MOST GROTESQUE ATTIRE. 207 



rition. The third day our friend had consumed all 

 his provisions, and finding only a little fruit in the 

 woods, was beginning to feel the cravings of hun- 

 ger, when he descried columns of smoke proceed- 

 ing from a clearing. He at once turned his steps 

 in that direction. Some redskins had pitched 

 their camp on the spot, but, at the sight of this 

 strange pedestrian, they began to yell, and prepared 

 at once for flight. The worthy man employed the 

 most significant signs for arresting their flight and 

 tranquillising their fears, and succeeded in the end 

 in making them understand he was dying of 

 hunger. The Indians, not daring to offend the 

 unknown divinity, tremblingly placed before him 

 coffee, maize, and some mule's flesh, which he ate 

 with great avidity, and like a starved mortal. 

 His meal gave him strength enough to reach 

 Fredericksburg, which he did on the third day 

 v.-ithout accident." 



The Abbe himself seems, among his various ac- 

 complishments, to have dabbled in natural history ; 

 and he tells us that a collection of minerals and 

 curious animals constituted his principal riches. 

 In this repertory might be seen a centipede 11 

 inches long, and a caterpillar 13 inches in length 

 and 2 in circumference. As for serpents, he had 

 them of all sizes and of every variety ! " Selection 

 was easy, as they were everywhere underfoot, and 



