main
gate of the fort, when he heard a call from atop the lookout, “A
column is ahead! River upstream!” St. Denis climbed to a higher
position to get a better look. It was difficult to see through the
fog, but as they came closer, he could see twenty or more canoes
coming down the river, each with two to four Indians aboard. “Take
your positions, men! Be at the ready!” was the call from the
lookout. At the head of the group, St. Denis could make out an
Indian wearing a familiar headdress. As they neared, his eyes
widened in disbelief.
“ Hold your fire!
Hold your fire!” he shouted to the lookout. The sentry in the
lookout obeyed and shouted down the line, “Hold your fire!” St.
Denis rushed to the ground, flung open the main gate, and ran
towards the river. It was Natchitos at the head of the group of
canoes. He was followed by the entire Nashitosh tribe.
Natchitos neared
the fort and he saw a man waving his arms from the shore. He
recognized him at once as St. Denis. The column of canoes came
ashore, one by one, lined up like marshals along the shores of the
Great River. Natchitos and Taima stepped out of the canoe and
walked towards St. Denis. Taima
held Nule close in her arms. “Lieutenant, I am Natchitos, I have
come to your land,” Natchitos said.
“ Yes!” he
exclaimed. “Yes, I know it is you. Welcome, my friend. Welcome to
all of you. You have traveled a long way. Please come and we will
give you food and water.” He noticed the baby in Taima’s arms, now
about eight months old. “You have added to your family, I see. This
is wonderful to see, my friend.”
Another officer, Colonel
Jean-Pierre Lemont, approached from the fort, seeing this great
number of Indians coming ashore. “Lieutenant, what is going on
here? Who are these people?” he demanded.
“ Not to worry,
Sir. I know this man from the Red River area.” St. Denis explained.
“They are not a threat to us, Sir.”
“ But why are they here? There must be more than
sixty or seventy of them!” Lemont persisted. “Ask them why they are
here, right away.”
“ I will,
S ir, I will find out why they are
here,” St. Denis answered. “But first let’s give them some food and
rest. They have been traveling for many days. I know how far they
have come.”
“ Take care of it
quickly, Louis, I don’t want them all over this fort,” Lemont
instructed him. “There is too much work to be done around here as
it is.”
“ Yes , Sir.”
Many of the soldiers were
now looking on at this amazing sight. Many of the Indians appeared
frightened, they had never seen this many white men before at one
time. They stood closely together and avoided staring at the
soldiers.
Among the
soldiers upon the fort was LaRouche. He walked between a few men
who were closer and had a better vantage point. He shoved his head
forward between the two men and glared down at the group of Indians
along the river. “Well I’ll be damned!” he said in
disbelief. “He brought back the
whole damn bunch of them!” The other men looked at him quizzically
and gave him a laugh. “They’ve
come back to get me,” he thought
to himself. His mind had eased over the past year but no longer. He
did not like the sight of these Indians at all.
St. Denis sat in the governor’s
chamber inside of Fort St. Jean. Jean-Baptiste sat behind a desk
wearing the traditional wig. “I understand we have some visitors
with us today, eh Louis?”
“ Yes, Governor. They are being given some food
and water at this very moment,” answered St. Denis.
“ Do you know why
they are here?”
“ No
S ir, but I get the feeling they
are not here just to say hello. I’m afraid something must have
happened to them, or the whole tribe would not have come along with
the chief.”
“ How many do they
number?” Jean-Baptiste asked.
“ From my
estimates, about fifty men, women and children, Sir.”
“ And what do you
suppose that we do with our friends that have shown up
gate of the fort, when he heard a call from atop the lookout, “A
column is ahead! River upstream!” St. Denis climbed to a higher
position to get a better look. It was difficult to see through the
fog, but as they came closer, he could see twenty or more canoes
coming down the river, each with two to four Indians aboard. “Take
your positions, men! Be at the ready!” was the call from the
lookout. At the head of the group, St. Denis could make out an
Indian wearing a familiar headdress. As they neared, his eyes
widened in disbelief.
“ Hold your fire!
Hold your fire!” he shouted to the lookout. The sentry in the
lookout obeyed and shouted down the line, “Hold your fire!” St.
Denis rushed to the ground, flung open the main gate, and ran
towards the river. It was Natchitos at the head of the group of
canoes. He was followed by the entire Nashitosh tribe.
Natchitos neared
the fort and he saw a man waving his arms from the shore. He
recognized him at once as St. Denis. The column of canoes came
ashore, one by one, lined up like marshals along the shores of the
Great River. Natchitos and Taima stepped out of the canoe and
walked towards St. Denis. Taima
held Nule close in her arms. “Lieutenant, I am Natchitos, I have
come to your land,” Natchitos said.
“ Yes!” he
exclaimed. “Yes, I know it is you. Welcome, my friend. Welcome to
all of you. You have traveled a long way. Please come and we will
give you food and water.” He noticed the baby in Taima’s arms, now
about eight months old. “You have added to your family, I see. This
is wonderful to see, my friend.”
Another officer, Colonel
Jean-Pierre Lemont, approached from the fort, seeing this great
number of Indians coming ashore. “Lieutenant, what is going on
here? Who are these people?” he demanded.
“ Not to worry,
Sir. I know this man from the Red River area.” St. Denis explained.
“They are not a threat to us, Sir.”
“ But why are they here? There must be more than
sixty or seventy of them!” Lemont persisted. “Ask them why they are
here, right away.”
“ I will,
S ir, I will find out why they are
here,” St. Denis answered. “But first let’s give them some food and
rest. They have been traveling for many days. I know how far they
have come.”
“ Take care of it
quickly, Louis, I don’t want them all over this fort,” Lemont
instructed him. “There is too much work to be done around here as
it is.”
“ Yes , Sir.”
Many of the soldiers were
now looking on at this amazing sight. Many of the Indians appeared
frightened, they had never seen this many white men before at one
time. They stood closely together and avoided staring at the
soldiers.
Among the
soldiers upon the fort was LaRouche. He walked between a few men
who were closer and had a better vantage point. He shoved his head
forward between the two men and glared down at the group of Indians
along the river. “Well I’ll be damned!” he said in
disbelief. “He brought back the
whole damn bunch of them!” The other men looked at him quizzically
and gave him a laugh. “They’ve
come back to get me,” he thought
to himself. His mind had eased over the past year but no longer. He
did not like the sight of these Indians at all.
St. Denis sat in the governor’s
chamber inside of Fort St. Jean. Jean-Baptiste sat behind a desk
wearing the traditional wig. “I understand we have some visitors
with us today, eh Louis?”
“ Yes, Governor. They are being given some food
and water at this very moment,” answered St. Denis.
“ Do you know why
they are here?”
“ No
S ir, but I get the feeling they
are not here just to say hello. I’m afraid something must have
happened to them, or the whole tribe would not have come along with
the chief.”
“ How many do they
number?” Jean-Baptiste asked.
“ From my
estimates, about fifty men, women and children, Sir.”
“ And what do you
suppose that we do with our friends that have shown up
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