The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida

by William Gilmore Simms

  XVI.

  THE ADVENTURE OF D'ERLACH.

  It was in sullen and half resentful mood that Alphonse D'Erlach partedfrom his superior at the gates of _La Caroline_. Not that he felt anychagrin because of an outraged self-esteem, on account of his rejectedcounsels. His mortification and annoyance arose from his vexation atleaving a man in the hands of his enemies, whom he could not persuade ofhis danger, and who was, by this very proceeding, depriving himself ofthe only means with which he may have safely combated their hostility.It was probably with a justifiable sense of his own efficiency, thatD'Erlach felt how necessary was his presence in the garrison at thisjuncture. He was quite familiar with the vanity of Laudonniere, hisseveral weaknesses of character, and the facility with which he mightbe deluded by the selfish and the artful. But he had counselled him invain; and it was with a feeling somewhat allied to scorn, that he wastaught to see that his superior, having hitherto regarded him withsomething more than friendship--as a favorite indeed--had now, inconsequence of the most important services, begun to look upon himsomewhat in the light of a rival. We have witnessed the last interviewbetween them. We are already in possession of the events which followedthe absence of the lieutenant; events which positively would not havetaken place, had not the scheme proved successful for procuring hisabsence from the fortress. Laudonniere's conscience smote him with asense of his ingratitude, as the flowing plumes of D'Erlach disappearedamidst the distant umbrage; but he had no misgivings of that dangerwhich the prescient thought of his lieutenant had described as alreadythreatening. He had sufficient time allowed him to meditate equally uponhis own blindness and the foresight of the youth, while his mutineers,for fifteen days kept him a close prisoner on board his own brigantine!

  During this period, his young lieutenant, with his twenty Frenchmen,was making his way from forest to forest, under the somewhat capriciousguidance of the subtle savage, Oolenoe. D'Erlach was more than oncedissatisfied with this progress. He found himself frequently doubling,as it were, upon his own ground; not steadily ascending the countryin the supposed direction of the Apatahhian Mountains, but ratherinclining to the southwest, and scarcely seeming to leave those lower_steppes_ which belonged wholly to the province of the sea. Withoutabsolutely suspecting his dusky guide, D'Erlach was eminently watchfulof him, and frequently pressed his inquiries in regard to the route theywere pursuing,--when--noting the course of the sun, he found himselfstill turning away from those distant mountain summits which were saidto await them in the north, with all their world of treasure. The pleaof Oolenoe, while acknowledging a temporary departure from the properpath, alleged the difficulties of the country, the spread of extensivemorasses, or the presence of nations of hostile Indians, which cut offall direct communication with the province which they sought.

  To all this D'Erlach had nothing to oppose. The pretences seemedsufficiently specious, and he continued to advance deep and deeper intothe internal intricacies of the unbroken wild, making a progress, dayby day, into regions which the European had never penetrated before. Onthis progress, each soldier had been provided with a certain allowanceof food of a portable nature, which was calculated to last many days.The adoption of the Indian customs, in several respects, had made iteasy to provide. The maize and beans of the country constituted thechief supply. The former, and sometimes both, crushed or ground,separately or together, and browned slightly before the fire, furnisheda wholesome and literally palatable provision for such a journey. Theywere also to receive supplies from the contributions of Indian tribesthrough whose settlements they were to pass, and to traffic with othernations whom as yet they did not know. With this latter object the partywas provided with a small stock of European trifles--knives, reaphooks,small mirrors, and things of this description.

  Thus provided, they pressed forward for several days, on a journey whichbrought them no nearer to the province which they sought. Still thecountry through which they travelled was unbroken by a mountain. Gentleeminences saluted their eyes, and they sometimes toiled over hillswhich, even their exhaustion, which rendered irksome the ascent, didnot venture to compare with those mighty ranges, scaling the clouds,of which the swelling narratives of the savage chiefs, and their ownadventurers, had given such extravagant ideas. In this march theyprobably reached the Savannah, and crossed its waters to the riversof Carolina. The scenery improved in loveliness, and to those who areaccessible to the influences of mere external beauty, the progress atevery step was productive of its own charm. Gentle valleys spread awaybefore them in the embrace of guardian ranges of hill, and clear streamsgushed out through banks that seemed to gladden in perpetual green.Enormous trees spread over them a grateful cover from the sun, andluscious berries of the wood, and unknown fruits, green and purple, wereto be found lying in their path, which was everywhere traversed by thetrailing vines which produced them. Birds of unknown plumage, and ofwild and startling song, darted out from the brake to cheer them as theypassed; and as they reached the steeps of sudden hills, they could catchglimpses of herds of sleek deer, that sped away with arrowy fleetnessfrom the green valleys where they browsed, to the cover of umbrageousthickets where they lodged in safety.

  The mind of the soldier, however, particularly the adventurer whom onepassionate thirst alone impels, is scarcely ever sensible to the charmsand attractions of the visible nature. Where they appeal simply to hissense of the beautiful, they are but wasted treasures, like gems thatpave the great bed of ocean, and have no value to the finny tribes thatglide below--each seeking the selfish object which marks his nature. Thepassion for the beautiful, with but few exceptions, is a passion thatbelongs to training and education; and even these seldom suffice, in thepresence of more morbid desires, to wean the attention to the thingsof taste, unless these are recognized as accessories of the objectof a more intense appetite. Even Alphonse D'Erlach, the _eleve_ of asuperior class--one who had been benefitted by society and the schools,appreciated but imperfectly the loveliness of the landscape, andthe fresh luxuriance of a vegetable life in a region that seemed soimmediately from the hands of its Creator. His thoughts were of anothernature. His anxieties were elsewhere. His eye was fixed upon his Indianguide, of whom his doubts had now become suspicions. Nightly had Oolenoedisappeared from the encampment. It was in vain that our lieutenant setspies upon his movements. He would disappear without giving the alarm,and re-appear, when least expected, before the dawning. D'Erlach'svigilance was increased. He did not suffer his men to straggle; marchingwith care by day, his watches were equally divided by night, and his owneyes were kept open by intense anxiety, through hours when most weresleeping. Occasionally, glimpses of Indians were caught on distanthills, or on the edge of suddenly glancing waters. But any attempt toapproach sent them into their canoes, or over the hill side--increasingthe suspicions of D'Erlach, and awakening the apprehensions of his men.A something of insolence in the tone and manner of Oolenoe led our younglieutenant to suppose that the moment of trial was at hand; and healready began to meditate the seizure of his guide, as a securityfor the conduct of the Indians, when an incident occurred which theforesight of our lieutenant, great as it was, had never led him toanticipate.

  It was at the close of a lovely evening in September, when the littledetachment of Frenchmen were rounding a ravine. Oolenoe was advancedwith D'Erlach some few paces before the rest. Both of them were silent;but they pressed forward stoutly, through a simple forest trail, overwhich the Frenchmen followed in Indian file. Suddenly, their march wasarrested by a cry from the foot of the ravine, in the rear of the party,and along the path which they had recently traversed. The cry was human.It was that of a voice very familiar to the ears of the party. It wasevidently meant to compel attention and arrest their progress. Atthe instant, D'Erlach wheeled about and made for the rear. A similarmovement changed in like manner the faces of his followers; and, in amoment after, a strange, but human form darted out of the forest andmade towards them.

  The appearance of the stranger was wild beyond descrip
tion. He hadevidently once been white; but his face, hands, breast, and legs, forthese were all uncovered, had been blackened by smoke, bronzed by thesun, and so affected by the weather, that it was with the greatestdifficulty that his true complexion was discernible. But sure instinctsand certain features soon enabled our Huguenots to see that he wasa brother Frenchman. Of his original garments, nothing but tattersremained; but these tatters sufficed to declare his nation. His beardand hair, both black, long, and massive, were matted together, and hungupon neck and shoulders in flakes and bunches, rather than in shredsor tresses. His head was without covering, and the only weapon whichhe carried was a _couteau de chasse_, which, as it was of peculiardimensions, silver-hilted, and altogether of curious shape, was probablythe only means by which the Frenchmen identified the stranger.

  The keen, quick eye of Alphonse D'Erlach seemed first, of the whites, tohave discovered him. It is probable, from what took place at the moment,that Oolenoe had made him out in the same moment. The stranger wasno other than Le Genre--the banished man who had headed the firstconspiracy against Laudonniere. As he approached, rushing wildlyforward, with his _couteau de chasse_ grasped firmly in uplifted hand,D'Erlach raised his sword, prepared to cut him down as he drew nigh;when the words of his voice, shouted at the utmost of his strength,caused them to cast their eyes in another direction.

  "Seize upon Oolenoe. Suffer him not to escape you."

  At that moment, the keen, quick glance of the lieutenant beheld therapid bounds of the savage, as he made for the cover of the neighboringthicket. His orders were instantly given. A dozen bodies instantlysprang forward in pursuit--a dozen matchlocks were lifted in deadly aim,but the lithe savage doubling like a hare, bounding forward, now squat,and seeming to fly along the surface of the ground like a lapwing,stealthy in every movement as a cat, as swift and agile,--succeeded ingaining the woods, though the carbines rang with their volley, and,throwing down their weapons, a score of the light-limbed Frenchmenstarted in the chase. A wild warwhoop followed the discharge of thepieces, declaring equally the defiance and disdain of the savage. Thepursuit was idle, as a few seconds enabled him to find shelter in amorass, which the inexperienced Europeans knew not how to penetrate.Alphonse D'Erlach recalled his men from pursuit, fearing lest theymight fall into an ambush, in which, wasting their ammunition againstinvisible enemies, they would only incur the risk of total destruction.He prepared to confront the stranger, whose first appearance had beenproductive of such a startling occurrence. Le Genre, meanwhile, hadpaused in his progress. He no longer rushed forward like a maniac; butsatisfied with having given the impulse to the pursuit of Oolenoe, andapparently conscious of how much was startling in his appearance, he nowstood beside a pine which overhung the path, one hand resting againstthe mighty shaft, as if from fatigue, while from the other his _couteaude chasse_ now drooped, its sharp extremity pointing to the ground.

  His appearance thus indicated a pacific disposition; but remembering hisancient treacheries only, and suspicious of his relations with Oolenoe,D'Erlach approached him with caution, as if to the encounter with anenemy. As he drew nigh, followed by his band, Le Genre addressed themwith mournful accents.

  "Is there no faith for me hereafter, _mes amis_? Am I forever cut offfrom the communion with my comrades? Shall there be no fellowshipbetween us, D'Erlach? Shall we not forget the past--shall I not beforgiven for my crime, even when I repent it in bitterness and bloodytears. Behold, my brother--I proffer you the last assurance."

  These words were accompanied by a sign, that of the mysticbrotherhood--the ancient masons--which none but a few of the partybeheld or comprehended. The weapon of Alphonse D'Erlach was droppedinstantly, and his hand extended. He, too, belonged to the ancientorder, and the security which was guaranteed by the exhibition of itstoken, on the part of the offender, served, when all other pleas wouldhave failed, to secure him sympathy and protection.

  "I have sinned, Alphonse--I know it--beyond forgiveness--sinned like amadman; but I have borne the penalty. Seldom has human sinner sufferedfrom mental penalty, as I from mine. Behold me! look I longer human? Ihave taken up my covert with the wild beasts of the desert, and they flyfrom my presence as from a savage more fearful than any they know. Inmy own desperation I have had no fears. I have herded with beast andreptile, and longed for their hostility. I have lived through all,though I craved not to live, and the food which would have choked orpoisoned the man not an outcast from communion with his fellows, haskept me strong, with a cruel vitality that has increased by suffering.The crude berries of the wood, the indigestible roots of the earth, Ihave devoured with a hideous craving; and, in the griefs and privationsof my body, my mind has been purged of its impurities. I have seen mysin in its true colors--my folly, my vicious passions, the wretch that Iwas--the miserable outlaw and destitute that I am! That I repent of thecrimes that I have done and sought to do, is the good fruit of thisbitter on which I have rather preyed than fed. I wrote to Laudonniere ofmy sorrow and repentance, but he refused to hear me. Bourdet I sought,that he might take me once more to France; but he too dreaded communionwith me; and when I rushed into his boat, he only bore me to theopposite shore of the river, and set me down to the exploration of newforests, and the endurance of new tortures. I blame them not, that theywould not believe me--that they refused faith in one who had violatedall faith before--that, equally due to his God and to his sovereign. Oh!brother, do not _you_ drive me from you also!"

  And the miserable outlaw clasped his hands passionately together inentreaty, with a face wild with woe and despair, and would have fallenprostrate in humiliation before his comrades, if the arm of AlphonseD'Erlach had not sustained him.

  "But what of this savage, Oolenoe!" demanded the lieutenant, when thefirst burst of grief had subsided from the lips of Le Genre.

  "Ah! you know that I have been the prisoner to this savage, and to thevery comrades of my sin. For this I have pursued you hither. While youmarch onward to snares such as the savages of Potanou have provided foryou by means of this Oolenoe, treachery is busy and successful at LaCaroline."

  "Successful?"

  "Ay! successful! But hear me. When I fled to the forest, I took shelterfirst with the people of Satouriova. I was found out and followed byFourneaux, Stephen Le Genevois, and La Roquette. To them, at times, cameLa Croix, whom Laudonniere still trusted, and whom even you did notsuspect. They came to me with new plans. They were to contrive pretextsfor sending you off to a distance, with the best men of the garrison.Oolenoe was a ready agent at once of Potanou, Satouriova, and theconspirators. In your absence, they were to get possession of thegarrison and secure the person of Laudonniere."

  "You mean not to say, Le Genre, that they have succeeded in this?"

  "Ay, do I--the garrison is in their hands--the shipping; and Laudonniereis himself a close prisoner on board the unfinished brigantine."

  "God of heaven! and I am here!"

  "When the conspirators found that I no longer agreed to second them intheir machinations, and when I threatened to expose them to Laudonniere,they employed Oolenoe to secure my person. Five of his people beset meat the same moment, and held me fast in one of their wigwams until theirscheme had been carried into execution. With Laudonniere in their hands,I was abandoned by my keepers, and suffered to go forth. From them Ilearned the history of all that had taken place in the colony. I sawthe danger, and felt that the only hope for Laudonniere lay in you.Fortunately, I had only to follow those who had held me captive, inorder to find the route that you had taken. The people of Oolenoe weresoon upon his tracks. I compassed theirs. It is one profit in theoutlawed life which I have been doomed to endure, that it has taughtme the arts of the savage--taught me the instincts of the beast,--hisstealth, his endurance, his far-sight, and his eager and appreciatingscent. Hark! dost hear! Put thy men in order. The subtle savage is aboutto gird thee in."

  Scarcely had he spoken, when the forest was alive with cries of warfare.Wild whoops rang through the great avenues of wood, a
nd sudden glimpsesof the red-men, followed by flights of arrows, warned the Frenchmenstill more emphatically to prepare against the danger. But the arrows,though discharged with skill and muscle, were sent from far;--the dreadof the European fire-arms prompting a decent caution, which, in a greatdegree, lessened the superiority which the savages possessed in numbers.The woods were now filled with enemies. Tribe after tribe had collected,along their route, as the Frenchmen had advanced, and every forward stephad served only to increase the great impediments in the way of theirreturn. It was due wholly to the excellence of the watch nightly kept byD'Erlach, that they had not been butchered while they slept. It wasin consequence of his admirable caution, and provision against attackwhile they marched, that they had not fallen into frequent ambush, asthey moved by noonday. Nightly had the subtle chief, Oolenoe, stolenaway to his comrades, arraying his numbers, and counselling theirpursuit and progress. His schemes detected, the mask was thrown aside asno longer of use, and open warfare was the cry through the forests.The necessity was before our Frenchmen of fighting their way back.The effort of the red-men was to cut them off in detail, by frequentsurprises, by incessant assaults and annoyances, and by straitening themin the search after water and provisions.

  It would be a weary task to pursue, day by day, and hour by hour, thethousand details, by which each party endeavored to attain its object.The events of such a conflict must necessarily be monotonous. Enough tosay, that the whole genius of Alphonse D'Erlach was brought forth duringthe constant emergencies of his march and proved equal to them all.His first object was to pursue a new route on his return. This greatlyshortened the distance, and increased the chances of food, since it wasonly from the route along which he came that Oolenoe had contrived theremoval of all the provisions. The progress was thus varied on theirreturn. It was enlivened by incessant attacks of the savages. Theirarrows were continually showered upon our Frenchmen from every thicketthat could afford an ambush; but, habited as they were with the_escaupil_, or stuffed cotton doublets, which the Spaniards had inventedfor protection in their warfare with the Indians, the damage from thissource was comparatively small. Some few of the Frenchmen were galled byslight wounds, one or two were seriously hurt, and one of them sufferedthe loss of an eye. In all these conflicts, Le Genre fought with thegreatest bravery--with a valor, indeed, that seemed to set at scornevery thought of danger or disaster. He was always the first to rushforward to the assault, and always the last to leave the pursuit,when the trumpets sounded the recal. He proved an admirable second toAlphonse D'Erlach, and materially contributed to the success of thevarious plans adopted by the latter for the safety of his people.

  It was the ninth day from that on which they left La Caroline, when LeGenre made his appearance, and Oolenoe fled to the forests. Six days hadthey been engaged in their backward journey. In this route, diverginggreatly from that which they had pursued before, and following thecourse indicated by the sun with a remarkable judgment, which tendedstill more to raise the reputation of Alphonse D'Erlach in the eyes ofhis followers, they suddenly struck into a path with which Le Genrehimself was familiar. It proved to be one of those which he had pursuedon a previous occasion, when, in the possession of the confidence of hischief, he had been permitted to lead forth a party for exploration.Our Frenchmen now knew where they were, and thirty-six hours of steadytravelling would, they felt assured, bring them within sight of thefortress of La Caroline. But, as if the inveterate chieftain, Oolenoe,had made a like discovery at the same moment, his assaults became moredesperate, and were urged with a singular increase of skill and fury.Now it was that the barbarian tribes of Florida seemed to gather intoa host--such a host as encountered the famous Ponce de Leon and otherSpanish chieftains when they sought to overrun the land. They no longersped their arrows from a distance, which, in giving themselves securityfrom the fire-arms of the Frenchmen, rendered their own shafts in greatdegree innocuous. But it was observed that, when they had succeededin drawing the fire of the Frenchmen by two successive assaults, theyusually grew bolder at a third, and came forward with an audacity whichseemed to put at defiance equally the weapons and the spirit of theirenemies. The inequality of numbers between the respective parties,made this subtle policy of Oolenoe particularly dangerous to theweaker. Alphonse D'Erlach felt his danger, and the openly-expressedapprehensions of Le Genre declared it. The subject was one of greatanxiety. The whole day had been spent in conflicts,--conflicts whichwere interrupted, it is true, by frequent intervals of rest, but whichcontinued to increase in their violence as evening approached. Severalof the Frenchmen were now wounded, two of them dangerously, and all ofthem were greatly wearied. Le Genre urged D'Erlach to a night movement,in which they might leave their enemies behind them, and perhaps causethem to give up the pursuit, particularly as they would then be almostwithin striking distance of La Caroline; but the coolness and judgmentof D'Erlach had not deserted him, or been impaired by his increase ofdifficulties.

  "And how," said he, "am I to know whether we shall find friends or foesin possession of La Caroline? This is not the least of my dangers.I must preserve my force against that doubt; but keep them fresh,certainly, and if possible without diminution, so that I may rescueLaudonniere or sustain myself. Besides, to attempt the night march Imust leave these poor fellows, Mercoeur and Dumain, to be scalped by thesavages, or force them forward only that they may drop by the way. No!we must take rest ourselves, and give them all the rest we can. We mustencamp as soon as possible, and the shelter of yon little bay, to whichwe are approaching, seems to offer an excellent cover. We will make forthat."

  He did as he said. His camp was formed on the edge of one of thosebasins which, in the southern country is usually termed a bay--so calledin consequence of the dense forests of the shrub laurel that covers theregion with the most glistening green, and fills the languid atmospherewith a most rich but oppressive perfume. Here he disposed his littlecommand, so that the approaches were few and such as could be easilyguarded. Here he was secure from those wild flights of arrows which, ina spot less thickly wooded, might have been made to annoy a company,discharged even in the darkness of the night. But Alphonse D'Erlach hadanother reason for selecting this as his present place of shelter. Assoon as he had taken care of his wounded men, he examined the munitionsof all. He had been sparing his powder, and he was now rejoiced to findthat the quantity was quite sufficient, according to the exigencies ofthe warfare of that day, to suffice for two or more days longer. Thisenabled him to devise a project by which to ensnare the savages to theirruin. Hitherto he had classed his men in three divisions. The first ofthese encountered the first onslaught of the enemy, and the secondwere prepared for its renewal, while the third was a reserve for acontinuance of the struggle, giving time to the two first divisions toreload. But it had been seen, during the day, that the savages had madea corresponding division of their force;--that successive attacks,followed up with great rapidity, drew the fires of his several squads,and so well aware did the assailants now appear to be of this practice,that, after the third fire, they boldly rushed almost within strikingdistance of the Frenchmen, hurling their stone hatchets with wonderfuldexterity and precision. To provide for this contingency--to convert itto profitable results--was the study of D'Erlach. He felt that, but forsome stratagem, it was not improbable that the whole party would losetheir scalps before the closing of another day. He had observed thatthe bay in which he harbored his men contained, interspersed with itslaurels, a perfect wilderness of _canes_, the fluted reeds of the swampand morass, common to the country, some of which grew to be nearlytwenty feet in height. These were still green in September, theirfeathery tops waving to and fro in every breeze, while, under thepressure of the sudden gust, their shafts, in seeming solid phalanx,laid themselves almost to the earth, to recover, like an artful andplumed warrior, when the danger had overblown. Without declaring hisplans, D'Erlach had a number of these canes cut down in secresy, anddivided into sections of four or five feet. The extreme barrel ofeach
of these sections was filled tightly with gunpowder, and a fuseintroduced at the orifice which received the powder. Strips from theshirts of his people were employed to bind the portion of the reed thusfilled, and two of these shafts were lashed tightly to each matchlock,the charged portion protruding near the muzzle. He needed no wordsto explain his policy to his people. They understood the object inbeholding the process, and admired the ingenuity which promised themhereafter the most signal advantages.

  Rigid was the watch maintained that night in the camp of our Frenchmen.Fortunately, they had obtained that day a fresh supply of food whilepassing through a miserable hamlet, from which the occupants had fledat their approach. Their supper was eaten in silence and anxiety. Thewatches throughout the night were two, Le Genre taking the first, whileD'Erlach, from twelve till daylight, maintained the last. There were noalarms. The Indians had retired, as was conjectured, to place themselvesin some favorite place of ambush against the coming of the Frenchmenthe next day. One of the two men who had been most severely woundedamong the Frenchmen, died that night in great agony. The arrow of thesavage had penetrated to his lungs. He had imprudently thrown off hiscoat of escaupil, in consequence of the great heat of the noonday, anda skirmish took place before he could reclothe himself, in which hereceived his hurt. D'Erlach had the body laid in the deepest portionof the bay, its only covering being a forest of canes, which were cutdown and thrown over the corpse.

  With the first rosy blush of the dawn, the little troop was in motion.At setting off D'Erlach gave ample directions for the anticipatedconflict. His command was divided into three companies. From the firstof these, three men were commissioned to deliver the fire of theirpieces on the appearance of the Indians. The rest were to dischargeone of the two loaded sections of cane attached to the matchlocks. Thesecond and third were to do likewise. The effect of this arrangementwould be to leave ten out of nineteen pieces undischarged, and readyfor fatal use on the more daring approach of the savages. Theirpreparations, and the proposed _ruse_ were soon put to proof. It wasabout nine o'clock in the morning, when the company was about to entera defile which led to an extensive tract of pines. At the entrance, oneach hand, stretched a morass that seemed interminable. The opening tothe pine forest seemed a narrow gorge, the jaws of which were denselyoccupied with a tangled thicket that seemed to baffle approach. D'Erlachsaw the dangers which awaited him in such a defile. His three bandswere made to march separately as they approached it, and very slowly. Amoderate interval lay between them, which would enable them, while anenemy could only attack them singly, in turn to support each other. Thejudgment of our young lieutenant did not deceive him. On each side ofthis gorge, Oolenoe had posted his warriors. They occupied the shelterof the thicket on both hands. Their eagerness and impatience, increasedby the slow progress of the Frenchmen, whom they regarded as onlymarching to the slaughter, lost them some of the advantages of thisposition. They showed themselves too soon. With a horrid howl the youngwarriors discharged their arrows from the covert, and then boldlydashed out among the pines. The Frenchmen were nerved for the struggle.Forewarned, they had been forearmed. There was no surprise. Coolly, thethree select men delivered the fire of their pieces, and each with fataleffect. In the same moment the charged barrels of the cane were ignitedand torn asunder by an explosion which was sufficiently gun-like todeceive the unpractised ear of the Indian. The savages answered thisfire by a cloud of arrows, and began to advance. It was now that theremaining section of the division, which had retained their fire,delivered it with great precision and an effect similar to the former;those who had emptied their pieces on the previous occasion, contentingthemselves with discharging a cane. By this time, the two otherdivisions, under D'Erlach, had pushed through the gorge, and werespreading themselves right and left, among the pines, in a situationto practice the same game with their assailants, which had been playedso well by the foremost party. We must not follow the caprices of thebattle. It is enough to say that, deceived by the apparent discharge ofall the pieces of the Frenchmen, the Indians, headed by Oolenoe himself,dashed desperately upon their enemies, and were received by the fatalfire from more than a dozen guns, which sent their foremost men headlongto the ground, the subtle chief, Oolenoe himself, among them. At thissight, the savages set up a howl of dismay, and fled in all directions;while Oolenoe, thrice staggering to his feet, at length sunk back uponthe ground, writhing in an agony which did not, however, prevent him, onthe approach of D'Erlach, from making a desperate effort to smite himwith his stone hatchet. His whole form collapsed with the effort, andwrenching the rude but heavy implement from the dying savage, thelieutenant drove it into his brain and ended his agonies with a singlestroke.

  With this adventure, the difficulties of the party ceased. That nightthey reached the fortress, in season to confirm the authority ofLaudonniere; and, as we have seen, to assist in the execution of themutineers by whom he had been temporarily overthrown.