Joutel's Journal of La Salle's Last Voyage, 1684-7Joutel, Henri
History
Joutel's Journal of La Salle's Last Voyage, 1684-7
Joutel, Henri
La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de, 1643-1687; Louisiana -- History -- To 1803; Mississippi River -- Discovery and exploration
In the first Place, the Cottage was made very clean, adorn’d, and
abundant of Mats laid on the Floor, on which the Elders, and the most
considerable Persons sate; after which, one of them, who is in the
Nature of an Orator, or Master of the Ceremonies stood up and made a
Speech, of which we understood not a Word. Soon after that Discourse
was ended, the Warriors arriv’d, who had slain any in Battle, marching
in their proper Order, each of them carrying a Bow and two Arrows, and
before every one of them went his Wife, carrying the Enemies Head of
Hair. Two little Boys, whose Lives they had spar’d, as has been said
before, one of them who was wounded being a Horseback, clos’d the
procession; at the Head whereof, was a Woman carrying a large Reed, or
Cane in her Hand.
As they came up to the Orator, the Warrior took the Head of Hair his
Wife had brought, and presented it to him, which the said Orator
receiv’d with both his Hands, and after having held it out towards the
four Quarters of the World, he laid it down on the Ground, and then
took the next, performing the same Ceremony, till he had gone over them
all.
When the Ceremony was ended, they serv’d up the _Sagamite_, in the
Nature of Hasty Pudding, which those Women had provided, and before any
one touch’d it, the Master of the Ceremonies took some in a Vessel,
which he carry’d as an Offering to those Heads of Hair. Then he
lighted a Pipe of Tabacco, and blow’d the Smoke upon them. That being
perform’d, they all fell to the Meat, _Bits of the Woman that had been
sacrific’d were served up to the two Boys of her Nation_. They also
serv’d up dry’d Tongues of their Enemies, and the whole concluded with
Dancing and Singing after their Manner: After which, they went to other
Cottages to repeat the same Ceremony.
There was no talk of our Design till those Rejoycings were over, and
I began to conceive good Hopes of our Success. The two Murderers,
_Teissier_ and _Larcheveque_, who had both a Hand in the Death of
Monsr. _de la Sale_, had promis’d to go along with us, provided Monsr.
_Cavelier_ would pardon them, and he had given them his Word so to do.
In this Expectation we continu’d till the 25th, when our French Men,
who had been at the War, repair’d to our Cottage, and we consulted
about our Business.
_Hiens_ and others of his Gang, disapproving of our Design, represented
to us such Difficulties as they look’d upon to be unsurmountable, under
which we must inevitably perish, or at least be oblig’d to return to
the same Place. _Hiens_ told us, that for his own Part, he would not
hazard his Life to return into _France_, only to have his Head chopp’d
off, and perceiving we answer’d Nothing to that, but that we persisted
in our Resolution, _It is requisite then_, said he, _to divide what
Effects remain._
[Sidenote: Hiens _gives the others what he pleases, and seizes the rest
of the Effects_.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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