Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1885-03-26

IN TWO hours the snip WOulu eail. LIN
report of the cannon, like the muske1
shots of the preceding evening, only
caused the belated men to wander still
farther from the shore. The virgin for
est, as if glad Of the companionship o.
these men of race strange to it, opened
it's arms before them. They entered it,
embraces, and were lost.
Meanwhile, the captain, although i'm
patient at the delay, waited for them un'
til the afternoon; and at last, when the
rays of the evening sun fell aslant, like
arrows of light, through the trees near
est to the beach, the ships sails were
spread and her prov turned to sea.
Still wandering to and fro, Belle Isle
and his companions, by some chance
perhaps that same night, perhaps the
next day, found themselves again on the
beach. But no ship was there to receive
them. 81 leave you to imagine our des
pair" Ito translate from NJ. de Belle-lsle'f
own words, az preserved by one OF the
French chroniclers of that day. when
we found ourselves in an unknown
country, on a desert coast, inhabited
perhaps, by cannibals. We passed sew
eral days in this institution, living on
only insects and distasteful roots. We
had with us a young hunting dog which
was very much attached to me; we were
devoured with hunger; my companions
desired to kill him, 60 as to have
food for few days. l offered him as q
sacrifice to our necessities. One OF my
comrades seized the animal, but SO weak
was he that. in endeavoring to thrust q
knife into the dog, the latter slipped
from his grasp and ran off into the
woods. The three officers persisted
with hunger, one after the other, and il
was only owing to the vigor of my con.
stitution that l survived them. Worn
out with fatigue and .privation. wan.
dered into the forest, feeding on insects
which found on decayed wood.
"A few days after the death of my COM
panions l saw in the distance my dog
He held wood rat in his mouth, and
running to meet me with great demon
STATIONS of delight, he laid his prey at
my feet. These rats, which are about the
size OF sucking pig, furnish sufficient.
ly good quality of food. After having
RECALLED myself on the animal. con-
structed small intrenchment at the loot
of tree, SO as to protect myself from the
attacks of beasts of prey during the night
and, with my dog keeping watch at my
side, / went to sleep.
while going to and fro in the forest l
noticed foot prints of men. followed
them until reached the shore of river,
and finding there a canoe ] crossed the
stream in it. In my wanderings finally
came to the country of the Attakapas, a
I'D hovh or xuh 10
indicates their customs, for it means eat
ers of men, Those members of the ma
ton whom l encountered l found en-
gagged in barbacuing human flesh, but
my leanness happily saved my life. They
contented themselves with despoiling me
of my clothes, which they divided among
their number. Then they conducted me
to their village, where a widow, who had
passed the heyday of her youth, took me
for her slave. They wished me to share
with them in the detestable dishes of
which they partook at their meals, but l
preferred fish, which l ate with avidity.
Little by little l began to recover my
strength; but l fell into an extreme mel
ancholy, always fearing that my hosts
would sacrifice me to their idols, and
would then feast on my flesh. My i'm
agination was excited by the terrible
spectacle of these barbarians who made
banquets of their prisoners. They held
council, and the result was that they
decided that it would be cowardly to
take the life of man who had not come
among them to infiict injury upon them,
but, on the contrary, to seek their hosp.
tality.
81 was young and vigorous. 1 per-
formed my duties as slave satisfactorily,
and I succeeded in winning the good
graces of my mistress, who adopted me
as her son, gave me my liberty, and thus
conferred on me the recognition of q
member of the nation. On the war path
l earned the esteem of the Indians by
my skill and courage.
1.-TWO years after my arrival among the
Attakapas we received q visit from
ENJOYS from a neighboring nation.
Among them were some who had seen
Frenchmen. They spoke of them to the
Attakapas and l overheard their CONVEX
sation. BY chance, l had preserved in
a box my commission as officer. made
a pen of crows quill, and with ink
which l manufactured from SCOT wrote
the following words on the reverse of
the commission: Il am M. de Bell-Isle,
who was abandoned at the Bay of st. Ber-
nard. My companions died, in my pres
ence, of grief and hunger. I am captive
among the Attakapas.'
Il handed this paper to one of the
ENJOYS, assuring him that it was talk
ing paper,' and that if he would take it
to one of the French chiefs he would be
we'll received and rewarded. The Indian
started off. His companions tried to take
the paper from him, but he escaped them
by swimming river, holding the letter
aloft out of the water 80 as not to wet it.
After a journey of $50 leagues he reached
the nearest French post and delivered
the paper to the officer in command ,wno
him very kindly. After the
perusal of the message, the French who
heard it read began to cry and lament
after the manner of the Indians. The
Indians present asked them what troub-
led them; the French replied that they
were grieving for their brother, who had
been for two years q prisoner among the
Attakapas. The Indians offered to come
in search of me, and the one who had
brought nay letter promised to guide
them. They left at once to the number
Of ten, mounted on good horses and
armed with muskets. On their arrival
at our village. they made their presence
known by discharging their muskets
several times. The Attakapas mistook
The reports of the guns for thunder.
They gave me letter, in which was
told to fear nothing from the Indians
N hO bod hrO,,uhf II onI IN c,rrronIor
myself to their guidance with all conf
1ence. The Attahapas, terrified by the
reports of the guns, did not dare to OPP
pose my abduction, and 1 mounted q
horse without any resistance on their
part.
1.-The woman who had adopted me