The state herald., 1916-12-22
CHAPTER xv-contInusd.

CnApTEH Nv-Contlnuoo.
Madame cassIon, D'Artieny and
0arbeau are making their way In e..
noe and on foot to Fort Ct. Louis.
Twas but girl in years. excitement
was still to me a delight. and had
listened to so many tales. romantic,
wonderful. &C this wilderness fortress.
perched upon q rock. that my vivid
Imagination had weaved about II an
atmosphere Of marvel. The beauty Of
the view from Its palisades. the vast
concourse Of Indians encamped on the
plains below. and those men guarding
Its safety-the faithful comrades Of
La Sale In explorations Of the un-
known. De Tonty. Boisrondet. and all
the others. had long since become to
my mind the Incarnation OF romantic
adventure. Wilderness born. ! could
comprehend and appreciate their tolls
and dangers. and my dreams centered
about this great, lonely rock. on which
they had established home. But the
end was not yet Just below the con-
huence Of the rivers there was q vii
lage Of the Tamaroas. and the PROV
Of our canoe touched the bank. while
D'Artigny stepped ashore amid a
tangle Of low-growing bushes, that he
might have speech with some Of the
warriors, and thus learn conditions at
the fort. With his foot on the bank.
he turned laughing. and held out his
hand to me.
"Come. madame" he said. pleasant
~, you have never seen u village Of
our western tribes: II will interest
you"
Joined him gladly, 'ny limbs feel.
ing awkward under me. from long
cramping In the boat. yet the climb
was not diflicult, and he held back the
bouEhs to give me easy passage. Be-
yond the fringe Of brush there was an
open space. but a. We reached this.
both paused. stricken dumb by horror
at the sight which met our view. The
ground before us was strewn with
dead. and mutilated bodies. and was
black with ashes where the tepees had
been burned. and their contents scat
tered broadcast.
Never before had I seen such view
Of devastation. OF relentless. savage
cruelty and l gave utterance to sud
den sob, and shrank back against
D'Artigny's arm. hiding my eyes with
my hand. He stood and stared. mo-
tioniess. breathing heavily. uncon-
scionsly gripping my arm.
"Mon Dieu" he burst forth. at last.
"whnt menneth this? Are the wolves
again loose In the valleyT"
He drew me back. until we were
both concealed behind = fringe OF
leaves, his whole manner alert. every
instinct Of the woodsman instantly
awakened.
"Remain here hidden" be wills.
pered. until ! learn the truth; We
may face grave peril below"
He left me trembling and white
Tipped. yet ! made no effort to re.
strain him. The horror Of those dead
bodies gripped me. but ! would mot
have niui KNOW tuc teftvS ""u ".'"
me captive. With utmost caution he
crept forth. and ! lay In the shadow
Of the covert, watching his move
ments Body after body he ap-
proncled. seeking some victim alive.
and able to tell the story. But there
wns none. At Inst hc stood erect.
satisfied that none beside the dcnd
were on that awful spot and came
back TO me.
mot one lives" he snid sobcrly,
"upd there are men. women. nnd chill
drrn there. Tho story II one easily
,old-nn nttnck Mt daylight from tho
woods yondcr. There bns been no
lighting; n massacre Of the helpless
and unurmcd."
"But who did such deed Of bIoodT'
"~ris the work Of tho froquois; the
way they scnlpcd tells that. nnd DO
slds, sAv other signs