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Show 168 THE LtLY A:"D Tll£ TOTEM. :kings, such had been the nccount brought to Laudonniere, that l1o at first imagined tlJem to be Spaniards. They were described as going to battle in complete armor, with their brc:asts, :1.rms and thighs covered with plates of gold, and with a helmet or !Jcad. piece of the Mmc metal. Their armor defied the arrows of the s.wagc!!, Hnd pro\· cd the po~ s cs~ion of a degree of civilization very far superior to anything in the experience or customs of t!Jc red-men. Subsequently it was ascertained that they were In dians like tho rest. differing from the rest, however, in this other rcm:trknblc trait, tJ,at, while nll the ot\Jc1· tribes painted their faces red, these warriors of llost:aqua and Onathaqua employed black only to incre:asc the fonllidable :appf':arance which t!Jcy made in battle. The golden :armor used by this people, :and the excess Of the precious metals whi'!l1 this habit implied, were sufficicnt inducements for our Huguenot le:ader to attempt his present entcrpris2. 1t h:ad furnished the argument of the conspirntors against him, that he done so little towards the diseo,•ery of the precious met:als; having provoked th:at cupidity, which his necessities alone compelled him to refuse to gratify. IT is error, nt tl1e present moment was, in employing otl1er than tl10 discontents of hi.'! colony in m:aking the disco,·ery. But of this hereafter. Lnudonniere had not been wholly neglectful, even while he seemed to sleep upon his arms, of the reported treasures of the country. Ho had sent two of his men, Ln. Roche FcrriCrc n. clever young ensign, and another, to dwell in the dominions of King Utina, and these two had been absent all the summer, engaged in rambling about the country. Others, a~ we have seen, were sent in other direction~. Lieutenant Achille 0' Erlach, tho brother of tho favorite Alphonse, had been absent in this way, during all tho period when Laudonnicro was threatened by con- TilE SED!TI0:-1 AT LA CAnOLJNE. 169 spiracy; and it was now decreed tl1at, e\'Cn wlJilc his brother cun!inu('d absent, Alphonse ~hould depart also. The eagerness of Laudonniere would aJmit of no delay. ll i;o curio10ity had just rec eived a new impulse from a present wl1ich had been sent him by llostnqua, consi.--ting: of a" Luzerno's skinne full of arrows, a. couple of howes, foure or five skinncs painted after their manner, and a clmiue of sih·cr weighing about a pounde wcig:l1t." These came with overtures of friendship and all iance, which the Huguenot chief did not deem it polit.c to disregard. He sent to tho Bll\'agc king, "two whole sutes of apparel\, with certain cutting hookes or hatchets," and prepared to follow up his gifts, by sending a small detachment of picked soldiers, under Alphonse d'Erlach, still more thoroughly to fathom the secrets of the country, but ostensibly to unite with Hostaqua. and his ally against the potent savage Potanou, who was described as a man of boundless treasures, also. The bearer of these presents from Hostaqua was :an inferior chieftain namr:d Oolenoe. This cunning savage, of whom we shall know more hereafter, did not fail to perceive that the ruling passion of our Huguenots was gold. It was only, therefore, to mumble the precious word in imperfect Gallic-to extend his hand vaguely in the direction of the Apalacbian summits, and cry "gold-gold!" and the adroit orator of tho Lower Cherokees, on behalf of his tribe or nation, readily commanded tho attention of his gluttonous auditors. His auguments and entreaties proved irre!!istible, and the present c:~.rncsl n ess of Laudonuicre, at La. Caroline, was in preparing for this expedition. To conquer Potanou, and to obtain from Host!l.qua the clues to the precious region where tho gold was reputed to gr<iw, with almost a vegetable nature, waa tho motive for arming his Eurcr 8 |