but belongs not to this narrative. 
 He left the Huguenots, on the 28th July, 1565, making all pre- 
 parations to follow in his wake ; and on the fifteenth of August 
 Laudonniere was prepared to-cfcepart also. The biscuit was made 
 for the voyage, the goods and chattels of the soldiers were taken 
 on board, and most of the water ; nothing delayed their sailing 
 but head-winds ; when the whole proceeding was arrested by the 
 sudden appearance of Ribault, with the long-promised supplies 
 from France. The approach of Ribault was exceedingly cautious ; 
 so circumspect, indeed, that fears were entertained by the garri- 
 son that his ships were those of the Spaniards. The guns of the 
 fortress were already trained to bear upon them when the strangers 
 discovered themselves. The reasons for their mysterious deport- 
 ment, as subsequently given, arose from certain false reports which 
 had reached France, of the conduct of Laudonniere. He had 
 been described, by letters from some of his malcontents in the 
 colony, as affecting a sort of regal state as preparing to shake 
 off his dependence upon the mother-country and setting up for 
 himself, as the sovereign lord of the Floridas. Poor Laudonniere ! 
 living on vipers, crude berries and bitter roots, mocked by the 
 savages on one hand, fettered and flouted by his own runagates 
 and rebels on the other, defied in his authority, and starving in 
 all his state, was in no mood to affect royalty upon the River 
 May. He was, no doubt, a vain and ostentatious person ; but, 
 whatever may have been his absurdities and vanities, at first, they 
 had been sufficiently schooled by his necessities, we should think, 
 to cure him of any such idle affectations. He had been subdued 
 and humbled by defeat, the failure of his plans, and the evident 
 contempt into which he had sunk among his people. Yet of all 
 this, the King of France and Monsieur de Coligny could have 
 
318 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 known nothing ; and when we recollect that the colony was made up 
 of Huguenots only, a people of whose fidelity the former might rea- 
 sonably doubt, the suspicions of the Catholic monarch may not bo 
 supposed entirely unreasonable. At all events, Ribault was sent to 
 supersede the usurping commander, and bore imperative orders for 
 his recall. The armament confided to Ribault consisted of seven 
 vessels, and a military force corresponding with such a fleet. We are 
 also made aware that, on this occasion, the force which he command 
 ed was no longer made up of Huguenots exclusively, as in the pre- 
 vious armament. A large sprinkling of Catholic soldiers accom- 
 panied the expedition, and the temporary peace throughout the 
 realm enabled a, great number of gentlemen and officers to employ 
 themselves in the search after adventure in the New World. 
 They accordingly swelled the forces of Ribault, and showed con- 
 clusively that the colonial establishment in Florida had grown 
 into some importance at home. That Laudonniere should become 
 a prince there, was calculated to exaggerate the greatness of the 
 principality ; and the jealousy of the French monarch, in all pro- 
 bability, for the first time, awakened his sympathy for the settle- 
 ment. The same accounts which had borne the tidings of 
 Laudonniere's ambition, may have exaggerated the resources and 
 discoveries of the country ; and possibly some specimens of gold 
 the mass of two pounds described by Hawkins had dazzled 
 the eyes and excited the avarice of court and people. Enough 
 that Laudonniere was to be sent home for trial, and that Ribault 
 was to succeed him in the government. 
 
 The approach of Ribault with his fleet was exceedingly slow. 
 Head-winds and storms baffled his progress, and as he reached the 
 coast of Florida he loitered along its bays and rivers, seeking to 
 obtain from the Indians all possible tidings of the colony, before 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 319 
 
 venturing upon an encounter with the supposed usurper of the 
 sovereignty of the country. When, at length, he drew nigh to 
 La Caroline, so suspiciously did he approach, that he drew upon 
 him the fire of Laudonniere's men, and, but for the distance, and 
 the seasonable outcry which was made by his followers, announcing 
 who they were, a conflict might have ensued between the parties. 
 To the great relief of Ribault, Laudonniere received him with 
 submission. The former apprised him frankly of the reports in 
 France to his discredit, and delivered him the letters of Coligny 
 to the same effect. Laudonniere soon succeeded in convincing 
 his successor that he had been greatly slandered that he was 
 entirely innocent of royalty, and almost of state, of any kind 
 that, however unfortunate he may have been however incom- 
 petent to the duties he had undertaken, he was certainly not 
 guilty of the extreme follies, the presumption, or the cruelty, 
 which constituted the several points in the indictment urged 
 against him. Kibault strove to persuade him to remain in 
 the colony, and to leave his justification to himself. But this 
 Laudonniere declined to do, resolving to return to France ; a 
 resolution which, as we shall see hereafter, was only delayed too 
 long, to the further increase of the misfortunes of our captain. 
 Meanwhile he fell sick of a fever, and the authority passed into 
 the hands of Jean Ribault, whose return was welcomed by crowds 
 of Indian chiefs, who came to the fortress to inquire after the 
 newly-arrived strangers. They soon recognised the chief by 
 whose hands the stone pillar had been reared, which stood con- 
 spicuous at the entrance of the river. He was easily distinguish- 
 ed, by many of them, by reason of the massy beard which he 
 wore. They embraced him with signs of a greater cordiality than 
 they were disposed to show to his immediate predecessor. The 
 
320 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Kings Homoloa, Seravahi, Alimacani, Malica, and Casti, were 
 among the first to recall the ties of their former friendship, and to 
 brighten the ancient chain of union, by fresh pledges. They 
 brought to Ribault, among other gifts, large pieces of gold, which, 
 in their language, is called " sieroa pira," literally " red metal," 
 which, upon being assayed by the refiner, proved to be " perfect 
 golde." They renewed their offers to conduct him to the Moun- 
 tains of Apalachia, where this precious metal was to be had for the 
 gathering. Ribault was not more inaccessible to this attractive 
 showing than Laudonniere had been ; but before he could project 
 the desired enterprise, in search of the mountains which held such 
 glorious possessions, new events were in progress, involving such 
 dangers as superseded the hopes of gain, among the adventurers, 
 by necessities which made them doubtful of their safety The 
 Spaniards, of whom they had long been apprehensive, were at 
 length discovered ^upon the coast. 
 
XXII. 
 
 THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I . 
 
 THE fleet of Ribault consisted of seven vessels. The three 
 smallest of these had ascended the river to the fortress. The four 
 larger, which were men of war, remained in the open roadstead. 
 Here they were joined on the fourth of September by six Spanish 
 vessels of large size and armament. These came to anchor, and, 
 at their first coming, gave assurance of amity to the Frenchmen. 
 But Ribault had been warned, prior to his departure from France, 
 that the Spaniards were to be suspected. The crowns of France 
 and Spain, it is true, were at peace, but the Spaniards themselves 
 contemplated settlements in Florida, to which they laid claim, by 
 right of previous discovery, including, under this general title, 
 territories of the most indefinite extent. Philip the Second, that 
 cold, malignant and jealous despot, freed by the amnesty with 
 France from the cares of war in that quarter, now addressed his 
 strength and employed his leisure in extending equally" his sway, 
 with that of the Catholic faith, among the red-men of America. 
 Prior to the settlements of Coligny, he had begun his prepara- 
 tions for this object. The charge of the expedition was confided 
 to Don Pedro Melendez de Avilez, an officer particularly famous 
 14* 
 
THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 among his countrymen for his deeds of heroism in the New World. 
 He himself, bore a considerable portion of the expense of the en* 
 terprise, and this was a consideration sufficiently imposing in the 
 eyes of his sovereign, to secure for him the dignity of a Spanish 
 Adelantado, with the hereditary government of all the Floridas. 
 It was while engaged in the preparations for this expedition that 
 tidings were received by the Spaniards of the settlements which 
 had been begun by the Huguenots. The enterprise of Don Pedro 
 de Melendez now assumed an aspect of more dignity. It became 
 a crusade, and the eager impulse of ambition was stimulated by 
 all the usual arguments in favor of a holy war. To extirpate 
 heresy was an object equally grateful to both the legitimates of 
 France and Spain ; and the heartless monarch of France, Charles 
 the Ninth, in the spirit which subsequently gave birth to the hor- 
 rible massacre of St Bartholomew, it is reported though the act 
 may have been that of the Queen Mother cheerfully yielded up 
 his Protestant subjects in Florida, to the tender mercies of the 
 Spanish propagandist. There is little doubt that the French 
 monarch had signified to his Spanish brother, that he should re- 
 sent none of the wrongs done to the colonies of Coligny ; he him- 
 self being, at this very time, busied in the labor which was pre- 
 paring for the destruction of their patron and brethren at home. 
 Coligny well knew how little was the real sympathy entertained 
 by the monarch for this class of his subjects, and he felt that 
 there were sufficient reasons to fear, and to be watchful of, the 
 Spaniards. He had some better authority than mere suspicion for 
 his fear. Just as Kibault was about to take his departure from 
 France, the Lord Admiral wrote him as follows, in a hasty post- 
 script : " As I was closing this letter, I received certain advices 
 that Don Pedro Melendez departeth from Spain to go to the coast 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 323 
 
 of New France, (Florida,) see that you suffer him not to encroach 
 upon you, no more than you will suiTer yourself to encroach on him" 
 
 The preparations of Melendez began to assume an aspect of 
 great and imposing magnificence. Clergy and laity crowded to 
 his service. Nearly twenty vessels, some of very considerable 
 force, were provided ; and three thousand adventurers assembled 
 under his command. But Heaven did not seem at first to smile 
 upon the enterprise. His fleet was encountered by tempests as 
 had been the "Grand Armada," and the number of his vessels 
 before he reached Porto Rico had been reduced nearly two thirds. 
 Some doubt now arose in the minds of the Spanish captains, whe- 
 ther they were in sufficient force to encounter Ribault. The bi- 
 gotry and enthusiasm of Melendez rejected the doubt with indig- 
 nation. His fanaticism furnished an argument in behalf of his 
 policy, imposing enough to the superstitious mind, and which his 
 followers were sufficiently willing to accept. " The Almighty," 
 said the Adelantado, " has reduced our armament, only that his 
 own arm might achieve the holy work." 
 
 The warning of danger contained in the letter of the Lord 
 Admiral to Ribault did not fall upon unheeding senses. Still, the 
 French captain was quite unprepared for the rapidity of the pro- 
 gress made by the Spaniards. When, with six large vessels, they 
 suddenly appeared in the roadstead of May River, Ribault was at 
 La Caroline. His officers had been apprised of the propriety of 
 distrusting their neighbors, and accordingly showed themselves 
 suspicious as they drew nigh. It was well they did so. In the 
 absence of Ribault, with three of the ships at La Caroline, they were 
 inferior in force to the armament of Melendez, and were thus doubly 
 required to oppose vigilance to fraud and force. Fortunately, the 
 Spaniards did not reach the road till near evening, when they had 
 
324 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 too little time for efficient operations. Hence the civility of their 
 deportment, and the pacific character of their assurances. They 
 lowered sail, cast anchor, and forbore all offensive demonstrations. 
 But one circumstance confirmed the apprehensions of the French- 
 men. In the brief conversation which ensued between the parties, 
 after the arrival of the Spaniards, the latter inquired after the 
 chief captains and leaders of the French fleet, calling them by 
 their names and surnames, and betraying an intimate knowledge 
 of matters, which had been judiciously kept as secret as possible 
 in France. This showed, conclusively, that, before Melendez left 
 Spain, he was thoroughly informed by those who knew, in France, 
 of the condition, conduct, and strength of Ribault's armament. 
 And why should he be informed of these particulars, unless there 
 were some designs for acting upon this information ? The French 
 captains compared notes that night, in respect to these communi- 
 cations, and concurred in the belief that they stood in danger of 
 assault. They prepared themselves accordingly, to cut and run, 
 with the first appearance of dawn, or danger. "With the break of 
 day, the Spaniards began to draw nigh to our Frenchmen; 
 but the sails of these were already hoisted to the breeze. Their 
 cables were severed, at the first sign of hostility, and the chase 
 begun within the greatest animation. But, if the ships of the 
 Huguenots were deficient in force, they had the advantage of 
 their enemies in speed. They showed the Spaniards a clean pair 
 of heels, and suffered nothing from the distant cannonade with 
 which their pursuers sought to cripple their flight. The chase 
 was continued through the day. With the approach of evening, 
 the Spaniards tacked ship and stood for the River Seloy, or Selooe, 
 called by the French, the River of Dolphins ; a distance, over- 
 land, of but eight or ten leagues from La Caroline. Finding that 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 325 
 
 they had the advantage of their enemies in fleetness, the French 
 vessels came about also, and followed them at a respectful distance. 
 Having made all the discoveries which were possible, they return- 
 ed to May River, when Ribault came aboard. They reported to 
 him that the great ship of the Spaniards, called " The Trinity," 
 still kept the sea ; that three other ships had entered the River of 
 Dolphins ; that three others remained at its mouth ; and that the 
 Spaniards had evidently employed themselves in putting soldiers, 
 with arms, munition, and provisions, upon shore. These, and 
 further facts, reached him from other quarters. Emoloa, one of 
 the Indian kings in amity with the French, sent them word that 
 the Spaniards had gone on shore at Seloy in great numbers that 
 they had dispossessed the natives of their houses at that village ; 
 had put their " negro slaves, whom they had brought to labor," in 
 possession of them ; and were already busy in entrenching them- 
 selves in the place, making it a regular encampment. 
 
 Not doubting that they meant to assail and harrass the settle- 
 ment of La Caroline from this point, with the view to expelling 
 the colonists from the country, Ribault boldly conceived the idea 
 of taking the initiate in the war. He first called a council of his 
 chief captains. They assembled in the chamber of Laudonniere, 
 that, person being sick. Here Ribault commenced by showing the 
 relative condition of their own and the enemy's strength. His 
 conclusion, from his array of all the facts, was, that the true 
 policy required that he should embark with all his forces, and seek 
 the fleet of the Spaniards, particularly at a moment when it was 
 somewhat scattered ; when one great ship only kept the seas ; 
 when the rest were in no situation to support each other in the 
 event of sudden assault, and when the troops of the Adelantado, 
 partly on the shore, and partly in1tis vessels, were, very probably, 
 
326 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 not in proper order to be used successfully. His argument was 
 not deficient in force or propriety. Certainly, with his own seven 
 ships, all brought together, and all his strength in compact order 
 and fit for service, he might reasonably hope to fall successfully 
 upon the divided forces and scattered squadrons of his enemy, and 
 sweep them equally from sea and land. 
 
 But Laudonniere had his argument also, and it was not without 
 its significance. He opposed the scheme 'of Ribault entirely ; re- 
 presenting the defenceless condition of the fortress, and the danger 
 to the fleet at sea, and upon the coast, during a season pro- 
 verbially distinguished by storms and hurricanes. His counsel 
 was approved of by other captains ; but Ribault, an old soldier 
 and sea captain, was too eager to engage the enemy to listen to 
 arguments that seemed to partake of the pusillanimous. It was 
 very evident that he did not regard Laudonniere as the best of 
 advisers in the work of war. He took his own head accordingly, 
 and commanded all soldiers that belonged to his command to go 
 on board their vessels. Not satisfied with this force, he lessened 
 the strength of the garrison by taking a detachment of its best 
 men, leaving few to keep the post but the invalids, who, like 
 Laudonniere, were suffering, or but just recovering, from the dis- 
 eases of the climate in midsummer. Laudonniere expostulated, 
 but in vain, against this appropriation of his garrison. On the 
 eighth of September, Ribault left the roadstead in pursuit of the 
 Spaniards, and Laudonniere never beheld him again. That very 
 day the skies were swallowed up in tempests. Such tempests 
 were never beheld before upon the coast. The storms prevailed 
 for several days, at the end of which time, apprehending the worst, 
 Laudonniere mustered his command, and proceeded to put the 
 fortress in the best possible cdhdition of defence. To repair the 
 
THE FATti OF LA CAROLINE. 327 
 
 portions of the wall which had been thrown down, to restore the 
 palisades stretching from the fortress to the river, was a work of 
 equal necessity and difficulty ; which, with all the diligence of 
 the Frenchmen, advanced slowly, in consequence of the violence 
 aud long continuance of the stormy weather. The whole force 
 left in the garrison consisted of but eighty-six persons supposed 
 to be capable of bearing arms. Of their doubtful efficiency we 
 may boldly infer from these facts. Several of them were mere 
 boys, with sinews yet unhardened into manhood. Some were old 
 men, completely hors de combat from the general exhaustion of 
 their energies ; many were still suffering from green wounds, got 
 in the war with Olata Utina, and others again were wholly unpro- 
 vided with weapons. Relying upon the assumption that he should 
 find his enemy at sea and in force, Ribault had stripped the gar- 
 rison of its real manhood. His vessels being better sailers than 
 those of the Spaniards, he took for granted that he should be 
 able to interpose, at any moment, for the safety of La Caroline, 
 should any demonstration be made against it. This was assuming 
 quite too much. It allowed nothing for the caprices of wind and 
 wave ; for the sudden rising of gales and tempests ; and accord- 
 ed too little to the cool prudence, and calculating generalship of 
 Pedro Melendez, one of the most shrewd, circumspect and suc- 
 cessful of the Spanish generals of the period : nor, waiving these 
 considerations, was the policy of Ribault to be defended, when 
 it is remembered that he had been specially counselled that the 
 Spaniards had made their lodgments in force upon the shores Ox 
 Florida, not many leagues, by land, from the endangered fortress. 
 His single virtue of courage blinded him to the danger from the 
 former. He calculated first to destroy the fleet of the enemy, 
 thus cutting off all resource and all escape, and then to descend 
 
328 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 upon the troops on land, before they could fortify their cainp, 
 and overwhelm them with his superior and unembarrassed forces. 
 We shall see, hereafter, the issue of all these calculations. In all 
 probability his decision was influenced quite as much by his fana- 
 ticism as his courage. He hated the Spaniards as Catholics, 
 quite as much as they hated him and his flock as heretics. This 
 rage blinded the judgment of the veteran soldier, upon whom for- 
 tune was not disposed to smile. 
 
 The condition of things at La Caroline, when Ribault took his 
 departure, deplorable enough as we have seen, was rendered still 
 worse by another deficiency, the fruit of this decision of the 
 commander. The supplies of food which were originally brought 
 out for the garrison, were mostly appropriated for the uses of the 
 fleet, allowing for its possibly prolonged absence upon the seas. 
 This absorbed the better portion of the store which was necessary 
 for the daily consumption at La Caroline. A survey of the quan- 
 tity in the granary of the fortress, made immediately after the 
 departure of the fleet, led to the necessity of stinting the daily 
 allowance of the garrison. Thus, then, with provisions short, 
 with Laudonniere sick, and otherwise incompetent, with the 
 men equally few and feeble, improvident hitherto, and now spirit- 
 less, the labors of defence and preparation at La Caroline 
 went forward slowly; and its watch was maintained with very 
 doubtful vigilance. We have seen enough, in the previous diffi- 
 culties of the commandant with his people, to form a just judg- 
 ment of the small subordination which he usually maintained. 
 His government was by no means improved with the obvious 
 necessity before him, and the hourly increase of peril. Alarmed, 
 at first, by the condition in which he had been left, Laudonniere, 
 as has been stated, proceeded with the show of diligence, rather 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 329 
 
 than its actual working, to repair the fortress, and put himself in 
 order for defence. But, with the appearance of bad weather, his 
 exertions relaxed ; his people, accustomed to wait upon Provi- 
 dence and the Indians, praying little to the One and prey- 
 ing much upon the others very soon discontinued their unfa- 
 miliar and disagreeable exertions. They could not suppose 
 averse themselves to bad weather that the Spaniards could pos- 
 sibly expose themselves to chills and fevers during an equinoctial 
 tempest, under any idle impulses of enterprise and duty ; and 
 their watch was maintained with very doubtful vigilance. On 
 the night of the nineteenth of September, Monsieur de La Vigne 
 was appointed to keep guard with his company. But Monsieur 
 de La Vigne had a tender heart, and felt for his soldiers in bad 
 weather. Seeing the rain continue and increase, " he pitied the 
 sentinels, so much moyled and wet ; and thinking the Spaniards 
 would not have come in such a strange time, he let them depart, 
 and, to say the truth, hee went himself into his lodging.'' But 
 the Spaniards appear to have been men of inferior tastes, and of 
 a delicacy less sympathising and scrupulous than Monsieur de 
 La Vigne. Bad weather appeared to agree with them, and we 
 shall see that they somewhat enjoyed the very showers, from the 
 annoyance of which our French sentinels were so pleasantly re- 
 lieved. We shall hear of these things hereafter. In the mean- 
 while, let us look in upon the Adelantado of Florida, Pedro 
 Melendez, a strong, true man, in spite of a savage nature and a 
 maddening fanaticism, let us see him and the progress of his 
 fortunes, where he plants the broad banner of Spain, with its cas- 
 tellated towers, upon the lonely Indian waters of the Selooe, that 
 river which our Huguenots had previously dignified with the title 
 of " the Dolphin.'' 
 
330 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 RIBAULT'S FORTUNES AT SELOOE. 
 
 IT was on the twenty-eighth of August, the day on which tho 
 Spaniards celebrated the festival of St. Augustine, that the Adel 
 antado entered the mouth of the Selooe or Dolphin River. He 
 was attracted by the aspect of the place, and here resolved to 
 establish a settlement and fortress. He gave the name of the 
 Saint to the settlement. Having landed a portion of his forces, 
 he found himself welcomed by the savages, whom he treated with 
 kindness and who requited him with assurances of friendship 
 From them he learned something of the French settlements, and 
 of their vessels at the mouth of the May River, and he resolved 
 to attempt the surprise of his enemies. We have seen the failure 
 of this attempt. Disappointed in his first desire, like the tiger 
 who returns to crouch again within the jungle from which he has 
 unsuccessfully sprung, Melendez made his way back to the waters 
 of the Selooe, where he proposed to plant his settlement, and 
 which his troops were already beginning to entrench. Here he 
 employed himself in taking formal possession in the name of the 
 King of Spain, and having celebrated the Divine mysteries in a 
 manner at once solemn and ostentatious, he swore his officers to 
 fidelity in the prosecution of the expedition, upon the Holy 
 Sacrament. 
 
 It was while most busy with his preparations, that the fleet of 
 Ribault made its appearance at the mouth of the river. The 
 two heaviest of the Spanish vessels, being relieved of their arma- 
 ment and troops, which had been transferred to the land, had 
 been despatched, on the approach of the threatened danger, with 
 all haste to Hispaniola. The two other vessels, at the bar or en- 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 331 
 
 trance of the harbor, were unequal to the conflict with the su- 
 perior squadron of Ribault. Melendez was embarked in one of 
 them, and the three lighter vessels of the French, built especially 
 for penetrating shallow waters, were pressing forward to the cer- 
 tain capture of their prey, for which there seemed no possibility 
 of escape. Melendez felt all his danger, but he had prepared 
 himself for a deadly struggle, and was especially confident in the 
 enthusiastic conviction that himself and his design were equally the 
 concern of Providence. It would seem that fortune was solici- 
 citous to justify the convictions of so much self-esteem. Ribault's 
 extreme caution in sounding the bar to which his vessels were 
 approaching, lost him two precious hours ; but for which his 
 conquest must have been certain. There was no hope, else, un- 
 less in some such miraculous protection as that upon which the 
 Spanish general seemed to count. Had these two vessels been 
 taken and Melendez a prisoner, the descent upon the dismayed 
 troops on shore, not yet entrenched, and in no preparation for 
 the conflict with an equal or superior enemy, and the annihi- 
 lation of the settlement must have ensued. The consequence 
 of such an event might have changed the whole destinies of Flo- 
 rida, might have established the Huguenot colonies firmly upon 
 the soil, and given to the French such a firm possession of the 
 land, as might have kept the fleur-de-lis waving from its sum- 
 mits to this very day. But the miracle was not wanting 
 which the Spanish Adelantado expected. In the very moment 
 when the hands of Ribault, were stretched to seize his prizes, the 
 sudden roar of the hurricane came booming along the deep. The 
 sea rose between the assailant and his prey, the storm parted 
 them, and while the feebler vessels of Melendez, partially under 
 the security of the land, swept back towards the settlement 
 
332 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 which he had made on shore, the brigantines and bateaux of Ri- 
 bault were forced to rejoin their greater vessels, and they all 
 bore away to sea before the gale. Under the wild norther that 
 rushed down upon his squadron, Ribault with a groan of rage 
 and disappointment, abandoned the conquest which seemed al- 
 ready in his grasp. 
 
 Melendez promptly availed himself of the Providential event, 
 to insist among his people upon the efficiency of his prayers. 
 They had previously been desponding. They felt their isolation, 
 and exaggerated its danger. The departure of their ships 
 for Hispaniola, their frequent previous disasters, the dispersion 
 of nearly two thirds of the squadron with which they had left the 
 port of Cadiz, but three months before ; the labors and pri- 
 vations which already began to press upon them with a novel 
 force ; all conspired to dispirit them, and made them despair .of 
 a progress in which they were likely to suffer the buffetings only, 
 without any of the rewards of fortune ; and when they beheld 
 the approaching squadron of the French, in force so superior as 
 to leave no doubt of the capture of their only remaining vessels, 
 they yielded themselves up to a feeling of utter self-abandonment, 
 to which the stern, grave self-reliance of Melendez afforded no 
 encouragement. But when, with broad sweep of arm, he pointed 
 to the awful rising of the great billows of the sea, the wild 
 raging of cloud and storm in the heavens, the scudding flight 
 of the trembling ships of Ribault, their white wings gradu- 
 ally disappearing in distance and darkness like feeble birds borne 
 recklessly forward in the wild fury of the tempest, he could, with 
 wonderful potency, appeal to his people to acknowledge the 
 wonders that the Lord had done for them that day. 
 
 " Call you this the cause of our king only, in which we are 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 333 
 
 engaged my brethren ? Oh ! shallow vanity ! And yet, you say 
 rightly. It is the cause of our king the greatest of all kings 
 the king of kings ; and he will make it triumphant in all lands, 
 even though the base and the timid shall despair equally of them- 
 selves and of Him ! We shall never, my brethren, abandon this 
 cause to which we have sworn our souls, in life and death, with- 
 out incurring the eternal malediction of the Most High God, 
 forever blessed be his name ! We are surrounded by enemies, my 
 friends ; we are few and we are feeble ; but what is our might, 
 when the tempest rises like a wall between us and our foes, and 
 in our greatest extremity, the hand of God stretches forth from 
 the cloud, and plucks us safely from the danger. Be of good 
 heart, then ; put on a fearless courage ; believe that the cause is 
 holy in which ye strive, and the God of Battles will most surely 
 range himself upon our side !" 
 
 Loud cries of exultation from his people answered this address. 
 A thousand voices renewed their vows of fidelity, and pledged 
 themselves to follow blindly wherever he should lead. He com- 
 manded that a solemn mass of the Holy Spirit should be said that 
 night, and that all the army should be present. He vouchsafed 
 no farther words. Nothing, he well knew, that he could say, 
 could possibly add to the miraculous event that had saved their 
 vessels, before their own eyes, in the very moment of destruc- 
 tion. " Our prayers, our faith, my brethren ; to these we owe 
 the saving mercies of the Blessed Jesus !" 
 
334 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MELENDEZ AT SELOOE. 
 
 BUT the enthusiasm excited by the dispersion of Ribault's ves- 
 sels, and the escape of their own, was of short-lived duration 
 among the Spaniards at Selooe. Human nature may obey a 
 grateful impulse, and,while it lasts, will be insensible to common 
 dangers and common necessities ; but the enthusiasm which ex- 
 cites and strengthens for a season, is one also which finally ex- 
 hausts ; and when the enervation which succeeds to a high-strung 
 exultation, is followed by great physical trials, and the continued 
 pressure of untoward events, the creature nature is quite too apt 
 to triumph over that nobler spirit whose very intensity is fatal to 
 its length of life. The sign of providential favor which they had 
 beheld wrought visibly in their behalf, the inspiriting language of 
 their stern and solemn leader, the offices of religion, meant to 
 evoke the presence of the Deity, and to secure, by appropriate 
 rites, his farther protection, of which they had recently wit- 
 nessed so wonderful a manifestation ; these wore away in their 
 effects upon our Spaniards, and in the toils and sufferings which 
 they were subsequently to endure. 
 
 Perhaps nothing more greatly depresses the ordinary nature 
 than an abode in strange and savage regions during a prevalence 
 of cheerless, unfriendly weather. The soul recoils as it were 
 upon itself, under the ungenial pressure from without, and looking 
 entirely within, finds nothing but wants which it is impossible to 
 satisfy. Memory then studiously recals, as if for the purposes 
 of torture and annoyance, the aspects of the beloved ones 
 who are far from us in foreign lands. The joys which we have 
 had with old and loving associates, the sweets of dear homes, and 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 335 
 
 the sounds of friendly voices, these are the treasures which she 
 conjures up at such periods, in mournful contrast with present 
 privations and all manner of denial. But if, in addition to these, 
 we are conscious of accumulating dangers ; if the storm and 
 savage howl without ; if hunger craves without being answered, 
 and thirst raves for the drop of moisture to cool its tongue, in 
 vain, we must not wonder if the ordinary nature sinks under its 
 sorrows and apprehension, and loses all the elastic courage which 
 would prompt endeavor and conduct to triumph. The master 
 mind alone, may find itself strong under these circumstances the 
 man of inexorable will, great faith, and a far-sighted apprecia- 
 tion of the future and its compensations. But it is the master 
 mind only which bears up thus greatly. The common herd is 
 made of very different materials, and in quite another mould. 
 
 Don Pedro de Melendez was one of the few minds thus extra- 
 ordinarily endowed. His prudence, keeping due pace with his 
 religious fanaticism, approved him a peculiar character ; a man 
 of rare energies, extraordinary foresight and indomitable will. 
 Resolute for the destruction of the heretics of La Caroline, he 
 was yet one of that class of persons how few who can forego 
 the premature attempt to gratify a raging appetite, in recognition 
 of those embarrassing circumstances, which if left unregarded, 
 would only operate for its defeat. He could wait the season, 
 with all patience, when desire might be crowned with fruition. 
 Yet was his thirst a raging one a master passion absorbing every 
 other in his soul. All that had taken place on land and sea, had 
 been certainly foreseen by him. Thus had he dispatched his 
 ships seasonably to Hispaniola, as well for their security, as to 
 afford him succor. If he doubted for the safety of those which 
 remained to him, on the approach of Ribault, he was lettered of 
 
336 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 his doubts by his faith in the interposition of the Deity, and went 
 forth to the encounter, himself heading the forlorn hope, as it 
 were, without any misgivings of the result. He knew that the 
 Deity would, in some manner, make himself manifest in succor 
 for the true believer, even then engaged in the maintenance of 
 His cause. He had foreseen the threatening aspects of the hea- 
 vens, the wild tumults of the sea, the sullen and angry caprices 
 of the winds. He felt that storm and terror were in prospect, 
 and that they were meant as his defences against his enemy ! 
 But this did not prevent him from adopting all proper human 
 precautions. He did not peril his prows beyond the shoals which 
 environed the entrance to his harborage. He did not trust them 
 beyond the natural bars at the mouth of the Selooe, leaving them 
 to the unrestrained fury of the demon winds that sweep the blue 
 waters of the gulf. Nor, assuming the bare possibility that the pro- 
 tection of the Deity might be withheld from the true believer, as 
 much for the trial of his valor as his faith, in the moment of encoun- 
 ter with the heretic, was the Adelantado neglectful of the means for 
 further struggle, should the assailants, successful with his ship- 
 ping, approach the shores of Selooe in the endeavor to destroy 
 his army. This he sought to protect by the best possible de- 
 fences. His troops were under arms in order for battle. Every 
 possible advantage of trench and picket was employed for giving 
 them additional securities. His people had already taken pos- 
 session of the Indian village, from whence the savages had been 
 expelled ; and their dwellings were converted into temporary for- 
 tresses, each garrisoned with its selected band. It is wonderful, 
 how the veteran chieftain toiled, in the endeavor to secure his po- 
 sition. While he felt how little the Deity needed the strength of 
 man, in working out the purposes of destiny, he well knew how 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 337 
 
 necessary it was that man should show himself worthy, by his 
 prudence and preparations, of the intervention and the care of 
 Deity. 
 
 We have seen the issue of the unfortunate attempt of Ribault 
 upon his enemy ; with the absence of immediate danger, the first 
 tumults of exultation on the part of the Spaniards, subsided into 
 a sullen and humiliating repose. As night came on, they mo- 
 mently began to feel the increasing annoyances of their situation. 
 That they were in temporary security from the heretic French, 
 left them free to consider, and to feel, the insecurity and the 
 unfriendly solitude of their situation. The frail palm covered 
 huts of the Floridian savages, on the banks of their now raging 
 river, with the tempest roaring among the affrighted forest trees, 
 afforded but a sorry shelter to their numerous hosts. Darkness 
 and thick night closed in upon them in their dreary and com- 
 fortless abodes, and their hearts sunk appalled beneath the ter- 
 rific bursts of thunder that seemed to rock the very earth upon 
 which they stood. They were not the tried veterans of Spain. 
 Many among them wore weapons for the first time, and all were 
 totally inexperienced in that foreign hemisphere, in which the 
 elements wore aspects of terror which had never before entered 
 their imaginations. Their officers were mostly able men and 
 good soldiers, but even these had enjoyed but small experience in 
 the new world. The levies of Melendez had been hurriedly 
 made, with the view to anticipate the progress of Ribault. They 
 were not such as that iron-hearted leader would have chosen for 
 the terrible warfare which he had in view. Chilled by the un- 
 genial atmosphere, confounded with torrents such as they had 
 never before beheld, and which seemed to threaten the return of 
 
 the deluge, they exaggerated the evils of their situation and 
 15 
 
338 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 feared the worst. They were not ill-advised upon the subject of 
 their own strength and resources, and whatever they might hope 
 in respect to the probable ill-fortunes of Ribault and his fleet, they 
 knew him to be an experienced soldier, and that his armament 
 was superior, while his numbers were quite equal to their own. 
 They now knew that they were the objects of his search and hate, 
 as he had been of theirs, and they still looked with dread to his 
 reappearance, suddenly, and the coming of a conflict which should 
 add new terrors to the storm. They could not conceive the ex- 
 tent of the securities which they enjoyed, and fancied that with 
 a far better acquaintance with the country than they possessed, 
 he would reappear among them at the moment when least ex- 
 pected, and that they should perish beneath the fury of his fierce 
 assault. 
 
 While thus they brooded over their situation, officers and men 
 cowering in the frail habitations of the Indians, through which 
 the rushing torrents descended without impediment, extinguish- 
 ing their fires, and leaving them with no light but that fitful one, 
 the fierce flashes from the clouds, which threatened them with 
 destruction while illuminating the pale faces of each weary 
 watcher; Pedro Melendez, strengthened by higher if not a holier 
 support, disdained the miserable shelter of the hovels where they 
 crouched together. He trod the shore and forest pathways 
 without sign of fear or shows of disquiet or annoyance. He 
 smiled at the sufferings which he yet strove to alleviate. He 
 opened his stores for the relief of his people, yet partook of none 
 himself. He gave them food and wine of his own, even while he 
 smiled scornfully to see them eat and drink. His solicitude 
 equally provided against their dangers and their fears. He 
 placed the necessary guards against the one, and soothed or 
 

 THE FATE OP LA CAROLINE. 339 
 
 mocked the other. He alone appeared unmoved amidst the 
 storm, and might be seen with unhelmed head, passing from 
 cot to cot, and from watch to watch, urging vigilance, providing 
 relief, and encouraging the desponding with a voice of cheer 
 His eye took in without shrinking, all the aspects of the storm. 
 He gazed with uplifted spirit as the wild red flashes cleft the 
 great black clouds which enveloped the forests in a shroud. 
 "Ay!" he exclaimed, " verily, O Lord ! thou hast taken this 
 work into thine own hands !" And thus he went to and fro, 
 without complaint, or suffering, or fatigue, till his lieutenants 
 with shame beheld the example of the veteran whom they had 
 not soul or strength to emulate. His deportment was no less a 
 marvel than a reproach to his people. They could not account 
 for that seemingly unseasonable delight which was apparent in his 
 face, in the exulting tones of his voice, and the eager impulse of 
 his action. That a glow-like inspiration should lighten up his 
 features, and give richness and power to his voice, while they 
 cowered from the storm and darkness in fear and trembling, 
 seemed to them indications rather of madness than of wisdom. 
 But in truth, it was inspiration. Melendez had been visited by 
 one of those sudden flashes of thought which open the pathway 
 to a great performance. A brave design filled his soul ; a sud- 
 den bright conception, to the proper utterance of which he hur- 
 ried with a due delight. He summoned his chief leaders to 
 consultation in the great council house of the tribe of Selooe, a 
 round fabric of mixed earth and logs, with a frail palm leaf 
 thatch, fragments of which, the fierce efforts of the tempest 
 momently tore away. The rain rushed through the rents of ruin, 
 the wind shrieked through the numerous breaches in the walls, 
 but Melendez stood in the midst, heedless of these annoyances, 
 
340 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 or only heedful of them so far as to esteem them services and 
 blessings. He knew the people with whom he had to deal, their 
 fears., their weaknesses, and discontents, the base nature of many 
 of their desires, and the utter incapacity of all to realize the 
 intense enthusiasm which shone within his soul. He could scorn 
 them, but he had to use them. He despised their imbecility, but 
 felt how necessary it was too temporize with their moods, and 
 make them rather forgetful of their infirmities, than openly to 
 denounce and mock them. His eye was fastened upon certain 
 of his chiefs in especial, whose weaknesses were more likely to 
 endanger his objects than those of the rest, since these were as- 
 sociated with a certain degree of pretension arising from their 
 occupance of place. But there is no one in more complete pos- 
 session of the subtleties of the politician, than the fanatic of in- 
 tense will. All his powers are concentrated upon the single ob- 
 ject, and he values this too highly to endanger it by any rashness. 
 He can make allowances for the weaker among the brethren, 
 so long as they have the power to yield service ; he only cuts 
 them down ruthlessly, when, like the tree bringing forth no fruit, 
 the question naturally occurs to the politician, " Why cumbereth 
 it the ground ?" Melendez was prepared to act the politician 
 amidst all his fanaticism. For this reason, though his resolution 
 was inexorably taken, he summoned his officers to a solemn deli- 
 beration a council of war to determine upon what should be 
 done in the circumstances in which they stood. 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 341 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE COUNCIL OF WAR AT SELOOE. 
 
 IT was midnight when the assemblage of the Spanish captains 
 took place in the great council house of the savages of Selooe. 
 Already, that night, had the place been consedated by the per- 
 formance of a solemn mass in honor of the Holy Spirit. The 
 purposes of the present gathering were, in the opinion of Melen- 
 dez, not less honorable to the Deity. Rude logs strewn about the 
 building, even as they had been employed by the red-men, fur- 
 nished seats for the Spanish officers. They surrounded a great 
 fire of resinous pine, which now blazed brightly in the centre of 
 the apartment. In this respect the scene had rather the appear- 
 ance of savage rites than of Christian council. In silence, the 
 nobles of Castile, of Biscay and the Asturias took their places. 
 Their eyes were vacant, and their hearts were depressed. They 
 caught nothing of that exulting blaze which lightened up the fea- 
 tures of Melendez. 
 
 " Oh ! ye of little faith !" he exclaimed, rising in their midst, 
 " is it thus that ye give acknowlegment to G-od for the blessings 
 ye have received at his hands, and for that care of the Guardian 
 Shepherd, to which ye, thus far, owe your safety ? Have ye 
 already lost the memory of that wondrous sign wrought this day 
 for your deliverance, when your eyes beheld a wall of storm and 
 thunder pass between your captain and his little barques, and the 
 overwhelming squadron of the heretic Ribault ? Was this mani- 
 festation of his guardian providence made for us in vain ? Said 
 it not, plainly as the voice of Heaven might say, that our mission 
 was not ended that there was other work to be wrought by our 
 
342 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 hands, and that he was with us, to help us in the great achieve- 
 ment of his purposes. Lo ! you now, the very storm, that rages 
 about us, and beneath the terrors of which ye tremble, is but a 
 further proof of his guardianship. Under cover of the rages of 
 the tempest, shall we press on to the complete achievement of our 
 work. We shall march to the conquest of La Caroline, we shall 
 destroy these arch-heretics these enemies of Grod, in the very 
 fortress of their strength in the very place which they have set 
 apart, in the vain hope of security, as their home of refuge !" 
 
 Audible murmurs here arrested the speaker. 
 
 " What is it that ye fear, my children ?" continued Melendez. 
 
 Then some among them cried out " What madness is it that 
 we hear ? Shall we, thus enfeebled as we are, with our great ships 
 speeding to Hispaniola, here, left as we are on the wild shores of 
 the savage, not yet entrenched, shall we divide our strength, in 
 the hope to conquer La Caroline, leaving to the heretic Ribault 
 to fall upon our camp when we depart, lo pursue us as we tread 
 the great forests of the Floridian, and to destroy us between the 
 power which he brings and that which awaits us at La Caroline ?" 
 
 " Oh ! my brethren ! would ye could see with my vision ! Ri- 
 bault will not trouble our camp, neither will he pursue us in our 
 absence. He speeds before the terrors of the tempest. He flies 
 from the destruction which will scarcely suffer him to escape. A 
 voice cries to me that he already perishes beneath the engulphing 
 waters of the Mexican sea ; or is cast upon the bleak and 
 treacherous shores and islands which guard the domain of the 
 Floridian. Even if he should escape these dangers, weeks must pass 
 before he can return to these waters of Selooe, the heathen empire 
 of which we have consecrated with the name and confided to the 
 holy keeping of the blessed St. Augustine ! This tempest is no sum- 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 343 
 
 mer gale, subsiding as rapidly as it begins. It will rage thus for 
 many days. In that time, encouraged by the Lord, we shall pass 
 the forest wastes that lie between us and La Caroline. With five 
 hundred men, and a host of these red warriors, we shall penetrate 
 in less than four days to the fortress of the heretics and while 
 they dream that they sleep securely under the shadows of the 
 tempest, we shall rush upon their slumbers, and give them to 
 sleep eternally. My valiant comrades, this is the resolution 
 which I have taken ; but I would hear your counsel. I would 
 not that ye should not cheerfully adopt the resolve which is as- 
 suredly a dictate from Heaven itself. For, if we destroy not these 
 heretics, they will destroy us. If we cut off the people of La 
 Caroline ere Ribault shall return, his fortress is ours, the cannon 
 of which we shall turn upon him. It is a war a Voutrance be- 
 tween us. They will give us no quarter : they shall have none. 
 This tempest gives us the assurance that we shall have no danger 
 from Ribault, if we seize the precious moments for our enterprise, 
 when he is vainly striving with the tempests of the deep, and 
 vainly striving against the winds that bear him away hourly still 
 farther from the scene of our achievements." 
 
 We need not pursue the deliberations of the Spanish council. It 
 is enough if we report the result. In the speeches of Melendez, 
 already made, we see the full force of his argument, which was sound 
 and sensible, and could only be opposed by the fears of those who 
 sought to avoid exposure, who dreaded the elements, the unknown 
 in their condition, and who shrunk from enterprises which pro- 
 mised nothing but hard blows, and which tasked their hardihood 
 beyond all their past experience in war. There were arguments and 
 pleas put in by the over-cautious and the timid, to all of which 
 the Adelantado listened patiently, but to all of which he opposed 
 
344 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 his arguments, based at once upon the obvious policy natural to 
 their circumstances, and to the equally obvious requisitions of the 
 Deity, as shown by an interposition in their favor, which they 
 were all prepared to acknowledge as fervently as Melendez. His 
 quiet but inflexible will prevailed ; the council gradually became 
 of his mind. The unsatisfied were at least silenced, while those 
 whom he convinced were clamorous in their plaudits of a scheme 
 which they ascribed, as Melendez did himself, to the immediate 
 revelation of Heaven. 
 
 " I thank you, noble gentlemen," were the words of the Adelan- 
 tado, as they separated for the night. a That our opinions so 
 well correspond increases my confidence in our plan. Not that I 
 had doubts before. I had thy assurance, oh ! Lord ! that this 
 adventure had thy heavenly sanction. In teDomine speravi, let 
 us never be confounded ! And now, my comrades, let us separate. 
 With the dawn, though the storm rages still, as I hope and be- 
 lieve it will, we must prepare for this enterprise. We shall choose 
 five hundred of our best soldiers, carry with us provisions for eight 
 days, and in that time our work will be done. Our force will be 
 divided into six companies, each with its flag and captain, and a 
 select body of pioneers, armed with axes, shall be sent before to 
 open a pathway through the forest. That we have no guide is a 
 misfortune ; but God will provide so that we fail not. Fortunate- 
 ly we know in what quarter lies La Caroline the distance is 
 known also, and we shall not go wide, if we are only resolved to 
 seek and to destroy the heretics with firm and valiant hearts, 
 filled with a proper faith in heaven." 
 
 Even as he concluded, one at the entrance of the council-house 
 entreated entrance. It proved to be a priest, the Reverend 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 345 
 
 father Salvandi, who brought with him a strange man, overgrown 
 with beard, and partly in the costume of a mariner. 
 
 " My son," said the priest, " here is the very man you want. 
 This is one Francis Jean, a Frenchman, once a heretic, but 
 now, conscious of his errors, and repentant in the hands of Holy 
 Church. He hath recanted of his 'sins, and hath come back will- 
 ingly to the folds of Christ. He hath fled from La Caroline, from 
 the cruelties of Laudonniere, the heretic, and will report what he 
 knows, touching the condition of the Lutheran fortress and the 
 people thereof." 
 
 "Said I not, my comrades, that Grod would provide!" cried 
 Melendez in exultation. " This is the very man whom we want. 
 What art thou ?" to the Frenchman. 
 
 " I was a heretic, my lord, I am now a Christian. I was 
 beaten by Laudonniere, and I fled from him, taking off one of his 
 barques. He hath sworn my life ; I would take his. I know the 
 route to La Caroline. I will show the way to your soldiers." 
 
 " Ah ! Laudonniere will hang you, if he gets you into his 
 power." 
 
 " For that reason, my lord, I would have you get him in 
 yours." 
 
 " You shall have your wish. The Lord hath indeed spoken ! 
 Your name?" 
 
 "Francis Jean!" 
 
 "Be faithful guide my people to this fortress of the heretics, 
 and you shall be rewarded. But, if treacherous, Francis Jean, 
 you shall hang to the first tree of the forest !" 
 
 " Doubt me not, my lord. I will do you good service !" 
 
 " Be it so ! My comrades the Lord hath provided. Senor 
 Martin de Ochoa, take this man into thy keeping. Do him no 
 15* 
 
346 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 hurt, let him be well entreated, but let him not escape from tKy 
 sight." 
 
 The Reverend Father Salvandi bestowed his benediction upon 
 the kneeling circle, and they separated for the night. And still 
 the storm roared without, and still the rains descended, but the 
 heart of Melendez rejoiced in the tempest, as it were an angel 
 sent by Heaven to his succor. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DINNER-PARTY OF MELENDEZ. 
 
 BUT the consolations of Melendez were not those of his people, 
 nor did they arrive at his conclusions. It was soon bruited abroad 
 that he was to march through the tempest uppn La Caroline, and 
 his soldiers spoke the open language of sedition. Their clamors 
 reached the ears of Melendez, but he was one of those wonderful 
 politicians who know what an error it is, at times, to be too quick 
 of sight and hearing. The discontents of the canaille, gave him 
 little concern ; yet he watched them without seeming to do so ; 
 and employed processes of his own for inducing their quiet, with- 
 out showing himself either apprehensive or angry. Some of his 
 officers were guilty of seditious speeches also some of those 
 whom his will had silenced in council, rather than his arguments 
 convinced. He took his measures with these in a simple manner, 
 without allowing his preparations to be arrested for a moment. 
 One of these officers, named St. Vincent, positively declared his 
 purpose not to go upon an expedition where they would only 
 get their throats cut ; and that if Melendez persisted in his mad 
 
THE PATE OF LA CAROLINE. 347 
 
 design, he would embark with all those left at St. Augustine, and 
 take his route back to Hispaniola. This same person, with the 
 Senors Francis Recalde and Diego de Maya, openly and boldly 
 remonstrated with the Adelantado against the enterprise. He an- 
 swered them by inviting them, and all other of his officers who 
 had been of the council, to a great dinner which he prepared for 
 them that day. Here he gave them quite a splendid entertain- 
 ment, and in the midst of their hilarity he said 
 
 " That it was with very great surprise he discovered that the 
 secret councils of the last night had been improperly revealed to 
 all the world councils of war," said he, " my comrades, are mat- 
 ters the value of which depend wholly upon their secresy. It 
 would be my duty to find out and punish the authors of this 
 wretched infidelity ; but I am too well persuaded of tlie mercies 
 of God to myself and to all of us, not to be indulgent to the faults 
 of our people. This offence, accordingly, is forgiven, no matter 
 who shall have been the offender. But, hereafter, I may say that 
 all future seditions among the soldiers shall be punished in the 
 officers. It is from the officers only that the soldiers are led into 
 insubordination. They shall answer for their men. Let it be 
 known, however, that all who lose heart, who tremble at this en- 
 terprise, to which G-od himself has summoned us, are at liberty to 
 remain. I am satisfied, however, that the greater number are 
 prepared to depart with me the moment I give the signal, under 
 the proper example of their captains. Still, I am willing to hear 
 counsel from you touching this expedition. I am not mulish enough 
 to adhere to a resolution when better counsels are given against it. 
 Speak freely your minds, therefore, if you think otherwise than 
 myself; remembering this only, that our resolution, once taken, if 
 there shall be one so bold as to oppose words where he should do 
 
348 , THE LILT AND THE TOTEM, 
 
 his duty, he shall be cashiered upon the spot. And now, my com- 
 rades, this wine of Xeres is not amiss. Let us drink. We are of 
 one mind, I perceive, in council ; let our unanimity extend to our 
 drink. I drink to the speedy overthrow of heresy, and the spread 
 of the true faith ; both certain where the sword of valor is al- 
 ways ready to obey the voice of God !" 
 
 The toast was drank with enthusiasm. The discontents were 
 silenced. How should it be otherwise where the authority was so 
 generous, conveying its suggestions through the generous wines of 
 Xeres, and only hinting at the possibility of disgrace and punish- 
 ment, in the occurrence of events scarcely possible to those who 
 claimed to draw the sword of valor in the service of the Deity. 
 The Adelantado gave no farther heed to the factions of his army. 
 He probably adopted the best precautions. It is true that St. 
 Vincent still mouthed threats of disobedience, but the policy of 
 Melendez had no ears in his quarter ; and the preparations went 
 on, without interruption, for the march against La Caroline ! 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE STORMING OP LA CAROLINE. 
 
 THE preparations for departure were complete. The Adelantado 
 himself marched at the head of his vanguard, the immediate com- 
 mand of which was confided to Senor Martin de Ochoa, with a 
 troop of Biscayans and Asturians, armed with axes, for clearing 
 their pathway through the forest. With these went the traitor, 
 Francis Jean, who had abandoned his religion and La Caroline to- 
 gether. He was watched closely, but proved faithful to his new 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 349 
 
 masters. Dreary, indeed, was the progress of Melendez. The 
 storm prevailed all the time. The rain soaked their garments, 
 and it was with difficulty they could protect their ammunition and 
 provisions. The fourth day of the march they were within five 
 miles of La Caroline, but arrested by an immense tract of swamp, 
 in passing which the water was up to their middles. The whole 
 country was flooded, and the freshet momently increased, in con- 
 sequence of the continued rains. These had become more terrible 
 in volume than ever. The windows of heaven seemed again 
 opened for another deluge. The hearts of the Spaniards sunk, as 
 their toils and sufferings increased. More than a hundred slunk 
 away, fell off on the route, and made their way over the ground 
 which they had trodden, reporting the worst of disasters to their 
 comrades, defeat and destruction, by way of excusing their cow- 
 ardice. But the indomitable courage and unbending will of the 
 adelantado, his presence and voice of command in every quarter, 
 still, prevailed to bring his remaining battalions forward. It was 
 in vain that his troops muttered curses upon his head. Fernan 
 Perez, an ensign of the company of St. Yincent, was bold enough 
 to say, that " he could not comprehend how so many brave gen- 
 tlemen should let themselves be led by a wretched Asturian 
 mountaineer a fellow who knew no more about carrying on war 
 on land than a horse !" 
 
 The ensign had a great deal more to say of the same sort, of 
 which Melendez was not ignorant, but of which he took no notice. 
 He was a sage dissimulator who answered discontent with policy, 
 and strengthened his people's hearts by divine revelation. He 
 called another council of his officers. He told them of his prayers 
 to and consultations of Heaven, seeking to know the will of God 
 only in the performance of his work, persuaded that each of 
 
350 THE LILY AN> THE TOTEM. 
 
 them had made like prayers all night ; that they were accordingly 
 in the very mood of mind to resolve what was to be done in their 
 extremity. He made this to appear as bad as possible, describing 
 them as " harrassed with fatigue, shorn of strength, without bread, 
 munitions or any human resource." 
 
 Some one counselled their retreat to St. Augustine before the 
 Huguenots should discover them. 
 
 " Very good advice," quoth Melendez, " but suffer me still an- 
 other word. The prospect is undoubtedly a gloomy one, but look 
 you, there are the portals of La Caroline. Now, it may be just 
 as well to see how affairs stand with our enemies. According to 
 all appearances they are not in force. We may not have the power 
 to take the place, but it is well to see whether the place can be 
 taken. If we retreat now, we are not sure that we shall do so se- 
 curely. They will probably hunt us through the forest, at every 
 step of the way, encouraged by our show of weakness and timidity. 
 It is not improbable that we may surprise this fort. Men seldom 
 look either for friends or enemies in bad weather. I doubt if they 
 can sustain a bold assault ; but if they do, and we fail, we have 
 the consolation at least of having done all that was possible for 
 men." 
 
 The assault was agreed upon ; and in a transport of joy, the 
 Adelantado sunk upon his knees, in the mire where he stood, and 
 called upon his troops to do likewise, imploring the succor of the 
 God of battles. 
 
 He gave his orders with rapid resolution and according to a 
 fixed design already entertained. Taking with him Francis Jean, 
 the renegade, he put himself at the head of one division of his 
 troops, and gave other bodies to the Captains Martin de Ochoa, 
 Francis Recalde, Andres Lopez Patino and others, and, covered 
 
THE PATE OP LA CAROLINE. 351 
 
 by the midnight darkness from observation with all sounds of 
 drum and trumpet stilled with the echoes of their advancing 
 squadrons hushed in the fall of torrents and the roar of sweeping 
 winds the assailants made their way, slowly and painfully but 
 without staggering, toward the silent bastions of La Caroline. 
 
 Under the guidance of the renegade Frenchman the Spanish 
 captains made a complete reconnoissance of the fortress. A por- 
 tion of it was still unrepaired, and this they penetrated without 
 difficulty. We have seen, in a previous chapter, with what 
 doubtful vigilance the lieutenants of Laudonniere performed their 
 duties. It will not be forgotten that, on the night of the 19th 
 September, the charge of the watch lay with Captain de la Vigne ; 
 nor will it be forgotten with what pity that amiable captain re- 
 garded the condition of his sentinels, exposed to such unchristian 
 weather. We left the fortress of La Caroline in most excellent 
 repose ; the storm prevailing without, and the garrison asleep 
 within. It was while they slept that Don Pedro de Melendez was 
 praying to heaven that he might be permitted to assist them in 
 their slumbers, changing the temporary into an eternal sleep. 
 Thus passed the night of the 19th September over La Caroline. 
 The dawn of the 20th found the Spaniards, in several divisions, 
 about to penetrate the fortress. Two of their leaders, Martin de 
 Ochoa and the master of the camp had already done so. They 
 had examined the place at their leisure, passing through an unre- 
 paired breach of one of the walls. Returning, with the view to 
 making their report, they had mistaken one pathway for another, 
 and encountered a drowsy Frenchman, who, starting at their ap- 
 proach, demanded " Qui vive ?" Ochoa promptly answered, 
 " France," and the man approached them only to receive a stunning 
 blow upon the head. The Frenchman recovered himself instantly, 
 
352 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 drew his sword, and made at the assailant, but the master of the 
 camp seconded the blow of Ochoa, and the Frenchman was brought 
 to the ground. The sword of the Spaniard was planted at his 
 throat, and he was forbidden to speak under pain of death. He 
 had cried aloud, but had failed to give the alarm, and this pointed 
 suggestion silenced him from farther attempts. He was conducted 
 to Melendez, who, determined to see nothing but good auguries, 
 cried out, without caring to hear the report " My friends, God 
 is with us ! We are already in possession of the fort." At these 
 words the assault was given. The captive Frenchman was slain, 
 as the most easy method of relieving his captors of their charge, 
 and the Spaniards darted pell-mell into the fort, the fierce Adelan- 
 tado still leading in the charge, with the cry " Follow me, com- 
 rades, God is for us !" Two Frenchmen, half-naked, rushed 
 across his path. One of them he slew, and Don Andres Patino 
 the other. They had no time allowed them to give the alarm ; 
 but just at this moment a soldier of the garrison who was less 
 drowsy than the rest, or more apprehensive of his duty, had saun- 
 tered forth from the shelter of his quarters and stood upon the 
 ramparts, looking forth in the direction of a little " sandie knappe," 
 or hill, down which a column of the Spaniards were rushing in or- 
 der of battle. This vision brought him to the full possession of all 
 his faculties. He gave the cri de guerre, the signal of battle, but 
 as he wheeled about to procure his weapons, he beheld other de- 
 tachments of the Spaniards making their way through the unre- 
 paired and undefended breaches in the wall. Still he cried aloud v 
 even as he fled, and Laudonniere started from his slumbers only 
 to hear the startling cry " To arms ! to arms ! The enemy is 
 upon us !" 
 
 The warning came too late. The amiable weakness which 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 353 
 
 withdrew the sentinels from tbe walls because of the weather, was 
 not now to be repaired by any energy or courage. The garrison 
 was aroused, but not permitted to rally or embody themselves. 
 Melendez with his troop had reached the corps de garde quite as 
 soon as Laudonniere. The latter lately supposed to have usurped 
 royal honors was very soon convinced that the only object before 
 him was the safety of his own life. With the first alarm, he 
 caught up sword and buckler, and rushed valiantly enough into 
 the court. But he only appeared to be made painfully conscious 
 that everything was lost. His appeals to his soldiers only brought 
 his enemies about him, who butchered his men as they approached 
 their guns, and who now appeared in numbers on every side, in 
 full possession of the fortress. The magazines were already in 
 their hands, and a desperate effort of Laudonniere's artillerists to 
 recover them, was followed only by their own destruction. The 
 most vigorous resistance, hand to hand, was made on the south- 
 west side of -the fort. Here the Frenchmen opposed themselves 
 with cool and determined courage, to the entrance of the enemy. 
 Hither Laudonniere hurried, crying aloud to his men in the lan- 
 guage of encouragement, and doing his utmost, by the most head- 
 long valor, to repair the mischiefs of his feeble rule and most un- 
 happy remissness of authority. Verily, to those who saw how 
 well he carried himself in this the moment of his worst despair, 
 the past errors of the unhappy Laudonniere had been forgiven if 
 not forgotten. But the struggle, on the part of any valor, was 
 utterly in vain. The Spariiards had won a footing already too se- 
 cure for dispossession. Led on by Pedro Melendez, with ever and 
 anon his fanatic war-cry " God is with us, my comrades," ring- 
 ing in their ears, now thoroughly excited by the earnest of success 
 which they enjoyed, in overwhelming numbers and in the full faith 
 
354 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 that they fought the battles of Holy Church, the Spaniards were 
 irresistible. They mocked the tardy valor of our Huguenots, their 
 feeble force, and purposeless attempts. At length the party led 
 by Melendez confronted Laudonniere. The Spanish chieftain 
 knew not the person of his enemy. But the renegade French- 
 man, Francis Jean, discovered his ancient leader, and the desire 
 for revenge, which had led to his treachery, filled his heart with 
 exultation at the prospect of the gratification of his passion. He 
 cried to Melendez : 
 
 " That is he ! That is the captain of the heretics that is 
 Laudonniere !" 
 
 " Ah, traitor ! Is it thou ?" cried Laudonniere. " Let me 
 but live to slay thee, and I care nothing for the rest." 
 
 With these words he sprang upon the traitor guide, and would 
 have slain him at a stroke, but for the interposition of Melendez. 
 He thrust back the renegade, and confronted the captain of the 
 Huguenots. But Laudonniere shrank from the conflict^ for Me- 
 lendez was followed by his troop; and, saving one man, a stout 
 soldier named Bartholomew, who fought manfully with a heavy 
 partizan, he stood utterly alone and unsupported. He gave 
 back, or rather was drawn back by Bartholomew ; but now that 
 Melendez and his people had seen the particular prey whom they 
 had been seeking, they rushed with fiercer appetite than ever to 
 make him captive. The efforts of the Spaniards were then re- 
 doubled. The fierce bigot Pedro Melendez himself a stalwart 
 warrior, clad in heavy black armor of woven mail, with a great 
 white cross upon his breast made the most desperate efforts to 
 bring Laudonniere to the last passage at arms ; and for a time the 
 Frenchman, though quite too light and enfeebled by sickness for 
 the contest with such a champion, was eager to indulge him. He 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 355 
 
 struggled with the friendly arm which perforce drew him away, and 
 great was his rage, though impotent, when the rush of a number 
 of his own fugitives passing between at this moment, hurried him 
 onward as by the downward rush of a torrent, to the safety of his 
 life if not to the increase of his honor. At that moment Laudon- 
 niere had gladly redeemed by a glorious death, at the hands of the 
 fierce Asturian, the errors and the failures of his life. But this 
 was denied him, and, vainly struggling against the tide of fugitives, 
 he was swept with them in the direction of the corps de garde. 
 Laudonniere yielded in this manner only foot by foot, striking at 
 the foe and at his own runagates alike, and receiving upon his shield, 
 with the dexterity of an accomplished cavalier, the assault of a 
 score of pikes which pressed beyond the heavy blade of Melendez. 
 When at length the retreating Frenchmen had reached the court 
 of the fortress, they scattered headlong, finding themselves con- 
 fronted by new and consolidated masses of the enemy, and each of 
 them sought incontinently his own method of escape. " Sauve 
 qui pent /" was the cry, and the crowd by which Laudonniere had 
 hitherto been borne unwillingly along, now melted away on every 
 hand, leaving him again almost alone in the presence of the 
 Spaniard. And still the faithful fellow, Bartholomew, clung to his 
 superior, saving him from the rashness which would only have 
 flung away his own life without an object. He hurried along his 
 unhappy and now reckless captain, taking his way into the yard 
 of Laudonniere 's lodging. Thither they were closely pursued, and, 
 but for a tent that happened to be standing in the place, they 
 must have been taken. But, passing behind this tent, while the 
 Spaniards were busied in groping within it, or cutting away the 
 cords, 
 
 " Hither, now, Monsieur Rene," cried Bartholomew, grasping 
 
356 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the commandant by the wrist and drawing him along ; " follow 
 me now and we shall surely escape. They have left the breach 
 open by the west, near to the lodging of Monsieur D'Erlach, and 
 by that route shall we gain the thickets." 
 
 " Ah !" cried Laudonniere, long and grateful recollections of 
 a tried fidelity, to which he had not always done justice, extorting 
 from him a groan ; " Ah ! this had never happened had Jean Bi- 
 bault left me Alphonse !" 
 
 And the tears gushed from his eyes, and he paused and thrust 
 the point of his sword into the earth with vexation and despair. 
 
 " We have not a moment, Monsieur Rene," cried the soldier 
 with impatience ; " the tent is down ; the Spaniards are foiled for 
 a moment only. They will be sure to seek you in the breach." 
 
 " There ! there ! indeed !" cried the commandant bitterly, 
 " there should they have found me at first ; but now ! Lead on ! 
 lead on ! my good fellow. As thou wilt !" 
 
 Soon our fugitives had cleared the breach, and were now without 
 the walls. The misty shroud which covered the face of nature, 
 and enveloped as with a sea the thickets to which they were mak- 
 ing, favored their escape. The unhappy Laudonniere found him- 
 self temporarily safe in the forests ; but if remote from present 
 danger, they were not so far from the fortress as to be insensible 
 to the work of death and horror which was in progress there, the 
 evidence of which came to their ears in the shrieks of women for 
 mercy, and the groans and cries of tortured men. 
 
 " Slay ! slay ! Smite and spare not !" was the dreadful com- 
 mand of Melendez. u The groans of the heretic make music in 
 the ears of Heaven !" 
 
 Laudonniere shut his ears, and with his companion plunged 
 deeper into the forests. Here he found other fugitives like him- 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 357 
 
 self, and others subsequently joined him ; some were wounded even 
 unto death, others slightly ; all were terror-stricken, shuddering 
 with horror, incapable from wo and agony. What had they be- 
 held, what endured, and what was the prospect before them but of 
 massacre ? A hasty council was convened among the party, and 
 the advice of Laudonniere he could command no longer was, 
 that they should bury themselves among the reeds and within the 
 marshes which lay along the river, out of sight, until they could 
 make their small vessels, by which the mouth of the river was still 
 guarded, aware of their situation. But this council was agreeable 
 to a part only, of that bewildered company. Another portion 
 preferred to push for one of the Indian villages, at some little dis- 
 tance in the forests, where, hitherto, they had found a friendly 
 reception. They persevered in this purpose, leaving Laudonniere 
 and a few others in the marshes. Hither, then, these hapless fu- 
 gitives sped, till they could go no farther ; and until their com- 
 mandant himself, still unrecovered from the chill and fever which 
 had seized him at the first coming on of autumn, declared his in- 
 ability to go deeper into the thicket, though it promised him the 
 safety which he sought. He was already up to his neck in water, 
 and such was his weakness, that he was about to yield to his fate. 
 But for the faithful and unwearied support of one of his soldiers, 
 Jean du Chemin, who held him above the water when he would 
 have sunk, and who stuck by him all the rest of that day, and 
 through the long and dreary night which followed, he must have 
 perished. Meanwhile, two of his soldiers swam off in the direc- 
 tion of the vessels. Fortunately for those swimmers, those in the 
 vessels had been already apprized of the taking of the fort by Jean 
 de Hais, the master carpenter, who had made his escape the first, 
 by dropping down the river in a shallop. The boats of the vessels 
 
358 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 were immediately pushed up the stream, and succeeded in picking 
 up the swimmers, and, finally, when Laudonniere and his faithful 
 companions were both about to sink, in extricating them from 
 their marshy place of refuge. Eighteen or twenty of the fugitives 
 (among whom was the celebrated painter, Jaques le Moyne de 
 Morgues, to whom we owe mostly the illustrations of Floridian 
 scenery, costume, and lineaments preserved in De Bry and other 
 collections^ were rescued in this manner, and conveyed on board 
 the ships. These, with Laudonniere, subsequently made their 
 way, after many disasters, perils of the sea and land, a detention 
 in England, where they were again indebted to the humanity of 
 the English for succor and sympathy. An artful attempt was 
 made by Melendez to obtain possession of these vessels, but he 
 was baffled. They sailed from the river of May on the 25th Sep- 
 tember, 1565, thus abandoning forever the design of planting 
 themselves and their religion permanently in Florida. Let us now 
 look to the farther proceedings of the conquerors in possession of 
 their prize ! 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 VJE VICTIS. 
 
 AND now, it falls to our lot to record the most cruel passage in 
 all this history ; to relate the mournful and terrible fate which befel 
 the wretched. Huguenots taken at the capture of La Caroline, and 
 the sanguinary deed by which the Spanish chief, through a gloomy 
 fanaticism, stained foully the honorable fame which his skill and 
 courage in arms might have ensured to his memory. All resist- 
 
THE FATE OP LA CAROLINE. 359 
 
 ance having ceased on the part of the Huguenots of La Caroline, 
 the standard of Castile was unrolled from its battlements, instead 
 of the white folds and the smiling lilies of France. The name of 
 the fortress was solemnly changed to San Matheo, the day on 
 which they found themselves in its possession being that which 
 was dedicated to the honor of that saint. The arms of France 
 and of Coligny, which surmounted the gateways of the place, were 
 erased and those of Spain were graven there instead, and the keep- 
 ing of the fortress was assigned to a garrison of three hundred 
 men, under the command of Gonzalo de Yillaroel. These duties 
 occupied but little time, and did not interfere with other per- 
 formances of the Adelantado, which he thought not the less con- 
 spicuous among the duties required at his hands. His prisoners 
 were brought before him. These were, perhaps, not so numerous, 
 though forming a fair proportion of the number left by Ribault in 
 the garrison. It is perhaps fortunate that no greater number had 
 been left, since, in all probability, the same want of watch and 
 caution by which the fortress had been lost, would have equally 
 been shown, with any numbers, under such an easy commandant 
 as Laudonniere, and in the particular circumstances which had 
 taken place. Of these prisoners many were women and children. 
 We have seen that Laudonniere succeeded in rescuing some 
 twenty persons. Several had fled to the forests and taken shelter 
 with the tribes of neighboring Indians. In some few instances, 
 the red-men protected them with fidelity. But in the greater 
 number of cases, terrified by the sudden appearance and the 
 strength of the Spaniards, they had yielded up the fugitives at the 
 fierce demand of the Adelantado. Others of the miserable Hugue- 
 nots, warned by the Indians that they could no longer harbor, 
 
360 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 were shot down by the pursuing Spaniards, as they fled in terror 
 through the forests. Twenty perished in this manner, offering no 
 resistance, and long after the struggle in La Caroline had 
 nded. 
 
 The surviving prisoners were then brought before the conquer- 
 or. They were manacled, and presented a spectacle which must 
 have moved the sympathies of any ordinary nature. But Pedro 
 de Melendez was not of an ordinary nature. The natural sym- 
 pathies had given way to a morbid passion amounting to insanity, 
 by which his judgment was confounded. The sight of weeping, 
 and trembling women and children ; of captives naked, worn, ex- 
 hausted, enfeebled by years, by disease, by cruel wounds all 
 pleading for his mercy only seemed to strengthen! him in the 
 most cruel resolution. " The groans of the heretic, are music 
 in the ears of heaven !" Upon this maxim he designed an ap- 
 propriate commentary. 
 
 " Separate these women from the other prisoners." 
 
 It was done. 
 
 "Now detach from these last, all children under fifteen 
 years." 
 
 His command was obeyed. The women and children thus set 
 apart were consigned to slavery. Of their farther fate the his- 
 torian knows nothing. The young and tender were probably per- 
 suaded to the Roman Catholic altars, and thus finally achieved 
 their deliverance. The more stubborn, we may reasonably as- 
 sume, perished in their bonds, passing from one condition of 
 degradation to another. Of the rest the history is terribly defi- 
 nite. Fixing his cold, dark eye upon the male captives upon 
 whose fate he had yet said nothing, he demanded 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 361 
 
 u Is there among ye any who profess the faith of the Holy 
 Catholic Church ? 
 
 Two of the prisoners answered in the affirmative. 
 
 " Take these Christians away, and let their bonds be removed. 
 The Holy Father, Salvandi, will examine them in the faith of 
 Mother Church. For the rest, are there any among ye, who, 
 seeing the error of your ways, will renounce the heresy of 
 Luther, and seek once more communion with the only true 
 church ? 
 
 A drear silence followed. The captives looked mournfully at 
 each other, and at the Adelantado ; but in his face there was no 
 encouragement, and nothing but despair was expressed in the 
 aspects of their fellows. 
 
 "Be warned!" continued the Adelantado. "To those who 
 seek the blessings of the true church, she generously openeth her 
 arms. To those who turn away, indifferently or in scorn, she de- 
 crees death temporal and death eternal. Hear ye ! and now 
 say." 
 
 The silence was unbroken. 
 
 "Are ye obdurate? or do ye not comprehend that your 
 lives rest upon your speech ? Either ye embrace the safety which 
 the church offers, by an instant renunciation of that of the foul 
 heretic Luther, or ye die by the halter !" 
 
 One sturdy soldier advanced from the group a bold, high- 
 souled fellow his brows lifted proudly with the conscious impulse 
 which worked within his soul. 
 
 " Pedro de Melendez, we are in your power. You are master 
 
 of our mortal bodies, but with the death before us that you 
 
 threaten, know that we are members of the reformed Church of 
 
 Christ, which ye name to be of Luther that,holding it good to 
 
 16 
 
362 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 live in this faith, we deem it one in which it will not be ainiss to 
 die!" 
 
 And the speaker looked round him, into the faces of his fellows, 
 and they lightened up with a glow of cheerfulness and pride, 
 though no word was spoken. 
 
 " Speaks this man for the rest of ye ?" demanded Melendez. 
 
 For a moment there was silence. At length a matelit ad- 
 vanced a common sailor a man before the mast. 
 
 " Ay ! ay ! captain ! what he says we say ! and there's no use 
 for more palaver. Let there be an end of it. We are of the 
 church of Messer Luther, and no other ; if death's the word, 
 we're ready. We're not the men, at the end of the reckoning, to 
 belie the whole voyage !" 
 
 " Be it it even as ye say !" answered Melendez coldly, but 
 sternly, and without change of accent or show of passion : " Take 
 them forth, and let them be hung to yonder tree !'' 
 
 Then rose the shrieks of women and the cries of children ; 
 women seeking to embrace their husbands and children clinging 
 to the knees of then* doomed sires. But these produced no rclent- 
 ings. The parties were separated by the strong hand, and the 
 unhappy men were hurrried to the fatal tree. The priest stood 
 ready to receive their recantations. His exhortations were not 
 spared ; but soldier and sailor had equally spoken for the resolute 
 martyrdom of the whole. The reverend father preached to them, 
 and promised them in vain. Amidst cries and curses, the victims 
 were run up to the wide-spreading branches of a mighty oak, dis- 
 honored in its employment for such a purpose, and perished in 
 their fidelity to the faith which they professed. Their bodies 
 were left hanging in the sun and wind, destined equally as trophies 
 of the victor, and warnings to the heretic. A monument was in- 
 
THE FATE OF LA CAROLINE. 363 
 
 stantly raised beneath the tree, upon which was printed in large 
 characters 
 
 "l)m to not suffer tl)us a0 
 Jmufymen, but a0 
 tU0 
 to 
 
 
XXIII. 
 
 ^wwwyMMW* 
 
 THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HAVING thus rendered himself master of La Caroline, effectu- 
 ally displacing the Huguenots from the region which they had 
 acquired, and maintained so long through so many vicissitudes, 
 Melendez prepared to hurry back to his camp on the banks of the 
 Selooe. He but lingered to review the force of the garrison, and 
 with his own hands, fresh reeking with the blood of his slaught- 
 ered victims, to lay the foundations of a church dedicated to the 
 God of Mercy, when he set forth with the small body of troops, 
 which he reserved to himself from the number that accompanied 
 his expedition, scarcely a hundred men, impatient for return, lest 
 Ribault, escaping from the storm, should visit upon his settlement 
 at St. Augustine the same wrath which had lighted upon La 
 Caroline. The heavy torrents from which he had already suffered 
 so much continued to descend as before, and the whole face of the 
 country was inundated ; his people suffered inconceivably upon the 
 march, but the Adelantado was superior to the sense of suffering. 
 He felt himself too much the especial favorite of God, to suffer 
 
THE FORTUNES OP RIBAULT. 365 
 
 himself to doubt that the toils and inconveniences of such a pro- 
 gress as that before him, were anything but tests of his fidelity, 
 and the means by which the Deity designed to prepare him pro- 
 perly for the holy service which was expected at his hands. He 
 reached his camp in safety. His arrival was the source of a great 
 triumph and an unexpected joy. Here he had been reported as 
 having perished, with all his army, at the hands of the French, 
 The deserters, who had abandoned him on the route, in certain 
 anticipation of this fate, had not scrupled to spread this report by 
 way of excusing their own inconstancy and fears. His people 
 accordingly passed instantly from the extremity of terror to that 
 of joy and triumph. They marched out, en masse, at his approach, 
 to welcome him as the vanquisher of the heretics ; the priests at 
 their head, bearing the cross of Christ, the conqueror, and chanting 
 Te Deum, in exultation at the twofold conquest which he had won, 
 at the expense equally of their own, and the enemies of the church. 
 
 His triumphs were not without some serious qualifications. In 
 the midst of their joy, an incendiary, as he supposed, had reduced 
 to ashes the remaining vessels in the harbor. A portion of his 
 garrison, a little after, showed themselves in mutiny against their 
 ofiicers, this spirit having been manifested before his departure 
 for La Caroline. He was apprised also of a mishap to one of his 
 greater ships, the San Pelayo, which had been sent to Hispaniola, 
 filled with captive Frenchmen taken at different periods, and who 
 were destined to suffer the question as heretics in the Inquisition of 
 the mother country. These had risen upon the crew, overpowered 
 them, captured the vessel, and carried her safely into Denmark. 
 
 While meditating, and seeking to repair some of these mishaps, 
 Melendez received intelligence of Ribault and his fleet, which 
 caused him some inquietude. His own shipping being destroyed, 
 
366 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 his future safety depended wholly upon the condition of Ribault's 
 armament, since, with their small vessels, his harborage might be 
 entered at any moment, and his sole means of defence lay with his 
 troops upon the land, where his entrenchments were not yet suffi- 
 ciently advanced to offer much, if any obstacle, to a vigorous 
 assailant. But farther advices, brought him by the savages, 
 relieved him measurably from any apprehensions from the ship- 
 ping of his enemy. In this respect the condition of the French 
 was no better than his own. The unfortunate fUbault, driven 
 before the hurricane, had been wrecked with all his squadron, 
 upon the bleak and unfriendly shores of Cape Cannaverel ; his 
 troops were saved, with the exception of the crew and armament 
 of one vessel, containing a detachment under the Sieur de la 
 Grange, all of whom perished but the captain. Dividing his 
 troops into two or more bodies, Bibault advanced along the shore, 
 proceeding northerly, in the direction of La Caroline, and one of 
 his detachments had reached the inlet of Matanzas, when Melen- 
 dez was first advised of their approach. He was told by the 
 Indians that about four leagues distant, a large body of white men 
 were embarrassed in their progress by a bay, over which they had 
 no means to pass. Upon this intelligence, the Adelantado, taking 
 with him forty picked soldiers, proceeded with all despatch to the 
 designated place. His proceedings were marked by subtlety and 
 caution. With such a force, he could hope to do nothing in open 
 warfare against the numbers of Ribault, which, after all casualties, 
 were probably six or seven hundred men. But nobody knew 
 better than Melendez how to supply the deficiencies of the lion 
 with the arts of the fox. He concealed his troop in the woods 
 that bordered the inlet, and from the top of a tree surveyed the 
 scattered groups of Frenchmen on the opposite shore. They 
 

 THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 367 
 
 were two hundred in number, and some of them had been engaged 
 in the construction of a raft with which to effect their passage. 
 But the roughness of the waters, and the strength of the current 
 forbade their reliance upon so frail a conveyance, and while they 
 were bewildered with doubt and difficulties, Melendez showed him- 
 self alone upon the banks of the river. When he was seen from 
 the opposite shore, a bold Gascon of Saint Jean de Luz plunged 
 fearlessly into the stream, and succeeded in making the passage. 
 
 " Who are these people ?" demanded Melendez. 
 
 " We are Frenchmen, all, who have suffered shipwreck." 
 
 " What Frenchmen ?" 
 
 " The people of M. Ribault, Captain-General of Florida, 
 under commission of the king of France." 
 
 " I know no right to Florida, on the part of France or French- 
 men. I am here, the true master of the country, on behalf of 
 my sovereign, the Catholic king, Philip the Second. I am Pedro 
 Melendez, adelantado of all this Florida, and of the isles thereof. 
 Go back to your general with my answer, and say to him, that I 
 am here, followed by my army, as I had intelligence that he too 
 was here, invading the country in my charge." 
 
 The Gascon returned with the speech, and soon after was per- 
 suaded again to swim the stream, with a request for a safe conduct 
 from the Spanish general, on behalf of four gentlemen of' the 
 French, who desired to treat with him. It was requested that a 
 batteau which Melendez had brought along shore with his pro- 
 visions, and which was now safely moored beside the eastern banks, 
 might be sent to bring them over. To all this Melendez readily 
 consented. The arrangement suited him exactly. His troop was 
 still in reserve, covered rather than concealed within the forest, 
 and so disposed as to seem at a distance to consist of overwhelm- 
 
368 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 ing numbers. But six men were suffered to accompany the 
 Spanish commander. These, well armed, were quite equal to the 
 four to whom he accorded the interview. These soon made their 
 appearance. Their leader told the story of their melancholy 
 shipwreck, the privations they had borne, the wants under which 
 they suffered, and implored his assistance to regain a fortress 
 called La Caroline, which the king, his master, held at a distance 
 of some twenty leagues. 
 
 Melendez replied 
 
 " Sefior, I have made myself the master of your fort. I have 
 laid strong hands upon the garrison. I have slain them all, sparing 
 none but the women, and such children as were under fifteen years." 
 
 The Frenchmen looked incredulous. 
 
 " If you doubt,'' he continued, " I can soon convince you. I 
 have brought hither with me the only two soldiers whom I have 
 admitted to mercy. I spared them, because they claimed to be 
 of the Catholic faith. You shall see them, and hear the truth 
 from their own lips. In all probability you know them, and will 
 recognise their persons. Rest you here, while I send you some- 
 thing to eat. You shall see your compatriots, with some of the 
 spoils taken at La Caroline. These shall prove to you the truth 
 of what I say." 
 
 With these words he disappeared. Soon after, refreshments 
 were brought to our Frenchmen, and when they had eaten, the 
 two captives at La Caroline, who had been spared on account of 
 their faith, were allowed to commune with them, and to repeat all 
 the facts in the cruel history of La Caroline. Nothing of that 
 terrible tragedy was concealed. Melendez had a policy too re- 
 fined for concealment, when the revelation of his atrocities was to 
 be the means for their renewal. To strike the hearts of the 
 
THE FORTUNES OF R1BAULT. 369 
 
 Frenchmen with such terror, as to have them at his mercy, was a 
 profound secret of success in dealing with the wretched, suffering, 
 and already desponding outcasts in his presence. 
 
 After an hour's absence he returned. 
 
 " Are you satisfied," he asked ? l< of the truth of the things 
 which I have told you." 
 
 " We can doubt no longer;" was the reply ; " but this does not 
 lessen our claim upon your humanity as men, and your considera- 
 tion as Frenchmen. Our people are at peace, there is amity and 
 alliance between our sovereigns. You cannot deny us assistance, 
 and the vessels necessary for our return to France." 
 
 " Surely not, if you are Catholics, and if I had the means of 
 helping you to ships. But you are not Catholics. The alliance 
 between our kings is an alliance of members of the true Church, 
 both sworn against heretics." 
 
 " We are members of the Reformed Church," was the reply of 
 the officers ; " but we are men ; human ; made equally in the 
 image of the Deity, and serve the same God, if not at the same 
 altars. Suffer us, at least, to remain with you for a season, till 
 we can find the means for returning to our own country." 
 
 " Sefior, it cannot be. As for sheltering heretics, that is im- 
 possible. I have 'sworn on the holy sacrament, to root out and to 
 extirpate heresy, wherever I encounter it by sea or land to 
 wage against the damnable heresy which you profess a war to the 
 utterance, as vindictive as possible, to the death and to the tor- 
 ture; and in this resolution I conceive myself to be serving 
 equally the king of France as the king, my sovereign. I am 
 here in Florida for the express purpose of establishing the Holy 
 Roman Catholic Faith ! I will assist no heretic to remain in the 
 country." 
 
370 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Assist us to leave it, sefior : that is in truth what we de- 
 mand." 
 
 " Demand nothing of me. Yield yourselves to my mercy at 
 discretion deliver up your arms and ensigns, and I will do with 
 you as God shall inspire me. Consent to this these are my -only 
 terms or do what pleases you. But you must hope nothing at 
 my hands neither truce nor friendship." 
 
 With this cruel ultimatum, he quitted them, giving them oppor- 
 tunity to return and report to their comrades. In two hours they 
 reappeared, and made him an offer from the two hundred men 
 gathered on the opposite banks, of twenty thousand ducats, only 
 to be assured of their lives. The answer was as prompt as it was 
 characteristic. 
 
 " Though but a poor soldier, sefior, I am not capable of gov- 
 erning myself, in the performance of my duties, by any regard to 
 selfish interests. If I am moved to do an act of grace, it will be 
 done from pure generosity. But do not let these words deceive 
 you. I tell you as a gentleman, and an officer holding a high com- 
 mission from the king of Spain, that, though the heavens and the 
 earth may mingle .before my eyes, the resolution which I once 
 make, I never change !" 
 
 It will scarcely be thought possible that any body of men, 
 having arms in their hands, and still in possession of physical 
 powers sufficient for their use, would, under such circumstances, 
 listen to such a demand. But the forces of Blbault had been 
 terribly demoralized by disaster and disappointment. Privation 
 had humbled their souls, and the utter exhaustion of their spirits 
 made them give credence to vain hopes of mercy at the hands of 
 then- enemy, which at another period they could never have en- 
 tertained. The report of their envoy found them ready to make 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 371 
 
 any concessions. It required but half an hour to determine their 
 submission. The returning batteau brought over with four officers 
 all their ensigns, sixty-six arquebuses, twenty pistols, a large 
 number of swords and bucklers, casques and cuirasses, their whole 
 complement of munitions, and a surrender of the entire body at 
 discretion. Melendez gladly seized upon these spoils. He em- 
 barked twenty of his soldiers in his batteau, with orders to bring 
 over the Frenchmen, in small divisions, and to offer them no insult ; 
 but, as they severally arrived on the eastern side of the bay, they 
 were conducted out of sight, and under the guns of his arque- 
 busiers. They were then given to eat, and when the repast was 
 ended, they were asked if any among them were Catholics. There 
 were but eight of the whole number who replied in the affirmative. 
 These were set apart, to be conducted to St. Augustine. The rest 
 frankly avowed themselves to be good Christians of the Re- 
 formed Church. These were immediately seized, their arms tied 
 behind their backs, and in little squads of six, were conducted to 
 a spot in the background, where Melendez had traced, with his 
 cane, a line upon the sand. Here they were butchered to a man, 
 each succeeding body sharing the same fate, without knowing, till 
 too late, that of their comrades. There was no pause, no mercy, 
 no relentings in behalf of any. All perished, to the number of 
 two hundred ; and Pedro Melendez returned to his camp at St. 
 Augustine, again to be welcomed with Te Deum, and the accla- 
 mation for good Christian service^ from a Christian people. 
 
372 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE congratulations of his people were yet resounding in his 
 ears, when the savages brought him further intelligence of French- 
 men gathered upon the borders of that bay which had arrested the 
 progress of the previous detachment. They were represented to 
 be more numerous than the first, and Melendez did not doubt that 
 they constituted the bulk of Ribault's force under the immediate 
 command of that leader. He proceeded to encounter him as he 
 had done the other party, but on this occasion he increased his 
 own detachment to one hundred and fifty men. These he ranged 
 in good order during the night, along the banks of the river, 
 which the Huguenots had begun their preparations to pass. They 
 had been at work upon the radeau or raft which had been begun 
 by the preceding party, but their progress had been unsatisfac- 
 tory, and the prospect of the passage, in such a vessel, over such 
 an arm of the sea, was quite as discouraging as to their predecessors. 
 With the dawn, and when they discovered the force of Melendez 
 on the opposite shore, the drums sounded the alarm, the royal 
 standard of France was advanced, and the troops were ranged in 
 order of battle. Poor Ribault still observed the externals of the 
 veteran, if only to conceal the real infirmities which impaired the 
 moral of his command. 
 
 Seeing this display of determination, Melendez, with proper 
 policy, commanded his people to proceed to breakfast without any 
 show of excitement or emotion. He himself promenaded the banks 
 of the river, accompanied only by his admiral and two other 
 officers, as indifferently as if there had been no person on the 
 opposite -side. With this, the clamors of the French tambours 
 
THE FORTUNES OP RIBAULT. 373 
 
 ceased the fifes were allowed to take breath and in place of the 
 warlike standard of their country, the commander of the Hugue- 
 nots displayed a white flag as sign of peace, and his trumpets 
 sounded for a parley. A response from the Spanish side of the 
 river, in similar spirit, caused one of the Frenchmen to advance 
 within speaking distance, upon the raft, who requested that some- 
 body might be sent them, as their radeau could not contend 
 against the current. A pirogue was finally sent by the Spaniard, 
 which brought over the sergeant-major of Ribault. This man 
 related briefly the necessities and desires of his commander. 
 He was totally ignorant of all that kad taken place. He had been 
 wrecked, and had lost all his vessels ; that he had with him three 
 hundred and fifty soldiers ; that he was desirous of reaching his 
 fortress, twenty leagues distant ; and prayed the assistance of the 
 Spaniards, to enable him to do so. At the close, he desired to 
 know with whom he was conferring. 
 
 Melendez answered as directly as he had done in the previous 
 instance, when dealing with the first detachment. He did not 
 scruple to add to the narrative of the capture of La Caroline, and 
 the cruel murder of its garrison, the farther history of the party 
 whom he had encountered in the same place with themselves. 
 
 " I have punished all these with death ;" he continued ; and, 
 still further to assure the officer of Ribault of the truth of what 
 he said, he took him to the spot where lay in a heap the exposed, 
 the bleached and decaying bodies of his slaughtered companions. 
 The Frenchman looked steadily at the miserable spectacle, and 
 so far commanded his nerves as to betray no emotion. He con- 
 tinued his commission without faltering ; and obtained from Me- 
 landez a surety in behalf of Kibault, with four or six of his men, 
 to cross the river for the purpose of conference, with the privilege 
 
374 . THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 of returning to his forces at his leisure. But the adelantado 
 positively refused to let the Frenchmen have his shallop or bateau. 
 The pirogue, alone, was at their service. With this, the French 
 general could pass the strait without risk; and he was com- 
 pelled to content himself with this. The policy of Melendez was 
 not willing to place any larger vessel in his power. 
 
 Ribault crossed to the conference, accompanied by eight of his 
 officers. They were well received by the adelantado, and a colla- 
 tion spread for them. He showed them afterwards the bodies of 
 their slain companions. He gave them the full history of the 
 taking of La Caroline, and the treatment of the garrison, and 
 brought forward the two Frenchmen, claiming to be Catholics, 
 whose lives had been spared when the rest were massacred. 
 There was something absolutely satanic in the conduct of the 
 Spaniard, by which Ribault was confounded. He was not willing 
 to believe the facts that he could not question. 
 
 " Monsieur,' 7 said he to Laudonniere, " I will not believe that 
 you design us evil. Our kings are friends and brothers, and in 
 the name of this alliance between them, I conjure you to furnish 
 us with a vessel for returning to our country. We have suffered 
 enough in this : we will leave it in your hands entirely. Help us 
 to the means necessary for our departure." 
 
 To this Melendez replied in the very same language which he 
 had used to the preceding detachment : 
 
 " Our kings are Catholics both ; they hold terms with one 
 another, but not with heretics. I will make no terms with you. 
 I will hold no bonds with heretics anywhere. You have heard 
 what I have done with your comrades. You hear what has been 
 the fate of La Caroline. You behold the corses of those who but 
 a few days ago followed your banner ; and now I say to you that 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 375 
 
 you must yield to my discretion, leaving it to me to do with you 
 as Grod shall determine me !" 
 
 Aghast and confounded, Ribault declared his purpose to return 
 and consult with his people. In a case so extreme, particularly 
 as he had with him many gentlemen of family, he could not 
 undertake to decide without their participation. Melendez 
 approved this determination, and the general of the French 
 re-crossed the river. 
 
 For three hours was the consultation carried on in the camp of 
 our Huguenots. Ribault fully revealed the terrible history of 
 what had passed, of what he had heard and seen in the camp of the 
 Spaniards. The cold and cruel decision of Melendez in their case, 
 as in that of the previous troops, was unfolded without reserve. 
 There were no concealments, and, for a time, a dull, deep and 
 dreary silence overspread the assembly. But all had not been 
 crushed by misfortune into imbecility. There were some noble and 
 fierce spirits whose hearts rose in all their strength of resolution, 
 as they listened to the horrible narrative and the insolent exac- 
 tion. 
 
 " Better perish a thousand deaths, in the actual conflict with a 
 thousand enemies, than thus submit to perish in cold blood from 
 the stroke of the cowardly assassin !" 
 
 Such was the manly resolution of many. Others, again, like 
 Ribault, were disposed to hope against all experience. The fact 
 that Melendez had treated them so civilly, that he had placed 
 food and drink before them, and that his manners were respect- 
 ful and his tones were mild, were assumed by them to be conclu- 
 sive they were not to suffer as their predecessors had done. 
 
 " They were beguiled with the same arguments," said young 
 Alphonse D'Erlach ; " arguments which appealed to their hunger 
 
376 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 their thirst, their exhaustion, and their spiritless hearts argu- 
 ments against truth, and common sense and their own eyes. He 
 who listens to such arguments will merit to fall by the hands of 
 the assassin.' 7 
 
 "We need not pursue the debate which continued for three 
 hours. At the end of this time, Ribault returned to the landing. 
 
 " A portion of my people," he said, " but not the greater num- 
 ber, are prepared to surrender themselves to you at discretion." 
 
 " They are their own masters," replied Melendez ; " they must 
 do as they please ; to me it is quite indifferent what decision they 
 make." 
 
 Ribault continued : 
 
 " Those who are thus prepared to yield themselves have in- 
 structed me to offer you twenty thousand ducats for their ransom ; 
 but the others will give even a greater sum, for they include 
 among them many persons of great wealth and family ; nay, they 
 desire further, if you will suffer it, to remain still in the country." 
 
 " I shall certainly need some succors," replied Melendez, " in 
 order to execute properly the commands of the king, my master, 
 which are to conquer the country and to people it, establishing 
 here the Holy Evangel ; and I should grieve to forego any as- 
 sistance." 
 
 This evasive answer was construed by Ribault according to his 
 desires. He requested permission to return and deliberate with 
 his people, in order to communicate this last response. He readily 
 obtained what he asked, and the night was consumed among the 
 Huguenots in consultation. It brought no unanimity to their 
 counsels. 
 
 " I will sooner trust the incarnate devil himself, than this Me- 
 lendez," was the resolution of Alphonse D'Erlach to his elder 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 377 
 
 brother. " Go not, mon frere, yield not : the savage Floridian has 
 no heart so utterly stony as that of this Spaniard. I will peril 
 anything with the savage, ere I trust to his doubtful mercy." 
 
 And such was the resolve of many others, but it was not that of 
 Ribault. 
 
 "What!" exclaimed one of his friendly counsellors "he has 
 shown you our slain comrades, butchered under the very arrange- 
 ment which he accords to us, and yet you trust to him?" 
 
 The infatuated leader, broken in spirit, and utterly exhausted 
 in the struggle with fate, replied : 
 
 " That he has freely shown me what he has done, is no proof 
 that he designs any such deeds hereafter. His fury is satiated. 
 It is impossible that he will commit a like crime of this nature. 
 It is his pride that would have us wholly in his power." 
 
 " He hath fed on blood until he craves it," cried Alphonse 
 D'Erlach. " You go to your death, Monsieur Ribault. The tiger 
 invites you to a banquet where the guest brings the repast." 
 
 He was unheard, at least by the Huguenot general. 
 
 " We will leave this man, my friends," cried AlphonseD'Erlach, 
 the strong will and great heart naturally rising to command 
 in the moment of extremity. " We will leave this man. Quern 
 Deus vult perdere prius dementat. He goes to the sacrifice !" 
 
 And when Ribault prepared in the morning to lead his people 
 across the bay, he found but an hundred and fifty of all the force 
 that he commanded during the previous day. Two hundred had 
 disappeared in the night under the guidance of D'Erlach. 
 
378 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE fates had the blinded Ribault in their keeping. He was 
 ferried across the stream for the last time, by the grim ferryman 
 vouchsafed him ; and the trophies which he first laid at the feet 
 of the adelantado consisted of his own armor, a dagger, a casque 
 of gold, curiously and beautifully wrought ; his buckler, his pis- 
 tolet, and a secret commission which he had received at the hands 
 of Admiral Coligny himself. The standards of France and of 
 the Admiral were then lowered at the feet of the Spaniard, then 
 the banners of companies, and finally the sword of the Huguenot 
 general. Never was submission more complete and shameful. 
 The spirit of the veteran was utterly broken and gone. But this 
 degradation was not thus to end. Melendez gave orders that he 
 and the companions he had brought with him, eight in number, 
 should be tied with their hands behind their backs. The indig- 
 nity brought the blush with tenfold warmth into the cheeks of the 
 old warrior. He foresaw the inevitable doom before him, but he 
 felt the shame only. 
 
 " Have I lived for this ? Is it thus, Monsieur Melendez, that 
 you treat a warrior and a Christian ?" 
 
 " Grod forbid that I should treat a Christian after this fashion. 
 But are you a Christian, sefior ?" ,';*:. 
 
 " Of the Reformed Church, I am !" was the reply. 
 
 " I do not hold yours, sefior, to be a church of Christ, but of 
 Satan. Bind him, my comrades, and take him hence." 
 
 A significant wave of the fatal staff, which had prescribed the 
 line upon the spot of earth selected as the chosen place of sacri- 
 fice the scene of a new auto-da-fe as fearful as the preceding 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 379 
 
 finished his instructions, and as the guards led the veteran away, 
 he commenced, in the well-known spirit of the time, to sing aloud 
 the psalm " Domine, memento mei, &c.," in that fearful moment 
 well conceiving that there was left him now but one source of con- 
 solation, and none of present hope. He addressed no words of 
 expostulation to his murderer ; but as they led him away, he 
 calmly remarked " From the earth we came, to the earth we 
 must return ; soon or late, it is all the same ; such must have 
 been the fate. It is not what we would, but what we must." 
 
 He renewed his psalm, the sounds of which grated offensively 
 on the bigot ears of Melendez, falling from such lips, and he im- 
 patiently made the signal to his men to expedite the affair. The 
 Huguenot general was led off singing. One of the accounts be- 
 fore us for there is a Spanish and a French version of the his- 
 tory, differing in several minute, but really unimportant particulars 
 describes the last scene of Ribault's career, in a brief but 
 striking manner. The eight which constituted this party had 
 each his assassin assigned him. Among the companions of Ri- 
 bault at the moment of execution, was Lieutenant Ottigny, of 
 whom we have heard more than once before in the history of La 
 Caroline. They were led into the woods, out of sight and hear- 
 ing of the French on the opposite side of the bay, all of whom 
 were to be brought over, ten by ten, to the same place of sacrifice. 
 The soldier to whom Ribault had been confided, when they had 
 reached the spot strewn thickly with the corses of his murdered 
 people, said to him 
 
 " Senor, you are the general of the French ?" 
 
 "lam!" 
 
 " You have always been accustomed to exact obedience, with- 
 out question, from all the people under your command ?" 
 
380 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Without doubt !" replied Ribault, somewhat wondering at 
 the question. 
 
 " Deem it not strange, then, sefior," continued the soldier, " that 
 I execute faithfully the orders I have received from my command- 
 ant !" 
 
 And, speaking these words, he drove his poignard into the heart 
 of the victim, who fell upon his face, in death, without uttering a 
 groan. Ottigny and the others perished in like manner, and with 
 no farther preliminaries. Why pursue the details with the rest ? 
 In this mannner each unconscious band of the Huguenots, thus 
 surrendering to the clemency of Melendez, was simply ferried 
 across the river to execution. And still the boat returned for and 
 with its little compliment of ten it was only a proper precaution 
 that denied that more should be brought and the succeeding 
 voyagers dreamed not, even as they sped, their comrades were 
 sinking one by one under the hands of their butchers. More than 
 a hundred perished on this occasion, but four of the number 
 avowing themselves to be of the Roman Catholic Church, and be- 
 ing spared accordingly. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OP THOSE WHO REFUSED TO FOLLOW THE FORTUNES OF 
 RIBAULT. 
 
 WE have seen that two hundred of the followers of Ribault 
 had refused to submit to the arrangement, by which that unhappy 
 commander had sacrificed himself and all those who accompanied 
 him into the camp of Melendez. These two hundred had been 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 381 
 
 counselled to the more manly course which they had taken, by 
 the youthful but sagacious lieutenant, Alphonse D'Erlach. This 
 young man well understood their enemy. His counsel, if followed 
 by Ribault, would probably have resulted in conquest rather than 
 misfortune. 
 
 " We are strong," said D'Erlach to his companions " strong 
 enough to maintain ourselves in any position, which we may take 
 and hold with steadfastness. We have three hundred and fifty 
 soldiers, all with arms in their hands, and it requires only that we 
 shall use our arms and maintain our independence. Why treat 
 at all with the Spaniards ? They may assist us across this 
 strait, but why cross it at all ? To gain La Caroline ? That, 
 according to his own showing, is already in his hands. Indeed, of 
 this, you tell us, there can be no question. What then ? Of 
 what avail to seek the post which he has garrisoned, and which, 
 properly fortified, is beyond our utmost strength. It is evident 
 that, fortifying La Caroline and his new post on the banks of the 
 Salooe, he has no available force with which he dares assail us. 
 In the meantime, let us leave this position. Let us retire further 
 to the south, regain the coast upon which our vessels were wrecked, 
 rebuild them, or one at least, in which, if your desire is to return 
 to France, we can re-embark ; or, as I would counsel, retire to a 
 remoter settlement, where we may fortify ourselves, and establish 
 the colony anew, for which we first came to Florida. Why aban- 
 don the country, when we are in sufficient strength to keep it ? 
 Why forego the enterprises which offer us gold and silver in abun- 
 dance, a genial climate, a fertile soil, a boundless domain, in which 
 our fortunes and our faith may be made equally secure. As for 
 the savages of Florida, I know them and I fear them not. They 
 are terrible only to the timid and the improvident. With due 
 
382 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 precautions, a proper courage, and arms in our hands, we shall 
 mock at their wandering bands, whose attacks are inconstant, and 
 upon whom the caprice of the seasons is forever working such evil 
 as will prevent them always from bringing large numbers together, 
 or keeping them long in one organization. But, hold the savages 
 to be as terrible as you may, they are surely less to be feared, are 
 less faithless and less hostile, than these sanguinary Spaniards. Bo 
 not, at all events, deliver yourselves, bound hand and foot, in 
 petty numbers, to be butchered in detail, by this monstrous cut- 
 throat!" 
 
 His counsels prevailed with the greater number. They left the 
 camp of Ribault at midnight, and commenced their silent march 
 along the coast, making for the bleak shores which had seen their 
 vessels stranded. Here they arrived after much toil and priva- 
 tion, and, cheered by the manly courage of D'Erlach, they pro- 
 ceeded at once to build themselves a vessel which should suffice 
 for their escape from the country, or enable them to penetrate 
 without difficulty to regions not yet under the control of the 
 Spaniards. For the work before them they possessed the proper 
 facilities. The fragments of their shattered navy were within 
 then- reach. The expedition had been properly provided with 
 carpenters and laborers ; and in that day every mariner was some- 
 thing of a mechanic. They advanced rapidly with their work, but 
 at the end of three weeks the clouds gathered once more about 
 their heads. Once more the haughty banners of the Spaniard 
 were beheld, the vindictive enemy being resolved to give them no 
 respite, to allow of no refuge upon the soil, to afford them no 
 prospect of escape from the country. 
 
 Advised by the Indians that the surviving Frenchmen were at 
 work at Carnaverel, building themselves both fortresses and ves- 
 
THE FORTUNES OP RIBAULT. 383 
 
 sels, Melendez sent an express to the Governor of San Matheo, 
 late La Caroline, with orders to send him instantly one hundred 
 and fifty of his men. These arrived at St. Augustine on the 23d 
 of October, under the conduct of Don Andres Lopez Patino, and 
 of Don Jean Velez de Medrano. To these troops Melendez 
 added a like number from his own garrison, and on the 26th or 
 the month, they commenced their march to the south, on foot. 
 His provisions and munitions were sent in two shallops along the 
 shore, and each night they came to anchor opposite his camp. 
 On the first day of November, they came in sight of the French. 
 These, immediately abandoned their work, and seizing their arms 
 retired to a small sandy elevation which they had previously 
 selected as a place of refuge against attack, and which they had 
 strengthened by some slight defences. Here they prepared for 
 a desperate and deadly struggle. The force of their assailants 
 was one-third stronger than their own. They had the advantage, 
 also, of supplies and munitions, in which the Frenchmen were 
 deficient ; but a sense of desperation increased their courage, and 
 they showed no disposition to entreat or parley. But Melendez 
 had no desire to compel them to a struggle in which even 
 success would probably be fatal ultimately to himself. His main 
 strength was with him, but should he suffer greatly in the assault, 
 as it was very evident he must, the French being in a good posi- 
 tion, and showing the most determined front, his army would be 
 too greatly weakened, perhaps, even for their safe return to St. 
 Augustine, through a country filled with hostile Indians, whom, 
 as yet, he had neither conquered nor conciliated. Having 
 reconnoitred the position taken by the Frenchmen, he generously 
 made them overtures of safety. He proposed not only to spare 
 
384 THE ULY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 their lives, but promised to receive as many of them as thought 
 proper, into his own ranks as soldiers. 
 
 This offer led to a long and almost angry conference among the 
 French. Their councils were divided. Many of their leaders 
 were men wholly ignorant of the country, and disheartened by 
 the cruel vicissitudes and dangers through which they had passed. 
 Many of them were persons of wealth and family, who were 
 anxious once more to find themselves in a position which 
 demanded no farther struggle, and which might facilitate their 
 return to the haunts of civilization. Others, again, were Catho- 
 lics, whose sympathies were not active in behalf of the Huguenots 
 with whom they now found themselves in doubtful connection. 
 Others were jealous of the sudden spring to authority, which, in 
 those moments of peril when all others trembled, had been made 
 by the young adventurer, Alphonse D'Erlach. It was in vain 
 that he counselled them against giving faith to the Spaniards. 
 
 " What is your security, my friends ? His word ? His pledge 
 of mercy to you, when he showed none to your brethren ? Look 
 at the hand which he stretches out to you ; it is yet dripping 
 with the blood of your people, butchered, in cold blood, at La 
 Caroline, and the Bay of Matanzas. Trust him not, if you 
 would prosper if ye would not perish likewise. Believe none 
 of his assurances, even though he should swear upon the Holy 
 Evangel." 
 
 " But what are we to do, Monsieur D'Erlach ? We have 
 small provisions here. He hath environed us with his troops." 
 
 " We may break through his troops. We have arms in our 
 hands, and if we have but the heart to use them, like men, we 
 may not only save ourselves, but avenge our butchered 
 comrades." 
 
THE FORTUNES OF RIBAULT. 385 
 
 His entreaties and arguments were unavailing. It was suffi- 
 cient for our broken-spirited exiles that Melendez had volunteered 
 to them those guaranties of safety which he had denied to their 
 brethren. They prepared to yield. 
 
 u Go not thou with these people, my brother," said Alphonse 
 D'Erlach, to that elder brother whom we have seen, with him- 
 self, a trusted lieutenant of Laudonniere. He flung himself 
 tenderly upon the bosom of the other, as he prayed, and the 
 moisture gathered in his eyes. The elder was touched, but his 
 inclinations led him with the rest. 
 
 " He hath sworn to us, Alphonse, that life shall be spared us, 
 and that we shall be free to enter his service or return to 
 France." 
 
 " Would you place life at his mercy ?" 
 
 " It is so now !" 
 
 " No ! never ! while the hand may grasp the weapon. If we 
 would defy him as men, we should rather have his life at ours. 
 Oh ! would that we were men. Enter his service ! Dost thou 
 think of this ? Wouldst thou receive commands from the lips of 
 him who hath murdered thy old commander !" 
 
 "No ! surely, I shall never serve Melendez. I seek this only 
 as the mean whereby to return to France." 
 
 u And wherefore return to France ? What hath France in re- 
 serve for us but the shot, the torture, and the scourge". Here, 
 brother, here, with the wild Floridian, let us make our home. 
 Let us rather put on the untamed habits of the savage, his gar- 
 ments torn from bear and panther ; let us anoint our bodies with 
 oil ; let us stain our cheeks with ocre ; and taking bond with the 
 Apalachian and Floridian, let us haunt the footsteps of the 
 
 Spaniard with death and eternal hatred, till we leave not one of 
 17 
 
386 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 them living for the pollution of the soil. This is my purpose, 
 brother, though I go forth into the wilderness alone !" 
 
 " Thou shalt not go alone, Alphonse. We will live and die 
 together." 
 
 The brothers embraced. The bond was knit between them, 
 whatever might be the event ; and when, at morning, the main 
 body of the Frenchmen surrendered themselves to the Spanish 
 adelantado, the Erlachs were not among them. They, with 
 twenty others, all Huguenots, who detested equally the power 
 and feared the savage fanaticism of Melendez, had disappeared 
 silently in the night, leaving as a message for the Spanish chief, 
 that they preferred infinitely to be devoured by the savages, than 
 to receive his mercy. Melendez looked anxiously to the dark 
 forests in which they had shrouded themselves from his pur- 
 suit. He would gladly have penetrated their depths of shadow 
 and then* secret glooms, in search of victims, whom he certainly 
 never would have spared if caught ; but the object was too small 
 for the peril which it involved ; and having destroyed the fort and 
 shipping which they had been building, content with having 
 broken up the power of the French in the country, he returned 
 with his captives to St. Augustine. He kept his faith with 
 them. Many of them joined themselves to his troops, and accom- 
 panied his expeditions, and others who were Huguenots found new 
 favor with him by undergoing conversion to his faith. With this 
 chapter fairly ends the history of the Huguenot colonies of 
 Coligny in Florida ; but other histories followed which will require 
 other chapters. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 
 
 THE dawn of the morning after the separation of D'Erlachwith 
 his few companions from the great body of the French, found the 
 former emerging from a dense thicket which they had traversed 
 through the night. They were still but a few miles from 
 their late encampment. A bright and generous sun, almost 
 the first that had shone for several weeks in unclouded heavens, 
 seemed to smile upon their desperate enterprise. The cries of 
 wild fowl awaking in the forests, with occasionally the merry 
 chaunt of some native warbler, arousing to the day, spake also in 
 the language of encouragement. On the borders of a little lake, 
 they found some wild ducks feeding, which they approached with- 
 out alarming them, and the fire of a couple of arquebuses gave 
 them sufficient food for the day. A small supply of maize, pre- 
 pared after the Indian fashion, was borne by each of the party, 
 but this was carefully preserved for use in a moment of necessity. 
 Assuming the possibility of their being pursued, the youthful 
 leader urged their progress until noon, when they halted for re- 
 pose, in a dense thicket, which promised to give them shelter. 
 Here, having himself undertaken the watch, Alphonse D'Erlaoh 
 
388 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 counselled his people to seek for a renewal of their strength in 
 slumber. They followed his counsel without scruple, though not 
 without a struggle on the part of his brother, and others among 
 them, to share his watch. This he would not permit, alleging his 
 inability to sleep, but promising, when he felt thus disposed, to 
 devolve his present duty upon others. Long and sweet was the 
 slumbers which they enjoyed, and unbroken by any alarm. 
 When they awakened, the sun had sloped greatly in the western 
 heavens, and but two or three marching hours remained of the 
 day. These they employed with earnestness and vigor. The 
 night found them on the edge of a great basin, or lake, thickly 
 fenced in with great trees, and a dense and bewildering thicket. 
 As the day closed, immense flocks of wild fowl, geese, ducks, and 
 cranes, alighted within the waters of the lake, and again did the 
 arquebusiers, with a few shot, provide ample food for the ensuing 
 day. Here they built themselves a fire, around which the 
 whole party crouched, a couple only of their number being 
 posted as sentinels on the hill side, from which alone was it rea- 
 sonable to suppose that an enemy would appear. Again did they 
 sleep without disturbance, arising with the dawn, again to resume 
 their progress. But before they commenced their journey, a 
 solemn council was held as to the course which they should 
 pursue. On this subject the mind of their youthful leader had 
 already adopted a leading idea. His experience in the country, 
 as well as that of his brother, during frequent progresses, had 
 enabled them to form a very correct notion of the topography of 
 the region. Besides, several of their followers, were of the first 
 colonies of Bibault, and had accompanied Laudonniere, Ottigny, 
 and both the Erlachs on various expeditions among the Indians. 
 " We are now upon the great promontory of the Floridian," said 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 389 
 
 Alphonse, " a region full of dense thickets and impenetrable 
 swamps. These we should labor to avoid, as well as any approach 
 in the direction of the Spaniards. By pursuing a course inclining 
 to the north-west for a while, we shall be enabled to do so, and 
 this done, gradually steering for the north-east, we shall be 
 enabled to reach the great mountains of the Apalachia. This is a 
 region where, as we know, the red-men are more mild and gentle, 
 more laborious, with larger fields of grain, and more hospitably 
 given than those which inhabit the coasts. It may be that having 
 sufficiently ascended the country, it will be our policy to leave the 
 mountains on our left, following at their feet, until we shall have 
 passed the territories in the immediate possession of the Spaniard. 
 Then it will be easy to speed downwards to the eastern coasts, 
 where the people always received us with welcome and affection. 
 We may thus renew our intercouse with the tribes that skirt the 
 bay of St. Helena the tribes of Audusta, Ouade, Maccou and 
 others of which ye wot. But, whether we take this direction or 
 not, our present course should be as I have described it. When 
 we have reached the country where the land greatly rises, it will 
 be with us to choose our farther progress. There is gold, as we 
 know, in abundance in these mountains of the Apalachian ; and it 
 may be our good hap even to attain to the great city of the moun- 
 tains of which Potanou and others have spoken, and to which 
 certain travellers have given the name of the Grand Copal, of the 
 existence of which I nothing doubt. This, they report as but 
 fifteen or twenty days' march from St. Helena, north-westward. 
 It will, follow, if this description be true, that we are quite as 
 near to this place, as to St. Helena. Here is adventure and a 
 marvellous discovery open to us, my comrades and we shall, per- 
 haps, in future days, bless the cruelty of the Spaniards which hath 
 
390 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 thus driven us on the road to fortune. At least, we should have 
 reason to rejoice that we are here, when our comrades lie stark 
 and bleeding on the shores of Cannaverel. We are few, but we are 
 true ; we have health and vigor ; we have arms in our hands, and 
 are quite equal to any of the small bands of Indians that infest 
 the country. We shall seek to avoid encounters with them, but 
 shall not fear them if we meet ; and all that I have seen of the 
 red-man inclines me to the faith, that they who deal with him 
 justly will mostly find justice, nay, even reverence in return. 
 What remains, but that we steadily pursue our progress, heedful 
 where we set our feet, keeping our minds in patience, never 
 hurrying forward blindly, and never being too eager in the attain- 
 ment of our object. Our best strength will lie in our patience. 
 This will save us when our strength shall fail." 
 
 This counsel found no opposition. There was much discussion 
 of details, and the leading suggestion of his mind being adopted, 
 Erlach readily yielded much of the minutiae to others. We shall 
 not follow the daily progress of our adventurers. Enough that for 
 twenty-seven days they travelled without suffering disaster. 
 There were small ailments of the party some grew faint and 
 feeble, others became slightly lamed ; and occasionally all hearts 
 drooped ; but on such occasions the troop went into camp, chose 
 out some secure thicket, built themselves a goodly fire, and while 
 the invalids lay around it, the more vigorous hunted and brought 
 in game. Wild turkeys were in abundance. Sometimes they 
 roosted at night upon the very trees under which our Frenchmen 
 slept. On such occasions the hunters rose at dawn, and with 
 well-aimed arquebuses shot down two or more ; the very fatness 
 of the birds being such, as made them split open as they struck 
 the earth. Anon, a wandering deer crossed their path, and fell a 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 391 
 
 victim to their shot. In this way they gradually advanced into 
 the hilly country. Very seldom had they met with any of the 
 red-men, and never in any numbers. These treated them with 
 great forbearance, were civil, shared with them their slender 
 stock of provisions, and received a return in trinkets, knives, or 
 rings of copper, and little bells, a small store of which had been 
 providentally brought by persons of the party. Sometimes, these 
 Indians travelled with them, camped with them at night, and be- 
 haved themselves like good Christians. From these, too, they 
 gathered vague intelligence of the great city which lay among the 
 mountains. This was described to them, in language often heard 
 before, as containing a wealth of gold, and other treasures in the 
 shape of precious gems, which, assuming the truth of the descrip- 
 tion given by the red-men, our Frenchmen assumed to be nothing 
 less than diamonds, rubies and crystals. But they were told that 
 this country was in possession of a very powerful people, fierce 
 and warlike, who were very jealous of the appearance of strangers. 
 The city of Grand Copal was described as very populous and rich, 
 a walled town, which it would be difficult to penetrate. 
 
 These descriptions contributed greatly to warm the imaginations 
 of our Frenchmen, but as the several informants differed in regard 
 to the direction in which this great city lay, it so happened that 
 parties began to be formed in respect to the route which should 
 be pursued. Opinion was nearly equally divided among them. 
 Alphonse D'Erlach was for pursuing a more easterly course than 
 was desired by some ten or more of the party. He was influenced 
 by information previously derived from the Indians, when he went 
 into the territories of Olata Utina, and beyond. But the more 
 recent testimony was in favor of the west, and this he was dis- 
 posed to disregard. For a time, the discussion led to nothing 
 
392 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 decisive. His authority was still deferred to and the course con- 
 tinued upon which he had begun. But as the winter began to 
 press more severely upon the-company, and as their usual sup- 
 plies of game began to diminish from the moment that they left 
 the lakes, and great swampy river margin of the flat country, from 
 that moment, as if justified by suffering, the Frenchmen lessened 
 in their deference to a leader who was at once so youthful and so 
 imperative. Alphonse D'Erlach beheld these symptoms with 
 apprehension and misgiving. He well knew how frail was the 
 tenure by which he held his authority, from the moment that 
 self-esteem began to be active in the formation of opinion. He 
 felt that a power for coercion was wanting to his authority, and 
 resorted to all those politic arts by which wise men maintain a 
 sway without asserting it. He would say to them : 
 
 " My comrades, there are but twenty-two of us in a world of 
 savages. Hitherto, for more than thirty days, we have traversed 
 the wildernesses in safety. This is solely due to the fact that we 
 have suffered no differences to prevail among us. If you feel that 
 I have counselled and led you in safety, you may also admit that 
 I have led you rightly ; for safety has been our first object. We 
 are as fresh and vigorous now, as when we left the dreary plains of 
 Cannaverel. Not one has perished. We have not suffered from 
 want of food, though frequently delayed in obtaining it. Me- 
 thinks, that you have no reason to complain of me. But if there 
 be dissatisfaction with my authority, choose another leader. Him 
 will I obey with good will ; but do not suffer yourselves to dis- 
 agree, lest ye separate, and all parties perish." 
 
 This rebuke was felt and had its effect for a season ; but when, 
 after a week of farther and seemingly unprofitable wandering 
 when they had attained no special point when they rather con- 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 393 
 
 tinued to skirt the mountains, pressing to the northward, than to 
 ascend them the spirit of discontent was re-awakened. The cir- 
 cumstance which rather gratified Alphonse D'Erlach, for the 
 present, that they had met so few of the natives, none in large 
 numbers, and had succeeded mostly in avoiding their villages, was 
 the circumstance that led to dissatisfaction among his followers. 
 They were eager to have their hopes fortified by daily or nightly 
 reports from those who might be supposed to know ; they desired, 
 above all, to gather constant tidings of the great city of the moun- 
 tains to receive intimations of its proximity ; and this, they began 
 to assert, was impossible, so long as they should forbear to pene- 
 trate the mountains themselves. Against this desire their young 
 leader strove for many reasons. It is not improbable that he 
 himself doubted the existence of the marvellous city of Grand 
 Copal. At all events, he well knew that to penetrate the moun- 
 tains, during winter, which already promised to be one of intense 
 rigor, would subject his party to great suffering, and, should food 
 fail them even partially in the unfriendly solitudes, would termi- 
 nate in the destruction of the whole. By following the mountains, 
 along the east for a certain distance, he knew he should finally 
 arrive at the heads of the streams descending to the sea in the 
 neighborhood of the first settlements made by the Huguenots ; 
 that he should there find friendly and familiar nations, and per- 
 haps secure a home for his people, and found a new community in 
 the happy territories of Iracana, the Eden of the Indians, of the 
 beautiful and loving Queen, whereof, he began to have the tender- 
 est recollections. He also knew that, only by pursuing his way 
 along the mountains, aiming at this object, could he be secure 
 from the Spaniards in the possession of La Caroline, as well as 
 St. Augustine, who, he did not doubt, were already preparing for 
 
vho 
 au- 
 
 3rs. 
 
 394 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 exploration of the golden territories of which they had heard, as 
 well as the French. 
 
 But his arguments failed to influence the impatient people un- 
 der his control. Sharp words and a warm controversy, one night, 
 took place over the camp-fires, and led to a division of the party 
 in nearly equal numbers. It was in vain that Alphonse D'Erlach 
 and his brother employed all their arguments, and used every ap- 
 peal, in order to persuade his people to cling together as the only 
 means of safety. One Le Caille, a sergeant, who was greatly 
 endowed, in his own regards, as a leader among men, and who 
 had enjoyed some experience in Indian adventure under L 
 donniere, set himself in direct opposition to the two brothers. 
 " We are leaving the route, entirely, to the great city. We are 
 speeding from it rather than towards. It lies back of us already, 
 according to all the accounts given us, and as we march now, we 
 seek nothing. There is our path, pointing to the great blue sum- 
 mist in the north-west, and thither should we turn, if we seek for 
 the Grand Copal." 
 
 He found believers and followers. So warm had grown the 
 controversy, that the two parties separated that very night, and 
 camped apart, each having its own fires. The greater number, 
 no less than thirteen, went with Le Caille, leaving but nine to 
 D'Erlach, including himself and brother. The young leader 
 brooder over the disaster, for such he regarded it, in silence. He 
 found that it was in vain that he should argue, solely on the 
 strength of his own conjectures, against any course which they 
 should take, when his own course, though maintaining them in 
 health and safety, had failed to bring them to any of the ends 
 which they most desired. They were now wearied of wander- 
 ing they craved a haven where they might rest for a season ; 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 395 
 
 and were quite willing to listen to any one who could speak with 
 boldness and seeming certainty of any such place. Thus it was 
 that they followed Le Caille. 
 
 " Let us at least separate in peace and good-fellowship, mes 
 camarades," said Alphonse D'Erlach, passing over, with the dawn, 
 to that side of the thicket where the others had made their camp. 
 They embraced and parted, taking separate courses, like a stream 
 that having long journeyed through a wild empire, divides at last, 
 only to lose themselves both more rapidly in the embracing sea. 
 
 For more than two hours had they gone upon their different 
 routes, the one party moving straight for the mountains, the other 
 still pursuing the route along their bases, in the direction of the 
 east, when Alphonse D'Erlach said to his brother : 
 
 " It grieves me that these men should perish : they will perish 
 of cold and hunger, and by violence among the savages. This 
 man Le Caille will fight bravely, but he is a sorry dolt to have the 
 conduct of brave men. Besides, we shall all perish if we do not 
 keep together. Perhaps it is better that we should err in our 
 progress go wide from the proper track than that we should 
 break in twain. Let us retrace our steps let us follow them, and 
 unite with them for a season, at least, until their eyes open upon 
 the truth." 
 
 He spoke to willing listeners. His followers obeyed him through 
 habit ; they acknowledged the authority of a greater will and a 
 stronger genius ; but they had not been satisfied. They, too, hun- 
 gered secretly for the great city and the place of rest, and were 
 impatient of the wearisome progress, day by day, without any ul- 
 timate object in their eyes. Cheerfully, and with renewal of their 
 strength, did they turn at the direction of their leader, and push 
 forward to re-unite with their comrades. They had a wearisome 
 
396 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 distance of four hours to overcome, but they had hopes to regain 
 their brethren by night, as they knew that they would rest two 
 hours at noon for the noonday meal, which, it was resolved, should 
 not, on this occasion, delay their progress, and by moving with 
 greater speed than usual, it was calculated that the lost ground 
 might be recovered. 
 
 Meanwhile, the party of Le Caille had crossed a little river 
 which they had to wade. The depth was not great, reaching only 
 to their waists, but it was very cold and it chilled them through. 
 They halted accordingly on the opposite side, and built themselves 
 a fire. Here the rest taken and the delay were unusually long, 
 and contributed somewhat to the efforts made by D'Erlach's party 
 to overtake them. When, after a pause of two hours, the troop 
 of Le Caille was prepared again to move, it was considerably past 
 the time of noon. As they gathered up their traps, one of their 
 party who had gone aside from the rest, was suddenly confounded 
 to behold a red-man start up from the bushes where he had been 
 crouching, in long and curious watch over their proceedings. 
 The Frenchman, who was named Rotrou, was quite delighted at 
 the apparition, since they eagerly sought to gather from the In- 
 dians the directions for their future progress, and none had been 
 seen for many days. Rotrou called to the Indian in words of 
 good-nature and encouragement, but the latter, slapping his naked 
 sides with an air of defiance, started off towards the mountains. 
 Rotrou again shouted ; the savage turned for a moment and 
 paused, then waving his hand with a significant gesture, he re- 
 sponded with the war-whoop, and once more bounded away in 
 flight. The rash and wanton Frenchman immediately lifted his 
 arquebus e, and fired upon the fugitive. He was seen to stagger 
 and fall upon his knee r but immediately recovering himself, he set 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 397 
 
 off almost at as full speed as ever, making for a little thicket that 
 spread itself out upon the right. The party of Le Caille by this 
 time came up. They penetrated the covert where the red-man 
 had been seen to shelter himself, and for a while they tracked him 
 by his blood. But at length they came to a spot where he had 
 evidently crouched and bound up his hurts. They found a little 
 puddle of blood upon the spot, and some fragments of tow, moss, 
 and cotton cloth, some of which had been used for the purpose. 
 Here all traces of the wounded man failed them ; and they resumed 
 their route, greatly regretting that he should have escaped, but 
 greatly encouraged, as they fancied that they were approaching 
 some of the settlements of the natives. 
 
 It was probably an hour after this event when D'Erlach and 
 his party reached the same neighborhood, and found the proof of 
 the rest and repast which that of Le Caille had taken on the banks 
 of the little river. This sight urged them to new efforts, and 
 though chilled also very greatly by the passage of the stream, they 
 did not pause in their pursuit, but pressed forward without delay, 
 having the fresh tracks of their brethren before their eyes, for the 
 guidance of their footsteps. It was well they did so. In little 
 more than an hour after this, while still urging the forced march 
 which they had begun, they were suddenly arrested by a wild 
 and fearful cry in the forests beyond, the character of which they 
 but too well knew, from frequent and fierce experience. It was 
 the yell of the savage, the terrible war-whoop of the Apalachian, 
 that sounded suddenly from the ambush, as the rattle of the snake 
 is heard from the copse in which he makes his retreat. Then 
 followed the discharge of several arquebuses, four or five in num- 
 ber, all at once, and soon after one or two dropping shots. 
 
 " Onward !" cried Alphonse D'Erlach ; " we have not a mo- 
 
398 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 ment to lose. Our comrades are in danger ! On ! Fools ! they 
 have delivered nearly or quite all their pieces ; and if the savage 
 be not fled in terror, they are at the mercy of his arrows. On- 
 ward, my brave Gascons ! Let us save our brethren." 
 
 The young captain led the advance, but though pushing for- 
 ward with all industry, he did not forego the proper precautions. 
 His men were already taught to scatter themselves, Indian fashion, 
 through the forests, and at little intervals to pursue a parallel 
 course to each other, so as to lessen the chances of surprise, and 
 to offer as small a mark as possible to the shafts of the enemy. 
 The shouts and clamor increased. They could distinguish the 
 cries of the savages from those of the Frenchmen. Of the latter, 
 theyfancied they could tell particular voices of individuals. They 
 could hear the flight of arrows, and sometimes the dull, heavy 
 sounds of blows as from a macana or a clubbed arquebuse ; and 
 a few moments sufficed to show them the savages darting from 
 tree to tree, and here and there a Frenchman apparently bewil- 
 dered with the number and agile movements of his foes, but still 
 resolute to seek his victim. At this moment Alphonse D'Erlach 
 stumbled upon a wounded man. He looked down. It was the 
 Sergeant, Le Caille himself. He was stuck full of arrows ; more 
 than a dozen having penetrated his body, and one was yet quiver- 
 ing in his cheek just below his eye. Still he lived, but his eyes 
 were glazing. They took in the form of D'Erlach. The lips 
 parted. 
 
 " Le Grand Copal, Monsieur eh !" was all he said, when the 
 death-rattle followed. He gasped, turned over with a single con- 
 vulsion, and his concern ceased wholly for that golden city, in the 
 search for which he had forgotten every other. D'Erlach gave 
 but a moment's heed to the dying man, then pushed forward for 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 399 
 
 the rescue of those who might be living. They were surrounded 
 by more than fifty savages, and among these were scattered groups 
 of women and even children. In fact, Le Caille, in his pursuit of 
 the Indian wounded by Rotrou, had happened upon a village of 
 the Apalachians. 
 
 It was fortunate for D'Erlach that the savages were quite too 
 busy with the first, to be conscious of the second party. They 
 had been brought on quietly, and, scattered as they had been in 
 the approach, they were enabled to deliver their fire from an ex- 
 tensive range of front. It appalled the Indians, even as a thunder 
 burst from heaven. They had gathered around the few French- 
 men surviving of Le Caille's party, and were prepared to finish 
 their work with hand-javelins and stone hatchets. The French- 
 men were not suffered to reload their pieces, and were reduced to 
 the necessity of using them as clubs. They were about to be 
 overwhelmed when the timely fire of the nine pieces of D'Erlach 's 
 party, the shout and the rush which followed it, struck death and 
 consternation into the souls of their assailants, and drove them 
 from their prey. With howls of fright and fury the red-men fled 
 to deeper thickets, till they should ascertain the nature and number 
 of their new enemies, and provide themselves with fresh weapons. 
 But D'Erlach was not disposed to afford them respite. His pieces 
 were reloaded ; those of the Frenchmen of Le Caille all indeed 
 who were able joined themselves to his party, and the Indians 
 were pressed through the thicket and upon their village. To this 
 they fled as to a place of refuge. Our Frenchmen stormed it, 
 fired it over the heads of the inmates, and terrible was the slaugh- 
 ter which followed. The object of D'Erlach was obtained. He 
 had struck such a panic into the souls of the savages, that he was 
 permitted to draw off his people without molestation ; but the in- 
 
400 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 spection of the fatal field into which the rashness of Le Cattle had 
 led his party, left D'Erlach with few objects of consolation. Seven 
 of them were slain outright, or mortally wounded ; three others 
 were slightly wounded, and but three remained unhurt. The 
 survivors were brought off in safety, greatly rejoicing in a rescue 
 so totally undeserved. The party that night encamped in a close 
 wood, in a spot so chosen as to be easily guarded. Two of the 
 persons mortally wounded in the conflict died that night ; the 
 third, next day at noon. They were not abandoned till their 
 cares and sufferings were at an end, and their comrades buried 
 them, piling huge stones about their corses. Repose was greatly 
 wanting to the party ; but they were conscious that the Indians 
 were about them. D'Erlach knew too well the customs of the 
 Apalachian race to doubt that the runners had already sped, east 
 and west, bearing le baton rouge the painted club of red, which 
 summons the tribe to which it is carried to send its young vultures 
 to the gathering about the prey. 
 
 He sped away accordingly, re-crossing the little river where 
 the party of Le Cattle had encountered the Indian spy, and press- 
 ing forward upon the route which he had been before pursuing. 
 Day and 'night he travelled with little intermission, in the en- 
 deavor to put as great a space as possible between his band and 
 their enemies. But the toil had become too severe for his people. 
 They began to falter, and were finally compelled to halt for a rest 
 of two or more days, in a snug and pleasant valley, such as they 
 could easily defend. Here they suffered several disasters. One 
 of his men, drying some gunpowder before the fire, it exploded, 
 and he was so dreadfully burnt that he survived but a day, and 
 expired in great agony. Another, who went out after game, never 
 returned. He probably fell a victim to his own imprudence, or 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 401 
 
 sunk under the arrows of some prowling savage. The camp was 
 broken up in haste and apprehension, and the march resumed. 
 Their force was now reduced to thirteen men, and these were des- 
 tined to still further reduction. The cold had become excessive. 
 The feet of the Frenchmen grew sore from constant exercise ; and 
 at length, despairing of the long progress still before them before 
 they could reach the sea, Alphonse D'Erlach yielded to the grow- 
 ing desire of his people to ascend the mountains and seek a 
 nearer spot of refuge, or at least of temporary repose. He began 
 to give ear more earnestly to the story of the great city of the 
 mountains ; or, he seemed to do so. At all events, such was 
 the suggestion we can shelter ourselves for the winter in some 
 close valley of the hills ; here we can build log dwellings, and 
 supply ourselves with game as hunters.' The Frenchmen had ac- 
 quired sufficient experience of Indian habits to resort to their 
 modes of meeting the exigencies of the season. . They knew what 
 were the roots which might be bruised, macerated, and made into 
 bread ; and they had been fed on acorns more than once by the 
 Floridian savages. They began the painful ascent, accordingly, 
 which carried them up the heights of Apalachia, that mighty chain 
 of towers which divide the continent from north to south. They 
 had probably reached the region which now forms the upper 
 country of Georgia and South Carolina. 
 
 It was in the toilsome ascent of these precipitous heights that 
 they encountered one of those dangers which D'Erlach had striven 
 so earnestly to elude. This was a meeting with the Indians, in 
 any force. A body of more than forty of them were met descend- 
 ing one of the gorges up which the Frenchmen were painfully 
 making their way. The meeting was the signal for the strife. 
 The war-whoop was given almost in the moment when the parties 
 
402 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 discovered each other. The Indians had the superiority as well 
 in position as in numbers; being on an elevation considerably 
 above that of the Frenchmen. They were a large, fine-limbed 
 race of savages, clad in skins, and armed with bows and stone- 
 hatchets. They had probably never beheld the white man before, 
 and knew nothing of his fearful weapons. They were astounded 
 by the explosion of the arquebuse, and when their chief tumbled 
 from the cliff on which he stood, stricken by an invisible bolt, they 
 fled in terror, leaving the field to the Frenchmen. But r three of 
 the latter were slain in the conflict, and three others wounded. 
 The path was free for their progress, but they went forward with 
 diminished numbers, and sinking hearts. The survivors were now 
 but ten, and these were hurt and suffering from sore, if not fatal, 
 injuries. The cold increased. The savages seemed to have 
 housed themselves from the fury of the winds, that rushed 
 and howled along the bleak terraces to which the Frenchmen had 
 arisen. They buried themselves in a valley that offered them 
 partial protection, built their fires, raised a miserable hovel of poles 
 and bushes for their covering, and sent out their hunters. Two 
 parties, one of two, the other of three men, went forth in pursuit 
 of a bear whose tracks they had detected ; leaving five to keep the 
 camp, three of whom were wounded men. Of these two parties, 
 one returned at night, bringing home a turkey. They had failed 
 to discover the hiding-place of the bear. The other did not re- 
 appear all night. Trumpets were sounded and guns fired from 
 the camp to guide their footsteps, but without success ; and with 
 the dawn Alphonse D'Erlach set forth with his brother and ano- 
 ther, one Philip le Borne, to seek the fugitives. Their tracks 
 were found and followed for a weary distance ; lost and again 
 found. Pursued over ridge and valley, in a zigzag and ill-directed 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 403 
 
 progress, showing that the lost party had been distracted by their 
 apprehensions. This pursuit led the hunters greatly from the 
 camp ; but D'Erlaeh had made his observations carefully at every 
 step, and knew well that he could regain the spot. He had pro- 
 vided himself well with such food as they possessed, and his little 
 party was well armed. He refused to discontinue the search, 
 particularly as they still recovered the tracks of the missing men. 
 For two days they searched without ceasing, camping by night, 
 and crouching in the shelter of some friendly rock that kept off 
 the wind, and building themselves fires which guarded their slum- 
 bers from the assaults of wolf and panther; the howls of the one, 
 and the screams of the other, sounding ever and anon within their 
 ears, from the bald rocks which overhung the camp. On the 
 morning of the third day the fugitives were found, close together, 
 and stiffened in death. They had evidently perished from the 
 cold. 
 
 Very sadly did the D'Erlachs return with their one companion 
 to the camp where they had left their comrades. But their gloom 
 and grief were not to suffer diminution. What was their horror to 
 find the spot wholly deserted. The ashes were cold where they 
 had made their fires : the probability was that the place had been 
 fully a day and night abandoned. No traces of the Frenchmen 
 were left not a clue afforded to their brethren of what had taken 
 place. Alphonse D'Erlach, however, discovered the track of an 
 Indian moccasin in the ashes, but he carefully obliterated it before 
 it was beheld by his companions. It was apparent to him that his 
 people had suffered themselves to be surprised ; but whether they 
 had been butchered or led into captivity was beyond his conjec- 
 ture. His hope that they still lived was based upon the absence 
 of all proofs of struggle or of sacrifice. 
 
404 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 To linger in that spot was impossible ; but whithei should they 
 direct their steps 
 
 " We are but three, now, my comrades," said the younger 
 D'Erlach, " we must on no account separate. We must sleep 
 and hunt together, and suffer no persuasions to part us. Let us 
 descend from this inhospitable mountain, and, crossing the stretch 
 of valley which spreads below, attempt the heights opposite. We 
 may there find more certain food, and better protection from these 
 bleak winds." 
 
 " Better that we had perished with our comrades, under the 
 knife of Melendez," was the gloomy speech of the elder D'Er- 
 lach. 
 
 " It is always soon enough to die," replied the younger. " For 
 shame, my brother ! it is but death, at the worst, which awaits 
 us. Let us on ! " 
 
 And he led the way down the rugged heights, the others fol- 
 lowing passively and in moody silence. 
 
 They crossed the valley, through which a river went foaming 
 and flashing over huge rocks and boulders, great fractured masses 
 from the overhanging cliffs, that seemed the ruins of an ancient 
 world. The stream was shallow though wild ; and crossing from 
 rock to rock they made their way over without much trouble or 
 any accident. The ascent of the steep heights beyond was not 
 so easy. Three days were consumed in making a circuit, and 
 finding a tolerable way for clambering up the mountain. Cold 
 and weary, hungry and sick at heart, the elder D'Erlach and 
 Philip le Borne, were ready to lie down and yield the struggle. 
 Despair had set its paralyzing grasp upon their hearts ; but the 
 considerate care, the cheerful courage, the invigorating suggestion, 
 of the younger D'Erlach, still sufficed to strengthen them for re- 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 405 
 
 newed effort, when they were about to yield to fate. He adopted 
 the legend of the great city. These rocks were a fitting portal to 
 such a world of empire and treasure. He dwelt with emotion upon 
 its supposed wonders, and found reasons of great significance for 
 assuming it to be near at hand. And they toiled after him up the 
 terrible heights, momently expecting to hear him cry aloud from 
 the summit for which they toiled " Eureka ! Here is the Grand 
 Copal !" In this progress the younger D'Erlach was always the 
 leader ; Philip le Borne struggled after him, though at a long dis- 
 tance, and, more feeble than either, the elder D'Erlach brought up 
 the rear. Alphonse had nearly reached the bald height to which 
 he was climbing, when a fearful cry assailed him from behind. He 
 looked about instantly, only in time to see the form of le Borne 
 disappear from the cliff, plunging headlong into the chasm a thou- 
 sand feet below. The victim was too terrified to cry. Life was 
 probably extinguished long before his limbs were crushed out of 
 all humanity amongst the jagged masses of the fractured rocks 
 which received them. The cry was from the elder D'Erlach. He 
 saw the dreadful spectacle at full ; beheld his companion shoot 
 suddenly down beside him, with outstretched arms, as if imploring 
 the succor for which he had no voice to cry. He saw, and, over- 
 come with horror, sank down in a convulsion upon the narrow 
 ledge which barely sufficed to sustain his person. Alphonse 
 D'Erlach darted down to his succor, and clung to him till he had 
 revived. 
 
 " Where is Philip ?" demanded the elder brother. 
 
 " We are all that remain, my brother," was the reply. 
 
 The other covered his eyes with his hands, as if to shut out 
 thought ; and it was some time before he could be persuaded to 
 re-attempt the ascent. Alphonse clung to his side as he did so j 
 
406 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 never suffered him to be beyond reach of his arm, and, after 
 several hours of the greatest toil, succeeded in placing him safely 
 upon the broad summit of the mountain. And what a prospect 
 had they obtained what a world of wonder, of beauty and sub- 
 limity fertile realms of forest ; boundless valleys of verdure ; 
 illimitable seas of mountain range, their billowy tops rolling onward 
 and onward, till the eye lost them in the misty vapors of the sea 
 of sky beyond. 
 
 But the eyes of our adventurers were not sensible to the sub- 
 limity and beauty o^ the scene. They beheld nothing but its 
 wildness, its stillness, its coldness, its loneliness, its dread and 
 dreary solitude. 
 
 " We are but two, my brother, two of all," said the elder D'Er- 
 lach. " Let us die together, my brother." 
 
 " If fate so pleases," was the reply " well ! But let us hope 
 that we may live together yet." 
 
 " I am done with hope. I am too weary for hope. My heart 
 is frozen. I see nothing but death, and in death I see something 
 very sweet in the slumber which it promises. Why should we 
 live ? It is but a prolongation of the struggle. Let us die. Oh ! 
 Alphonse, your life is not less precious to me than mine own. I 
 would freely give mine, at any moment, to render yours more safe ; 
 yet, if you agree, my hand shall strike the dagger into your heart, 
 if yours will do for mine the same friendly office." 
 
 "No more, my brother ! Let us not speak or think after this 
 fashion. Our frail and feeble bodies are forever grudgeful of the 
 authority which our souls exercise upon them. If they are weary, 
 they would escape from weariness, at sacrifices of which they 
 know not the extent ; would they sleep, they are not unwilling 
 that the sleep should be death, so that they may have respite from 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 407 
 
 toil. My brother, I will not suffer my body so to sway my soul if 
 I can help it. I will still live, and still toil, and still struggle 
 onward, and when I perish it shall be with my foot advanced, my 
 hand raised, and my eye guiding, in the progress onward forever 
 onward. It will be time enough to think of death when death 
 grapples us and there is no help. But, till that moment, I mock 
 and defy the tempter, who would persuade me to rest before my 
 limbs are weary and my strength is gone." 
 
 " But, Alphonse, my limbs are weary, and my strength is 
 gone." 
 
 " Let your heart be strong ; keep your soul from weariness, and 
 your limbs will receive strength. Sleep, brother, under the shel- 
 ter of this great rock, while I kindle fire at your feet, and pre- 
 pare something for you to eat." 
 
 And while the elder brother slept, the other watched and 
 warmed him, and some shreds of meat dried in the sun, and a 
 slender supply of meal corns, parched by the fire, with a vessel 
 of water, was prepared and ready for him at awakening. 
 
 But he awakened in no better hope than when he had laid 
 down. He ate and was not strengthened. The hope had gone 
 out from his heart, the fire from his eye, his soul lacked the 
 cheerful vigor necessary to exertion, and his physical strength 
 was nearly exhausted. 
 
 "Would that I had not awakened!" was his mournful ex- 
 clamation, as his eyes opened once more to the dreary prospect 
 from the bald eminence of that desolate mountain-tower. " Would 
 that I might close mine eyes and sleep, my brother, sleep ever, 
 or awake to consciousness only in a better world." 
 
 " This world is ours, my brother," responded the younger, im- 
 petuously ; and, if we are men, if we had no misgivings if we 
 
408 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 could feel only as we might that the weariness of this day would 
 find a wing to-morrow j we should conquer it, and bo worthy of 
 better worlds hereafter. But he who gives himself up to weari- 
 ness, will neither find nor deserve a wing. Thou hast eaten thou 
 hast drunken, thou shouldst be refreshed. I have neither eaten 
 nor drunken, since we set off at dawn this morning for our progress 
 across the valley." 
 
 " Keproach me nol, Alphonse," replied the other ; " thou hast 
 a strength and a courage both denied to me." 
 
 " Believe it not ; be resolute in thy courage, and thy strength 
 will follow. It is the heart, verily, that is the first to fail." 
 
 " Mine is dead within me !" 
 
 " Yet another effort, mon frere, yet one more effort ! The 
 valley below us looks soft and inviting. There shall we find 
 shelter from the bleak winds that sweep these bald summits." 
 
 "It is cold ! and my limbs stiffen beneath me," answered the 
 other, as he rose slowly to resume a march which was more pain- 
 ful to his thoughts than any which he had of death. But for his 
 deference to the superior will of the younger brother, he had 
 surely never risen from the spot. But he rose, and wearily fol- 
 lowed after the bold Alphonse, who was already picking his way 
 down the steep sides of the mountain. 
 
 We need not follow the brothers through" the painful details of 
 a progress which had few varieties to break its monotony, and 
 nothing to relieve its gloom. Two days have made a wonderful 
 difference in the appearance of both. Wild, stern and wretched" 
 enough before in aspect, there was now a grim, gaunt, wolf-like 
 expression in the features of Alphonse D'Erlach, which showed 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 409 
 
 that privation and labor were working fearfully upon the mind as 
 well as the body. He was emaciated his eyes sunken and glossy, 
 staring intensely yet without expression his hair matted upon 
 his brows, and his movements rather convulsive than energetic. 
 His soul was as strong as ever his will as inflexible ; but the 
 tension of the mind had been too great, and nature was beginning 
 to fail in the support of this rigor. He now strove but little in 
 the work of soothing and cheering his less courageous brother. 
 He had no longer a voice of encouragement, and he evidently be- 
 gan to think that the death for which the other had so much 
 yearned would perhaps be no unwelcome visitor. Still, as if the 
 maxims which we have heard him utter were a portion of his real 
 nature, his cry was forever " On," and still his hand was out- 
 stretched towards blue summits that seemed to hide another world 
 in the gulfs beyond them. 
 
 " I can go no farther, Alphonse. I will go no farther. The 
 struggle is worse than any death. I feel that I must sleep. I 
 feel that sleep would be sweeter than anything you can promise." 
 
 " If you sleep, you die." 
 
 " I shall rejoice !" 
 
 " You must not, brother. I will help you. .1 will carry you." 
 
 He made the effort as he spoke for a moment raised up the 
 failing form of his brother- staggered forward, and sank himself 
 beneath the burden. 
 
 " Ha ! ha !" he laughed hoarsely ; " that we should fail with 
 the Golden Copal in sight ! But if we rest, we shall recover. Let 
 us rest. Let us kindle here a fire, my brother, for my limbs feel 
 cold also." 
 
 " It is death, Alphonse." 
 
 " Death ! Pshaw ! We cannot fail now ; now that we are 
 18 
 
410 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 nearly at the summit. I tell you, brother, we are almost at the 
 portals of that wondrous city. Once I doubted there were such 
 city, but I have seen glimpses of towers, and methought but now 
 I beheld the window in a turret from which a fair woman was 
 looking forth. See now ! Look you to the right there where 
 you see the mountain sink as it were, then suddenly rise again, the 
 slopes leading gently up to a tower and a wall. The evening 
 sunlight rests upon it. You see it is of a dusky white, and the 
 window shows clearly through the stone, and some one moves 
 within it. Dost thou see, my brother ?" 
 
 " I see nothing but the sky and ocean. It is the waters that 
 roll about us." 
 
 " It is the winds that you hear, as they sweep down from yonder 
 mountains. But where I point your eyes is certainly a tower, a 
 great castle no doubt one that commands the ascent to the 
 mountains." 
 
 " Brother, this is so sweet !" 
 
 " What ?" 
 
 " Ah ! what a blessed fortune ! Escaped from the bloody 
 Spaniard, afar from the inhospitable land of the Floridian, to see 
 once more these sweet waters and the well-known places." 
 
 " What waters ? What places ?" 
 
 " Do you know them not our own Seine and the cottage, Al- 
 
 phonse ? Ha ! ha ! there they are ! I knew they would come 
 
 . forth. Old Ulrich leads them ; and Bertha is there, and brings 
 
 little Etienne by the hand. And, ah ' ha ! ha ! Joy, mother, 
 
 we are come again !" 
 
 " He dreams ! he dreams ! If thus he dies, with such a dream, 
 there can be no pain in it. Let him dream ! let him dream !" 
 
 And Alphonse D'Erlach hastened to kindle the flames, and he 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 411 
 
 tore from his own body the garment to warm his dying brother ; 
 and he clasped his hands convulsively as he listened to the faint 
 and broken words that fell from his lips, subsiding at last into, 
 
 " Mother, we are come !" 
 
 And then he lay speechless. The younger brother turned 
 away, and looked yearningly to the mountains. 
 
 " If I can only reach yon castle, he should be saved. It is not 
 so far ! but this valley to cross but that low range of rocks to 
 overcome. It shall be done. I will but cover him warmly with 
 leaves and throw fresh brands upon the fire, and before night I 
 shall return with help." 
 
 And he did as he said. He threw fresh brands upon the fire ; 
 he wrapped the senseless form of his brother in leaves and moss ; 
 and, stooping down, grasped his hand and printed a long, last kiss 
 upon his lips. The eyes of the dying man opened, but they were 
 fixed and glassy. But Alphonse saw not the look. His own 
 eyes were upon the castellated mountain. He sped away, feebly 
 but eagerly, and as he descended into the valley, he looked back 
 ever and anon ; and as he looked, his voice, almost in whispers, 
 would repeat the words " Keep in heart, brother. I will bring 
 you help ;" and thus he sped from the scene. 
 
 The day waned rapidly, but still the young Alphonse sped upon 
 his mission. He crossed the plain ; he urged his progress up the 
 ridgy masses that formed the foreground to the great cliffs from 
 which the castled towers still appeared to loom forth upon his 
 sight. He cast a momentary glance upon the sun, wan, sinking 
 with a misty halo among the tops of the great sea-like mountains 
 
412 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 that rolled their blue and billowy summits in the east, circum- 
 scribing his vision, and he murmured 
 
 " I shall be in time. Do not despair, my brother. I will soon 
 be with you and bring you succor." 
 
 And thus he ascended the stony ridges, height upon height gra- 
 dually ascending, till he came to a sudden gorge a chasm rent by 
 earthquake and convulsion from the bosom of the great mountain 
 for which he sped. He looked down upon the gorge, and as he 
 descended, he turned his eye to the lone plateau upon which his 
 brother had been laid to dream, and cried : 
 
 " I go from your eyes, my brother, but I go to bring you help." 
 
 And he passed with tottering steps, and a feebleness still in- 
 creasing, but which his sovereign will was loth to acknowledge, 
 down into the chasm, and was suddenly lost from sight. 
 
 Scarcely had he thus passed into the great shadow of the gorge, 
 when the howl of wolves awakened the echoes of the valley over 
 which he had gone. And soon they appeared, five in number, 
 trotting over the ground which he had traversed, and, with their 
 noses momently set to earth, sending up an occasional cry which 
 announced the satisfaction of their scent. Now they ascend the 
 stony ridges. For a moment they halt and gather upon the verge 
 of the great chasm ; then they scramble down into its hollows, and 
 howling as they go and jostling in the narrow gorges, they too 
 pass from sight into the obscurity of the mountain shadows. 
 
 Another spectacle follows in their place. Sudden, along the 
 rocky ledges of the high precipices which overhang the gorge, 
 
ALPHONSE D'ERLACH. 413 
 
 darts forth a graceful and commanding form. It is a woman that 
 appears, young and majestic, lofty in carriage, yet winning in as- 
 pect. She belongs to the red races of the Apalachian, but she is 
 fairest among her people. The skin of a panther forms her 
 mantle, and her garments are of cotton, richly stained. She car- 
 ries a bow in her hand, and a quiver at her back. Her brows are 
 encircled by a tiara of crimson cotton, from which arise the long 
 white plumes of the heron. She claps her hands, and cries aloud 
 to others still in the shadows of the mountain. They dart out to 
 join her, a group of graceful-looking women and of lofty and vi- 
 gorous men. She points to the gorge beyond, and fits an arrow 
 to her bow. The warriors do likewise, and her shaft speeds upon 
 its mission of death, shot down amidst the shadows of the gorge. 
 A cry of pain from the w%lf, another and another, as the several 
 shafts of the warriors speed in the same direction. Then one of 
 the warriors hurls a blazing torch into the abyss, and the wounded 
 wolves speed back through the gorges, and the hunters dart after 
 them with shafts, and blazing torches, and keen pursuit. Mean- 
 while, the Apalachian princess descends the precipice with foot- 
 steps wondrous sure and fast. Her damsels follow her with cries 
 of eagerness, and soon they disappear all save the hunters, who 
 pursue the wolves with well-aimed darts, till they fall howling one 
 by one, and perish in their tracks. Then the warriors scalp their 
 prey and turn back, pass through the gorge, and follow in the 
 footsteps of their princess. The sun sinks, the night closes upon 
 the valley, and all is silent. 
 
txxv. 
 
 N/VN/WX/X/WX/NS* 
 
 DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 
 
 1. EARLY HISTORY OP GOURGUES. 
 
 THE tidings of the fearful massacre of the Huguenots in 
 Florida, as well in Spanish, as in French accounts, at length 
 reached France. Deep was the feeling of horror and indignation 
 which they everywhere excited among the people. Catholics, not 
 less than Protestants, felt how terrible was the cruelty thus in- 
 flicted upon humanity, how insolent the scorn thus put upon the 
 flag of the country. Wild and bitter was the cry of anguish sent 
 up by the thousand bereaved widows and orphans of the murdered 
 men. But this cry, this feeling, this sense of suffering and shame, 
 awakened no sympathies in the court of France. The king, 
 Charles IX., heard the " supplication" of the wives and children 
 of the sufferers, without according any answer to their prayer. 
 The blood of nearly nine hundred victims cried equally to earth 
 and heaven for vengeance, and cried in vain to the earthly sove- 
 reign. He had no ear for the sorrows and the wrongs of heresy ; 
 and the plaint of humanity was stifled in the supposed interests of 
 religion. Charles was most regally indifferent to a crime which 
 relieved him of so many troublesome subjects ; and was at that 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 415 
 
 very time, meditating the most summary processes for still farther 
 diminishing their numbers. He was yet to provide an appropri- 
 ate finish to such a history of massacre in the bloody tragedy of 
 St. Bartholomew. The wrong done to the honor of his flag and 
 nation, by a rival power, was not felt. We have already hinted 
 the strong conjecture, urged by historians, that the Spanish expe- 
 dition, under Melendez,was planned with the full privity and con- 
 currence of the king of France. His conduct, at this period, 
 would seem fully to justify the suspicion. His existing relations 
 with his brother of Spain were not of a sort to be periled now 
 by the exhibition of his sympathies with a cause, and on behalf of 
 a sect, which both monarchs had reason to hate and fear', and were 
 preparing to extirpate. 
 
 But, if the Court of France demanded no redress for the 
 massacre of its people, and that of Spain offered none, either re- 
 dress or apology, there was yet a deep and intense passion dwell- 
 ing in the heart of the one nation, and yearning for revenge upon 
 that of the other. There was still a chivalrous feeling in France 
 which showed itself superior to the exactions of sect or party, and 
 which brooded with terrible intensity over the bloody fortunes of 
 the French in Florida. This moody meditation at length found 
 its fitting exponent. The sentiment that stirs earnestly in the 
 popular heart will always, sooner or later, obtain a fitting voice ; 
 and where it burns justifiably for vengeance, it will not long be 
 wanting in a weapon. The avenger arose in due season to satisfy 
 the demands of justice ! 
 
 The Chevalier, Dominique de Gourgues, was a Gascon gentle- 
 man, born at Mont de Marsan, in the County of Cominges. His 
 
416 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 family was one of considerable distinction. It had always been 
 devotedly attached to the Catholic religion, nor had he ever for a 
 moment faltered in the same faith. His career had been a re- 
 markable one, signalized by great valor, and the most extreme 
 vicissitudes of fortune. He had served in the armies of France 
 during the long and capricious struggles in Italy, which had been 
 the chief arena for conflict in the reigns of Charles the Eighth, of 
 Louis XII., of Francis the First, and down to the present period. 
 Here he had associated, under the command of Brissac and others, 
 with that valiant brother Gascon, Blaize de Montluc, who, in his 
 commentaries, would probably have told us much about the 
 prowess of Gourgues, if he had not been so greatly occupied with 
 the narrative of his own.* But the forbearance of Montluc has 
 not deprived us of all the testimony which belongs to the fame 
 
 # The Chevalier de Gourgues is only twice mentioned, but both times 
 with favor, in the chronicles of Montluc. The instances occur in Italy, 
 in 1556 ; one of which describes the capture of Gourgues, the other his 
 rescue from captivity. " La il fut prius douze ou quatorze chevaux legers de 
 ma compagnie, dont le Capitaine Gourgues, qui estoit a la suite deStrassi, estoit 
 du nombre," fyc. Montluc was not the Gascon to leave his people in cap- 
 tivity. He prepares to scale the fort in which they are confined, and, 
 his attempt begun, Gourgues was Gascon enough to help himself. The 
 Spaniards had a guard of eighteen or twenty men over their prisoners, 
 who were sixty or eighty in number, the latter being tied in pairs, to 
 make them more secure. As soon as the prisoners heard the cry of 
 ** France, France /" from their friends without, they began the struggle 
 within " Us commencerent a se secouer les uns et les autres, et mesmes le Capi- 
 taine Gourgues, qui se deslia le premier," etc. The prisoners, led by Gourgues, 
 assail their guards with naked arms, wrest from them their weapons, and 
 where these are wanting, employ paving stones, actually killing the great- 
 er number, and taking the rest captive. Such was the success of the 
 surprise, and the spirit which they displayed. 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 417 
 
 of the chevalier. Of all the subaltern officers of his time, no one 
 achieved a more brilliant reputation. Among the Gascons, con- 
 fessedly distinguished above all others by their reckless daring, 
 and headlong eagerness after glory in battle, the courage of 
 Grourgues was such as raised him to the rank of a hero of romance. 
 His youthful eyes had opened upon the latest fields of that race of 
 heroes of whom Bayard was the superior and perhaps the last. He 
 was one of the Sampsons of that wondrous band, whose wars, ac- 
 cording to Trivulcio one not the least remarkable among them, 
 were those of the giants; the Swiss, in the fullest vigor of their 
 martial fame, and at the height of their insolence ; the Spaniards, 
 with Hernan de Cordova, the great captain, at their head, and 
 crowning the career of Charles Y. with a power and a lustre 
 which his own merits did not deserve ; the Italians, under the 
 sway of, and deriving their spirit from, the fierce martial pontiff, 
 Julius II., and the French, boasting of a cavalry, headed by 
 Bayard, La Palisse and others, worthy of such associates, and such 
 as the armies of Europe had never beheld before. Montluc, who 
 had been trained in part in the same house with Bayard, and 
 Boiteres, who, as a page of the knight sans peur et sans reproche, 
 makes a famous figure in the chronicles of le loyal serviteur, being 
 among the leaders whom the Chevalier de G-ourgues followed into 
 battle. He partook of their spirit, and proved himself worthy to 
 sustain the declining honors of chivalry. But his fortunes were 
 as adverse as his merits were distinguished. With thirty men, 
 near Sienna, in Tuscany, he sustained, for a long time, the shock 
 of a large division of the Spanish army. He saw, at length, every 
 man of his command fall around him, and, was made a prisoner. 
 The captive of the Spaniard, in that day, when the emperor of 
 the country and his favorite generals showed themselves utterly 
 18* 
 
418 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 and equally insensible to good faith and generosity, was to be a 
 slave. They conducted war with little regard to the rules that 
 prevailed among civilized nations. The valor that G-orgues dis- 
 played, instead of commending him to their admiration and favor, 
 only provoked their fury ; and fhey punished, with shameful bonds, 
 those brave actions which the noble heart prefers to applause and 
 honor. Gourgues was transferred in chains to the gallies. In this 
 degrading condition, chained to the oar, he was captured by the 
 Turks off the coast of Sicily ; the Turks then being in alliance, to 
 the shame of Christendom, with the French monarch, and against 
 the Spaniards. He was conducted by his new captors to Rhodes 
 and thence to Constantinople. Sent once more to sea, under his 
 new master, he was retaken by a Maltese galley, and thus re- 
 covered his liberty. But his latter adventures had given him a 
 taste for the sea. His progresses brought him to the coast of 
 Africa, to Brazil, and, according to Lescarbot, though the point is 
 doubted, to the Pacific Ocean. The details of this career are not 
 given to us, but the results seem to have been equally creditable 
 to the fame, and of benefit to the fortunes of our chevalier. He 
 returned to Mont de Marsan, with the reputation of being one of 
 the most able and hardy of all the navigators of his tune. He 
 had scarcely established himself fairly hi his ancient home, where 
 he had invested all the fruits of his toils and enterprise, when the 
 tidings came of the capture of La Caroline, and the massacre of 
 the French in Florida by Melendez. He felt for the honor of 
 France, for the grief of the widows and orphans thus cruelly 
 bereaved, and was keenly reminded of that brutal nature of the 
 Spaniard, under which he had himself suffered so long, and in a 
 condition so humiliating to a noble spirit. He had his own wrongs 
 and those of his country to avenge. He brooded over the neces- 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 419 
 
 sity before him, with a passion that acquired new strength 
 from contemplation, and finally resolved never to give himself rest 
 till he had exacted full atonement, in the blood of the usurpers in 
 Florida, for the crime of which they had been guilty to his people 
 and himself. 
 
 II. 
 
 BLAIZE DE MONTLUC. 
 
 THIS sublime purpose sublime by reason of the intense indi- 
 viduality which it betrayed the proud, strong and defiant will, 
 which took no counsel from the natural fears of the subject, and 
 was totally unrebuked by the placid indifference of the sovereign to 
 his own duties-was not, however, to be indulged openly; but was 
 compelled, by force of circumstances j the better to effect its 
 object to subdue itself to the eye, to cloak its real purposes, to 
 suffer not the nearest or best friend to conceive the intense design 
 which was working in the soul of the hero. We have seen that 
 the Marechal, Blaize de Montluc, a very celebrated warrior, a 
 very brave fellow, an accomplished leader and a good man, 
 though a monstrous braggart the very embodiment of Gascon 
 self-esteem, had long been a personal friend of the Chevalier de 
 Gourgues. Montluc was the king's lieutenant in Guyenne, and 
 to him De Gourgues proceeded to obtain his commission for sailing 
 upon the high seas. Montluc, like himself, was a Catholic ; but, 
 unlike de Gourgues, was a bitter hater of the Huguenots. Our 
 chevalier had been too long a prisoner with Spaniard and Turk 
 too long a cruiser upon lonely oceans, confined to a little world 
 which knew and cared nothing for sects and parties, to feel very 
 acutely as a politician in matters of religion. Such a life as that 
 
420 THE L'lLY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 which he had so long led, was well calculated to conduce to tolera- 
 tion. " Vengeance is mine :" saith the Lord ; and he was very 
 willing to believe that in his own good time, the Lord will do him- 
 Belf justice upon the offender. He was no hater of Calvin or the 
 Protestants was quite willing that they should pray and preach 
 after the desires of their own hearts ; and did by no means sym- 
 pathise with his friend, Montluc, in regard to the heretics whom 
 he denounced. But he said nothing of this to the MarechaL He 
 knew that nothing could be said safely, in relation to this vexing 
 struggle, which tore the bowels of the nation with perpetual 
 strifes. He had been taught policy by painful experience ; and, 
 though boiling with intense excitement, could conceal the secret 
 flame with an exterior of snow, such as shrouds the top of the 
 burning Orizaba. He found the old knight in the enjoyment of a 
 degree of repose, which was no ways desirable to one of his char- 
 acter. The man of whom the epitaph records written by him- 
 self: 
 
 * c Cy dessous reposent les os 
 De Montluc, qui n'eut one repos.* 
 
 was not the person to feel grateful in the possession of an office 
 which gave no exercise to his restless and martial propensities. 
 " We are shelved, mon ami^ he said with a grim smile to 
 De Gourgues, as they sat together in the warm chamber of the 
 speaker : " We are shelved. We are under petticoat govern- 
 ment. Lords and rulers are now made by the pretty women of 
 the Court, and an old soldier like myself, who has saved the 
 monarchy, as you know, a dozen times, has nothing now to do but 
 to hang up his armor, and watch it while it falls to pieces with 
 the rust. But I have made myself a name which is famous 
 throughout Europe, and for the opportunity to do this, I must 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 421 
 
 needs be grateful to my king. I have the lieutenancy of Guy- 
 enne, but how long I am to have it is the question. There are 
 others who hunger after the shoes I wear ; but whether they will 
 fit so well upon the feet of Monsieur, the Marquis de Villars, 
 must be for other eyes to determine. All I know, is, that I am 
 laid up forever. Strength fails, and favor fails, and I chafe at 
 my own lack of strength. I shall never be happy so long as my 
 knees refuse to bend as I would mount horse, yet bend even too 
 freely when I would speed on foot. But what is this expedition 
 for which you desire the royal seal ? Certainly, we Gascons are 
 the most restless of all God's creatures. Here now are you but 
 just arrived at home, and beginning to make merry with your 
 friends, and here you are, all at once, impatient to be upon the 
 seas again. Well, you have won a great fame upon the ocean, 
 and naturally desire to win still more. P faith, I feel a great 
 desire to keep you company. I would be at work to the last, 
 still doing, still conquering, and dying in the greatest of my vic- 
 tories. What says the Italian c Un lei mourir, tutta la vita 
 onora /' Did this adventure of yours, Monsieur, but promise a 
 great battle, verily, I should like to share it with you." 
 
 " Ah ! Monsieur, my friend, your passion is no longer mine, 
 though I am too much of the Gascon still, to fail, at the sound of 
 the trumpet, to prick mine ears. But this adventure tells for 
 fortune rather than fame. I find no fame a specific against 
 famine. I would seek now after those wordly goods which neither 
 of us looked to find in the wars with the Spaniard. And for 
 which reason, failing to find, we are in danger now of being put 
 aside by ladies' minions, and the feathered creatures of the Court. 
 There is great gain now to be won by a visit to the Coast of 
 
422 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Benin, in Africa, whence we carry the negro cannibal, that he 
 may be made a Christian by proper labor under Christian rule." 
 
 And De Gourgues proceeded to unfold the history of the traffic 
 in slaves, as it was carried on by all nations at that period ; its 
 marvellous profit and no less marvellous benefits to the untutored 
 and miserable heathen. The Marechal listened with great edifi- 
 cation. 
 
 " Ah ! Monsieur, were I now what you knew me when we 
 fought in Tuscany, now nearly thirty years ago ! But it is too 
 late. I must ever remain what I am, a poor Gascon, as my sove- 
 reign hath ever known me ; too heedful of his fortune ever to give 
 proper tendance to my own !" 
 
 III. 
 
 GOURGUES AT SEA. 
 
 THE Chevalier de Gourgues received his commission, and his 
 preparations for the. expedition were at once begun. He con- 
 verted his goods and chattels into money his lands and movea- 
 bles. He sold everything that he possessed. Nor did he rest 
 here. He borrowed of friends and neighbors. His credit was 
 good his reputation great himself beloved. It was easy to 
 inspire confidence in the ostensible objects of his expedition. 
 The world then conceived very differently of the morals of such 
 an enterprise, than it does at present. The moneys thus realized 
 were employed in arming two roberges, or brigantines, ships of 
 light burthen, resembling the Spanish caravels ; and one patache, 
 or tender, a vessel modelled after the frigate of the Levant, and 
 designed for penetrating shallow harbors. One hundred and fifty 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 423 
 
 soldiers, and eighty sailors, formed his complement of men, of 
 whom one hundred were armed with the cross-how. There were 
 many gentlemen, volunteers, in the expedition ; and De Gourgues 
 had taken the precaution to secure the services of one who had 
 been a trumpeter under Laudonniere, and had made his escape 
 with that commander. Provisions for a year were laid in ; and 
 every preparation having been made, and every precaution taken, 
 as well with the view to secrecy, as to the prosecution of the 
 object, the squadron sailed for Bordeaux, on the second day of 
 August, 1567, just two years after the flight of Laudonniere from 
 Florida. But the fates, at first, did not seem to smile upon the 
 enterprise. Baffled by contrary winds, our chevalier was at 
 length driven for shelter into the Charente, where he lay till the 
 twenty-second, when he put to sea, only to encounter new disap- 
 pointments. His ships were separated by a severe tempest, and 
 some time elapsed before they were re-united. He had provided 
 against this event by ordering his rendezvous at the mouth of the 
 Rio del OrOj upon the coast of Africa. From this point he 
 ranged the coast down to Cape Blanco, where, instigated by the 
 Portuguese, he was assailed by three African chiefs, with their 
 naked savages, whom he beat off in two actions. He then pro- 
 ceeded and continued in safety upon his route, until he reached 
 Cape Verd, when he turned his prows suddenly in the direction 
 of America. The first land which he made in this progress was 
 Dominica, one of the smaller Antilles ; thence he drew on to 
 Porto Rico, and next to Mona ; the cacique of which place sup- 
 plied him liberally with fresh provisions. Stretching away for 
 the continent, he encountered a tempest, which constrained him 
 to seek shelter in the port of San Nicholas, on the west side of 
 Hispaniola, where he repaired his vessels, greatly shattered by 
 
424 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the storm, but where he vainly endeavored to lay in new supplies 
 of bread ; his biscuit having been mostly damaged by the same 
 cause ; the Spaniards, with great inhospitality, refusing him all 
 supplies of food. Scarcely had he left San Nicholas, when he 
 was encountered by a hurricane, which drove him upon the 
 coast, exposing him to the most imminent peril, and from the 
 danger of which he escaped with great difficulty ; he gained, after 
 many hardships, the west side of the Island of Cuba, and found 
 temporary respite at Cape San Antonio, where he went on shore 
 for a season. 
 
 IV. 
 
 GOURGUES DECLARES HIS PURPOSE TO HIS FOLLOWERS, IN A 
 
 SPEECH. 
 
 His worst dangers of the sea were over. He was now within 
 two hundred leagues of Florida, his prows looking, with unob- 
 structed vision, directly towards the enemies he sought. And 
 now, for the first time, he deemed it proper to unfold to his peo- 
 ple the true object of the expedition. He assembled together all 
 his followers : 
 
 " Friend's and comrades," he said, " I have hitherto deceived 
 you as to my objects. They were of a sort to require, in the dis- 
 tracted condition of our country, the utmost secrecy. It so hap- 
 pens that France, torn by rival religious factions, is not properly 
 sensible of what is due to her honor and her people. I have 
 chosen you, as persons whom I mostly know, as persons who know 
 me, and have confidence in my courage, my honor, and my judg- 
 ment. I have chosen you to achieve a great work for the honor 
 of the French name, and for the safety of the French people. 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 425 
 
 Though we quarrel and fight among ourselves at home, yet should 
 it be a common cause, without distinction of party, to protect our 
 people against the foreign enemy, and to avenge the cruelties they 
 have been made to suffer. It is for a purpose of this nature, that 
 I have brought you hither. I have heard many of you speak 
 with tears and rage of the great crime of which the Spaniards, 
 under Melendez, have been guilty, in butchering our unhappy 
 countrymen in Florida ; nine hundred widows and orphans have 
 cried in vain for vengeance upon the cruel murderers. You know 
 all this terrible history you are Frenchmen and brethren of these 
 unfortunate victims. You know the crime of our enemies, the 
 Spaniards ; always our enemies, and never more so than when they 
 profess peace to us, and speak with smiles. What should be our 
 crime, if we suffer them to escape just punishment for their 
 butchery ; if, with the means of vengeance in our hands, and our 
 enemies before us, we longer delay the hour of retribution ? We 
 must avenge the murder of our countrymen ; we must make the 
 Spaniards of Florida atone, in blood, for the shame and affront 
 which they have put upon the lilies of France ! If you feel as I 
 do, the day of vengeance and just judgment is at hand. That I 
 am resolute in this object that it fills my whole soul with but 
 one feeling my whole mind with but one thought you may 
 know, when you see that I have sold all my wordly goods, all the 
 possessions that I have on earth, in order to obtain the means for 
 the destruction of these Spaniards of Florida. I take for granted 
 that you feel with me, that you are as jealous of the honor of 
 your country as myself, and that you are prepared for any sacri- 
 fice life itself in this cause, at once so glorious, and so neces- 
 sary to the fame and safety of our people. If our Frenchmen 
 are to be butchered without a cause, and find no avenger, there is 
 
426 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 an end of the French name, and honor, and well-being ; they will 
 find no refuge on the face of the earth. Speak, then, my com- 
 rades. Let me hear that you feel and think and will resolve with 
 me. I ask you to do notning, and to peril nothing, beyond my- 
 self I have already staked all my worldly fortunes on this one 
 object. I now offer to march at your head, to give you the first 
 example of self-sacrifice. Is there one of you who will refuse to 
 follow ?" 
 
 A speech so utterly unexpected, at first took his followers by 
 surprise ; but the appeal was too grateful to their real sympathies, 
 their commander too much beloved, and the infusion of genuine 
 Gascons too large among the adventurers, to make them hesitate 
 in their decision. They felt the justice of the appeal ; were 
 warmed to indignation by the sense of injury and discredit cast 
 upon the honor and the arms of France ; and, soon recovering 
 from their astonishment, they eagerly pledged themselves to fol- 
 low wherever he should lead. With cries of enthusiasm they de- 
 clared themselves ready for the work of vengeance ; and, taking 
 them in the humor which he had inspired, De Gourgues suffered 
 not a moment's unnecessary delay to interfere with his progress. 
 Crowding all sail upon his vessels, he rapidly crossed the straits of 
 Bahama, and stretched, with easy course, along the low shores of 
 the Floridian. 
 
 V. 
 
 GOURGUES WELCOMED BY THE FLORIDIANS. 
 
 IT was not very long before his vessels drew in sight of one of 
 the Forts of the Spaniards, situated at the entrance of May River. 
 So little did they apprehend the approach of any French armament, 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 427 
 
 that they saluted that of De Gourgues, as if they had been ships of 
 their own nation, mistaking them as such. Our chevalier en- 
 couraged then- mistake. He answered their salute, gun for gun ; 
 but he passed onward without any intercourse, and the night fol- 
 lowing entered the river, called by the Indians Tacatacourou, but 
 to which the French had given the name of the Seine, some fifteen 
 leagues distant. 
 
 Here, confounding the strangers with the Spaniards, a for- 
 midable host of Indians were prepared to give them battle. Tho 
 red-men had by this time fully experienced the tender mercies of 
 then- brutal and bigoted neighbors ; and had learned to contrast 
 them unfavorably with what they remembered of the Frenchmen 
 under Ribault and Laudonniere. With all the faults of the latter, 
 they knew him really as a gentle and moderate commander ; by 
 no means blood-thirsty, and doing nothing in mere lust of power, 
 wantonly, and with a spirit of malicious provocation only. There 
 were also other influences at work among them, by which to im- 
 press them favorably towards the French, and make them bitterly 
 hostile to the usurpers by whom they had been destroyed. It 
 needed, therefore, only that Gourgues should make himself 
 known to the natives, to discover their hostility. He employed for 
 this purpose his trumpeter, who had served under Laudonniere, 
 and was well known to the king, Satouriova, whose province lay 
 along the waters of the Tacatacourou, and with whose tribe it was 
 the good fortune of our Frenchmen to encounter. Satouriova, 
 knew the trumpeter at once, and received him graciously. He 
 soon revealed the existing relations between the red-men and the 
 Spaniards, and was delighted when assured that the Frenchmen 
 had come to renew and brighten the ancient chain of friendship 
 which had bound the red-men in amity with the people of La 
 
428 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Caroline. The interview was full of compliment and good feeling 
 on both sides. The next day was designated for a grand con- 
 ference between Satouriova and Gourgues. The interview opened 
 with a wild and picturesque display, which, on the part of the In- 
 dians, loses nothing of its dignity because of its rudeness. The 
 stern and simple manners of the red-men, their deliberation, their 
 forbearance, the calm which overspreads their assemblies, the 
 stately solemnity with which the orator rises to address them, their 
 patient attention ; these are ordinary characteristics, which make 
 the spectator forgetful of their poverty, their rude condition, the 
 inferiority of their weapons, and the ridiculous simplicity of their 
 ornaments. Satouriova anticipated the objects of Grourgues. Be- 
 fore the latter could detail his designs, the savage declared his 
 deadly hatred of the Spaniards. He was already assembling his 
 people for their destruction. They should have no foothold on his 
 territories ! 
 
 All this was spoken with great vivacity ; and he proceeded to 
 give a long history of the wrongs done to his people by the 
 usurpers. He recurred, then, to the terrible destruction of the 
 Frenchmen at La Caroline, and at the Bay of Matanzas ; and vo- 
 luntarily pledged himself, with all his powers, to aid Grourgues in 
 the contemplated work of vengeance. 
 
 The response of our chevalier was easy. He accepted the 
 pledges of Satouriova with delight. He had not come, he said, 
 with any present design to assail the Spaniards, but rather 
 with the view to renew the ancient alliance of the Frenchmen with 
 the Floridians ; and, should he find them in the proper temper to 
 rise against the usurpers, then, to bring with him an armament 
 sufficiently powerful to rid the country of the intruders. But, as 
 he found Satouriova in such excellent spirit, and filled with so 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE9. 429 
 
 brave a resolution, he was determined, even with the small force 
 at his command, to second the chief in his desires to rid himself 
 of his bad neighbors. 
 
 " Do you but join your forces to mine, bring all your strength 
 put forth all your resolution show your best valor, and be 
 faithful to your pledges, and I promise you that we will destroy 
 the Spaniards, and root them out of your country !" 
 
 The Cassique was charmed with this discourse, and a league, 
 offensive and defensive, was readily agreed upon between the 
 parties. Satouriova, at the close of the conference, brought for- 
 ward and presented to Gourgues a French boy, named Pierre de 
 Bre, who had sought refuge with him when La Caroline was 
 taken, and whom he had preserved with care, as his own son, in 
 spite of all the efforts of the Spaniards to get him into their power. 
 The boy was a grateful gift to G-ourgues ; useful as an interpreter, 
 but particularly grateful as one of the first fruits of his mission. 
 That night Satouriova despatched a score or more of emissaries, 
 in as many different directions, to the tribes of the interior. 
 These, each, bore in his hands the war-macana, le Baton 
 Rouge, the painted red-club, which announces to the young war- 
 riors the will of their superior. The runner speeds with this sign 
 of blood to the distant village, strikes the war-post in its centre, 
 waves his potent sign to the people, declares the place of gather- 
 ing, and darts away to spread still more the tidings. "When he 
 faints, the emblem is seized by another, who continues on the route. 
 In this way, the whole nation is aroused, as by the sudden flaming 
 of a thousand mountain beacons. A single night will suffice to 
 alarm and assemble the people of an immense territory. The In- 
 dian runner, day by day, will out-travel any horse. The result of 
 this expedition was visible next day, to Gourgues and his people. 
 
430 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 The chiefs of a score of scattered tribes, with all their best war- 
 riors, were assembled with Satouriova, to welcome the Frenchmen 
 to the land. 
 
 VI. 
 
 OLOTOCARA. 
 
 SATOURIOVA, surrounded by his kinsmen, his allies, and subor- 
 dinate chiefs, appeared in all his state on the banks of the river, 
 almost with the rising of the sun. There were, in immediate at- 
 tendance, the Paracoussies or Cassiques. Tacatacourou whose 
 tribe, living along its banks for the time, gave the name to the 
 river Helmacana, Athoree, Harpaha, Helmacape, Helicopile, 
 Mollova, and a great many others. We preserve these names 
 with the hope that they may help to conduct the future antiquary 
 to the places of then* habitation. Being all assembled, all in their 
 dignities, each with his little band of warriors, numbering from 
 ten to two hundred men, they despatched a special message to the 
 vessels of Grourgues, inviting him to appear among them. By a 
 precautionary arrangement the escort of our chevalier appeared 
 without their weapons, those of the red-men being likewise removed 
 from their persons, and concealed in the neighboring woods. 
 Gourgues yielded himself without scruple to the arrangements of his 
 tawny host. He was conducted by a deferential escort to the mossy 
 wood where the chiefs had assembled, and placed at the right hand 
 of Satouriova. The weeds and brambles had been carefully pulled 
 away from the spot the place had been made very clean, and the 
 seat provided for Grourgues was raised, like that of Satouriova, and 
 nicely strewn, in the same manner, with a mossy covering. With 
 his trumpeter and Pierre de Bre, the captain of the French 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 431 
 
 found no embarrassment in pursuing the conference. It was 
 protracted for some time, as is usually the case with Indian trea- 
 ties, and involved many considerations highly important to the en 
 terprise ; the number of the Spaniards, the condition of their 
 fortresses, then* vigilance, and all points essential to be known, 
 before venturing to assail them. Much time was consumed in 
 mutual courtesies. Gifts were exchanged between the parties ; De 
 Gourgues receiving from Satouriova, among other things, a chain of 
 silver, which the red chief graciously and with regal air cast about 
 the neck of the chevalier. 
 
 It was while the conference thus proceeded, that a cry without 
 was heard from among the great body of the tribes assembled. 
 Shouts full of enthusiasm announced the approach of a favorite ; 
 and soon the Frenchmen distinguished the words, " Holata Cara !" 
 " Holata Cara !"* which we may translate, " Beloved Chief or 
 
 * The name is usually written Olotocara ; but, to persons familiar with 
 the singular degree of carelessness with which the Indian names were 
 taken down by the old voyagers and chroniclers, and the different modes 
 employed by French, Spanish and English in spelling the same words, 
 there should be nothing arbitrary in their orthography ; nothing to induce 
 us to surrender our privilege of seeking to reconcile these names with well- 
 known analogies. My opinion is, that Olotocara was a compound of two 
 words, the one signifying chief or ruler, the other indicative of the degree 
 of esteem or affection with which he was regarded, or as significant of his 
 qualities. Olata, or Holata, was a frequent title of distinction among the 
 Floridians, and Holata Cara, or Beloved Chief or Warrior, is probably the 
 true orthography of the words compounded into Olotocara or Olocotora. 
 It may have been Olata Tacara, and there may have been some identifica- 
 tion of this chief with him from whom the river Tacatacourou took its 
 name. Charlevoix writes it Olocotora ; Hakluyt, Olotocara. It will be 
 eeen that our method of writing the name makes it easy to reconcile it 
 with that of Hakluyt Olotocara Holata Cara and with that of the title 
 
432 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Captain," and which preceded the sudden entrance of a warrior, 
 the appearance of whom caused an instantaneous emotion of sur- 
 prise in the minds of the Frenchmen. 
 
 The stranger was fair enough to be a Frenchman himself. His 
 complexion was wonderfully in contrast with that of the other 
 chiefs, and there was a something in his bearing and carriage, and 
 the expression of his countenance, which irresistibly impressed 
 De Gourgues with the conviction that he was gazing upon one of 
 his own countrymen. The features of the stranger were smooth 
 as well as fair, and in this, indeed, he rather resembled the 
 race of red than of white men. But he was evidently very young, 
 yet of a grave, saturnine cast of face, such as would denote equally 
 middle age and much experience, and yet was evidently the result 
 of temperament. His hair, the portion that was seen, was short, 
 as if kept carefully clipped ; but he wore around his brows several 
 thick folds of crimson cotton, in fashion not greatly unlike that of 
 the Turk. There were many of the chiefs who wore a similar 
 head-dress, though whence the manufacture came, our Frenchmen 
 had no way to determine. A cotton shirt, with a falling cape and 
 fringe reaching below to his knees, belted about the waist with a 
 strip of crimson, like that which bound his head, formed the 
 chief items of his costume. Like the warriors generally, he wore 
 well-tanned buckskin leggings, terminating in moccasins of the 
 same material. He carried a lance in his grasp, while a light 
 macana was suspended from his shoulders. 
 
 familiar to the Floridian usage, past and present. Thus Olata Utina oc- 
 curs before in this very chronicle ; and no prefix is more common in mo- 
 dern times, among the Seminoles, than that of Holata; thus, Holata 
 Amathla, Holata Fiscico, Holata Mico. It is also used as an appendage ; 
 thus, Wokse Holata, as we write Esquire after the name. 
 
 ' 'jf^ 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 433 
 
 " Holata Cara !" said Satouriova, as if introducing the stranger 
 to the Frenchmen, the moment that he appeared, and the young 
 chief was motioned to a seat. In a whisper to the trumpeter, 
 G-ourgues asked if he knew anything about this warrior ; but the 
 trumpeter looked bewildered. 
 
 " Such a chief was not known to us," said he, " in the time of 
 Laudomriere." 
 
 " He looks for all the world like a Frenchman," murmured 
 Gourgues. 
 
 " He reminds me," continued the trumpeter, " of a'face that I 
 have seen and know, Monsieur ; but, I cannot say. If that tur- 
 ban were off now, and the paint. This is the first time I have 
 ever heard the name. But the boy, Pierre, may know him." 
 
 Gourgues whispered the boy : 
 
 " Who is this chief ? Have you ever seen him before ? Do 
 you know him ?" 
 
 " No, Monsieur ; I have never seen him. I have heard of him. 
 He is the adopted son of the Great Chief, adopted from another 
 tribe, I hear. But he is as white as I am, almost, and looks a 
 little like a Frenchman. I can't say, Monsieur, but I could swear 
 I knew the face. I have seen one very much like it, I think, 
 among our own people." 
 
 " Who ?" 
 
 u I can't say, Monsieur, I can't ; and the more I look, the more 
 I am uncertain." 
 
 Something more was said in an equally unsatisfactory manner, 
 and, in the meantime, the stranger took his seat in the assembly 
 without seeming concern. He betrayed no curiosity when his eye 
 rested upon the Frenchmen. When it was agreed that two per- 
 sons should be sent, one of the French and one of the red chiefs 
 19 
 
434 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 to make a reconnaissance of the Spanish fortress, he rose quietly, 
 looked towards Satouriova, and, striking his breast slightly, with 
 his right hand, simply repeated his own name, - 
 
 " Holata Cara !" 
 
 " It is well," said the chief, with an approving smile ; and Ho- 
 lata Cara, on the part of the Indians, and Monsieur d'Estampes, 
 a gentleman of Comminges, on the part of the Frenchmen, were 
 sent to explore the country under the control of the Spanish 
 usurpers. Holata Cara immediately disappeared from the assembly. 
 A few moments after he was buried in the deepest of the neigh- 
 boring thickets, while a beautiful young savage a female who 
 might have been a princess, and wore, like one, a fillet about her 
 brow, and carried herself loftily as became a queen, stood beside 
 him, with her hand resting upon his shoulder, and her eye looking 
 tenderly up into his ; while she said, in her own language : 
 
 " I will follow you, but not to be seen ; and our people shall 
 be nigh to watch, lest there be danger from the Spaniard." 
 
 The chief smiled, as if, in the solicitous speech to which he lis- 
 tened, he detected some sweet deceit ; but he said nothing but 
 words of parting, and these were kind and affectionate. It was 
 not long before Holata Cara joined Monsieur d'Estampes, the boy 
 Pierre de Bre being sent along with them, on the reconnaissance 
 which the allies had agreed was to be made. In the meantime, 
 the better 'to assure G-ourgues of the safety of D'Estampes, Satou- 
 riova gave his son and the best beloved of all his wives, into the 
 custody of the French as hostages, and they were immediately 
 conveyed to the safe-keeping of the ships. 
 
 l ' 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 435 
 
 VII. 
 FIRST FRUITS OF THE ADVENTURE 
 
 THE reconnaissance was completed. The report of Holata 
 Cara and D'Etampes showed that the Spanish fortress of San 
 Matheo, formerly La Caroline, was in good order, and with a 
 strong garrison. Two other forts which the Spaniards had raised 
 in the neighborhood, commanding both sides of the river, and 
 nearer to its mouth, were also surveyed, and were found to be 
 well manned and in proper condition for defence. In these three 
 forts, the garrison was found to consist of four hundred sol- 
 diers, unequally distributed, but with a force in each sufficient 
 for the post. Thus advised, the allies proceeded severally to 
 array their troops for the business of assault. But, before march- 
 ing, a solemn festival was appointed on the banks of the Salina 
 Cani by the French called the Somme which was the place 
 appointed for the rendezvous. Here the red-men drank copious 
 draughts of their cassine, or apalachine, a bitter but favorite 
 beverage, the reported nature of which is that it takes away all 
 hunger and thirst for the space of twenty-four hours, from those 
 that employ it. Though long used to all sorts of trial and endur- 
 ance, Gourgues found it not so easy to undergo this draught. Still, 
 he made such a show of drinking, as to satisfy his confedsrates ; 
 and this done, the allied chiefs, lifting hands and eyes, made 
 solemn oath of their fidelity in *he sight of heaven. The march 
 was then begun, the red-men leading the way, and moving, in 
 desultory manner, through the woods, Holata Cara at their head ; 
 while, pursuing another route, but under good guidance, and keep* 
 ing his force compactly together, our chevalier conducted his 
 Frenchmen to the same point of destination. This was the 
 
436 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 river Caraba, or Salinacani, named by Ribault the Somme, 
 which was at length reached, but not without great difficulty, the 
 streams being overflowed by frequent and severe rains, and the 
 marshy and low tracts all under water. Food was wanting also 
 to our Frenchmen, the bark appointed to follow them with pro- 
 visions, under Monsieur Bourdelois not having arrived. 
 
 They were now but two leagues distant from the two smaller 
 forts which the Spaniards had established and fortified, in addi- 
 tion to that of La Caroline, on the banks of the May, or, as they 
 had newly christened it, the San Matheo. While bewildered 
 with doubts as to the manner of reaching these forts the waters 
 everywhere between being swollen almost beyond the possibility 
 of passage the red-men were consulted, and the chief, Helico- 
 pile, was chosen to guide our Frenchmen by a more easy and less 
 obvious route. Making a circuit through the woods, the whole 
 party at length reached a point where they could behold one of 
 the forts; but a deep creek lay between, the water of which rose 
 above their waists. Gourgues, however, now that his object was 
 in sight, was not to be discouraged by inferior obstacles ; and, 
 giving instructions to his people to fasten their powder flasks to 
 their morions and to carry their swords and their calivers in their 
 hands above their heads, he "effected the passage &t a point which 
 enabled them to cover themselves from sight of the Spaniards 
 by a thick tract of forest which lay between the fort and the river. 
 It was sore fording for our Frenchmen ; for the bed of the creek 
 was paved with great oysters, the shells of which inflicted sharp 
 wounds upon their legs and feet ; and many of them lost their 
 shoes in the passage. As soon as they had crossed, they pre- 
 pared themselves for the assault. Up to this moment, so well 
 had the red-men guarded all the passages, and so rapid had been 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOUKGUES. 437 
 
 their march, with that of Gourgues and his party, that the 
 Spaniards had no notion that there were any Frenchmen in the 
 country. Still, they were on the alert ; and so active did they 
 show themselves, in and about the fort, that our chevalier feared 
 that his approach had been discovered. 
 
 But no time was to be lost. Giving twenty arquebusiers to 
 his Lieutenant Casenove, and half that number of mariners, 
 armed with pots and balls of wild fire, designed to burn the gate 
 of the fort, he took a like force under his own command, with the 
 view to making simultaneous assaults in opposite quarters. The 
 two parties were scarcely in motion, before Grourgues found the 
 chief Holata Cara at his side, followed by a small party of the 
 red-men ; the rest had been carefully concealed in the woods, in 
 order to pursue the combat after their primitive fashion. Holata 
 Cara was armed only with a long spear, which he bore with great 
 dexterity, and a macana which now hung by his side, a flattened 
 club, the two edges of which were fitted with the teeth of the 
 shark, or with great flints, ground down to the sharpness of a 
 knife. This was his substitute for a sword, and was a weapon 
 capable of inflicting the most terrible wounds. The spear which 
 he carried was headed also with a massive dart of flint, curiously 
 and finely set in the wood, and exhibiting a rare instance of In- 
 dian ingenuity, in its excellence as a weapon of offence, and its 
 rare and elaborate ornament Grourgues examined it with much in- 
 terest. The instrument was antique. It might have been in 
 use an hundred years or more. The heavy but elastic wood, al- 
 most blackened by age and oil, was polished like a mirror by re- 
 peated friction. The grasp was carved with curious ability, and 
 exhibited the wings of birds with eyes wrought among the feathers, 
 in the sockets of which great pearls were set, the carving of the 
 
438 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 feathers forming a bushy brow above, and a shield all about them, 
 so that, grasp the weapon as you would, the pearls were secure 
 from injury. Grourgues examined the owner of the spear with as 
 much curiosity as he did the weapon. But without satisfaction. 
 The features of the other were immoveable. But the signals be- 
 ing all made, Holata Cara waved his hand with some impatience 
 to the fort, and Gourgues had no leisure to ask the questions 
 which that moment arose in his mind. 
 
 " It was," says the venerable chronicle, " the Sunday eve next 
 after Easter-day, April, 1568," when the signal for the assault 
 was given. Grourgues made a brief speech to his followers before 
 they began the attack, recounting the cruel treachery and the 
 bloody deeds of the Spaniards done upon their brethren at La 
 Caroline and Matanzas Bay. Holata Cara, resting with his spear 
 head thrust in the earth, listened in silence to this speech. The 
 moment it was ended, he led the way for the rest, from the 
 thicket which concealed them. As soon as the two parties 
 had emerged from cover, they were descried by the watchful 
 Spaniards. 
 
 " To arms ! to arms !" was the cry of their sentinels. " To 
 arms ! these be Frenchmen !" 
 
 To the war-cry of " Castile'' and "Santiago!" that of 
 " France !" and " Saint-Denis for France," was cheerily sent up 
 by the assailants ; and it was observed that no shout was louder or 
 clearer than that of Holata Cara, as he hurried forward. 
 
 When the assailants were within two hundred paces of the fort, 
 the artillery of the garrison opened upon them from a culverin 
 taken at La Caroline, which the Spaniards succeeded in discharg- 
 ing twice, with some effect, while the Frenchmen were approach- 
 ing, A third time was this piece about to be turned upon the 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 439 
 
 assailants, when Holata Cara, rushing forwards planted his spear 
 in the ground, and swinging from it, with a mighty spring, suc- 
 ceeded, at a bound, in reaching .the platform. The gunner was 
 blowing his match, and about to apply it to the piece, when the 
 spear of the Indian chief was driven clean through his body, and 
 the next moment the slain man was thrust headlong down into the 
 fort. Stung by this noble example, Gourgues hurried forward, and 
 the assault being made successfully on the opposite side at the 
 same instant, the Spaniards fled from the defences. A consider- 
 able slaughter ensued within, when they rushed desperately from 
 the enclosure. 
 
 But they were encountered on every side. Escape was vain. 
 Of the whole garrison, consisting of threescore men, all were 
 slain, with the exception of fifteen, who were reserved for a more 
 deliberate punishment. 
 
 Meanwhile the fortress on the opposite side of the river opened 
 upon the assailants, and was answered by the four pieces which 
 had been found within the captured place. The Frenchmen 
 were more annoyed than injured by this distant cannonade, and 
 immediately prepared to cross the river for the conquest of this 
 new enemy. Fortunately, the patache, bringing their supplies, 
 had ascended the stream, and, under cover from the guns of the 
 Spaniard, lay in waiting just below. Grourgues, with fourscore 
 soldiers, crossed the stream in her ; the Indians not waiting for 
 this slow conveyance, but swimming the river, carrying their bows 
 and arrows with one hand above their heads. 
 
 The Frenchmen at once threw themselves into the woods which 
 covered the space between this second fort and La Caroline, the 
 latter being only a league distant. The Spaniards, apprised of 
 the movement of the patache, beholding shore and forest lined 
 
440 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 with the multitudes of red-men, and hearing their frightful cries 
 on every hand, were seized with an irresistible panic, and, in an 
 evil moment abandoned their stronghold, in the hope of making 
 their way through the woods, to the greater fortress of La Caro- 
 line. But they were too late in the attempt. The woods were 
 occupied by enemies. Charged by the advancing Frenchmen, 
 they rushed into the arms of the savages, and, with the excep- 
 tion of another fifteen, were all butchered as they fought or fled. 
 Holata Cara was again found the foremost, and the most terrible 
 agent in this work of vengeance. 
 
 VITI. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF LA CAROLINE. 
 
 The Chevalier de Gourgues now proposed temporarily to rest 
 from his labors, and give himself a reasonable tune before attempt- 
 ing the superior fortress of La Caroline, in ascertaining its 
 strength, and the difficulties in the way of its capture. The 
 captives taken at the second fort were transferred to the first, and 
 set apart with their comrades for future judgment. From one of 
 these he learned that the garrison of La Caroline consisted of 
 near three hundred men, under command of a brave and effi- 
 cient governor. His prisoners he closely examined for infor- 
 mation. Having ascertained the height of the platform, the 
 extent of the fortifications, and the nature of the approaches, he 
 prepared scaling ladders, and made all the necessary provisions 
 for a regular assault. The Indians, meanwhile, had been 
 ordered to environ the fortress, and so to cover the whole face 
 of the country, as to make it impossible that the garrison should 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 441 
 
 obtain help, convey intelligence of their situation to their 
 friends in St. Augustine, or escape from the beleagured station. 
 
 While these preparations were "in progress, the Spanish gov- 
 ernor at La Caroline, now fully apprised of his danger, and of 
 the capture of the two smaller forts, sent out one of his most 
 trusty scouts, disguised as an Indian, to spy out the condition of 
 the French, their strength and objects. But Holata Cara, who 
 had taken charge of the forces of the red-men, had too well 
 occupied all the passages to suffer this excellent design to prove 
 successful. He made the scout a prisoner, and readily saw 
 through all his disguises. Thus detected, the Spaniard revealed 
 all that he knew of the strength and resources of the garrison. 
 He described them as in very great panic, having been assured 
 that the French numbered no less than two thousand men. 
 Gourgues determined to assail them in the moment of their 
 greatest alarm, and before they should recover from it, or be 
 undeceived with regard to his strength. The red-men were 
 counselled to maintain their ambush in the thickets skirting the 
 river on both sides, and leaving his standard-bearer and a cap- 
 tain with fifteen chosen men in charge of the captured forts and 
 prisoners, Gourgues set forth on his third adventure. He took 
 with him the Spanish scout and another captive Spaniard, a 
 sergeant, as guides, fast fettered, and duly warned that any 
 attempt at deception, or escape, would only bring down instant 
 and condign punishment upon their heads His ensign, Monsieur 
 de Mesmes, with twenty arquebusiers, was left to guard the 
 mouth of the river, and, with the red-men covering the face of 
 the country, and provided with all the implements necessary to 
 storm the defences, Gourgues began his march against La 
 Caroline. 
 
442 THE LILT AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 It was late in the day when the little band set forth, and eve- 
 ning began to approach as they drew within sight of the fortress. 
 The Don in command at La Caroline was vigilant enough, and 
 soon espied the advancing columns. His cannon and his culverins, 
 commanding the river thoroughly, began to play with great 
 spirit upon our Frenchmen, who were compelled to cover them- 
 selves in the woods, taking shelter behind a slight eminence 
 within sight of the fortress. This wood afforded them sufficient 
 cover for their approaches almost to the foot of the fortress the 
 precautions of the Spaniard not having extended to the removal 
 of the forest growth by which the place was surrounded, and by 
 help of which the designs of an enemy could be so much facili- 
 tated. It was under the shelter of this very wood, and by this 
 very route so Gourgues learned from his prisoners that the 
 Spaniards had successfully surprised and assaulted the fortress 
 two years before. 
 
 Here, then, our chevalier determined to lie perdu until the 
 next morning, the hour being too late and the enemy too watch- 
 ful, at that moment, to attempt anything. Besides, Gourgues 
 desired a little time to see how the land lay, and how his ap- 
 proaches should be made. On that side of the fortress which 
 fronted the hill, behind which our Frenchmen harbored, he dis- 
 covered that the trench seemed to be insufficiently flanked for 
 the defence of the curtains. 
 
 While meditating in what way to take advantage of this weak- 
 ness, he was agreeably surprised by the commission of an error, 
 on the part of the garrison, which materially abridged his diffi- 
 culties. The Spanish governor, either with a nervous anxiety to 
 anticipate events, or with a fool-hardiness which fancied that they 
 might be controlled by a wholesome audacity, ordered a sortie ; 
 
DGMINTQUE DE GOURGUES. 443 
 
 and Gourgues with delight beheld a detachment of threescore 
 soldiers, deliberately passing the trenches and marching steadily 
 into the very jaws of ruin. 
 
 Holata Cara, as if aware by instinct, was at once at the side 
 of our chevalier, with his spear pointing to the fated detachment. 
 In a moment, the warrior sped with the commands of Gourgues, 
 to his lieutenant, Cazenove, who, with twenty arquebusiers, cover- 
 ed by the wood, contrived to throw himself between the fortress 
 and the advancing party, cutting off all their chances of escape. 
 Then it was that, with wild cries of "France ! France !" the 
 chevalier rose from his place of hiding, with all his band, and 
 rushed out upon his prey, reserving his fire until sufficiently near 
 to render every shot certain. The Spaniards recoiled from the 
 assault ; but, as they fled, were encountered in the rear by the 
 squad under Cazenove. The battle cry of the French, resound- 
 ing at once in front and rear, completed their panic, and they 
 offered but a feeble resistance to enemies who neither asked nor 
 offered quarter. It was a massacre rather than a fight ; and 
 still, as the French paused in the work of death, a shrill death- 
 cry in their midst aroused them anew, and they could behold the 
 lithe form of the red chief, Holata Cara, speeding from foe to 
 foe, with his macana only, smiting with fearful edge a single 
 stroke at each several victim, followed ever by the agonizing yell 
 of death ! Not a Spaniard escaped of all that passed through 
 the trenches on that miserable sortie ! 
 
 Terrified by this disaster, so sudden and so complete, the gar- 
 rison were no longer capable of defence. They no longer 
 hearkened to the commands or the encouragements of their gov- 
 ernor. They left, or leaped, the walls ; they threw wide the 
 gates, and rushed wildly into the neighboring thickets, in the 
 
444 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 vain hope to find security in their dark recesses, and under cover 
 of the night. But they knew not well how the woods were occu- 
 pied. At once a torrent of yells, of torture and of triumph, 
 startled the echoes on every side. The swift arrow, the sharp 
 javelin, the long spear, the stone hatchet, each found an unre- 
 sisting victim ; and the miserable fugitives, maddened with ter- 
 ror, darted back upon the fortress, which was already in the pos- 
 session of the French. They had seized the opportunity, and hi 
 . the moment when the insubordinate garrison threw wide the gates, 
 and leaped blindly from the parapets, they had swiftly occupied 
 their places. The fugitive Spaniards, recoiling from the savages, 
 only changed one form of death for another. They suffered on 
 all hands were mercilessly shot down as they fled, or stabbed as 
 they surrendered ; those only excepted who were chosen to ex- 
 piate, more solemnly and terribly, the great crime of which they 
 had been guilty ! 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF THE VICTIMS. 
 
 The captured fortress was won with a singular facility, and 
 with so little loss to the assailants, as to confirm them in the 
 conviction that the service was acceptable to God. HE had 
 strengthened their hearts and arms HE had hung his shield of 
 protection over them HE had made, through the sting of con- 
 science, the souls of the murderous Spaniards to quake in fear at 
 the very sight of the avengers ! The fortress of La Caroline 
 was found to have been as well supplied with all necessaries for 
 defence, as it had been amply garrisoned. It was defended by 
 five double culver ins , by four minions, and divers other cannon 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 445 
 
 of smaller calibre suitable for such a forest fortress. " Eighteen 
 great cakes of gunpowder," (it would seem that this combustible 
 was put up in those days moistened, and in a different form from 
 the present, and hence the frequent necessity for drying it, of 
 which we read,) and every variety of weapon proper to the 
 keeping of the fortress, had been supplied to the Spaniards ; so 
 that, but for the unaccountable error of the sortie, and but for 
 the panic which possessed them, and which may reasonably be 
 ascribed to the natural terrors of a guilty conscience, it wag 
 scarcely possible that the Chevalier de Gourgues, with all his 
 prowess, could have succeeded in the assault. He transferred all 
 the arms to his vessels, but the gunpowder took fire from the 
 carelessness of one of the savages, who, ignorant of its qualities, 
 proceeded to seethe his fish in the neighborhood of a train, which 
 took fire, and blew up the store-house with all its moveables, de- 
 stroying all the houses within its sweep ! The poor savage him- 
 self seems to have been the only human victim. The fortress 
 was then razed to the ground, Gourgues having no purpose to re- 
 establish a colony which he had not the power to maintain. 
 
 But his vengeance was not complete. The final act of expiation 
 was yet to take place ; and, bringing all his prisoners together, he 
 had them conducted to the fatal tree upon which the Spaniards 
 had done to death their Huguenot captives ! This was at a short 
 distance from the fortress. 
 
 Mournful was the spectacle that met the eyes of the French- 
 men as they reached the spot. There still hung the withered and 
 wasted skeletons of their brethren, naked, bare of flesh, bleached, 
 and rattling against the branches of the thrice-accursed tree ! 
 The tempest had beaten wildly against their wasted forms the 
 obscene birds had preyed upon their carcasses some had fallen, 
 
446 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 and lay in undistinguished heaps upon the earth ; but the entire 
 skeletons of many, unbroken, still waved in the unconscious 
 breezes of heaven ! For two weary years had they been thus 
 tossed and shaken in the tempest. For two years had they thus 
 waved, ghastly, white, and terrible, in mockery of the blessed 
 sunshine ! And now, in the genial breezes of April, they still 
 shook aloft in horrible contrast with the green leaves, and the 
 purple blossoms of the spring around them ! But they were now 
 decreed to take their shame from the suffering eyes of day ! A 
 solemn service -Yas said over the wretched remains, which were 
 taken down with cautious hands, as considerately as if they were 
 still accessible to hurt, and buried in one common grave ! The 
 red-men looked on wondering, and in grave silence ; and Holata 
 Cara, leaning upon his spear, might almost be thought to weep 
 at the cruel spectacle. 
 
 But his aspect changed when the Spanish captives were brought 
 forth. They were ranged, manacled in pairs, beneath the same 
 tree of sacrifice. Briefly, and in stern accents, did G-ourgues recite 
 the crime of which they had been guilty, and which they were 
 now to expiate by a sufferance of the same fate which they had 
 decreed to their victims ! Prayers and pleadings were alike in 
 vain. The priest who had performed the solemn rites for the 
 dead, now performed the last duties for the living judged ! He 
 heard their confessions. One of the wretched victims confessed 
 that the judgment under which he was about to suffer was a just 
 one ; that he himself, with his own hands, had hung no less than 
 five of the wretched Huguenots. With such a confession ringing 
 in their ears, it was not possible for the French to be merciful ! 
 At a given signal, the victims were run up to the deadly branches, 
 which they themselves had accursed by such employment ; and 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 447 
 
 even while their suspended forms writhed and quivered with the 
 last fruitless efforts of expiring consciousness, the chieftain Ho- 
 lata Cara looked upon them with a cold, hard eye, stern and tear- 
 less, as if he felt the dreadful propriety of this wild and unrelent- 
 ing justice ! The deed done the expiation made G-ourgues then 
 procured a huge plank of pine, upon which he caused to be 
 "branded, with a searing iron, in rude, but large, intelligible char- 
 acters, these words, corresponding to that inscription put by the 
 Spaniards over the Huguenots, and as a fitting commentary upon 
 it: 
 
 "[)0e are not Ijtrng a0 Spaniard, 
 
 nor a0 iHarmer0, but a0 
 
 <ftraitor0, Hobb*r0, anft 
 
 JUurfcra* !" 
 
 How long they hung thus, bleaching in storm and sunshine ; how 
 long this terrible inscription remained as a record of their crime 
 and of this history, the chronicle does not show, nor is it needful. 
 The record is inscribed in pages that survive storm, and wreck, 
 and fire ; more indelibly written than on pillars of brass and 
 marble ! It hangs on high forever, where the eyes of the criminal 
 may read how certainly will the vengeance of heaven alight, or 
 soon or late, upon the offender, who wantonly exults in the mo- 
 ment of security in the commission of great crimes done upon 
 suffering humanity. 
 
448 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 XL 
 
 THE CHIEFS OF THE LILY AND THE TOTEM EMBRACE AND 
 PART. 
 
 " SAN AUGUSTINE !" 
 
 Such were the words spoken to Gourgues by Holata Cara at the 
 close of this terrible scene of vengeance, and his spear was at once 
 turned in the direction of the remaining Spanish fortress. Gour- 
 gues readily understood the suggestion, but he shook his head re- 
 gretfully 
 
 " I am too feeble ! We have not the force necessary to such 
 an effort !" 
 
 The red chief made no reply in words, but he turned away and 
 waved his spear over the circuit which was covered by the thou- 
 sand savages who had collected to the conflict, even as the birds 
 of prey gather to the field of battle. 
 
 But Gourgues again shook his head. He had no faith in the al- 
 liance with the red-men. He knew their caprice of character, 
 their instability of purpose, and the sudden fluctuations of their 
 moods, which readily discovered the enemy of the morrow in the 
 friend of to-day. Besides, his contemplated task was ended. He 
 had achieved the terrible work of vengeance which he had proposed 
 to himself and followers, and his preparations did not extend to 
 any longer delay in the country. He had neither means nor pro- 
 visions. 
 
 He collected the tribes around him. All the kings and princes 
 of the Floridian gathered at his summons, on the banks of the Ta- 
 catacorou, or Seine, where he had left his vessels, some fifteen 
 leagues from La Caroline. Thither he marched by land in battle 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 449 
 
 array, having sent all his captured munitions and arms with his 
 artillerists by sea, in the patache. 
 
 The red-men hailed him with songs and dances, as the Israel- 
 ites hailed Saul and David returning with the spoils of the Philis- 
 tines. 
 
 " Now let me die," cried one old woman, " now that I behold 
 the Spaniards driven out, and the Frenchmen once more in the 
 country." 
 
 G-ourgues quieted them with promises. It may be that he really 
 hoped that his sovereign would sanction his enterprise, and avail 
 himself of what had been done to establish a French colony again 
 in Florida ; and he promised the Floridians that in twelve months 
 they should again behold his vessels. 
 
 The moment arrived for the embarkation, but where was Holata 
 Cara ? The Frenchman inquired after him in vain. Satouriova 
 only replied to his earnest inquiries, 
 
 " Holata Cara is a great chief of the Apalachian ! He hath 
 gone among his people." 
 
 A curious smile lurked upon the lips of the Paracoussi as he 
 made this answer ; but the inquiries of Gourgues could extract 
 nothing from him further. 
 
 They embraced our chevalier and his Indian allies and the 
 Frenchmen embarked, weighed anchor, and, with favoring winds, 
 were shortly out of sight. Even as they stretched away for tho 
 east, the eyes of Holata Cara watched their departure from a dis- 
 tant headland where he stood embowered among the trees. TliG 
 graceful figure of an Indian princess stood beside his own, one 
 hand shading her eyes, and the other resting on his shoulder. At 
 length he turned from gazing on the dusky sea. 
 
 " They are gone !" she exclaimed, 
 
450 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 " Gone !" he answered, in her own dialect. " Gone ! Let n* 
 depart also !" And thus speaking, they joined their tawny fol- 
 lowers who awaited them in the neighboring thicket, within the 
 shadows of which they soon disappeared from sight. 
 
 XI. 
 
 MORALS OF REVENGE. 
 
 HISTORIANS have been divided in opinion with regard to the 
 propriety of that wild justice which Dominique de Gourgues in- 
 flicted upon the murderers of his countrymen at La Caroline. One 
 class of writers hath preached from the text, " Vengeance is mine 
 saith the Lord ;" another from that which, permissive rather than 
 mandatory, declares that " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man 
 shall his blood be shed." 
 
 Charlevoix regrets that so remarkable an achievement as that 
 of Gourgues, so honorable to the nation, and so glorious for himself, 
 should not have been terminated by an act of clemency, which, 
 sparing the survivors of the Spanish forts, should have contrasted 
 beautifully with the brutal behavior of the Spaniards under the 
 like circumstances ; as if the enterprise itself had anything but 
 revenge for its object ; as if the butcheries which accompanied the 
 several attacks upon the Spanish forts, and the butcheries which 
 followed them where the victims were trembling and flying men 
 were any whit more justifiable than the single, terrible act of 
 massacre which appropriately furnished the catastrophe to the 
 whole drama ! 
 
 If the Spaniards were to be spared at all, why the enterprise at 
 all ? No wrong was then in progress, to be defeated by interpo- 
 sition ; no design of recovering French territory or re-establish- 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 451 
 
 ing the French colony was in contemplation, making the enterprise 
 necessary to success hereafter. The entire purpose of the expe- 
 dition was massacre only, and a bloody vengeance ! 
 
 It is objected to this expedition of Grourgues, that reprisals are 
 rarely possible without working some injustice. This would be an 
 argument against all law and every social government. But it is 
 said that revenge does not always find out the right victim, par- 
 ticularly in such a case as the present, and that the innocent is 
 frequently made to suffer for the guilty. 
 
 Grourgues could not, it would seem, have greatly mistaken his 
 victims, when we find one of them confessing to the murder of five 
 of the Huguenots by his own hand, and none of them disclaiming 
 a participation in the crime. But there is a better answer even 
 than this instance affords, and it conveys one of those warning les- 
 sons to society, the neglect of which too frequently results in its 
 discomfiture or ruin. 
 
 That society or nation which is unable or unwilling to prevent 
 or punish the offender within its own sphere and province, must 
 incur his penalties ; and this principle once recognized, it becomes 
 imperative with every citizen to take heed of the public conduct 
 of his fellow, and the proper exercise of right and justice on the 
 part of his ruler. There are, no doubt, difficulties in the way of 
 doing this always ; but what if it were commonly understood and 
 felt that each citizen had thus at heart the wholesome administra- 
 tion of exact justice on the part of the society in which he lived, 
 and the Government which can exist only by the sympathies of 
 the people ? How prompt would be the remedy furnished by the 
 ruler to the suffering party ! how slow the impulse to wrong on 
 the part of the criminal ! 
 
 The suggestion that magnanimity and mercy shown to the 
 
462 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 Spaniards by Grourgues, after his victory, would have had such a 
 beautiful effect upon the consciences of those guilty wretches, is 
 altogether ridiculous. The idea exhibits a gross ignorance of the 
 nature of the Spaniards at the time. Q-ourgues knew them thor- 
 oughly. A more base, faithless, treacherous and murderous char- 
 acter never prevailed among civilized nations, and never could 
 prevail among any nation of warlike barbarians. We do not 
 mean to justify G-orgues ; but may say that it is well, perhaps, for 
 humanity, that heroism sometimes puts on the terrors of the 
 avenger, and visits the enormous crime, which men would other- 
 wise fail to reach, with penalties somewhat corresponding with the 
 degree and character of the offence ! There are sometimes cri- 
 minals whom it is a mere tempting of Providence to leave only to 
 the judgments of eternity and their own seared, cold, and wicked 
 hearts. The murderer whose hands you cannot bind, you must 
 cut off; not because you thirst for his blood, but because he 
 thirsts for yours ! But ours is not the field for discussion, and 
 we may well leave the question for decision to the instincts of hu- 
 manity. The vengeance which moves the nations to clap hands 
 with rejoicing has, perhaps, a much higher guaranty and sanction 
 than the common law of morals can afford. 
 
 y. xii. 
 
 THE CHEVALIER AT HOME MONTLUC COUNSELS GOURGUES 
 
 FROM HIS COMMENTARIES. 
 
 HAVING taken his farewell of the Floridians, and embarked with 
 all his people, it was on board of his vessels, with their wings 
 spread to the breeze, that the Chevalier De Gourgues offered up 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 453 
 
 solemn acknowledgments to Heaven, for the special sanction which 
 ho had found in its favor for the enterprise achieved. It was 
 with a heart full of gratitude, that he bowed down on the deck of 
 his little bark, and offered up his prayer to the God of Battles 
 for the succor afforded him in his extremity. It was with a light 
 heart that he meditated upon the sanguinary justice done upon 
 the cruel enemies of his people ; the honor of his country's flag 
 redeemed by a poor soldier of fortune, when disgraced and de- 
 serted by the monarch and the court, who derived all their distinc- 
 tion from its venerable and protecting folds. It was with a just 
 and honorable pride that he felt how certainly he had made the 
 record of his name in the pages of history, by an action grateful 
 to the fame of the soldier, and still more grateful to the fears and 
 sympathies of outraged humanity. The acclamations of the wild 
 Floridian their praises and songs of victory, however wild and 
 rude were but a foretaste of those which he had a right to ex- 
 pect from the lips of his countrymen in la Belle France ! Alas ' 
 the hand of power covered the lips of rejoicing ! The despotism 
 of the land shook a heavy rod over the people, silencing the 
 voice of praise, and chilling the heart of sympathy. But let us 
 not anticipate. 
 
 The Chevalier DeGourgues sailed from the mouth of the Taoa- 
 tacorou, on the third of May, 1568. For seventeen days the 
 voyage was prosperous, and his vessels ran eleven hundred leagues ; 
 and on the sixth of June, thirty-four days after leaving the coast 
 of Florida, he arrived at Rochelle. The latter half of his voy- 
 age had been far different from the first. As at his departure 
 from France, he suffered severely front head winds and angry 
 tempests. His provisions were nearly exhausted, and his people 
 began to suffer from famine. His consorts separated from him in 
 
454 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 the storm, one of them, the patache, being lost with its whole 
 complement of eight men ; the other not reaching port for a 
 month after himself. His escape was equally narrow from other 
 and less merciful enemies than hunger and shipwreck. The bruit 
 of his adventure, to his great surprise, had reached the country 
 before him. The Spanish court, well served, in that day, by its 
 emissaries, had been advised of his progress, and that he had ap- 
 peared at Rochelle. A fleet of eighteen sail, led by one large 
 vessel, was instantly despatched in pursuit of him. 
 
 Received with good cheer and great applause by the people of 
 Rochelle, it was fortunate that he did not linger there. He set 
 forth with his vessel for Bordeaux ; there he went to render an ac- 
 count to his friend, the Marechal Blaize de Montluc, of* his ad- 
 ventures. This timely movement saved him. The pursuing 
 Spaniards reached Che-de-Bois the very day that he had left it, 
 and continued the chase as far as Blaze. He reached Bordeaux 
 in safety, and made his report to the king's lieutenant. 
 
 Montluc was one of those glorious Gascons who would always 
 much prefer to fight than eat. He was proud of the chevalier as 
 a G-ascon, and he loved him as a friend. But the approbation 
 that he expressed in private, he did not venture openly to speak. 
 
 * 
 
 " You have done a famous thing, Monsieur De Gourgues, you 
 have saved the honor of France, and won immortal glory for 
 yourself ; but the king's lieutenant must not say this to the king's 
 people. I praise G-od that you are a Gascon like myself, and no 
 race, I think, Monsieur De Gourgues, was ever quite so valiant as 
 our own ; but my friend, I fear they do not love us any the bet- 
 ter that they have not the soul to rival us. I fear that the glory 
 thou hast won will bring thee to the halter only. Hearken, my 
 friend, Dominique, dost thou know that, at this very moment, thy 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 455 
 
 vessel is pursued by a host of Spanish caravels ? the winds rend 
 and the seas sink them to perdition ! Thou knowest, how I hate, 
 and scorn, and spit upon the cut-throat scoundrels ! Well ! 
 That is not all, I tell thee, Dominique, my friend, there is a 
 courier already on his way to the ambassador of Spain, who will 
 demand thy head from our sovereign, that it may give pleasure 
 to his sovereign, the black-hearted and venomous Philip. What 
 would he with thy head, my friend ? I tell thee, it is his wretched 
 selfishness that would take thy head not that it may be useful to 
 him, but that it shall no longer be of use to thee ! Was there 
 ever such a fool and monster ! Thou shouldst keep thy head, 
 my friend, so long as thou hast a use for it thyself, even though 
 it ache thee many times after an unnecessary bottle !'' 
 
 " Think'st thou, Montluc, that there is any danger that the 
 court of France will give ear to the king of Spain ?" 
 
 " Give ear ! Ay, give both ears, my friend ! Our head is in 
 the lap of Spain already. She hath the shears with which she 
 shall clip the hair by which our strength is shorn ; and, if she will, 
 me thinks, she may clip head as well as hair, when the humor 
 suits. It is not now, my friend, as when we fought against the 
 bloody dogs at Sienna, remembering only to outdo the famous 
 deeds of the stout men-at-arms that followed Bayard and La 
 Palisse in the generation gone before. Ah ! Monsieur, thou wast 
 with me in those days. Thou rememberest, I trow, the famous 
 skirmish which we had before the little town of Seve. But I will 
 read thee from my commentaries, which I have been writing in 
 imitation of Roman Caesar, of the wonderful wars and sieges in 
 which I have fought, and in which I have evermore found most 
 delight." 
 
 And he drew forth from his cabinet, as he spoke, the great 
 
456 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 volume of manuscripts, afterwards destined to become the famous 
 depository of his deeds. 
 
 " I have written like a Gascon, Monsieur De Gourgues, but let 
 none complain who is not able to do battle like a Gascon ! He 
 who fights well, my friend, may surely be allowed the privilege of 
 showing how goodly were his deeds. I will read thee but a pas- 
 sage from that famous skirmish at Seve ; not merely that thou, 
 shouldst see the spirit of what I have written, and bear witness 
 to the truth, but that thou mayst find for thyself a fitting lesson 
 for thy own conduct in the straight which is before thee." 
 
 Having found the passage, Montluc read as follows : 
 
 " As the Signior Francisco Bernardin and myself, who, for that 
 time were the Marshals of the camp, drew nigh to the place, and 
 were beginning to lodge the army, there sallied forth from fort, 
 and church, and trench, a matter of two or three hundred men, 
 who charged upon us with the greatest fury. I had with me at 
 that time, but the Captain Charry a most brave captain, whom 
 thou must well remember v 
 
 Gourgues nodded assent 
 
 " with fifty arquebusiers and a small body of horse 
 
 Knowing this my weakness, the Baron de Chissy, our camp- 
 master, sent me a reinforcement of one hundred arquebusiers. 
 But my peril was such, that I sent to him straightway for other 
 help, telling him that we were already at it, and close upon tho 
 encounter. At this very moment, Monsieur de Bonnivet, return- 
 ing post from court, and hearing of the fighting, said to the Baron 
 de Chissy, without alighting from his horse 
 
 " ( Do thou halt here till the Marechal shall arrive, and, mean- 
 while, I will go and succor Monsieur de Montluc.' 
 
 "He was followed by certain captains and arquebusiers on 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 467 
 
 horseback. We had but an instant for embrace when he arrived, 
 for the enemy were already charging our men. 
 
 " ' You are welcome, Monsieur de Bonnivet,' I said to him 
 quickly ; i but alight, and let us set upon these people, and beat 
 them back again into their fortress. ' 
 
 " Whereupon, he and his followers instantly alighted, and he 
 said to me, do you charge directly upon those, who would re- 
 cover the fort.' 
 
 " Which said, he clapped his buckler upon his arm, while I 
 caught up an halbert, for I ever (as thou knowest) loved to play 
 with that sort of cudgel. Then I said to Signior Francisco Ber- 
 nardin 
 
 " ' Comrade, whilst we charge, do you continue to provide the 
 quarters.' 
 
 " But to this he answered 
 
 " i And is that all the reckoning you make of the employment 
 the Marechal hath entrusted to our charge ? If it must be 
 that you will fight thus I will be a fool for company, and, once 
 in my life, play Gascon also.' 
 
 " So he alighted and went with me to the charge. He was armed 
 with very heavy weapons, and had, moreover, become unwieldy 
 from weight of years. This kept him from making such speed as 
 I. At such banquets, my body methought did not weigh an 
 ounce. I felt not that I touched the ground ; and, for the pain of 
 my hip (greatly hurt as thou knowest by a fall at the taking of 
 Quiers) that was forgotten ! I thus charged straightway upon 
 those by the trench upon one side, and Monsieur de Bonnivet did 
 as much upon his quarter ; so that we thundered the rogues back 
 with such a vengeance, that I passed over the trench, pell-mell, 
 amidst the route, pursuing, smiting and slaying, all the way, till 
 20 
 
458 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 we reached the church ! I never so laid about me before, or did 
 so much execution at any one time. Those within the church, 
 seeing their people in such disorder, and so miserably cut to 
 pieces, in a great terror, fled from the place, taking, in flight, a 
 little pathway that led along the rocky ledges of the mountain, 
 down into the town. In this route, one of my men caught hold 
 upon him who carried their ensign ; but the fellow nimbly and 
 very bravely disengaged himself from him, and leapt into the path ; 
 making for the town as fast as he could speed. I ran after him 
 also, but he was too quick even for me, as well he might be, 
 for he had fear in loth his heels /" 
 
 Here Montluc paused, and closed the volume. 
 
 " It is enough that I have read ; for thou wilt see the counsel 
 that I design for thee. It is not easy for thee to take it, being a 
 Gascon ; but such it is, borrowed from the wisdom of that same 
 ensign. Thou sawest him scamper, for thou wert on that very 
 chase ; now, if thou wouldst save thy head from the affections 
 of the king of Spain, take fear in loth thy heels, and run as nimbly 
 as that ensign." 
 
 " Verily, it is not easy, Monsieur de Montluc, seeing that I 
 am conscious of no wrong, but rather of a great service done to 
 my country ; and if my own king deliver me not up, wherefore 
 should I fear him of Spain." 
 
 " That is it, my friend ! Our king will, not from his own na- 
 ture, but from that of others, who love not this service to thy 
 country. The Queen-mother will deliver thee up, the Princes of 
 Lorraine will deliver thee up, and the devil will deliver thee up 
 all having a great affection for the king of Spain if thou trust not 
 the counsel of thy friends, and wilfully put thy head in one di- 
 rection where the wisdom of thy heels would show thee quito 
 
 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 459 
 
 another. Hast thou forgotten that good proverb of the Italians, 
 which we heard so much read from their lips and honored in their 
 actions, * No tefidar, et no serai inganatoV Above all, mon 
 ami, trust nothing to thy hope, when it builds upon thy service 
 done to kings. It is a hope that has hung a thousand good fel- 
 lows who might be living to this day. Now, in counselling theo 
 to flight and secrecy, I counsel thee against my own pride and 
 pleasure. It would be a great delight to me to have thee near 
 me, while I read thee all mine history ; the beginning, even to 
 the end thereof ; the thousand sieges, battles and achievements, 
 in which I have shown good example to the young valor of 
 France, and made the Gascon name famous throughout the 
 world." 
 
 The heart of the Chevalier Gourgues was not persuaded. He 
 could not believe that his good deeds for his country's good and 
 honor, would meet with ill-return and disgrace. 
 
 " The king will do me justice." 
 
 " Verily, should he even give thee to him of Spain, or hang 
 thee himself, they will call it by no other name," answered 
 the other drily. 
 
 " But the baseness and the cowardice of flight ! This confiding 
 one's courage and counsel to one's heels, Montluc !" 
 
 " Is wisdom, as thou shouldst know from the story of Achilles. 
 Verily, it requires that the secret meaning of this vulnerableness 
 of the heel on the part of the son of Thetis, is neither more nor 
 less than that he was a monstrous coward that he would have 
 been the bravest man of the world, but for the weakness that 
 always made him fly from danger. It was in the form of allegory 
 that the satirical poet stigmatised a man in authority. You see 
 nothing in the treatment of Hector by Achilles, but what will 
 
460 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 confirm this opinion. He will not fight with him himself, but 
 makes his myrmidons do so. What is this, but the case of one 
 of our own plumed and scented nobles, who procures his foe, 
 whom he fears, to be murdered by the Biscayan bully whom he 
 buys ? But, let me read thee a passage from my commentaries 
 bearing very much upon this history." 
 
 XIII. 
 
 FALL OF THE CURTAIN. 
 
 WE need not listen to this passage. The reader will find it, 
 with other good things, in the huge tome of the braggart, and 
 garrulous, but very shrewd and valiant old Gascon. Enough to say, 
 that this counsel did not prevail with his friend. Gourgues deter- 
 mined to persevere in his original intention of presenting himself 
 at court. His reasons for this resolution were probably not alto- 
 gether shown to Montluc. Gourgues was a bankrupt, and 
 needed employment. His expedition had absorbed his little 
 fortune, and left him a debtor, without the means of repayment. 
 With the highest reputation as a captain, by land and sea, and 
 with his name honored by the sentiment of the nation, which was 
 not permitted to applaud, he still fondly hoped that his friend 
 had mistaken his position, and that he should be honored and 
 welcomed to the favor and service of his sovereign. He was one 
 of those to hope against hope. 
 
 " As thou wilt ! Unbolt the door for the man who is wilful. 
 If thy resolution be taken, I say no more. But thou shalt have 
 letters to the Court, and if the words of an old friend and brother 
 in arms may do thee good, thou shalt have the sign-manual of 
 Montluc, to as many missives as it shall please thee to despatch." 
 
 tnee to aei 
 
DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUES. 461 
 
 The letters were written ; and, with a full narrative of his ex- 
 pedition prepared, the Chevalier de Gourgues made his appearance 
 at court. He had anticipated the ambassador of Spain ; but he 
 was received coldly. The Queen Mother, and the Princes of 
 Lorraine, with all who worshipped at their altars, turned their 
 backs upon the heroic enthusiast. The king forebore to smile. 
 In his secret heart, he really rejoiced in the vengeance taken by 
 his subject upon the Spaniards, but he was not in a situation to 
 declare his true sentiments. Meanwhile, the Spanish ambassador 
 demanded the offender, and set a price upon his head. The 
 Queen Mother and her associates denounced him. A process 
 was initiated to hold him responsible, in his life, for an enterprise 
 undertaken without authority against the subjects of a monarch 
 in alliance with France ; and our chevalier was compelled to hide 
 from the storm which he dared not openly encounter. For a 
 long time he lay concealed in Rouen, at the house of the 
 President de Marigny, and with other ancient friends. In this 
 situation, the Queen of England, Elizabeth, made him overtures, 
 and offered him employment in her service ; but the tardy grace 
 of his own monarch, at length, enabled him to decline the ap- 
 pointments of another and a hostile sovereign. But, nevertheless, 
 though admitted to mercy by the king of France, he was left 
 without employment. Fortune, in the end, appeared to smile. 
 Don Antonio, of Portugal, offered him the command of a fleet 
 which he had armed with the view to sustaining his right to the 
 crown of that country, which Philip of Spain was preparing to 
 usurp. Gourgues embraced the offer with delight. It promised 
 him employment in a familiar field, and against the enemy whom 
 he regarded with an immortal hate ; but the Fates forbade that 
 he should longer listen to the plea of revenge. While preparing 
 
462 THE LILY AND THE TOTEM. 
 
 to render himself to the Portuguese prince, he fell ill at Tours, 
 where he died, universally regretted, and with the reputation of 
 being one of the most valiant and able captains of the day 
 equally capable as a commander of an army and a fleet. We 
 cannot qualify our praise of this remarkable man by giving heed 
 to the moral doubts which would seek to impair the glory, not 
 only of the most remarkable event of his life, but of the century 
 in which he lived. We owe it to his memory to write upon his 
 monument, that his crimes, if his warfare upon the Spaniards 
 shall be so considered, were committed in the cause of humanity ! 
 Our chronicle is ended. The expedition of Dominique de 
 Gourgues concludes the history of the colonies of France in the 
 forests of the Floridian. 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ORIGINALLY, it was the design of the Author, to write a reli- 
 gious narrative poem on the subject of the preceding history. The 
 following sections, however, were all that were written. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE VOICE. 
 
 A midnight voice from Heaven ! It smote his ear, 
 
 That stern old Christian warrior, who had stood, 
 
 Fearless, with front erect and spirit high, 
 
 Between his trembling flock and tyranny, 
 
 Worse than Egyptian ! It awakened him 
 
 To other thoughts than combat. " Dost thou see ;" 
 
 Thus ran the utterance of that voice from Heaven, 
 
 " The sorrows of thy people ? Dost thou hear 
 
 Their groans, that mingle with the old man's prayer, 
 
 And the child's prattle, and the mother's hymn ? 
 
 Vain help thy cannon brings them, and the sword, 
 
 Unprofitably drunk with martyr blood, 
 
 Maintains the Christian argument no more. 
 
 Arouse thee for new labors. Gird thy loins 
 
 For toils and perils better overcome 
 
464 APPENDIX. 
 
 By patience, than the sword. Thou shalt put on 
 Humility as armor ; and set forth, 
 Leading thy flock, whom the gaunt wolf pursues, 
 To other lands and pastures. 'T is no home 
 For the pure heart in France ! There, Tyranny- 
 Hath wed with Superstition ; and the fruit 
 The foul, but natural issue of their lusts, 
 Is murder ! which, hot-hunting fresher feasts, 
 Knows never satiation ; raging still, 
 Where'er a pure heart- victim may be found 
 In these fair regions. It will lay them waste, 
 Leaving no field of peace, leaving no spot 
 Where virtue may find refuge from her foes, 
 Permitted to forbear defensive blows, 
 Most painful, though most needful to her cause ! 
 The brave shall perish, and the fearful bend, 
 Till unmixed evil, rioting in waste, 
 Wallows in crime and carnage unrebuked ! 
 Vain is thy wisdom, and the hollow league, 
 That tempts thee to forbearance, worse than vain. 
 Flight be thy refuge now. Thou shalt shake off 
 The dust upon thy sandals, and go forth 
 To a far foreign land ; a wild, strange realm, 
 That were a savage empire, most unmeet 
 For Christian footstep, and the peaceful mood, 
 But that it is a refuge shown by Grod 
 For shelter of his people. Thither, then, 
 Betake thee in thy flight. Let not thy cheek 
 Flush at the seeming shame. It is no shame 
 To fly from shameless foes. This truth is taught 
 
APPENDIX. 465 
 
 By him, the venerable sire who led 
 
 His people from the Egyptians. Lead thou thine ! 
 
 Forbear the soldier's fury. I would rouse 
 
 The Prophet and the Patriarch in thy breast, 
 
 And make thee better seek the peaceful march, 
 
 Than the fierce, deadly struggle. Thou shouldst guide, 
 
 With pastoral hand of meekness, not of blood, 
 
 The tribes that still have followed thee, and still, 
 
 Demand thy care. Far o'er the western deeps 
 
 Have I prepared thy dwelling ! A new world, 
 
 Full of all fruits and lovely to the eye, 
 
 Various in mount and valley, sweet in stream, 
 
 Cool in recesses of the ample wood, 
 
 With climate bland, air vigorous, sky as pure 
 
 As is the love that proffers it to faith 
 
 Await thee ; and the seas have favoring gales 
 
 To waft thee on thy path ! Delay and die '" 
 
 II. 
 
 " And, if I perish !" the gray warrior said, 
 " I perish still in France ! If cruel foes 
 Beleaguer and ensare me to my fate, 
 The blow will fall upon me in the land 
 Which was my birth-place. Better there to die 
 The- victim for my people, than to fly 
 Inglorious, from the struggle set for us 
 By the most cruel fortunes ! Not for me 
 The hope of refuge in a foreign clime, 
 20* 
 
* 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 While that which cradled me lies desolate 
 
 In blood and ashes ! It is better here 
 
 ; 
 
 To strive against the ruin and misrule, 
 
 Than basely yield the empire to the foe, 
 
 Whose sway we might withstand ; and whose abuse, 
 
 Unchecked, were but the fruitful argument 
 
 For thousand years of woe ! I would not lay 
 
 These aged bones to sleep in distant lands, 
 
 Though pure and peaceful ; but would close mine eye, 
 
 Upon the same sweet skies by tempests now 
 
 Torn and disclouded upon which gladly first 
 
 They opened with delight in infancy; 
 
 This fondnesss, it may be, is but a weakness 
 
 Becoming not my manhood. Be it so ! 
 
 I know that I am weak ; but there's a passion, 
 
 That glows with loyal anger in my heart, 
 
 And shows like virtue. It forbids my flight ; 
 
 And, for my country's glory, and the safety 
 
 Of our distracted and diminished flock, 
 
 Declares how much more grateful were the strife 
 
 That proud defiance which I still have given 
 
 To those fierce enemies, whose sleepless hate 
 
 Hath shamed and struck at both. I deem it better 
 
 To struggle with injustice than submit ; 
 
 For still submission of the innocent 
 
 Makes evident the guilty ; and the good, 
 
 Who yield, but multiply the herd of foes, 
 
 That ravin when the retribution sleeps ! 
 
 What hope were there for sad humanity, 
 
 If still, when came the danger, fled the braye ? 
 
APPENDIX. 467 
 
 Fled only to beguile, in fierce pursuit, 
 
 The wolfish spoiler, leaving refuge none, 
 
 In heart or homestead ? Not for me to fly 
 
 Not though, I hear, Eternal Sire ! thy voice 
 
 Still speaking with deep utterance in my soul, 
 
 Commending my obedience. All in vain, 
 
 I strive to serve thee with submission meet, 
 
 And move to do thy will. The earth grows up, 
 
 Around me ; and the aspects of my home, 
 
 Enclose me like the mountains and the sea, 
 
 Forbidding me to fly them. Natural ties, 
 
 That are as God's, upon the mortal heart, 
 
 Fetter me still to France ! and yet thou knowest, 
 
 How reverent and unselfish were my toils, 
 
 In this our people's cause. I have not spared 
 
 Day or night labor ; and my blood hath flowed, 
 
 Unstinted, in the strife that we have waged. 
 
 The sword hath hacked these limbs the poisoned cup 
 
 Hung at these lips. The ignominous death, 
 
 From the uplifted scaffold, look'd upon me, 
 
 Craving its victim ; the assassin's steel, 
 
 Turned from my ribs, with narrowest graze avoiding 
 
 The imperil'd life ! Yet never have I shrunk, 
 
 Because of these flesh-dangers from the work 
 
 Whereto my hand was set. Let me not now 
 
 Turn from the field in flight, though still to lead 
 
 The flock that I must die for ! This I know ! 
 
 I cannot always 'scape. The blow will come ! 
 
 Not always will the poisonous draught be spill'd, 
 
 Or the sharp steel be foil'd, or turn'd aside ; 
 
468 APPENDIX. 
 
 And to the many martyrs in this cause, 
 Already made, my yearning spirit feels, 
 Its sworn alliance. I will die like them, 
 But cannot fly their graves ! I dare not fly, 
 Though death awaits me here, and, soft, afar, 
 Sits safety in the cloud and beckons me." 
 
 %k 
 
 m. 
 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 " And leave thy flock to perish ?" Thus the voice, 
 Reproachful to the patriarch. " No," he cried, 
 " They shall partake the sweet security, 
 Of the far home of refuge thou assign'st. 
 They shall go forth from bondage and from death : 
 The path made free to them, their feet shall take ; 
 My counsels shall direct them, and my soul 
 Still struggle in their service. Those who fly, 
 Best moved by fond obedience, with few ties 
 To fasten the devoted heart to earth, 
 And looking but to heaven ; and those who still, 
 With that fond passion of home which fetters me, 
 Prefer to look upon their graves in France, 
 Shall equally command my care and toil, 
 Though not alike my presence. They who go forth 
 To the far land of promise which awaits them, 
 Mine eye shall watch across the mighty deep, 
 And still my succors reach them, while the power 
 Is mine for human providence ; and still, 
 Even from the fearful eminence of death, 
 
 ,-f 
 
APPENDIX. 469 
 
 My spirit, parting from its shrouding clay, 
 Survey them with the thought of one who loves, 
 Glad in the safety which it could not share !" 
 
 Even as he said, a little band went forth 
 
 Still resolute for Grod ; having no home, 
 
 But that made holy by his privilege ; 
 
 Their prayers unchecked, their pure rites undisturbed, 
 
 They bending at high altars, with no dread, 
 
 Lest other eyes than the elect should see, 
 
 Their secret smokes arise. 
 
 To a wild shore, 
 
 Most wild, but lovely, o'er the deeps they came ; 
 Propitious winds at beck, and Grod in heaven, 
 Looking from bluest skies. From the broad sea, 
 Sudden, the grey lines of the wooing land, 
 Stretched out its sheltering haven, and afar, 
 Implored them, with its smiles, through gayest green, 
 That to the heart of the lone voyagers, 
 Spoke of their homes in France. 
 
 "And here," they cried, 
 
 " Cast anchor ! We will build our temples here ! 
 This solitude is still security, 
 And freedom shall compensate all the loss 
 Known first in loss of home ! Yet naught is lost, 
 All rather gained, that human hearts have found 
 Most dear to hope and its immunities, 
 If that we win that freedom of the soul, 
 It never knew before ! Here should we find 
 Our native land, the native land of soul, 
 
470 APPENDIX. 
 
 Where conscience may take speech, where truth take root, 
 
 And spread its living branches, till all earth 
 
 Grows lovely with their heritage. From the wild 
 
 Our pray'rs shall rise to heaven ; nor shall we build 
 
 Our altars in the gloomy caves of earth, 
 
 Dreading each moment lest the accusing smokes, 
 
 That from our reeking censers may arise, 
 
 Shall show the imperial murderer where we hide." 
 
 
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