ADVENTURES IN LOUISIANA. 193 



bargain, as they said, they mounted two upon each 

 of the remaining horses and rode away. 



" We now got on famously with our fields, and soon 

 sowed fifteen acres of maize and tobacco, and then 

 began clearing another ten-acre field. We were one 

 day hard at work at this, when one of my boys came 

 running to us, crying out, ' Father ! father ! the 

 Redskins ! ' We snatched up our rifles and hastened 

 to the top of the little rising ground on which our 

 houses were built, and thence we saw, not Injuns, 

 but fourteen or fifteen Creoles galloping towards our 

 clearing, holloaing and huzzaing like mad. When 

 they were within fifty yards of us, Asa stepped for- 

 ward to meet them. As soon as they saw him one 

 of them called out, ' There is the thief ! There is 

 the man who stole my brown horse ! ' Asa made no 

 answer to this, but waited till they came nearer, 

 when one of them rode up to him and asked who 

 was the chief in the settlement. ' There is no chief 

 here,' answered Asa ; ' we are all equals and free 

 citizens.' 



" ' You have stolen a horse from our friend Mon- 

 sieur Croupier,' replied the other. ' You must give 

 it up.' 



'"Is that all?' said Asa quietly. 



" ' !N^o ; you must show us by what right you hunt 

 on this territory.' 



" ' Yes/ cried half-a-dozen others, ' we'll have no 

 strangers on our hunting-grounds ; the bears and 



VOL. VI. N 



