Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/342

 330 Jfn Account of the Choktah Nation.

ceiving a friendly and polite letter from the governor. His main aim, a this fickened time of Indian trade, was to recover the value of the goods that had been loft in the Choktah country. He recommended one of the traders of the Sphynx-company to my patronage, prefimg me to affift him as far as I poflibly could, and likewife to endeavour to dorm Tumbikpe-fort; promifing at the fame time, to become anfwerable to me for all my rea^ fonable charges in that affair. I complied with every tittle of the gentle man's requeft, as far as I could, without charging him for it in the lead. As I had then, the greateft part of my cargo on hand, I lent the other what he flood in need of, that he might regain what his former pride and folly had occafioned to be loft. At that time, powder and ball were fo very fcarce, that I could have fold to the Choktah, as much as would have produced fifteen hundred buck-fkins, yet the exigency was fo preffing, I gave them the chief part of my ammunition, though as fpar- ingly as I could for the French by our purfuit of wrong meafures, (al ready mentioned) and their own policy, had dipped them into a civil war. As I had then no call to facrifice my private intereft for the emolument of the public, without indemnity, fo I was not willing to fufpeft ano ther breach of public faith. Red Shoes' brother came up freighted with plenty of courtly promifes, and for his own fecurity he was not backward in relating them to his brethren ; otherwife, they would have killed both him and me ; which would have reconciled them to the French, who a few days before, had propofed our maffacre by a long formal mefiage to them, as they afterwards informed me. I plainly faw their minds were unfixed, for their civil war proved very fharp. Minggo Pujhkoojh and ieve- ral head-men conducted me from town to townj ta the crowd of the feven lower towns, which lie next to New Orleans: but they took proper care to make our ftages fhort enough, that I might have the honour to con- verfe with all their beloved men and chief warriors^ and have the favour to give them plenty of prefents, in return for fo great an obligation. The Indian head-men deem it a trifle to go hundreds of miles, on fuch a. gladfome errand j and very few of them are (low in honouring the traders with a vifit, and a long, rapid, poetic fpeech. They will come feveral. miles to difpofe of a deer-fkin.

When I arrived at the thick fettlement of thefe lower towns, I began to imagine they had opened a communication with their fubterranean brethren cf Nanne Yah ; I was honoured with the company of a greater number

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