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Show 434 Tit£ ULY AND Til£ TOTE)f. to make a :rewnnaissanu of the Spnnish fortreEs, he r~se quiet~yJ looked towards Sntouriovn, nnd, stril>ing his breast slightly, with his right hand, simply rep<!nted his own name,- " llolnta Cnra !" " It is well " said tlul chief, with an approving smile i and nolata Carn, on ~he part of the Indians, and l\lonsicur d'Estnmpcs, a gentleman of Conuninges, on the part of the 1\rcnchmen, w~ro sent to explore the country under the control of the Spnmsh usurpers. IIolata Cara immediately disappeared from the nsscm~li" A few moments after he wns buried in the deepest of the nc1g ,_ boring thickets, while a beautiful young savage-a female-who might have been a princess, and wore, like one, a fillet about her brow, and carried herself loftily as bccmuc a queen, stood bes~dc him, with her hand resting upon his shoulder, and her eye lookmg tenderly up into his; while she snid, in her own I:tngungc : " 1 \Vill follow you, but not to be seen ; and our people shall be nigh to watch, lost there be dnngcr f,·om tho Spnniar~." . The chief smiled, as if, in tho solicitous speech to wlucb he hstcned be dctcc~d some sweet deceit; but he said nothing but word: of parting, and these were kind nod affectionate. It was not long before Holo.ta Cara joined Monsieur d'Estampes, the boy Pierre de BrC being sent along with them, on the reconnaissanu which tho allies hnd agreed was to be made. In the meantime, tho better to o.asurc Gourgucs of the safety of D'Esto.mJlCS, Satouriova gave his son and tho best beloved of all his wives, into the custody of tho French as hostages, and they wore immediately conveyed to the safe-keeping of the ships. DOMINIQ.U£ DE GOUROU.ES. VII. FIRST FRUITS OF Til£ ADVENTURE. THE reconnai.s»nncc was completed. 1'ho report of Holata Ct~ra and D' Etampes show.::d that the Spanish fortress of San Mathao, formerly La C:Lrolinc, \Vas in good order, and with a strong garrison. Two otht1r forts which the Spani.uds had rai3.!d iu tbe neighborhood, commanding both sides of the river, :m I nearer to its mouth, wera also surveyed, and were found t:J ~: well manned and in proper condition for defence. In the.s~ thra.:l forts, the garrison was fouad to consist of four hundred soldi~ m, unequally distributed, but with a foro3 in each suffi'licnt for the post. Thus advis3d, the a.llills proo~eded severally to array their troops for the busiueg,s of a!!Sault. But, before marching, a solemn festival WJU appoirtted on tho bartks of the Salina Cani-by the French called tho Somrno-whieh ,,.as tho placa appointed for tho rendezvous. Hero tho red-men drank copious dtaughts of their cassine, or apa.la.ehine, a bitter but fa\'orito bevera_;e, the report:!d nature of which is that it takes away all hunger and thirst for the space of twanty-four hours, from those that employ it. 1'hough long used to all sorts of trial and endurance, Gourguez:~ found it not so easy to undergo this draught. Still, he made such a show of d rinking, a3 to S!ltisfy his confederates; and this done, the allied chiefs, lifting hands and eyes, made solemn oath of their fidelity in tho sight of heaven. Tho march was then begun, the red-men leading the way, and moving, in desultory manner, through tho woods, Hola.ta.Cara at their head; whilo, pursuing another route, but undor good guidance, and keeping his force compactly together, our chevalier conducted his Frenchmen to tho sam!l point of destination. This WM tho |
