swANToNi INDIAN TUIHKS OK Till: l.oWKH M ISSISSl I'I'I VAI.LKV 203 



five caliiiis. wciii |o s«'c M. dc hi SjiIIc. mihI liMviiii: sjiid lliiit lit- \v:is :i Moso- 

 pellea. -M. <!<' la Salle rcsdircil lu liiiii a slave of liis iialinii, and ^avo him a 

 pistol. Tlic rliicf of tlic 'I'at-iisa, liaviii.:,' learned (if the ^'nod trwitniont he had 

 rec-eivt'd, sent to tell M. de la Salle thai he wa.s ;:<>in;,' to sih' him. The French- 

 men who slei)t at his villaj:e (old us that people had snnj: all nij^lit at his door, 

 and that the next day on eniharUinj; there were two hands of nmsicians, and 

 that th(> canoemen came in cadence; that two men, one in front, the other 

 behind, with fans vt-ry well made out of swan feathers, prevented the ^niits 

 from bitin;:. W»' hearil people say: "There is a chief cominj^," and we went 

 to meet him. AN'e noticed that two htuulred of his peoi)le i)nt themselves in 

 line, and cleared the place over which he passed with their hands. He entered 

 the cabin of M. de la Salle, who gave him a gun and niany other presents, and 

 after having given great marks of friendship, and when they had loaded us 

 with all kinds of refreshments, they had the canoes put into the water in order 

 to leave the 3d of May. The chief uttered a prayer to the sun in order to wish 

 us a good voyage, and had tobacco throwui into the water in order that the 

 river might be peaceful." 



The ne.vt day, after ."> leagues, they met a Taensa on the river on a jtiece 

 of wood' upon a raft. He said that when the Coroa were hampered in laying 

 iinibuscades for the French he had escaped, three days i)efore, and believing 

 himself above his village he had let himself drift. 



The Ist day of June, 1682, they reached the Taensa; M. de la Salle sent 

 four Frenchmen, of whom the little La Salle was one, to take back this Taensa. 

 When near he sang; it was at night, and two old men came with torches to the 

 shores of the lake to see what it was. They led the Frenchmen to the cabin 

 of the chief. The little La Salle says that this chief was in the corner of the 

 cabin on a platform. <»n a mat as well worked as the wicker baskets which 

 French nuns make: that he had seen in this cabin an old Spanish sword and 

 three old guns. The chief had the Frenchmen give an account of their voyage; 

 he showed joy at learning they had killed men. All those who entered the 

 cabin saluted the chief, raising their hands above the head and saying: " Hou ! 

 Hou ! Hou ! " The chief replied : " Negoudez ! Negoudez ! " They had the 

 Frenchmen eat, and gave them mats to sleep on. These people are very grave 

 and respectful toward their chief. They carried the canoe of the Frenchmen 

 into their tem])le, and the chief had refreshments sent to the other Frenchmen. 

 Next day M. de la Salle sent a canoe with five Frenchmen in search of us. 

 We entered all the cabins in the village, and they gave us many caresses and 

 provisions, and great hampers into which to put these things, which consisted 

 of maize and fruits. This village extends for 1 league along the lake. The 

 temple, the cabin [of the chief], and seven or eight cabins of the old men 

 are surrounded by stakes and make a kind of fort; on the stakes human heads 

 are placed; the temple is dome-shaped, the door painted red, guarded day and 

 night by two men. One of the Frenchmen entered it, almost in spite of the 

 guards, one of whom followed him and wiped with his hands the earth on 

 which tlie Frenchman had set his feet, and afterward rubbed his body with 

 his hand. 



The Frenchman said that this temple is oval, 30 feet long and 12 broad 

 inside, ornamented with works made of canes and all painted red. The dome 

 is covered with a very beautiful mat and the low'er parts with earth. The 

 pieces of wood which make the roof extend outside through the middle about 

 2 feet, crossing each other. Every night there are inside two lighted torches. 

 We saw that the women presented their children to the sun and that they 

 rubbed their bodies with their hands that they had also show^n to the sun. 



° Margry, Decouvertes, i, 609-610. 



