Show the wife ship aman by HUGH author of kings of the missouri pay gravela 9 A virginia scout etc ty toh HIS tm WHITE INDIAN here a story iff the old day on the mississippi great river of the indian father of waters of the white man the outlet to the sea of th mississippi valley the garden spot of the world here altet and marquette la Salle Tand george losers cla ni and andrew jackson made history here indian frenchman spaniard eng lashman and american for possession here aft st louis tn the red and yellow naff of spain came down he tricolor of france went came down and the stripes went up to stay ak this story Is of he days of Blen and his colonization at new orleans and the hero s william brampton Bram plon the white indian an alenot the english the heroine Is claere Dahle aarde a handsome cind mysterious Is among the passengers on the wife chip malre which women from braice to the col on lt the hero rescues tie heroine from a ruffian fate throws g hem together and in pity he befriends her and takes her with him when ne escapes from new orleans in an attempt to fi the settlements with am portail por tait reports they have many adventures in the wilderness indian and white man and pome to happy ending of their dancers hugh h story with that close attention to historical accuracy alj which has won him a wide following S i CHAPTER I 1 1 i the natchez make a picture the pirogue drifted into an eddy and know ins I 1 was in the immediate vicinity of ort Ito salle I 1 leaped out and drew m dugout up on the bank jt was and the shadows to creep out from the western bank although having bad bears 0 experience with the mighty aher it always fascinated me especially when the shadows began to rendezvous or when the white mists danced before the rising sun I 1 tired of watching its irre sul en onrush to the gulf i such Lc arih what had alie lt ns ho red man ane first to cl from its tl I 1 had traveled it and airways found it to be a mystery it was a sinister 4 ant a whimsical f what ou would it flowed through oh rough hobgoblin land 0 o tale was too strange and for belief if connected with the mississippi I 1 prided myself on m hard headed ang elsh sense and yet I 1 could not resist its lure was no beauty to at tract me such as I 1 had cd along the more gracious ohio there was lacking that spell of utter I 1 biad found in pushing up the muddy current of the missouri it was a rapp loiis thine a arklo tiling its hap potentials its many promises of in credible achievements haunted me hi such puni trl flers as I 1 a sille and de boio had been peremptorily dealt i with the assassins bullet for one and ft ahr ahers mawr for the other and thee wo w er simply types of count less other of high and low degree van including my humble self and buth yet dependable fellows as idahoan the fox who had parted from rae at the mouth of lie ohio and what fortune did the rh er hold hrit spain for france for england allce the arec ot ane armada spain aej as out of the game except as it w on temporary success by rather desultory t solitude had made me ome of a philosopher just as m oc tutored me in politics if I 1 allied my lonely watches with mooning oer alie mysteries of the inscrutable waterway also did I 1 observe higuch hah governor spotswood of and other notable leaders ajon alie atlantic coast j T hn dawg amazing circle of fl nance with the might empire of france was closely watched bv us in amerian even if ei could not foresee how swiftly the irah ira h would follow the first symptom eckness in his system there are those who in calmer jears have held 3 that the fantastic notions concerning bali Bt li louisiana country grew up from f ahe prodigious falsehoods nurtured by jhc company of the indies better known as the mississippi company could accept this process of in truth I 1 eer sed it I 1 have alway held that beau law could not haie staged the greatest gambling f tle aes had not the wai n smoothly paved tor him by eu apes credulity in the marvelous and imps only because it was the ate of calr stories were half a nill ifon foreigners nocile eidl to the f dirty rue b in sin ires of lle mississippi company ad lua and are Inform eil of the doings diw froine fro inh tane he bis t con puny 11 was common know if edae liow gnp maer and 9 Cr alp w th each other in 1 the new P cou tn its tributaries tributa ries drained regions where strange white races dwelt along the shores of vast inland lakes hemmed in by sands of purest gold I 1 was no skeptic concerning mines and possible pearl fisheries in the gulf but when immigrants poured in and expected to find unicorns and other dream monsters in the land of the pa ducass I 1 laughed I 1 knew the river as well as any three full years I 1 had sailed it from the northern lakes to the gulf I 1 accepted mines as pos for the health of the south cm continent was a matter of history but when they talked of and giants and ethereally beautiful indian maidens I 1 must see them before bellev ing hen the fox heard such yama and he was most at home in the wigwam he would smile with his tongue in his cheek the english feared thit the imnetu osley of the french in exploiting the louisiana country and their feverish efforts to populate it would ghe the vast alley to louis XV but I 1 could not forget that frances belief in the marvelous must be reflected in her colonists and I 1 could not believe that louisiana would be held by those who believed in nintha ninths and fairies no more than the english could have held the coast settlements if instead of prosaically sai cally making homes they had dwelt on the fanta sled doings of king ar thurs knights trade was to shape the destiny of the mississippi basin those alio persisted in dwelling in elf dom must lose the race beau law s job was to keep his stock from exploding and within three years he had seen it rise from to alvres a share the english mans job was to bring home makers into the country and establish penna nent communities homes and crops first mines if there be any so far as I 1 could foresee the very na ture of laws advertising must defeat ills plan to people the valley from his residence in place louis ie grand he might order the sailing of man ships but who would fill them the absurd tales peddled by his agents could attract oab the dissolute the reckless the purely adventurous but never the heads of families alie coming and going of these un stal alases would leave no french fp on the land in all my work w 1 down the river I 1 know of but one to english ambitions rahe ot canada to the gulf by a of forts thereby making permanent settlements pos elble this was the far sighted pi in of louis de baide count of I 1 one of the greatest frenchmen of his time in the consummation of his original plans lay frances strength and england s peril to detect an adoption of this mosi sensible policy had engaged much of mv time and wan responsible tor mi uneasy flitting up and down the river the kaskaskia Kas kaskla settlements and the of fort chartres Chir tres might mean it waa the farat french settlement in the valley nouh of the scheme was being worked out in the illinois country it would amount to but little unless extended down to tho gulf hence my desire to learn if fort rosalie had taken on any political importance or remained simply a storehouse tor french trade ath my smooth bore flintlock over my shoulder I 1 made my way up the bluff crowned with oaks allett iber iu le that gereht apostle of louisianan Loui future first saw the gra clous hills around U lg the I 1 alche indians jl lo 10 loye spot andea balt the trading pt U after the duel eszti of it wag the farat penni tench settlement att those trench were beto relM it was now my business to recon the fort and observe how much strength the place had gained since I 1 was there last of first importance was to learn the attitude of the toward the french milte apple the main natchez all lage was located about oliree miles southwest of alie fort on a small stream and was less than three miles from the mississippi after recon the fort I 1 planned to return 0 o mv pirogue and take the vater route to this village on my last up the river the were verv friendly with the french hut much can happen between voyages the chickasaws had been develop ing an ugh streak for months unlike he duchez wU chez the choctaws and chacka saws rip erred new england rum tn french bianda while liere was no questioning the of english over french trade goods I 1 worked along the blutt until within sight of the post and ln deap relief the storehouse seemed closed and I 1 could discover no elens of any new cabins in the background the place had grown none unless it be some few settlers had built cabins in v isable from my position A minute of study satisfied me and I 1 began retreating toward my pirogue pl rogue alien a noise between me and the river sent me to ground and to cover it was a slight tapping noise and suggested a woodpecker I 1 crawled toward it but again sought cover as careless steps sounded in the growth the man passed quite near me lie was a tall fellow at least an inch over six feet with the mahogany complexion and the graceful powerful physique of the natchez after he had passed from hearing I 1 took his trail and easily followed it back to the edge of the bluff it ended in an opening which afforded a magnificent view of the river and there I 1 found what had caused the tapping and it made my heart glad for it threatened much trouble for the people of young louis XV and his dissolute uncle the duke of orleans relent when the french fell the eng went up and it was a dressed skin made fast to the bole of an oak with two reed arrows piloted red stuck in the ground before it in the form of an X on it was painted a hieroglyphic picture in the upper right dt tle picture was the red and white feathered readdress worn by the grand colell or great sun head chief of the was called next was depicted a naked natchez warrior holding a war club then came an arrow pointing at n figure over the head of which was a crude representation of the fleur dells de delow was n moon and the outline of a and n bunch of grapes followed by many straight marks being translated it announced that the great sun of the natchez declared his intention of making war on the french during the moon of peaches it was now the tenth of june the moon of watermelons Water melons the moon of peaches was july counting the marks I 1 found there were 28 of bliem and I 1 knew that within TO days war would begin it nothing intervened in the meantime to cause the autocrat of the natchez to change hl mind here was a matter of great import ance here was something to take to as a proof of my sincerity were the french inclined to suspect me of being english at heart ns well as of name aside from this instinct of self presen atlon was the likelihood eliat the natchez would change their minds before it came time to smoke the final war calumet tor tattooed serpent erroneously called stung serpent by the french war chief of the atchel and a brother of the greit bun biad been i consistent friend of the french ever since the trouble in and his great influence would be against war As his brother had graat affection for him I 1 did not believe the threat on the painted hide would he carried out also word of the declaration was sure to reach speedily however for my purpose the declaration was of much importance provided I 1 were the first to carry the news down the river until changed the war plans of the natchez were of evil im port to the lower valley the man alio fanst carried the word would be a great service tor I 1 nince I 1 proposed to do that sen ice and thereby learn things of more importance before starting north again cs surely did I 1 have an excellent excuse for thrusting my head inside the french settlements we acro and giving the lie to any accusing me ot behig an english sav and ope did tle bet of defenses confronting ce of the implacable will my to the governor should unelio me in his good opan tage would promptly credit ang with stirring v tb that lie abt be me to own people if re r e an law sand its sf ide ne 01 f ja in pygmies and giants benches of gold and mountains of precious stones was to disappear I 1 stole back to ray pirogue and pushed oft and dropped down stream with no further thought of visiting the indian village and only anxious to be the first to carry the news to CHAPTER II 11 france sends more rubbish after leaving he hills and bluffs I 1 experienced that feeling which always came to me when descending the river alone that Is that the river was sen alent and was pursuing me foolish no doubt yet impelling enough to male me swing my head frequently in staring bick over the desolate flood ind its burden of drift I 1 never experienced perien ced any bizarre sensation in I 1 slid the muzzle of my musket over the side and called on him to halt fighting my liay upstream up stream I 1 sharply missed the companionship of damean alie fox a great scamp yet prince ot once I 1 would have sworn of drift suddenly darted behind a tangled mass of forest trees as it propelled by human agency during my trip across maurepas Mau and for halt the distance on I 1 might have been the last man in the world for aside from wild fowl and the water life there was nothing to attract my attention then my isolation was shattered by the sight of a canoe coming toward me from the direction of D ayon st jean As it drew nearer I 1 decided its sole occupant was a voyager from the north he too was much interested in me for he rested his paddle and shading hla eieg me closely I 1 also rested and waited for him to finish his study suddenly he drove his paddle over the side and came toward me swiftly I 1 slid the auzle of my musket over the side and called on him to halt abrupt approaches in hie louisiana wilderness betokened hostility or great friendship and this shaggy fellow was unknown to me as let that Is near enough I 1 called in french who are you ul how proud he Is the white indian not greet hd friend 1 the merry insolence of his voice could not be disguised with a thoroughly amiable grin I 1 dropped the between my feet and held up empty hands he shot his lighter craft and would have listed me had I 1 not held both his hands joe labrador I 1 I 1 exclaimed 1 I thought you to be taking a wife at montreal who would have thought of seeing vou on 1 and vou monsieur brampton the white indian t my heart was broken when I 1 found vonne had married a miserable spindling fellow who does writing for the governor I 1 come here to berv mv heird little birds tell me france Is to send over many beautiful women like virgins and to vou lacre in monsieur a back door abone might 1 I am making a short cut Dlab lel but ou are a brave man bravo giov so I 1 know the river and the forest and alie indians white indian la evidently running dangers sfa many kinds the way of the ofay usually ward deain v TO ab |