swANTo.N] INniAN THIIiKS OK THK LOWKH MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 187 



and I'lR-aiiipcd thai ni^lit on an island 10 U'a<j;n('s lu'low. The events 

 of the succeeding days in which the Natchez first a^Dpear in history 

 may l)est bo told in the words of Tonti, preserved in Margry, which is 

 probably the most authentic narrative. 



The iiioniiiii; of the '2(>\h, beiiij; on the water 2 leajiues from our eauip, we ikt- 

 ceiveil a dugout eaiioe erossiii^ the river. We ^ave chase to it; luy cauoe, which 

 travele<l the best, distanced all the others, and as I was about to come up with 

 the duKout I was surjjrised to see the whole sliore lined with savajies, bow and 

 arrow in hand. M. de la Salle, seeing the danger in which I was placed, begged 

 me to cross to the other side, and when w^e had reached land, asking my advice 

 bow to come to this nation. I offered to go to carry the calumet of peace 

 thither, which he granted me with hesitation. Nevertheless it was necessary 

 to speak to them. I then embarked in a [birch] canoe in order to save myself 

 in case of alarm. As soon as I had set foot to earth on the other side where the 

 savages were they sat down. I made them smoke the peace calumet, and gave 

 a knife to an old man who appeared to me to be the chief. He put it promptly 

 inside of bis blanket as if he had committed a theft. Joining my hands I 

 imitated him, because that signifies in their manner that people are friends. 

 Afterward I made signs to send two to the other side, and I would remain 

 with them, which they did. And after they had seen IM. de la Salle and called 

 two of their people who were concealed in the woods, they returned with all of 

 the French to the place where I had remained. We camped, and M. de la 

 Salle, having been invited to go to their village, parted with part of his people, 

 invite the chief of the Coroha. who traveled all night to see M. de la Salle, 

 slept at the village. They are named Nahy." During the night they sent to 

 invite the chief of the Coroha, who traveled all night to see M. de La Salle, 

 and the said chief came with him and 10 men to our cabin. Next day all 

 embarked with us in our canoes to go to their village, which was 10 leagues 

 distant.^ • 



The various narratives of this expedition, however, differ con- 

 siderably in detail, which it is sometimes almost impossible to recon- 

 cile. Thus the accoimt just quoted implies that La Salle staj^ed one 

 night at the Xatchez village, that the Koroa chief traveled all night, 

 accompanied by 10 men, and met him the very next morning, and that 

 either that day or the next La Salle passed on to the Koroa. The 

 Relation of Nicolas de la Salle, on. the other hand, proceeds as 

 follows : 



M. de la Salle went with seven men to their village 3 leagues distant from 

 the river on rising ground. He remained there three days, the chief giving 

 him to understand that he had sent to ask other chiefs to speak to him. M. 

 de Tonti, seeing that M. de la Salle did not return, at the end of two days sent 

 eight Frenchmen to find him. They all returned without speaking to these 

 chiefs who had not yet arrived. They remained two days longer. TMaey sent 

 a little corn. There did not appear to be good hunting in this region. The 

 Loups nevertheless made two canoes out of elm bark, their own being much 

 worn. This nation is called the Natche. They told us that farther on we would 

 find the Coroa. The fifth day we parted along with four Natchg.*' 



« Given in Nicolas de la Salle's Relation more correctly as Natche. 

 'Margry, Decouvertes, i, 602-603. 

 <■ Ibid., 557-558. 



