Lily and the Totem, or, The Hugenots in Florida, A Series of Sketches, picturesque and Historical, of the Colonies of Coligni, in North America. 1562-1570. By the author of "The Yemassee"

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170 TilE I,ILY AND THE TOTEM. penn w:miors. It was also his policy, borrowed from that of tl1o Spaniards, to set tlHl nntivc tribes upon one another ;-a fatal policy in the end, since they must invariably, having first destroy­ed the inferior, turn upon the superior, through the irrc~istiblc force of habit. Dut, even ·with the former object, we do not per­ceive that there was nny necessity to take :my undue pnins in its attainment. Tribes that live by hunting only, must unavoidably come into constant collision. No doubt the natural tendency of the savage might be stimulated and made more inveterate and active, by Europcnn nrts; nod Laudonnicre, however Huguenot, W3.S too little the Christian to forbear them. With this policy he proposed to justify himself to those who were avcrl!e to the pre­f! ent enterprise. One of these was his favorite, Alphonse D' Er­lach, the youth to whom be owed his life. This young man, on tho present occasion, approached him where be stood, eager and excited with the business of draughting the proper officers and men for the present hopeful expedition. At a little distance, etood the stern old stwage, Oolenoc, grimly looking on with a sat­isfaction at his heart, which was not suffered to appear on his immovn.blc features. The n.rtist of the statue$que might hn.vo found in his attitude n.nd nppearancc, an admirable model. Whil~ his eye caught and noted every look and movement, and his ear every known and unknown sound and accent, the cnlm unvarying exprc11sion of his glance and muscles 'vns that of tho most perfect and cool indiff~rencc. They only did not sleep. He leaned against a sapling that stood some twenty paces removed from the entrance of the fort, a loose cotton tunic nbout his loins, and his bow and quiver su~pended from his shoulders, in a richly­stained and shell-woven belt, the ground work of which was cot­ton also. A knife, tho gift of Laudoooiore, was tho only other TilE SEOITIO~ AT I • .A CAROLINE. 171 weapon which ho bore; but this was one of those very precious acquisitions which the lndinn had already purposed to bury with him. As Alphonse D'Erlach approached his commander, a close ob­server might have seen in the eyes of Oolcnoc, an increased bril­liancy of expression. The sentiment which it conveyed was not that of love. 1t is with quick, intclligentnntures to comprehend, t1S by an instinct of their own, in whnt quarter to find sympathies, and whence tl1eir antipathies arc to follow. Oolenoo had soon discovered that D'Erlaeh was not friendly to his objects. With this conviction there arose another feeling, that of contempt, with which tho extreme youth, and general effeminacy of the young man's appearance, harl inspired him. He did not uem the war­rior,- and tho Indian is not npt to esteem tlH~ person of whose conduct in battle he hilS doubt!!. Besides, the costume of D'Er­laeh wns thn.t of dnndyism; nod, though tho North American savage was no humble proficient in the arts of tho toilet, yet these n.re never ventured upon until the reputation of the hunter and warrior have been acquired. Of tho abilities of D'Erlach, in these respects, Oolcnoe had no knowledge; nod his doubts, therefore, n.nd disrespects, were the natural resnlt of his convic­tion that tho youth was suspicious of, nod hostile to, himself. or these feelings, D'Erlach knew nothing, and perhaps cared as lit­tle. His features, as be drew nigh to Laudonnicre, were marked with more gravity and earnestness thnn they usually expressed; and, touching the wrist of his commander, as ho approached him, he beckoned him somewhat farther from his foUowers: "It is not too late," said he," to escape this arrangement." "And why seek to escape it, Alphonse?" replied the other, with something like impatience io his Woes.