swANToN) ixi)i.\N 'ritii5i;s OF 'I'lii'. i,(>\\i;i; m ississiimm vat.ley 199 



iiiiulc tluMii ivs(()n> llu'ir ni'ins mikI ju'oiiiiscd tlu'in lliiil llicir crfccls should 1k> 

 broiij;li( biK'k. Tlioy ^^mvc tliciii food ;iiid pliK-i'd Ihoiii in a si'pariit** cabin, 

 wluMV tlicy nMuaiiH'd lliriv days. Iniiiiii.' Iliat liiiic tlicse c-liiofs and (lu licad- 

 iiicii of tiic n.'iiiou bcld councMl iiijild and day In dcllitcratt' about what they 

 oujiht to do witli the i)risoners. Tlie fuurtli day tlu; elaofs had come to tal<e 

 them and conduct tliem to tln'ir dugouts, in which they had replaced almost 

 all that they had taken. There these chiefs had informed llieir jirisoners that 

 M. de liienville was amoiif; tlie Ton ika resting; that in a little wlule he was 

 going to come among them to make an establislunent. and that in a few days 

 they themselves were going to send him jirovisions. 



Th<' Nth of May, at ID o'clock in the morning, we saw 4 dugouts conung. in 

 which were S men standing, who sang the calumet song, and 3 men in each 

 dugout seated under parasols, 12 who paddled and 2 Frenchmen." M. de 

 Bienville did not doubt that these were the chiefs of the Xatchez, who had 

 fallen into the traj) be bad set for them. As he knew all the ceremonies of 

 the savages perfectly, be ordered part of his people not to show themselves, 

 but to bold themselves in readiness, with their arms, in the guardhouse, and the 

 other part to remain unarmed about bis tent and the landing place, In order 

 to take the arms from those savages as fast as they disembarked. He com- 

 manded to have admitted into bis tent only the 8 tirst chief.s, whom be named, 

 knowing them all by their war names, and to make the others sit down at the 

 door of the tent. All this was carried out to perfection. All 8 chiefs entered, 

 singing, calumet iu hand, which they passed at different times over M. de Bien- 

 ville from bead to foot as a mark of union, and afterward, passing their hands 

 over his stomach without rubbing it, and then over tbeii'S. This terminated, 

 they presented it to him to smoke. He pushed back their calumets with con- 

 tempt and told them that he wished to understand their harangues and know 

 their thought before smoking. This disconcerted these chiefs, who went out 

 of the tent and presented the calumets to the sun. One of them, high priest 

 of the temple, spoke into the air, liis eyes fixed on the sun, in order to invoke it. 

 His arms extended above his head, and then they reentered and presented the 

 calumets anew. M. de Bienville rei)eated to them in a tone wearied with their 

 ceremonies that they nnist tell him what satisfaction they would give Inm for 

 the five Frenchmen whom they bad murdered. This speech stunned them. 

 They loweretl their heads without replying. Then M. de Bienville gave the 

 sign to seize them and conduct them all into the prison which he had prepared 

 for them. They put them there in irons. In the evening they gave them bread 

 and meat. They did not wish to eat at all. All sang their death songs. One 

 of the two Frenchmen whom they had brought with them was. tlie young in- 

 terpreter who had been to invite them to come, and the other was a person 

 living among the Illinois, who, not knowing of the war, bad delivereil himself 

 into their bands. They had not done him any harm. At uiglitfall M. di> Bien- 

 ville had the head chief of the nation, who is called among them the great Sun,^ 

 come into bis tent, liis brother, Tattooed-serpent, and a third brother, sur- 

 named the little Suu. As they were half dead [with fear], M. de Bienville, 

 to reassure them, began by promising them that they did not wish to have 

 them die. He said he knew that it was not by their orders that the five French- 

 men bad been murdered ; that he wished that by way of satisfaction they 



" Penicaut says 28 men, and does not mention the Frenchmen. La Harpe says 19 

 men sent l)y the grand chief, 5 of whom were Sun chiefs .-nd 7 chiefs of villages, besides 

 6 Frenchmen. 



* According to Penicaut and La Ilarpe, the great Sun was not with tliis party, though 

 they agree that his brother was present. 



