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

1687.] JOUTEL AND THE CENIS. 441before the honored guests, and, raising their handsaloft, uttered howls so extraordinary that Joutelcould hardly preservethe gravity which the occasiondemanded. \ Having next embraced the Frenchmen,the elders cjpnducted them into the village, attendedby a crowcft of warriors and young men; usheredthem into their town-hall, a large lodge, devoted tocouncils, feasts, dances, and other public assemblies ;seated them on mats, and squatted in a ring aroundthem. Here they were regaled with sagamite orIndian porridge, corn-cake, beans, bread made of themeal of parched corn, and another kind of breadmade of the kernels of nuts and the seed of sunflowers.Then the pipe was lighted, and all smokedtogether. The four Frenchmen proposed to open atraffic for provisions, and their entertainers gruntedassent.Joutel found a Frenchman in the village.He wasa young man from Provence, who had deserted fromLa Salle on his last journey, and was now, to allappearance, a savage like his adopted countrymen,being naked like them, and affecting to have forgottenhis native language. He was very friendly, however,and invited the visitors to a neighboring village,where he lived, and where, as he told them, theywould find a better supply of corn. They accordinglyset out with him, escorted by a crowd ofIndians. They saw lodges and clusters of lodgesscattered along their path at intervals, each with itefield of corn, beans, and pumpkins, rudely cultivated