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

by William Gilmore Simms

  CHAPTER II.

  The captive Paracoussi lost none of his dignity in his captivity. Hescorned entreaty. He betrayed no symptom of fear. That he felt thedisgrace which had been put upon him, was evident in the closecompression of his lips; but he was sustained by the secret convictionthat his warriors were gathering, and that they would rescue him fromhis captors by the overwhelming force of their numbers. At first hisstoicism was shared by his family and attendants; but when Laudonnieredeclared his purpose to remove his prisoner to the boats, then theclamors of women, not less eloquent in the wigwam of the savage, thanin the household of the pale faces, became equally wild and general. TheParacoussi had but one wife, foregoing, in this respect, some of hisprincely privileges, to which the customs of the red-men afforded asufficient sanction. But there were many females in the royal dwelling,all of whom echoed the tumultuous cries of its mistress. This devotedwoman, with her attendants, accompanied the captive to the boats, where,following the precautions adopted by D'Erlach, the Frenchmen arrived insafety. The warriors of the red-men had not yet time to gather and arraythemselves. Laudonniere gave the women and immediate companions of theParacoussi to understand that his purpose was not to do his captive anyinjury. The French were hungry and must have food. When a sufficientsupply was brought them, Olata Utina should be set free.

  But these assurances they did not believe. They themselves, seldom setfree their captives. Ordinarily, they slew all their male prisonerstaken by surprise or in war, reserving the young females only. Theynaturally supposed, that what was the custom with them, founded uponsufficient reasons, at once of fear and superstition, must be the customwith the white men also. Accordingly, the queen of Utina, was not to becomforted. She followed him to the river banks, clinging to him to thelast, and stood there ringing her hands and filling the air with hershrieks, while the people of Laudonniere lifted him into the bark, andpushed out to the middle of the river. It was well for them that thisprecaution was taken. The warriors of the Paracoussi were alreadygathering in great numbers. More than five hundred of them showedthemselves on the banks of the river, entreating of Laudonniere to drawnigh that they might behold their prince. They brought tidings that,taking advantage of his captivity, the inveterate Potanou had suddenlyinvaded his chief village, had sacked and fired it, destroying all thepersons whom he encountered. But Laudonniere was properly suspicious,and soon discovered, that, while five hundred archers showed themselvesto him as suppliants, the shores were lined with thrice five hundred insnug ambush, lying close for the signal of attack. Failing to beguilethe Frenchmen to the land, a few of them, in small canoes, ventured outto the bark in which their king was a prisoner, bringing him food--mealand peas, and their favorite beverage, the cassina tea. Small supplieswere brought to the Frenchmen also; but without softening their hearts.Laudonniere had put his price upon the head of his captive, and would'bate nothing of his ransom.

  But it so happened, that the Indians were quite as suspicious andinflexible as the Frenchmen. They believed that Laudonniere only aimedto draw from them their stores, and then destroy their sovereign. Asingular circumstance, illustrative of the terrible relations in whichall savage tribes must stand toward each other, even when they dwelltogether in near neighborhood, occurred at this time, and increased thedoubts and fears of the people of Utina. As soon as it was rumoredabout that this mighty potentate, whom they all so much dreaded, was aprisoner to the white man, the chiefs of the hostile tribes gathered tothe place of his captivity, as the inhabitant of the city goes to beholdin the menagerie the great lion of Sahara, the lord of the desert, ofwhom, when free in his wild ranges, it shook their hearts only to hearthe roar. With head erect, though with chains about his limbs,--withheart haughty, though with hope humbled to the dust--the proudParacoussi sate unmoved while they gathered, gazing upon him with agreedy malice that declared a long history of scorn and tyranny on theone hand, and hate and painful submission on the other. They walkedaround the lordly savage, scarcely believing their eyes, and still witha secret fear, lest, in some unlucky moment, he should break loose fromhis captivity, and resume his weapon for the purposes of vengeance.Eagerly and earnestly did they plead with Laudonniere either to put himto death, or to deliver him to their tender mercies. Among those whocame to see and triumph over his ancient enemy, and, if possible, to gethim into his power, was the Paracoussi Satouriova, one of Laudonniere'sfirst acquaintances, whose power, perhaps, along the territories of MayRiver, was only next to that of Utina. He, as well as the rest of thechiefs, brought bribes of maize and beans, withheld before, in order topersuade Laudonniere to yield to their desires. In this way he procuredsupplies, much beyond those which were furnished by the people of theprisoner, though still greatly disproportioned to his wants. The peopleof Utina, meanwhile, persuaded that their monarch could not escape thesacrifice, and aware of the several and strong influences brought tobear upon his captors, proceeded to do that which was likely to defeatall the hopes and calculations of the French. Their chiefs assembled inthe Council House, assuming that Utina was dead already, and electedanother for their sovereign, from among his sons. The measure was ahasty one, ill considered, and promised to lead to consequences the mostinjurious to the nation. The new prince immediately took possession ofthe royal wigwam, and began the full assertion of his authority. Partieswere instantly formed among the tribes, from among the many who weredissatisfied with this assumption, and, but for the great efforts ofthe nobles of the country, the chiefs, the affair would have foundits finish in a bloody social war; since, already had one of the nearkinsmen of Olata Utina set up a rival claim to the dominion of hispeople.

  But, it was sufficient that the election of the son of their captive,to the throne of his father, rendered unavailing the bold experiment ofthe Frenchmen, and threatened to defeat all the hopes which they hadfounded on the securing his person. The savages had adopted the mostsimple of all processes, and the most satisfactory, by which to bafflethe invaders. Olata Utina was an old man, destined, in the ordinarycourse of nature, to give way in a short time to the very successor theyhad chosen. Why should they make any sacrifices to procure the freedomof one whom they did not need. Their reverence for royalty in exile washardly much greater than it is found to-day in civilized Europe; andthey resigned themselves to the absence of Olata Utina with a philosophyduly proportioned to the quantities of corn and peas which they shouldsave by the happy thought which had already found a successor to hissway. In due degree with their resignation to the chapter of accidents,however, was the mortification of our Frenchmen, who thus foundthemselves cut off from all the hopes which they had built upon theirbold proceeding. They had made open enemies of a powerful race, withoutreaping those fruits of their offence, which might have reconciled themto its penalties. Still they suffered in camp as well as in garrison,from want of food, and were allowed to entertain no expectations fromthe anxieties of the savages in regard to the fate of the captivemonarch. His importance naturally declined in the elevation of hissuccessor. Whether governed by policy or indifference, his peoplebetrayed but little sympathy in his condition; and though keepinghim still in close custody, treating him with kindness the while,Laudonniere was compelled to seek elsewhere for provisions. Apprised bycertain Indians that, in the higher lands above, but along the river,there were some fields of maize newly ripening, he took a detachmentof his men in boats and proceeded thither. Coming to a village calledEnecaque, he was hospitably entertained by the sister of Utina, by whomit was governed. She gave him good cheer, a supper of mil, beans, andfish, with gourds of savory tea, made of cassina. Here it was found thatthe maize was indeed ripe: but the hungry Frenchmen suffered by thediscovery and their own rapacity. They fastened upon it in its freshstate, without waiting for the slow process of cooking, to disarm it ofits hurtful juices, and they became sick accordingly. Yet how could menbe reproached for excess, who had scarcely eaten for four days, andfor whom a portion of the food that silenced hunger during this time,consisted of a dish of young p
uppies newly whelped.

  While on this expedition, it occurred to Laudonniere to revenge upon thelord of Edelano, the cruel murder of his soldier, Peter Gambier, whosestory has been given in previous pages. He was now drawing nigh to thatbeautiful island; and after leaving Enecaque, he turned his prows insearch of its sweet retreats. But, with all his caution, the bird hadflown. The lord of Edelano had been advised of what he had to fear, and,at the approach of the Frenchmen he disappeared, crossing the streambetween, to the opposite forests, and leaving his village at the mercyof the enemy. Baffled of their revenge upon the offender, the Frenchmenvented their fury upon his empty dwellings. The torch was applied to thevillage, which was soon consumed. Returning to Enecaque, Laudonniereswept its fields of all their grain, with which he hastened back to hisstarving people at La Caroline. These, famishing still, "seeing me afaroff coming, ranne to that side of the river where they thought I wouldcome on land; for hunger so pinched them to the heart, that they couldnot stay until the victuals were brought them to the fort. And that theywell showed as soon as I was come, and had distributed that little maizeamong them which I had given to each man, before I came out of thebarke; for they eate it before they had taken it out of the huske."

  The necessity of the garrison continued as great as ever. The wretchedfields of the red-men afforded very scanty supplies. Other villages weresought and ransacked, those of Athore, swayed by King Emola, and thoseof a Queen named Nia Cubacani. In ravaging the fields of the former,two of the Frenchmen were slain. But the provisions got from QueenNia Cubacani, were all free gifts. The pale faces seem to have beenfavorites with the female sovereigns wherever they went. In theadventures of the Huguenots, as in those of the Spaniards under Hernande Soto and other chiefs, the smiles of the Apalachian women seemed tohave been bestowed as freely as were the darts and arrows of their lordsand masters. In this way was the path of enterprise stripped of many ofits thorns, and he whose arm was ever lifted against the savage man,seldom found the heart of the savage woman shut against his approach.This is a curious history, but it seems to mark usually the fortunes ofthe superior, invading the abodes of the inferior people. The women ofa race are always most capable of appreciating the social morals of asuperior.

  The Paracoussi Olata Utina, now made an effort to obtain his liberty.The hopes of the Frenchmen, in respect to his ransom, had failed.His people had shown a stubbornness, which, to do the Indian monarchjustice, had not been greater than his own. He saw the poverty anddistress which prevailed among his captors, in spite of all theirattempts at concealment. He saw that the lean and hungry famine wasstill preying upon their hearts. He said to Laudonniere--

  "Of what avail is it to you or to me, that you hold me here a captive?Take me to my people. The maize is probably ripened in my fields. One ofthese shall be set aside for your use wholly, with all its store of cornand beans, if you will set me free in my own country."

  Laudonniere consulted with his chief men. They concurred in granting thepetition of the Paracoussi. The two barks were accordingly fitted out,and, with a select detachment, Laudonniere proceeded with his captiveto a place called Patica, some eight or nine leagues distant from thevillage of Utina. The red-men fled at their approach, seeking cover inthe forests, though their king, himself, cried to them to await hiscoming. To pursue them was impossible. To trust the king out of theirpossession, without any equivalent, was impolitic. Another plan waspursued. One of the sons of the Paracoussi, a mere boy, had been takenwith his father. It was now determined to dismiss this boy to thevillage, accompanied by one of the Frenchmen, who had been thitherbefore, and who knew the character and condition of the country. Hisinstructions were to restore the boy to his mother and his kindred, andto say that his father should be delivered also, if an adequate supplyof provisions was brought to the vessel. The ancient chronicle, briefly,but very touchingly, describes the welcome which was given to theenfranchised child. All were delighted to behold him, the humblestmaking as much of him as if he had been the nearest kindred, and eachman thinking himself never so happy as when permitted to touch him withhis hand. The wife of Utina, with her father, came to the barks of theFrenchmen, bringing bread for the present wants of the company; butthe policy of the Indians did not suffer the pleadings of the woman toprevail. The parties could not agree about the terms of ransom; thered-men, meanwhile, practised all their arts to delay the departure ofthe vessels. It was discovered that they were busy with their foreststrategy, seeking rather to entrap the captain of the French, thanto bargain for the recovery of their own chieftain. Laudonniere wascompelled finally to return with his prisoner to La Caroline, as hungryas ever, and with no hopes of the future.

  Here, a new danger awaited the captive. Furious at their disappointment,the starving Frenchmen, as soon as the failure of the enterprise wasknown, armed themselves, and with sword and matchlock assailed thelittle cavalcade which had the chief in custody, as they were about todisembark. With gaunt visages and staring eyes, that betrayed terriblythe cruel famine under which they were perishing, and cries of suchterrible wrath, as left but little doubt of the direst purpose, theydarted upon their prey. But Laudonniere manfully interposed himself,surrounded by his best men, between their rage and his victim. CaptainLa Vasseur and Ensign D'Erlach, each seized upon a mutineer whom theyheld ready to slay at a stroke given; and other good men and true,coming to the rescue, the famishing mutineers were shamed and frightenedinto forbearance. But bitterly did they complain of the lack of wisdomin their captain, who had released the son, the precious hope of thenation, retaining the sire, for whom, having a new king, the savagescared nothing. Their murmurs drove Laudonniere forth once more. Takingthe Paracoussi with him, after a brief delay, he proceeded to exploreother villages along the river. The red-men planted two crops during thegrowing season. Their maize ripened gradually, and fields that yieldednothing during one month, were in full grain in that ensuing. Forfifteen days the French commandant continued his explorations with smallsuccess; when the Paracoussi, whom nothing had daunted, of his properand haughty firmness, during all his captivity, once more appealed tohis captors:

  "That my people did not supply you with maize and beanes when you soughtthem last, was because they were not ripe. I spake to you then as afoolish young man, anxious to set foot once more among my people. Ishould have known that the grain could not be ready then for gathering.But the season is now. It is ripened everywhere, and, in the presentabundance of my people, they will gladly yield to your demands, and givefull ransom for their king. Take me thither then, once more, and mypeople will not stick to give you ample victual."

  The necessities of the French were too great to make them hesitate ata renewal of the attempt, where all others had proved so profitless;particularly when the old king, with some solemnity, placing his handupon the wrist of the French captain, said to him--

  "Brother, doubt me not--doubt not my people. If they answer thee not tothy expectations as well as mine, bring me back to thy people, and letthem do with me even as they please?"

  Again was the Paracoussi brought into the presence of his subjects. Theyassembled to meet him on the banks of a little river, which emptied intothe main stream, and to which Laudonniere had penetrated in his vessels.They appeared with considerable supplies of bread, fish and beans, whichthey shared among the Frenchmen. They put on the appearance of greatgood feeling and friendship, and entered into the negotiations for therelease of their king, with equal frankness and eagerness. But in allthis they exhibited only the consummate hypocrisy of their race;--ahypocrisy not to be wondered at or complained of, as it is the onlynatural defence which a barbarous people can ever possibly oppose tothe superior power of civilization. Their effort was simply still so tobeguile the Frenchmen, as to ensnare their leader,--get _him_ withintheir power, and then compel an exchange with his people of chief forchief. For this purpose they prolonged the negotiations. Small suppliesof food, enough to provoke expectation, without satisfying demand, werebrought daily to their visitors
. But, in the meantime, their warriorsbegan to accumulate along the shores, covered in the neighboringthickets, or crouching in patient watch along the reedy tracts thatfringed the river. The vigilant eye of Alphonse D'Erlach soon detectedthe ambush; and at length, finding Laudonniere preparing to leavethem, still keeping their king a captive, the savages resumed theirnegotiations with more activity, and withdrew their archers from theneighborhood.

  It must not be supposed that their love for their monarch was small,because they showed themselves so slow in bringing the humble ransom ofcorn and beans, which the French demanded. To them, that ransom was byno means insignificant. It swept their granaries. It took the food fromtheir children. It drove them into the woods in winter without supplies,leaving them to the rigors of the season, the uncertainties of thechase, and with no other dependence than the common mast of the forest.It deprived them of the very seed from which future harvests were to begathered. The drain for the supply of the hungry mouths at La Caroline,seemed to them perpetual, and Laudonniere aimed now not only to meetthe wants of the present, but to store ships and fort against futurenecessities. It was of the last importance to the people of Olata Utina,that they should recover their king without subjecting their peopleto the horrors of such a famine as was preying upon the vitals of theFrenchmen.

  They over-reached Laudonniere at last. They persuaded him that thepresence of the king, among his people, was necessary to compel eachman to bring in his subsidy;--that they must see him, in his formerabodes, freed entirely from bonds, before they would recognize hisauthority;--that they feared, when they should have brought their grain,that the French would still retain their captive;--and, in short,insisted so much upon the freedom of Utina, as the _sine qua non_, thatthe doubts of Laudonniere were overcome. It was agreed that two chiefsshould become hostages for Olata Utina, and, in guaranty of thefulfilment of his pledges.

  We are not told of the exact amount of ransom required for the surrenderof their king. It was probably enormous, according to the equalstandards of Indian and Frenchmen, in this period and region. Willinglycame the two chiefs to take the place of Olata Utina. They were admittedon board the bark, where he was kept in chains. They were warriors, andas they approached him, they broke their bows and arrows across, andthrew them before him: Then, as they beheld his bonds, they rushed tohis feet, lifted up and kissed his chains, and supported them, while theFrenchmen unlocked them from the one captive to transfer them to thehands and feet of those who came to take his place. These looked notupon the bonds as they were riveted about their limbs. They only watchedthe movements of their king with eyes that declared a well-satisfieddelight. He rose from his place, and shook himself slowly, as a lionmight be supposed to do, rousing himself after sleep. Never was head soerect, or carriage so like one who feels all his recovered greatness.He waved his hand in signal to the shore, where hundreds of his peoplewere assembled to greet his deliverance.

  The signal was understood, a mantle of fringed and gorgeously-dyedcotton was brought him by one of his sons. His macana, or war-club, anda mighty bow from which he could deliver a shaft more than five Englishfeet in length, were also brought him. Over his shoulder the mantle wasthrown by one of his attendants. The war-club was carried before him bya page. But, before he left the vessel, he bent his bow, fixed one ofthe shafts upon the deer sinews, which formed the cord, and drawing itto its head, sent it high in air, until it disappeared for a few secondsfrom the sight. This was a signal to his people. Their king, like thearrow, was freed from its confinement. It had gone like a bird of mightywing, into the unchained atmosphere. A cloud of arrows from the shorefollowed that of their sovereign. To this succeeded a great shout ofthanks and deliverance--"He! He! yo-he-wah! He--he--yo-he-wah." The echoof which continued to ring through the vaulted forests, long after theParacoussi had disappeared within their green recesses.