La Salle and the discovery of the great West - North Central ...

228 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680fiendish yells; the painted features writhing withfear and fury, and every passion of an Indian fight,— man, wolf, and devil, all in one. 1 With hisswarthy complexion and his half-savage dress, theythought he was an Indian, and thronged about him,glaring murder. A young warrior stabbed at hisheart with a knife, but the point glanced asideagainst a rib, inflicting only a deep gash. A chiefcalled out that,as his ears were not pierced, he mustbe a Frenchman. On this, some of them tried tostop the bleeding, and led him to the rear, where anangry parley ensued, while the yellsand firing stillresounded in the front. Tonty, breathless, andbleeding at the mouth with the force of the blow hehad received, found words to declare that the Illinoiswere under the protection of the King and the governorof Canada, and to demand that they shouldbe left in peace. 2A young Iroquois snatched Tonty's hat, placedit on the end of his gun, and displayed it to theIllinois, who, thereupon thinking he was killed,1Being once in an encampment of Sioux when a quarrel brokeout, and the adverse factions raised the war-whoop and began tofire at each other, I had a good, though for the moment a ratherdangerous, opportunity of seeing the demeanor of Indians at thebeginning of a fight. The fray was quelled before much mischiefwas done, by the vigorous intervention of the elder warriors, whoran between the combatants.2 " Je leur fis connoistre que les Islinois etoient sous la protectiondu roy de France et du gouverneur du pays, que j'estois surprisqu'ils vou lussent rompre avec les Francois et qu'ilsuttendre [sic] a une paix." — Tonty, Memoire, 1693.voulussent