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Show 432 THF. Lll.l' AND THE TOTJ:fl.l. Captain," and which preceded the suJdcn entrance of. a warrior' the appearance of whom caused an instantaneous emotion of surprise in tho minds of the Frenchmen. His The stranger was f.'lir enough to be a Frcnchma.n himself. complexion ,vas wonderfully in contrast with that of ~he other chiefs, and there was a something in his bearing and cnr~1agc, and the expression of his countenance, which irresistibly Impressed .De Gourgucs with the conviction that be was gazing upon one of his own countrymen. The features of the stranger were smooth as well as fair, and in this, indeed, he rather resembled the race of red than of white men. But he wa.s evidently very young, yet of a gra\'C, &'\turn inc cast of face, such ns would denote cqua!ly middle a ... c and much experience, and yet was evidently the result of tempe:ament. llis hair, the portion thnt was seen, was short, as if kept carefully clipped i but he wore nround his brows several thick folds of crimson cotton, in fashion not greatly unlike that of the Turk. 'fhere were many of the chiefs who wore a. similar bead-dress, though whence the manufacture came, our :Frenchmen bad no way to J et-ermine. A cotton shirt, with a falling cape and fringe reaching below to his knees, belted about tho waist with a strip of crimson, like that which bound his head, formed the chief items of his costume. Like tho warriors genera1ly, he wore well-tanned buckskin leggings, terminating in moccasins of the same material. ITo carried a lance in his grasp, while n. light mn.eana was suspended from his shou\1\l.)rS. familiar to the Horidian usage, put and present. ThUJ Olata Utina OC· cun before in this very chronicle; and no prefix is more common in mo• dern times, among the Seminoles, than that of Holata; thus, Holata Amathh, Holata Fiseico, Holata Mico. It it also used as an appendage; thuA, Wok~e Holata, M we write E~ir~ after the name. DOMINIQUE DE GOURGUE8. 433 " Hola.ta Cam !" said Satomiovn, as if introducing the stranger to the Frenchmen, the moment tl1at he appeared, ttnd the young chief was motioned to 3. scat. In a '"hispcr to tho trumpeter, Gourgucs asked if he knew anything about this warrior; but the trumpeter looked bewildered. "Such a chief was not known to us," said he," in the time of Laudonniere." " He looks for all the world like a Frenchman," murmured Gourgues. "He reminds me," continucxl the trumpeter, " of a face that I have l!cen and know, Monsieur; but, I cannot say. If that turban were off now, and the paint. This is the first time I have ever heard the nnme. Dut the boy, Pierre, may know him." Gourgues whisp-ered the boy : " Who is this chief? IT ave you over seen him before ? Do you knolv him ?" "No, Monsieur; I have never seen him. I have heard of him. He is tho adopted son of the Great Chief, adopted from another tribe, I hear. But he is as white 88 I am, almost, and looks a little like a Frenchman. I can't say, Monsieur, but I could swear I knew the face. I have seen one very much like it, I think, among our own people." "Who?" " I can't say, Monsieur, I can't ; and the more I look, the more I am uncertain." . Something more was said in an equally unsatisfactory manner, and, in the meantime, the stranger took his scat in the assembly without seeming concern. He betrayed no curiosity when his eye rested upon the Frenchmen. When it was agreed that two persons should be sent, one of the French and one of the red chiefs 19 |
