swANToNi INDIAN ri;ii!i:s ok 'iiii-, i.owkk m ississiimm vai.lkv 259 



The lir.~t ;i|)|)c;ir;iiic(' of this li'ilic in ant liciil ic iiisiory was. like 

 that ol" the Natchez, in La Salle's expedition of h'iS-_'. '| Ik' various 

 aceonnts of tiiis journey sliow unfortunate diserepaneies, and it will 

 he well to aive all of the v«'rsi()ns so far as they concern the ti'ilu! 

 under consideration. esj)ecially as the Tac'nsa |)l:iy a more inipoi-tant 

 part in this voya<;e than ever afterward, inteic-t l»ein^ soon ti'ans- 

 ferred to the more powerful Natchez. 



Says Tonti : 



Tile L'L'il [of .March I we reacliOHl the 'I'aeiisa, after liaviiii,' voyajied for SO 

 leafiues Itinni ilu' Arivansas villajres], and, as this nation was situated on a 

 little lake, we camped 3 leasxuos from the village. I went to tin in. accompanied 

 l)y Pierre l'rud"lionune. Chief Classe." and the two other savajres, our inter- 

 preters. We arrived at ni.ylit, and tlu' Arkansas havinji begun to sing, the 

 Taensas recognized them as friends, and we entered their village in safety. I 

 was never so surprised as on entering tlie cabin of the chief, because the other 

 savages do not build in this manner. One recognized in this nation some of the 

 qualities which civilized i)e<'i)le possess. They tirst made us enter a cabin liav- 

 iug a front of 40 feet ; the walls of mud, 2 feet thick and 12 high. The roof is 

 made dome .shaped, of cane mats, so well worked that the rain does not pierce 

 through them at all. On entering we saw the chief seated on a couch. There 

 were more than (>0 old men oi)|)osite him, covered with great white cloths resem- 

 bling the hannnocks which the savages of the islands of America make. There 

 was a torch of dry canes in the middle of the cabin, which latter was orna- 

 mented with many brass bucklers hung on the four walls, with a quantity of 

 paintings, with an alcove where the chief reposes, and with many camp beds, on 

 which repose the chiefs of the eight villages which are situated on the lake and 

 depend on him. All these old men who were near him in the aforesaid cabin 

 had their hands on their heads and howled, all with one voice, like wolves, crying 

 "Ho! ho! ho! ho!" And, after the chief had spoken to them, all seated them- 

 selves, and they had us sit on a delicately worked cane mat which was spread 

 on the earth. Our interpreter rose to his feet, and after having made a speech 

 he gave the chief a buffalo robe he wore, who reclothed him in his own; and, 

 having let them know that we were come to make an alliance with them and 

 that the one who commanded us had need of provisions, he commanded at once 

 that they should tell all the women to make corn meal and pastry of a certain 

 fruit which they call " pacpiimina," which is very good. I gave the chief a 

 knife, wliich he received as a very considerable i)resent. He regaled us in the 

 best manner he was able, and I noticed that one of his little children, wishing 

 to pass between the chief and the tire in order to go out, was withdrawn (piickly 

 by his mother and made to iiass around; such is the mark of respect they show 

 toward him. He was served by slaves. .\o one else eats out of his dishes. 

 They are earthen, very well glazed, and made like cups. Their knives are of 

 flint as well as their axes. I noticed that he had U; Hiie jiearls hung at his ears, 

 and, having told our interpreter to ask where they had finuid them, he replied 

 that it was at the sea, in shells, and that he had many of them. 



I parte<l to give an account to M. de la Salle of all that I had seen, who got 

 me to return, to endeavor to obtain the aforesaid pearls. There arrived this 

 day a quantity of canoes loaded with provisions; one could obtain a hen for an 

 awl or a needle. M. de la Salle, who had always believed that this river falls 

 into the bay of the Holy Spirit, having taken the height [of the sun] with his 



" Given on p. 594 as Clance, 



