narch. When he called
on La Salle, who was too sick at that time to go and see him, the
ceremony was regal. Every obstruction was removed from his path by a
party of pioneers, and the way made level for his feet. The spot where
he gave audience was carefully smoothed and covered with showy mats.

The dusky autocrat made his appearance richly attired in white robes,
and preceded by two officers who bore plumes of gorgeously colored
feathers. An official followed with two large plates of polished copper.
The monarch had the courteous dignity and gravity of one born to the
throne, though his interview with La Salle was conducted largely with
smiles and gestures, as no word spoken could be understood. The
travellers remained among this friendly people for several days,
rambling through the villages and being entertained in the dwellings,
and found them far advanced in civilization beyond the tribes of the
North.

Father Membre has given the following account of their productions: "The
whole country is covered with palm-trees, laurels of two kinds, plums,
peaches, mulberry, apple, and pear-trees of every variety. There are
also five or six kinds of nut-trees, some of which bear nuts of
extraordinary size. They also gave us several kinds of dried fruit to
taste. We found them large and good. They have also many varieties of
fruit-trees which I never saw in Europe. The season was, however, too
early to allow us to see the fruit. We observed vines already out of
blossom."

Continuing their journey down the stream, the adventurers next came to
the country of the Natchez Indians, whom they found as friendly as those
they had recently left. La Salle, indeed, was a man of such genial and
kind disposition and engaging manners that he made friends of all he
met. As Father Membre says, "He so impressed the hearts of these Indians
that they did not know how to treat us well enough." This was a very
different reception to that accorded De Soto and his followers, whose
persistent ill-treatment of the Indians made bitter enemies of all they
encountered.

The voyagers, however, were soon to meet savages of different character.
On the 2d of April, as they floated downward through a narrow channel
where a long island divided the stream, their ears were suddenly greeted
with fierce war-whoops and the hostile beating of drums. Soon a cloud of
warriors was seen in the dense border of forest, gliding from tree to
tree and armed with strong