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Show 204 TITE LrLY AND THE TOTEM . be monotonous Enough to say, that the wlwlc genius of Alphonse D'Erlaeh wall brought forth during the constant emergencies of l1is march and prm·cd equal to them nll II is first object was to pursue a new route on !Jis return. This greatly short cned tho dist:mco, and increased the chances of food, since it was only from the route along which he came that Oolcnoe had contrived the removal of all the pro,·isions. l 'hc progrc11s was thus l'aricd on their return. It was cnli\•cncd by incessant attacks of the savages. Their arrows were continually showered upon our Frenchmen from every thicket that could afford an ambush; but, habitcd as they were with the tscm~<pil, or stuffed cotton doublets, which the Spaniard!! had invented for protection in their warfnre with the lndinn11, the damage from this source wns comparntivcly small. Some few of tho Frenchmen were galled by slight wounds, one or two were seriously hurt, aud one of them 11uffurod tl•e loss of nn eye. In nll these conflicts, Le Gcnr6 fought with the greatest bravery-with n. valor, indeed, that seemed to set !lt scorn every thought of danger or disaster. Ifo wns n.lwnys tho first to rush forward to the assault, and always the last to leave the pursuit, when the trumpets sounded the rceaf. J Ia proved an admirable second to Alphonse D'F.rlaoh, and materially contributed to the success of the various plans adopted by the latter for tho safety of his people. I t wns the ninth day from that on which they left J,a Cnroline, when Le Genre mndc his nppenrancc, and Oolcnoc fletl to the forests. Six d11ys had they been engaged in their backward journey. In this route, diverging greatly from that which they had pursued before, and following the course indicated by the sun with n. rcm:~rknble judgment, which tended still more to rniM t!Hl reputation of AlphonllC D'Erlach in the eyes of his followers, they TilE ADVENTURE O'F n'ERLACIT. 205 suddenly struck into n. path with which I~e GcnrO l1imself was familiar. It prO\'Cd to bo one of those wl1ich he had pursued on n. previous occnsion, when, in the possession of the confidence of his chief, he had been permitted to lead forth a p:lrty for explotation. Our Frenchmen now knew where lhcy were, and thirty~six hours of steady travelling would, they felt assured, bring them within sight of the fortrcSB of La Caroline. Dut, as if the inveterate chieftain, Oolcuoc, l1nd made a like discovery at the same moment, hid assaults became more desperate, and were urged with n. singula.r increase of 11kill and fury. Now it was that the bnrbari: m tribes of :Florida seemed to gather into a host-such a host as encountered the famous Ponce de Leon nnd other Spanish chieftains when they sought to overrun tho land. They no long<>r sped their arrows from n. distance, which, in giving themsch·cs security from the firc-nrms of the Frenchmen, rendered their own slmfts in great degree innocuous. llut it wns observed that, when they had succeeded in drawing the fire of the l~rcnchmcn by two successive assaults, they usually grew bolder at a tl1ird, and came fo;ward with an audacity wl1icb seemed to put at defiance equally the weapons and the spirit of their enemies. The inequality of numbers between the respective pnrtics, mndc tbis subtle policy of Oolenoe particularly dangerous to the weaker. Alphonse D'Erhch felt his danger, and the openly-expressed n.pprcbcnsions ofJ,c Gcnr6 declared it. 'fhc suLjcct was one of great anxiety. The whole day hnd been spent in conflicts,-conflicts which were interrupted, it is true, by frequent intcn•als of rest, but which continued to increase in their violence as evening approached. Several of the ]<'rcnchmcn were now wounded, two of them dangerously, and all of them were greatly wearied. Lc GenrC urgl'd D'Erlach to a nlght movement, in which they might |
