holy manner to procure fire from the White Apple village. Yet
the calamities continued. The watch who had suffered the fire to fail
in the first temple, conscience smitten, confessed his sin and paid its
penalty.

They now had only profane fire, and the whole nation was in the agonies
of despair. The cause of all their calamities was now no longer a
secret. They extinguished the profane fire, and in prayer, fasting, and
continued oblations, they propitiated the sun to send them fire that was
holy, to protect and preserve them. It was the folly of ignorance and
superstition, and availed nothing; but, like all prayer, was considered
a pious duty, though nothing was ever known to result therefrom, and
nature moved steadily and undeviatingly forward in obedience to the
fixed, immutable, and eternal laws affirmed by the all-wise Creator.
There was gloom upon every brow and despair in every heart. The curse
pronounced by the first Great Sun had come--destruction and death to all
the Natchez--because of the extinction of the holy fire. At length a
tree was stricken by lightning near the White Apple village temple,
and set on fire. The men of the temple saw the answer to their prayers
in this, and hastened to re-kindle the holy flame from this fire,
so miraculously sent them from heaven. It was to them a miracle,
because, though perfectly in obedience to natural laws, they did not
comprehend them, and like unto all people under similar circumstances,
all in nature is a miracle which they do not understand, and cannot
satisfactorily explain. But there was no efficiency found in this, and
the trouble went forward.

The French had come among them, and taught them the value and
corrupting influence of money. Boats had ascended and descended the
Great River, and communication, through this channel, had been
established with Canada. They were grasping, by degrees, the lands,
building forts and peopling the country. They had introduced the black
man, and the wiser of the Natchez saw in the future the doom of their
race. They saw the feuds fomented between the numerous tribes along the
coast of the Mississippi by the French, and the destruction of these by
bloody wars. They saw, too, to offend the French was sure to bring
destruction upon the offending party. Their neighbors were made,
through French influence, to fall upon and destroy them. The Chickasaws
and Choctaws--great nations, having multitudes of warriors--were under
the do