Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-04-21


more, and am done. Let the white men
be exterminated! Let them be swept from
our land at once and foreyer!'
On the next day messengers came
from Chopart, the commander Of the
French fort, to learn what the Natchez
had agreed upon They were informed
that they had not yet been able to agree
upon a place to which to move, and the
Great Sun asked two months in which to
prepare, promising, meantime, to pay a
new tribute of corn to the French. This
message was conveyed to Chopart, and
he agreed to the terms, fondly believing
Z that in another spring his people should
share the rich land spoils of this fairest
Natchez village.
And now the work went on slowly but
surely. Word was sent to every tribe,
and all were solemnly pledged. The day
was fixed upon which the fatal blow was
to be struck; and that there should be
no mistake. a bundle of sticks was pre-
pared for each village, corresponding in
number to the days that must elapse be-
fore the death stroke. These bund es
were placed in their respective temples,
and each day the chief was to go in and
take one stick away. And when they
"NAS an SOuO""OA lhC uuS Ihdl sd" Inv
last stick removed-the avengers were to
strike.
From the shores of the Mexican gulf
to the Yazoo, and from the waters of the
Tombecbee to the Sabine. every warrior
was armed for the occasion, and eagerly
waiting the coming of the fatal moment.
The whites we're watched at every step,
and each red man had his victim marked.
Slowly, one by one, as each succeeding
sun rolled over, those fatal sticks were
removed, and Chopart only waited pa
tiently for his rich prize.
One of the wives of the Great Sun was
called BRAS Pique," or -Pricked Arm,
from the many strange devices which she
had marked upon her arms. Pricked
Arm loved the French, and she failed not
TO serve them on every occasion when
she could. She saw these secret me, t.
ings of the warriors, and her suspicious
were aroused. She knew of the demand
that had been made for the village of the
White Apple, and she knew that these
meetings of the council were touching
that matter. She noticed the fierce loo.s
of the men, their angry gestures, and
their vengeful glanees towards the
French fort, and she feared that some
C}tdGAlty WAS IO DGldll uST Willie
Pricked Arm made up her mind to save
the French if possible, not only at
SatcheZ, but at all other points; and to
this end she must not only put Chopart
on his guard, but she must cause the
Natchez to give premature alarm, and
thus the whites in other sections would
take warning, for she dared not attempt
to convey intelligence to ether stations
foo Of hnHyaU Io$oafad hv hor
people. Her first movement was to make
her way to the temple, but she could not
gain access there, no woman ever being
allowed within the sacred building Two
nights In succession she slzulkel about
the place, but the warriors within. who
watched the holy FIRE, were too yisi.ant
for her. In this extremity, she thought of
White Hand, and late one night she went
to him and called him out.
''White Hand" she said, when they had
reached the very tree under which the
Great Sun had once before spoken with
the youth, have you the courage Of a
warrior?"
II have the courage Of a man." he re-
piled, in establishment.
Then can you keep an oath?r
"If it may be kept with honor"
L
will not ask it Of you, for your own safety
will hold you. Know, then, that there
is a plot on foot for the massacre-for
the entire extermination-of every white
man., woman and child in the country
And mark me-this plot Is deep and well
founded, and it moves on to It's eonsum-
nation as surely as the now absent sun
moves on towards the morning. +"
i" All-Ayery one P inferred White Hand
in alarm.
"Yes. Every tribe has the signal, and
the one fatal day is set. 1t is to be on
the day when our people pay their tribute
Of corn. Every white man is marked.
and unless something be done to thwart
the red men, the terrible blow must faIl.v
Louis elasped his hands, for his
thoughts were of his father and of his
sister and OF his friend ST. Denis.
"Can there be no stop to this?' he
asked
"Yes-if you have courage"
''Then put me to it.
Listen. l can warn the people at |
Natchez. but that will not save the 9TH |
ers. In the temple there is a bundle of |
cypress sticks. They are hung by two |
thongs of bearskin back of the altar. In |
there are days between now and the fatal |
blow; could we remove seven of those |
sticks, the Natchez would make a prema- |
-ure attack. The people at the fort would |
be prepared. In other places down the |
liver, and on the great salt lake, the red |
men will mistrust nothing, and while they
wait eagerly for the passing of the next |
seven days, the alarm can be spread Do |
vou understand?
Perfectly" returned White Hand
"And will you do it?"
81 will try, even to the death"
"Good. But let it be soon.''
BY different paths the two returned to
he village, Pricked Arm retiring to her
,wn dwelling, while the youth spent some
ime in walking thoughtfully about the
great square. When he at length entered
lis own dwelling he found his wife
lsleep, but he did not join her. He spent
'ome time in walking up and down the
'lace, and his face betrayed the deep anx-
ETY. that moved within him. He had
marked the stern, angry looks OF the
'tout warriors, and he had noticed their
'requent councils, but he did not dream
hat such dreadful plan had occupied
heir thoughts. He fancied they were.
1t most, only planning some. means for