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Show 116 TilE LILY .AND THE TOTEM. simple red-men lw.d retained, rcsound~d, in varied accent.~, from m:m and women, who followed the progress of the strangers, ruuning along the margin of the river, as long as the ships continued in sigl1t. 1'hc ].'rcnch have not often abused the hospitality of the aborigines. In this respect, they rank much more humanly and honorably than either the English or the Spani$h people. With a greater moral flexibility, which yields somctlring to ncqnirc more, they accommodated thcmsch·cs to tho race which they discovered, and, readily conforming to some of the habits of the red-men, acquired an influ:!ncc over them which tho people of no other n:ation have ever been able to obtain. It was with t-ears that the simple Uunters nlong )fay Uiver beheld the VCS!Iels of th~ Frenchmen .!!radually sinking from their eyes. Tb:~ \'esscls of J, audonuicre pns.,cd up tho river, himself and p:u·ties of his people lnndiuJ occasionall,v, to examine particular spots of country. They urc c,·crywhcro rccci,·cd with kindness. Two of the Tndinn \I'Ords--" Antipola llonassou,"-mcaning "Friend and ll,·othcr,"-tho French ;undo uso of to secure n. favorablo welcome CYerywhcrc. Monsieur d;} Ottigny, :~ lieuten:mt of _T,nudonnierc, with n. small pal'ty, is conducted into the presence of a Cassif)ne, whoso great apparent age prompts him to inr1uirc concerning it. " Whereunto he made answer, shewing that he was tho first Ji,·ing originall from whence five generations were descended, as he shewed unto them by another oldc mnn that sntc directly over ngninst him, which farro exceeded him in age. And this man w:~s his father, which seemed to be rather a dead ear kiss than a living body; for l1is sin"wes, his veincs, his arteries, his bones and other partes appeared so cloorely thorow his skinne1 tlutt a man might easily tell them and disccrne them one from ooo another. Also his age wns 80 IECO,O £XPED!T[QN. 111 great that tlJC goode man had lost l1is sigl1t1 and could not spcnko one oncly word but with exceeding great paine. Monsieur do Ottigni, hn,·ing scene so strange a thing, turned to the younger of these two ollie men, praying him to vouchsafe to answer to him that which he demanded touching his nge. 'l'hcn tho olJe man called a company of Indians, nnd striking twisc upon his thigh, and laying his hand upon two of them, he Ehewcd him by syncs that these two were his sonncs; again su1iting upon tl1eir thighes, he shewed him others not so oldc which were the ch ildren of the two first, which he continued in the same manner until the fifth generation. But, though thi!l olde man had his father alive, more oldo than himsclfc, and that bothe of them did wenrc their hniro Yery long and as white as was possible, yet it was toldc them that they might yet li\•e thirtio or fortie yecrcs more by the course of nature: altTwugh the younger of them both was not Jesse than two hundred and fiftie yeeres olde. After he had ended his communication he commanded two young eagles to bo given to our men, which hoe had bred up for his plensure in his house." A filling gift at the close of such a narrnti\'C! Certainly, a. pntJ·iareilnl family; and, though we may doubt tho correctness of this primitive mode of computing the progress of the sun, there cau be no question that thll Floridians were distingUished by a longe,·ity wholly unparalleled in modern experience. lt is claimed tho.t the anglo-American races who have since occupie~ the same region, ilnve shared, in some degree, in this pt·olonged duration of human life. While the licutPna.nt of Lnudonni':lre wn.s thus held in discourse by the aged Indians, his commander was cnjoyinJ !Jimw•lf in more luxmious fashion. A particular e1uinencc in the neighborhood of the river had fi.r.cd his eye, wbich he o.r.plorcd. Here bo |
