When come, he told them, he would entertain Peace with them, that we were going to the _Cenis_, and he believ’d, that these very Men were of their Nation, because they had their Accent and some of their Words. They told him their Village was near that Place, and bore us Company to our Camp, where after some small Presents given them, they were dismiss’d.
The 20th, Monsieur _de la Sale_ sent Monsieur _Moranget_ and some others to the Village of those Natives, to try whether they could barter with them for some Horses. In the mean Time two Savages came to us, one of them being the same that was with us the Night before, and they express’d much Friendship for us. That particular _Indian_ told us, his name was _Palaquechaune_, that they were Allies to the _Cenis_, that their Chief had been among the _Choumans_, with the _Spaniards_; that the _Choumans_ were Friends to the _Spaniards_, from whom they got Horses, and added some farther Particulars, which the others had before signify’d to us; so that we had good Reason to judge we were not far from _North Mexico_.
He also told us, that the _Choumans_ had given their Chief some Presents, to perswade him to conduct us to them; that most of the said Nation had flat Heads; that they had _Indian_ Corn, which gave Monsieur _de la Sale_ Ground to believe, that those People were some of the same he had seen upon his first Discovery. That same Native had a very fine Goat’s Skin, which I purchas’d of him for four Needles, after I had shewn him how to use them, and that Skin was of good Use to make us Shoes instead of raw Bullocks Hides.
Some Time after, Monsieur _Moranget_ return’d, gave Monsieur _de la Sale_ an Account of his short Journey, and said, That one of the Natives, who saw us the Night before, came to meet and conduct him to the Chief’s Cottage, where forty Ancient[91] _Indians_ were, by whom he had been kindly receiv’d. That the Chief had in his Hand a Reed, at the end whereof was made fast a Leaf of a _French_ Book, which he had an extraordinary Respect for. That they had been made to sit on Bullocks Hides, and treated with dry’d Beef.
That after these first Ceremonies, the Chief had given them to understand, that some of their People had been conducted by a Man like us, to our Habitation, and that the said Man had promis’d to bring them to talk with us, in order to treat of Peace; but that on the Contrary, we had fired on them and kill’d one of their Men, which had oblig’d them to kill the Man that led them, and that then they return’d. It is not improper here to put the Reader in Mind, that I have before mention’d this Accident, when the Sieur _Barbier_ crossing the River in a Canoe, was call’d upon by some Person, who was among the Natives on the Bank of the River, who had made two Shots, as it had been only the Priming of a Piece, which the Sieur _Barbier_ had look’d upon as an Insult, and therefore he had also fir’d, with all the other Particulars, as mention’d before; an Accident that happen’d for want of understanding one another; which, together with Monsr. _de la Sale’s_ forbidding us to have any Communication with the Natives, was very prejudicial to us afterwards.