Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/330

 3 1 S An Account of the Choktah Nation.

member well what they had feen and heard, and to tell it to all their head-men.

We adjufted every thing in the moft friendly manner, to the intire fatif- faction of the Choktah. I fupplied each of them with arms, ammunition, and prefents in plenty gave them a French fcalping knife which had been ufed againft us, and even vermilion, to be ufed in the flourifhing way, with the dangerous French fnakes, when they killed and fcalped them. They returned home extremely well pleafed, echoed every thing they had feen and heard ; and declared that the Chikkafah, in their daily drefs, far ex ceeded the beft appearance their country-men could make in the moft fhowy manner, except thofe whom the French paid to make their lying mouths ftrong. They foon went to work they killed the ftrolling French pedlars, turned out againft the MifTifippi Indians and Mobillians, and the flame fpeedily raged very high. One of the Choktah women, ran privately to inform a French pedlar of the great danger he was in, and urged him immediately to make his efcape. He foon faddled a fine ftrong fprightly horfe he chanced to have at hand: juft as he mounted, the dreadful death whoo whoop was founded in purfuit of him, with the fwift-footed red Afahel, Shocla/humma/htafe, leading the chace. Though, from that place, the land-path was moftly level to Tumpikbe-garrifon (about half a day's march) and though the Chikkafah and Choktah horfes are Spanim barbs, and long winded, like wolves ; yet Red-Shoes, far ahead of the reft, ran him down in about the fpace of fifteen miles, and had fcalped the unfortu nate rider fome time before the reft appeared.

It is furprifing to fee the long continued fpeed of the Indians in general though fome of us have often ran the fwifteft of them out of fight, when on the chafe in a collective body, for about the diftance of twelve miles ; yet, afterward, without any feeming toil, they would ftretch on, leave us out of fight, and out-wind any horfe. When this retaliating fcheme was plan ned and executing, I was -the only Britifh fubjed in the Chikkafah country \ and as I had many goods on hand, I ftaid in the nation, while we fent down our horfes to the firft Englifh fettlemsnts, which was full eight hundred milt-s diftant, before the two Floridas were ceded to us. Seventeen were the broken days, according to the Indian phrafe, when the Choktah en gaged to return with the French fcalps, as a full confirmation of their hav- i ing

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