MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) - FREDERICK MARRYAT (books to read this summer txt) 📗

an Inland Grove, And Dragged for

A League Over The Prairie Grass, The Colonists Prepared to Build A

Shelter, La Salle Being The Architect, And Himself Making The Beams, And

Tenons, And Mortises."

 

 

 

This Is The Settlement Which Made Texas A Part Of Louisiana. La Salle

Proposed to Seek The Mississippi In the Canoes Of The Indians, Who Had

Showed themselves Friendly, And, After An Absence Of About Four Months,

And The Loss Of Thirty Men, He Returned in rags, Having Failed to Find

"The Fatal River." The Eloquent American Historian Gives Him A Noble

Character:--"On The Return Of La Salle," Says He, "He Learned that A

Mutiny Had Broken Out Among His Men, And They Had Destroyed a Part Of

The Colony'S Provisions. Heaven And Man Seemed his Enemies, And, With

The Giant Energy Of An Indomitable Will, Having Lost His Hopes Of

Fortune, His Hopes Of Fame, With His Colony Diminished to About One

Hundred, Among Whom Discontent Had Given Birth To Plans Of Crime--With

No European Nearer Than The River Pamuco, And No French Nearer Than The

Northern Shores Of The Mississippi, He Resolved to Travel On Foot To His

Countrymen In the North, And Renew His Attempts At Colonization."

 

 

 

It Appears That La Salle Left Sixty Men Behind Him, And On The 20Th Of

March, 1686, After A Buffalo-Hunt, He Was Murdered by Duhaut And

L'Archeveque, Two Adventurers, Who Had Embarked their Capital In the

Enterprise. They Had Long Shown A Spirit Of Mutiny, And The Malignity Of

Disappointed avarice So Maddened them That They Murdered their

Unfortunate Commander.

 

 

 

I Will Borrow A Page Of Bancroft, Who Is More Explicit Than The Comanche

Chroniclers.

 

 

 

"Leaving Sixty Men At Fort St. Louis, In january, 1687, La Salle, With

The Other Portion Of His Men, Departed for Canada. Lading Their Baggage

On The Wild Horses From The Cenis, Which Found Their Pasture Everywhere

In The Prairies, In shoes Made Of Green Buffalo-Hides; For Want Of Other

Paths, Following The Track Of The Buffalo, And Using Skins As The Only

Shelter Against Rain, Winning Favour With The Savages By The Confiding

Courage Of Their Leader--They Ascended the Streams Towards The First

Ridges Of Highlands, Walking Through Beautiful Plains And Groves, Among

Deer And Buffaloes, Now Fording The Clear Rivulets, Now Building a

Bridge By Felling a Giant Tree Across A Stream, Till They Had Passed the

Basin Of The Colorado, And In the Upland Country Had Reached a Branch Of

The Trinity River.

 

 

 

"In The Little Company Of Wanderers There Were Two Men, Duhaut And

L'Archeveque, Who Had Embarked their Capital In the Enterprise. Of

These, Duhaut Had Long Shown A Spirit Of Mutiny; The Base Malignity Of

Disappointed avarice, Maddened by Sufferings And Impatient Of Control,

Awakened the Fiercest Passions Of Ungovernable Hatred. Inviting Moranget

To Take Charge Of The Fruits Of A Buffalo-Hunt, They Quarrelled with Him

And Murdered him.

 

 

 

"Wondering at The Delay Of His Nephew'S Return, La Salle, On The 20Th Of

March, Went To Seek Him. At The Brink Of The River He Observed eagles

Hovering, As If Over Carrion, And He Fired an Alarm-Gun. Warned by The

Sound, Duhaut And L'Archeveque Crossed the River; The Former Skulked in

The Prairie Grass; Of The Latter, La Salle Asked, 'Where Is My Nephew?'

At The Moment Of The Answer, Duhaut Fired; And, Without Uttering a Word,

La Salle Fell Dead. 'You Are Down Now, Grand Bashaw! You Are Down Now!'

Shouted one Of The Conspirators, As They Despoiled his Remains, Which

Were Left On The Prairie, Naked and Without Burial, To Be Devoured by

Wild Beasts.

 

 

 

"Such Was The End Of This Daring adventurer. For Force Of Will And Vast

Conceptions; For Various Knowledge, And Quick Adaptation Of His Genius

To Untried circumstances; For A Sublime Magnanimity, That Resigned

Itself To The Will Of Heaven, And Yet Triumphed over Affliction By

Energy Of Purpose And Unfaltering Hope,--He Had No Superior Among His

Countrymen. He Had Won The Affection Of The Governor Of Canada, The

Esteem Of Colbert, The Confidence Of Seignelay, The Favour Of Louis Xiv.

After Beginning The Colonization Of Upper Canada, He Perfected the

Discovery Of The Mississippi From The Falls Of St. Anthony To Its Mouth;

And He Will Be Remembered through All Times As The Father Of

Colonization In the Great Central Valley Of The West."

 

 

 

Jontel, With The Brother And Son Of La Salle, And Others, But Seven In

All, Obtained a Guide From The Indians For The Arkansas, And, Fording

Torrents, Crossing Ravines, Making a Ferry Over Rivers With Rafts Or

Boats Of Buffalo-Hides, Without Meeting The Cheering Custom Of The

Calumet, Till They Reached the Country Above The Red river, And Leaving

An Esteemed companion In a Wilderness Grave, On The 24Th Of July, Came

Upon A Branch Of The Mississippi. There They Beheld On An Island A Large

Cross. Never Did Christians Gaze On That Emblem With More Deep-Felt

Emotion. Near It Stood A Log Hut, Tenanted by Two Frenchmen. A

Missionary, Of The Name Of Tonti, Had Descended that River, And Full Of

Grief At Not Finding La Salle, Had Established a Post Near The Arkansas.

 

 

 

As The Reader May Perceive, There Is Not Much Difference Between Our

Printed records And The Traditions Of The Comanches.

Chapter XXV

It Was During My Convalescence That The Fate Of The Texan Expedition To

Santa Fe Was Decided; And As The Real Facts Have Been Studiously

Concealed, And My Intelligence, Gained from The Indians, Who Were

Disinterested parties, Was Afterwards Fully Corroborated by An Irish

Gentleman Who Had Been Persuaded to Join It, I May As Well Relate Them

Here. Assuming The Character Of Friendly Traders, With Some Hundred

Dollars' Worth Of Goods, As A Blind To Their Real Intentions, Which Were

To Surprise The Mexicans During The Neutrality Which Had Been Agreed

Upon, About Five Hundred men Were Collected at Austin, For The

Expedition.

 

 

 

Although The Report Was Everywhere Circulated that This Was To Be A

Trading Experiment, The Expedition, When It Quitted austin, Certainly

Wore A Very Different Appearance. The Men Had Been Supplied with

Uniforms; Generals, And Colonels, And Majors Were Dashing about In every

Direction, And They Quitted the Capital Of Texas With Drums Beating and

Colours Flying. Deceived by The Texans, A Few Respectable Europeans Were

Induced to Join This Expedition, Either For Scientific Research Or The

Desire To Visit A New And Unexplored country, Under Such Protection,

Little Imagining That They Had Associated themselves With A Large Band

Of Robbers, For No Other Name Can Be Given To These Lawless Plunderers.

But If The Force Made A Tolerable Appearance On Its Quitting The

Capital, A Few Hours' March Put An End To All Discipline And Restraint.

 

 

 

Although The Country Abounded with Game, And It Was Killed from Mere

Wantonness, Such Was Their Improvidence, That They Were Obliged to

Resort To Their Salt Pork And Other Provisions; And As, In thirty Days,

Forty Large Casks Of Whisky Were Consumed, It Is Easy To Suppose, Which

Was Indeed the Fact, That Every Night That They Halted, The Camp Was A

Scene Of Drunkenness And Riot.

 

 

 

During The Last Few Days Of The March Through The Game Country They

Killed more Than A Hundred buffaloes, Yet, Three Days After They Had

Quitted the Prairies, And Had Entered the Dreary Northern Deserts, They

Had No Provisions Left, And Were Compelled to Eat Their Worn-Out And

Miserable Horses.

 

 

 

A True Account Of Their Horrible Sufferings Would Beggar All

Description; They Became So Weak And Utterly Helpless That Half A Dozen

Mexicans, Well Mounted, Could Have Destroyed them All. Yet, Miserable As

They Were, And Under The Necessity Of Conciliating The Indians, They

Could Not Forego Their Piratical And Thieving Propensities. They Fell

Upon A Small Village Of The Wakoes, Whose Warriors And Hunters Were

Absent, And, Not Satisfied with Taking away All The Eatables They Could

Carry, They Amused themselves With Firing The Indian Stores And Shooting

The Children, And Did Not Leave Until The Village Was Reduced to A Heap

Of Burning ashes. This Act Of Cowardice Sealed the Fate Of The

Expedition, Which Was So Constantly Harassed by The Wakoe Warriors, And

Had Lost Already So Many Scalps, That Afterwards Meeting With A Small

Party Of Mexicans, They Surrendered to Them, That They Might Escape The

Well Deserved and Unrelenting Vengeance Of The Warlike Wakoes.

 

 

 

Such Was The Fate Of The Texan Expedition; But There Is Another Portion

Of The History Which Has Been Much Talked of In the United states; I

Mean The History Of Their Captivity And Sufferings, While On Their Road

From Santa Fe To Mexico. Mr. Daniel Webster Hath Made It A Government

Question, And Mr. Pakenham, The British Ambassador In mexico, Has

Employed all The Influence Of His Own Position To Restore To Freedom The

Half-Dozen Of Englishmen Who Had Joined the Expedition. Of Course, They

Knew Nothing Of The Circumstances, Except From The Report Of The Texans

Themselves. Now, It Is But Just That The Mexicans' Version Should Be

Heard Also. The Latter Is The True One--At Least, So Far As I Can Judge

By What I Saw, What I Heard Upon The Spot, And From Some Mexican

Documents Yet In my Possession.

 

 

 

The Day Before Their Capture The Texans, Who For The Last Thirteen Days

Had Suffered all The Pangs Of Hunger, Came Suddenly Upon A Flock Of

Several Thousand Sheep, Belonging To The Mexican Government. As Usual,

The Flock Was Under The Charge Of A Mexican Family, Living In a Small

Covered waggon, In which They Could Remove From Spot To Spot, Shifting

The Pasture-Ground As Required. In that Country But Very Few Individuals

Are Employed to Keep The Largest Herds Of Animals; But They Are Always

Accompanied by A Number Of Noble Dogs, Which Appear To Be Particularly

Adapted to Protect And Guide The Animals. These Dogs Do Not Run About,

They Never Bark Or Bite, But, On The Contrary, They Will Walk Gently Up

To Any One Of The Flock That Happens To Stray, Take It Carefully By The

Ear, And Lead It Back To Its Companions. The Sheep Do Not Show The Least

Fear Of These Dogs, Nor Is There Any Occasion For It. These Useful

Guardians Are A Cross Of The Newfoundland And St. Bernard Breed, Of A

Very Large Size, And Very Sagacious.

 

 

 

Now, If The Texans Had Asked for A Hundred sheep, Either For Money Or In

Barter (A Sheep Is Worth About Sixpence), They Would Have Been Supplied

Directly; But As Soon As The Flock Was Perceived one Of The Texan

Leaders Exclaimed, With An Oath, "Mexicans' Property, And A Welcome

Booty; Upon It, My Boys, Upon It, And No Mercy," One Of The Poor

Mexicans Who Had Charge Was Shot Through The Head; The Others Succeeded

In Escaping By Throwing Themselves Down Among The Thick Ranks Of The

Affrighted animals, Till Out Of Rifle-Distance; Then Began A Carnage

Without Discrimination, And The Texans Never Ceased firing Until The

Prairie Was For Miles Covered with The Bodies Of Their Victims. Yet This

Grand Victory Was Not Purchased without A Severe Loss, For The Dogs

Defended the Property Intrusted to Their Care; They Scorned to Run Away,

And Before They Could All Be Killed they Had Torn To Pieces Half A Dozen

Of The Texans, And Dreadfully Lacerated as Many More. The Evening Was,

Of Course, Spent In revelry; The Dangers And Fatigues, The Delays And

Vexations Of The March Were Now Considered over, And High Were Their

Anticipations Of The Rich Plunder In perspective. But This Was The Only

Feat Accomplished by This Texan Expedition: The Mexicans Had Not Been

Deceived; They Had Had Intelligence Of The Real Nature Of The

Expedition, And Advanced parties Had Been Sent Out To Announce Its

Approach. Twenty-Four Hours After They Had Regaled themselves With

Mutton, One Of These Parties, Amounting To About One Hundred men, Made

Its Appearance. All The Excitement Of The Previous Evening Had

Evaporated, The Texans Sent Out A Flag Of Truce, And Three Hundred of

Them Surrendered themselves Unconditionally To This Small Mexican Force.

 

 

 

On One Point The European Nations Had Been Much Deceived, Which Is As To

The Character Of The Mexican Soldier, Who Appears To Be Looked upon With

A Degree Of Contempt. This