The weekly clarion., 1879-10-22

( cbis ~ EAt ~ ut1II as MANY rs he thought
necessary to wait on her in the land o
spirits. Fourteen other scaffolds were erected
decorated with vines and rude paintings
Thee were intended for the bodies of the
victims, whose nearest relatives, dressed il
festive robes. surrounded them, with look:
and gestures expressive of satisfaction.
Ihef then IN procession marched to the
great square in front of the temple and
began TO dance. Four days thereafter they
agan formed in procession and began what
Is cailed the ''March of Death" from the
squire to the house of the deceased. The
fathers and mothers of The strangled child
rem held the bodies in their arms. The
oldest OF these did not appear to be over
three years The relatives of these infants.
witt their hair closely shaven, began to
how in the most frightful manner But
| the :duits, who were about to die, danced
around the house of the dead princess, until
finally 1t was set on fire by her eldest son
and successor. All then marched to the
great temple. The parents who carried their
strangled infants, then threw them on the
ground and began to dance When the
| BODY of the deceased princess was deposited
in the temple, the intended victims were
undressed and seated on the ground A
| cord with moose was passed around each
of their necks, and deer skins thrown over
| tieir heads. The relatives who were the
| executioners, then stood to the right and
left of each victim, and at given signal all
were strangled The bodies were placed on
scafods, and the bones when dry were
deposited in baskets in the temple, and this
| constituted a sort of patent of nobility. 1t
was a privilege and an honor to die with
the Sun "
The Natchez consisted exclusively of two
classes-the Blood Royal and its connex-
ions, and the common people, the Mich-i-
mioki-quipe or Stinkards. The two classes
understood each other, but spoke different
dialect.
Their customs of war, their treatment of
prisoners, their ceremonies of marriage,
their feasts and fasts, their sorceries and
witchcraft, differed very little from other
savages, Father Charlevoix, who visited
Natchez in 1921, saw no evidences of civil
iZation. Their villages consisted of a few
cabins, or rather ovens, without windows
and rooted with mating. The house of the
Sun was larger, plastered with mud, and
narrow bench for seat and bed. No other
furniture in the mansion of this grand Dig
natary, who has been described by imagi-
native writers as the peer of Montezuma
The people were all off at a feast, and the
door of the palace was open. There was no
fear of thieves, since there was nothing to
steal No chimneys and no windows to any
of the dwellings. Even the temple itself
was without guardian. He had thrown
aside his bark, and put three substantial
logs, end to end, and gone OFF, doubtless, to
the feast. The boasted temple was rude |
structure; the eagles looking like rough |
ornaments, only a few |
baskets of bones. In one corner was a rick |
ETY. board table which romance writers had |
called an altar A dirtier place the rever-
end father had never seen. In their out
ward appearance dress and manner there
was nothing, says this shrewd observer, to
distinguish them from other barbarians.
100 February 18th, Iberville and his
party left Natchez for the villages of the
Tansas, near lake St. Joseph, in the present
parish of Tensas, Louisiana, an ohshoot of
the Natchez, with the same customs and
faith. They had been visited by La Sale
and Tonti twenty-eight years before. Dur
ing this second visit, as though foreshadow
ing the doom the pale-faces were to bring
upon the red-men, their temple was struck
by lightning and consumed. To appease
the Sun God the women threw their infants
into the flames. Penicaut. who was of the
party, thus describes this horrible incident
"We left the Natchez and coasted along
to the right, where the river is bordered
with high gravelly banks for a distance of
twelve leagues; at the extremity of these
bluffs is a place we called Petit Gulf on
account of the whirlpool formed by the
river for the distance of a quarter of
league Eight leagues higher up we came
to Grand Gulf, which we passed a short
distance above on the right hand side. We
landed to visit village four leagues in the
interior These Indians are called the Ten
sas. (They were portion OF the NaUcheZ
nation, were never converted by the Catho-
ic Fathers, but scrupulously observed all
.he religious ceremonies of the Natchez)
We were well received, but | never saw a
more sad, frighful and revolving spectacle
han that which happened the second day,
9th April, after our arrival in the village.
sudden storm burst upon u.s. The lightn-
ng struck the temple, burned all their idols
md reduced the whole to ashes Quickly 5
he Indians assembled around, making hor-
ble cries, tearing out their hair, elevating |
heir hands to heaven, their tawny visages
urned towards the burning temple, invok
ng their Great Spirit, with the bowling of
lewis possessed, to come down and extin-
.uish the flames. They took up mud with &
which they besmeared their bodies and faces t
The fathers and mothers then brought their |
hildren. and after haUing strangted them {
hretU them into the flames. M.dIberville !
Tas Mortified at seeing such cruel specta-
lie, and gave orders to stop it, by forcibly "
aking from them the little innocents but |
nth allall our efforts seventeen perished in c
his manner, and had we not restrained i
hem, the number would have been over f
wo hundred" Z