196 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 43 



to arrive at tbe landing. There was from time to time a clear moon, and the 

 Chevalier de la Loire then turned his head to see if anyone followed us. 

 Finally, thanks to the Lord, we arrived at the end of the prairie, which is very 

 near the landing, where we found M. de la Loire, the elder, who was awaiting 

 us along with another person, acting as sentinel, to await us with him. After 

 embracing much we got into oiir canoes and we landed the 8 savages. M. de 

 la Loire recompensed all 8 of them and made a larger present to the one who 

 had been first to forewarn me. As we parted they asked us where we were 

 going, and we replied that we were going to Mobile, and that they would see 

 us again in a short time. 



As soon as we were gone the 8 savages that we had left on the shore of the 

 river went home to the Natchez to inform the grand chief of the departure of 

 the French. The entire village was immediately alarmed ; but the grand 

 chief said absolutely that that could not be, and that the Chevalier de la 

 Loire, as well as Penicaut, were lying in their cabin with 3 savages; the 8 

 savages, however, told him anew that they were gone with the other French- 

 men. The grand chief rose promptly and went to knock, like an angry man, 

 on the door of the cabin of the Chevalier de la Loire, and hearing the savages 

 who were inside say that they could not open the door and that they did not 

 have the key, he ran to the bed of the Chevalier de la Loire, where, not 

 finding us, he hastened to maltreat the 3 savages, to whom he had given orders 

 to guard us. They excused themselves by saying that we must be sorcerers, 

 and that they had not heard the least noise. He possessed himself of all the 

 goods in the storehouse and the clothes, which were left in the cabin of the 

 Chevalier de la Loire. 



As for us, we arrived at 10 o'clock in the morning opposite the village of the 

 Tonicas, w^here we set foot to earth. We found there M. Uavion, missionary 

 priest, who .embraced us all. He told us that he had believed us dead. Then 

 he said mass for us to thank God for the grace which he had shown us. 

 After mass we recounted to him everything that had passed, for which he 

 thanked God a hundred times. While we were speaking to him, we saw 3 

 Natchez arrive, who came, on the part of their grand chief, to excite the chief 

 of the Tonicas to have the missionary and all the Frenchmen who were in his 

 village killed, promising that all the Natchez savages would join them after- 

 ward in making war on the French, adding that it was much better to deal with 

 the English who gave them goods at a better rate. The chief of the Tonicas, 

 a man of as good sense as a savage is able to have, and incapable of treason, 

 a very rare virtue among the savages, was very much astonished at such a 

 speech. He wished to break his [the speaker's] head immediately. He asked 

 the opinion of M. Davion on that point, who would not permit it, counseling 

 him to send them back without doing them any harm, becavise M. de Tiamothe 

 would perhaps be offended. INI. Davion wrote a letter to M. de Lamothe about 

 the treason of the Natchez and their evil purpose; we gave him this letter on 

 arriving at Mobile, at which M. de Lamothe was very much surprised." 



The events Avhich followed — events dignified hj the title of the 

 first Natchez war — are given below as narrated by De Richebourg, 

 w^ho was captain of the company assigned to Bienville, and probably 

 kept some official record of everything that happened : 



M. de Bienville having received at this time new commissions from the king 

 to the command of the Mississippi, his majesty gave him orders to go and 



» Margry, D6couvertes, v, 512-520. 



