swANTONl INDIAN THIBHS OF TIIK LOWKR MlSSISSlPri VALLEY 183 



fiiul n plarc wlicrc tlioy inif^ht coiioeal tlionisolvos far from tbe ancients of the 

 country, because after liaviii}; been a Ion;; time ;io(Hl friends tliey bad become 

 ill disposed and so numerous tbat we were no longer able to defend ourselves 

 against tbem. All tbose wbo dw<'it in tbe plains could not avoid submitting, 

 and tbose wbo bad retired into tbe mountains remained alone iinder obedience 

 to tbe great Sun. Tbe ancients of tbe country wisbeil, indeed, to force tbose of 

 our peoi)Ie whom tbey bad subjugated to join them in order to make war on 

 us, but tbey preferred to die rather than attack their brothers and especially 

 tbe Suns. 



" But tbose who had ascended along the west side of the great river, having 

 discovered this land which wi> inhabit, now crossed tbe river on a raft of dry 

 canes. They found the country such as tbey desin'd, suital)]e for concealing 

 themselves from the ancients of the cmmtry, and even easy to defend against 

 them if tbey ever undertook to attack us there. Ou their return they reported 

 this to tbe great Sun and tbe other Suns who governed tbe villages. 



"Tbe great Sun immediately had those informed who remained in the plains 

 and defended themselves still against tbe ancients of the country, and ordered 

 tbem to go into this new land and build there a temple and to carry there the 

 eternal tire in order to preserve it. There came hither a great number, with 

 their wives and their children. Tbe oldest and tbe Suns, relatives of tbe great 

 Sun, remained with those wbo kei»t with the great Sun and in tbe mountains. 

 They remained there a still longer time, as well as those wbo lived on tbe 

 shores of the great water. 



"A large part of our nation being then established here lived a long time in 

 peace and ni abundance during many generations. On tbe other band, those 

 who had remained under the Sun, or very near, for it was very warm there, 

 did not hasten to come and join us, because tbe ancients of tbe country made 

 themselves hated by all men — as much by our nation as by their own. Here is 

 how tbe ancient word says that that bapiiened. 



" The ancients of tbe country were all brothers — tbat is to say, they all came 

 out of the same couutrj' — but each large village on which many others depended 

 had its head master, and each head master commanded those whom he had 

 brought with him into this land. There was then nothing done among them 

 that all bad not consented to, but one of these head masters raised liimself 

 above tbe others and treated tbem as slaves. Thus the ancients of tbe country 

 no longer agreed among themselves. Tbey even warred against one another. 

 Some of them united with tbose of our nation who had remained, and all 

 together they sustained themselves well enough. 



" This was not the only reason which retained our Suns in that country. It 

 was bard for them to leave such a good land, and besides their assistance was 

 necessary to our other brothers who were established there like ourselves and 

 who lived along the shore of the great water on the side toward the east. 

 These extended so far that tbey went very far beyond the Sun, since there were 

 some of them from whom tbe Sun heard sometimes onlj' at the end of tive or 

 six years, and there were yet others so far away from us. whether along tbe 

 coast or in the islands, that for many years tbey had not been heard of at all. 



" It was only after many generations that these Suns came to join us in this 

 country, where the tine air and the peace which we enjoyed had multiplied us 

 into a number as great as tbe leaves on the trees. These Suns came alone 

 with their slaves, because our other brothers did not wish to follow them. 

 \Yarriors of fire" bad arrived who made the earth tremble and who bad beaten 

 the ancients of the country, and our brothers were allied with them, although 



"The Spaniards. — [Du Pratz.] 



