Western Kansas world., 1885-03-28

De0C0. But no snip W9D tne10 70 IocelVO
them. II leave you to imsgine 0ur des-
pair" Ito translate from n. de Belle-Isle's
own words, as preserved BY one Of tho
French chronicleTs Of that day. when
We found ourselves in an unknown
country, on desert coast, inhabited,
perhaps, by cannibals. We passed sew
eral days in this institution, living on
only insects and distastefnl roots. We
had with us . young hunting dog which
was very much attached TO me; We were
devoured with hunger; my companions
desired to kill him, 60 % TO have
food for few days. offered him as .
sacrifice to our necessities. One OF my
comrades seised the animal, bat 90 weak
was he that, in endeavoring to thrust
knife into the dog, the latter slipped
from his grasp and ran off into tho
woods. The three officers perished
with hunger, one after the other, and it
was only owing to the vigor Of my con-
stitution that / survived them. Worn
out with fatigue snd privation. wan
dered into the forest, feeding on insects
which l found on decayed wood.
"A few days after the death of my COM
panions I saw in the distance my dog.
He held q wood rat in his mouth, and,
! running to meet me with great demon
strations of delight, he laid his prey at
nv feet. These rats, which are about the
size OF q sucking pig, furnish sufficient
ly good quality OF food. After having
regaled myself on the animal, con-
structed small intrenchment at the loot
of tree, so as to protect myself from the
attacks ef 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,
savage and barbarous nation, whose name
indicates their customs, for it means eat
ers of men, Those members of the ma
ton whom / encountered 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 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 /
preferred fish, which ate with avidity.
Little by little / began to recover my
strength; but I 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
q 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 inflict injury upon them,
but, on the contrary, to seek their hospi.
! tality.
IL was young and vigorous. l per-
formed my duties as slave satisfactorily,
and 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 .
member of the nation. On the war path
| earned the esteem of the Indians by
my skill and courage.
1.-TWO years after my arrival among the
Attakapas we received visit from
envoys from q neighboring nation.
Among them were some who had seen
Frenchmen. They spoke of them to the
Attakapas and overheard their conver-
sation. BY chance, had preserved in
a box my commission as officer. made
q pen of crows quill, and with ink
which manufactured from SCOT wrote
the following words on the reverse of
the commission: 4 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. am captive
among the Attakapas.'
81 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
a1Oft out of the water 30 az not to wet it.
After journey of $50 leagues he reached
the nearest French post and delivered
the paper to the officer in command, VINO
received 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
we're 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 I was
told to fear nothing from the Indians
who had brought it, and to surrender
myself to their guidance with all conf
dence. The Attakapas, terrified by the
reports of the guns, did not dare to op-
pose my abduction, and mounted .
horse without any resistance on their
part.
"The woman who had adopted me
burst into tears, and it was with the
greatest difficulty that could tear N.Y.
self away from her arms. The Indians
who brought me back to my people were
rewarded. The Attakapas received q
present from ii. de Bienville, who was
then the governor of Louisiana, and they
sent him q peace deputation, among
whom / was as charmed as surprised to