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Show 194 1'111; LIL.Y AND Tllf: T O T.,;~{. of the lieutenant; events which positively would not have tn.kcn place, had not the soh~ me proved ;~ucccssful for procuring his absence from tho fortress. L:mdonnicrc's conscience smote l1im with a sense of his ingratitude, as the fi0wing plumes of D'Erlach disappeared amidst the distant umbrage ; but he had no misgivings of tb:tt danger which the prescient thought of his lieutenant l1ad described as already threatening. He had suilicicnt t!mc allowed him to meditate equally upon his own blindness and the foresight of the youth, while his mutineers, for fifteen days kept him a close prisoner on board his own brigantine~ During this period, his young lieutenant, 'vith his twcuty Frenchmen, was making his way from forest to forest, unJcr tile somewhat capricious guidance of the subtle savage, Oolenoc. D'Erlaeh was more than once dissatisfied with tllis progress. lie found himself frequently doubling, ll!l it were, upon bis own ground ; not steadily ascending the country iu the supposed direc· lion of the Apntahhian ::\Iountnins, but rather inclining to tho southwest, and scarcely seeming to leave those lower steppts which belonged wholly to the province of tho sea. Without ab~ solutely suspecting his dusky guide, D'Erlach wns eminently watchful of him, and frequently pressed his inquiries in regard to the route they were pursuing,-when-noting the course of the sun, he found himself still turning away from those distant moun~ lain summits which were said to await them in the north, with all their world of treaKure. The plea of Oolenoe, while acknowlcdg· ing a temporary departure from the proper patll, alleged the diffi· eultics of the country, the spread of extensive morasses, or the presence of nations of bostile Indians, which cut off all direct communication with the province which they songl1t. To all this D'Erlacb had nothing: to oppose. The pretences TilE ADVENTURE OF D1ERLACII. 195 seemed sufi1ciontly spcciow, nnd ho continued to ndvanco deep nod deeper into the internal intricacies of the unbroken wild, making a progress, day by day, into regions which the E.uropenn bad never penetrated before. On this progrc!!ll, each !IOldicr had been provided wilh n certain allowance of food of a portable nature, which WllS calculated to last runny days. The adoption of tho Indian customs, in several respects, had made it easy to provide. Tho maize nod beans of the country constituted tho chief supply. Tho former, and sometimes both, erwhcd or ground, separately or together, and browned slightly before tho fire, furnished a. wholesome and literally palatable provision for such a. journey. They were also to receive supplies from tho contributions of Indian tribes through wbo10c settlements they were to pass, and, to traOic with other nations whom as yet they did not know. With this latter object the party was provided with a. small stock of European trifles-knives, renphooks, small mirrors, and things of this description. Thus provided, they pressed forward for several days, on a journey which brought them no nearer to the province which they 110ught. Still tho country through which they travelled wa.s unbroken by a. mountain. Gentle eminences saluted their eyes, and they sometimes toiled over hills which, even their exhnustion, which rendered irksome tho ascent, did not venture to compare with those mighty ranges, scaling tho clouds, of which tho swelling narratives of tho savage chiefs, and their own adventurers, had given such extravagant ideas. In this march they probably rcnched tho Savannah, and crossed its waters to tho rivers of Carolina.. Tho scenery improved in loveliness, and to those who arc ncccssiblo to the influences of mere extcrnal beauty, the progress at every step was productive of its own |