France and England in North America, Part III: The Discovery of the Great West (1870)Parkman, Francis
History
France and England in North America, Part III: The Discovery of the Great West (1870)
Parkman, Francis
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France)
to the Bay of St. Bernard.--Manuscript map of "Route que firent les
Espagnols, pour venir enlever les Francais restez a la Baye St. Bernard ou
St. Louis, apres la perte du vaisseau de Mr. de la Salle, en 1689."--
Margry's collection.] As they drew near, no banner was displayed, no
sentry challenged; and the silence of death reigned over the shattered
palisades and neglected dwellings. The Spaniards spurred their reluctant
horses through the gateway, and a scene of desolation met their sight. No
living thing was stirring. Doors were torn from their hinges; broken
boxes, staved barrels, and rusty kettles, mingled with a great number of
stocks of arquebuses and muskets, were scattered about in confusion. Here,
too, trampled in mud and soaked with rain, they saw more than two hundred
books, many of which still retained the traces of costly bindings. On the
adjacent prairie lay three dead bodies, one of which, from fragments of
dress still clinging to the wasted remains, they saw to be that of a
woman. It was in vain to question the imperturbable savages, who, wrapped
to the throat in their buffalo-robes, stood gazing on the scene with looks
of wooden immobility. Two strangers, however, at length arrived.
[Footnote: May 1st. The Spaniards reached the fort April 22d.] Their faces
were smeared with paint, and they were wrapped in buffalo-robes like the
rest; yet these seeming Indians were L'Archeveque, the tool of La Salle's
murderer, Duhaut, and Grollet, the companion of the white savage, Ruter.
The Spanish commander, learning that these two men were in the district of
the tribe called Texas, [Footnote: This is the first instance in which the
name occurs. In a letter written by a member of De Leon's party, the Texan
Indians are mentioned several times.--See _Coleccion de Varios
Documentos,_ 25. They are described as an agricultural tribe, and were, to
all appearance, identical with the Cenis. The name Tejas, or Texas, was
first applied as a local designation to a spot on the River Neches, in the
Cenis territory, whence it extended to the whole country,--See Yoakum,
_History of Texas,_ 52.] had sent to invite them to his camp under a
pledge of good treatment; and they had resolved to trust Spanish clemency
rather than endure longer a life that had become intolerable. From them,
the Spaniards learned nearly all that is known of the fate of Barbier,
Zenobe Membre, and their companions. Three months before, a large band of
Indians had approached the fort, the inmates of which had suffered
severely from the ravages of the small-pox. From fear of treachery, they
refused to admit their visitors, but received them at a cabin without the
palisades. Here the French began a trade with them; when suddenly a band
of warriors, yelling the war-whoop, rushed from an ambuscade under the
bank of the river, and butchered the greater number. The children of one
Talon, together with an Italian and a young man from Paris, named Breman,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account