144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 43 



the loss which the entire French post, which was near by, has suffered, a 

 loss in fact so considerable that I doubt whether this post has yet risen again 

 at the present time. This is the death of the Tattooed-serpent, my particular 

 friend and the friend of all the French. He was great war chief of the 

 Natchez Nation and bi-other of the great Sun, who allowed him an absolute 

 authority over the entire nation. * * * 



We entered his [the great Sun's] house, where he said aloud, Ouitigui- 

 tlatagoup, he is quite dead. Then he seated himself and bent over, resting his 

 head on his hands. The instant he said that his brother was dead his wife, 

 who was present, uttered loud cries. This was a signal of sadness for the 

 entire nation, which was awaiting the outcome of this malady, which could 

 not fail to be fatal to them as soon as the Tattooed-serpent should be dead. 

 Then one heard groans and lamentations on all sides. The most doleful cries 

 were made to resound under the neighboring trees. Almost immediately two 

 consecutive discharges of guns were heard to warn all the villages, which 

 replied a few moments afterwards. 



I will spare the reader many scenes which would only sadden him, and I 

 will report of the funeral honors which were rendered to the Tattooed-serpent 

 only those which are extraordinary and of which Europeans have no knowledge. 



A short time after these discharges the speaker iiiortc-ixirolr) entered and 

 bega-n to weep. The great Sun raised his head and looked at his favorite wife, 

 to whom he made a sign that we did not understand, until she had thrown a 

 vessel of water on the fire, which was entirely extinguished by it. Then the 

 speaker, or chancellor, of the great chief howled in salutation to his sovereign 

 and went out. As soon as he was outside of the cabin he uttered a fearful cry, 

 which was instantly repeated by all the peoi)Ie of the villages. 



The fire extinguished in our presence and the redoubled cries of the entire 

 nation made me fear, with reason, for the great Sun and even for ourselves, 

 for who could guess the consequences of the despair in which we saw all 

 plunged? 



The great Sun being always bent over and his eyes closed, I approached a 

 common Sun and asked him what the extinguished fire and the doleful cries 

 signified. He replied that it was the signal to extinguish all the fires, and that 

 it made all the Natchez tremble with reason, because the extinction of the fires 

 was not done on account of the death of the Tattooed-serpent. 



I understood by these words that the sovereign wished to die. * * * 



He (the Tattooed-serpent) was on his bed of state, dressed in his finest 

 clothing, his face painted with vermilion, moccasined as if to go on a journey, 

 and wearing his crown of white fetithers mingled with red. His arms had 

 been tied to his bed. These consisted of a double-barreled gun, a pistol, a bow, 

 a quiver full of arrows, and a war club. Around the bed were all the calumets 

 of peace which he had received during his life, and near by had been planted a 

 large pole, peeled and painted red, from which hung a chain of reddened cane 

 splints, composed of 46 links or rings, to indicate the number of enemies he 

 had killed. I do not at all pretend in reporting this fact to guarantee the 

 number of the exploits of this man. 



All his ])e<)pie Vvere aromid liim. Food was served to him at liis accustomed 

 hours, as it lie iiiid been li\iiig, iiiid liis retainer |or h(>ad servant — lour]. 

 seeing that he did not touih it, said to him: " You no longer wish, then, to take 

 what we present youV Are these things no more to your taste? Why is it, 

 then, that you rebuff us and our services do not please you any more? Ah ! 

 you do not speak as usual. Without doubt you are dead. Yes; it is done. 

 You are going to the country of the spirits, and you are leaving us forever." 



