Legend upon the Cane (10 page)

Nule took out his bow and
arrows and steadied one on the bow. He looked back at his father.
He nodded for him to proceed. Natchitos sat low to stay out of
sight. Nule slowly crept forward to close the distance between him
and the deer. Natchitos admired his stealth as a small grin spread
upon his face. The deer continued eating unaware of them. Nule
found his place and then readied his weapon. He was now ready to
take his shot. He put the deer in his sights and pulled back on the
bow. The large buck lifted his head in suspicion. The deer spotted
the hunter and jumped as soon as it heard the arrow being released.
But it was too late. Nule struck the deer with a direct hit to the
lower chest. Then another arrow quickly hit the flailing deer. The
buck scrambled and staggered on its feet and disappeared into the
thick brush.

“Father, I think I hit him, but he
ran away!” Nule said excitedly.

“Yes Nule, you
did indeed!” Natchitos said with equal excitement.
“
Now, you must continue to track
him. Quickly now, go and find his trail.”

Nule quickly found droplets
of blood on the plants and on the ground and followed them through
the woods for what seemed like hours to him. At last in the dense
brush he spotted the antlers of the large buck. The large buck was
lying motionless on the ground. Nule instinctively approached the
deer slowly. “Look at his belly,” Natchitos said softly. “It is no
longer breathing.” He knelt down beside Nule, who stood proudly,
and he hugged him. “You are now on the path of becoming a warrior.
I am very happy to see this. You are the hunter and you have
succeeded.”

Nule beamed with pride as he
looked down at the deer and then back at his father. “Father, are
we to go back to our lands now? Tell me more about them,
Father.”

They sat together on the
forest floor. Natchitos looked at his son and said, “You were the
last to be born in our lands. And, I am now happy to tell you that
you will dwell there once again. One day, you will carry the fire
of the Nashitosh. I see the eye of a warrior in you, but I also see
the eye of wisdom in you. This is the wisdom of a leader, and it is
good to see.” He patted Nule on his head. He continued, “Our lands
are beautiful and green with fertile soil and many animals to hunt.
The river is calm and it is a cool place in the summer months. My
wish for you is to watch your sons hunt in the forests of our
lands.”

They stood and pulled the
deer onto a tarp made of tough hide, to drag it out of the thick
brush and into a clearing. It was very heavy and difficult to drag
out of the forest. It took both of them to pull the weight of the
deer. Natchitos laughed while they labored with the deer, “You had
to shoot the biggest one, didn’t you?”

The day
of the big feast arrived. St. Denis,
Governor Cadillac, and a few other high ranking officials set out
with a small company of soldiers in three rafts down the bayou
towards Lake Pontchartrain.

LaRouche slipped out of the
fort soon after the men had left for the tribal areas. He walked
ahead to the edge of the great river toward the rafts and canoes.
He untied a small canoe and crawled in as quietly as he could and
paddled his way upriver to the next bayou. He paddled through the
murky waters, looking all around to make sure he wasn’t being
followed. He paddled until he knew he was about a half mile from
the lakeside. He pulled the canoe ashore and set out the rest of
the way on foot.

St. Denis and the other men
soon arrived at the lake on their rafts and walked towards the
Nashitosh village. As the sun set, Chief Red Hawk and the
Acolapissa chanted as they walked into the village of the
Nashitosh. Drummers and yells of celebration could be heard at the
fire. Torches were lit all around the village and the women put the
final preparations on the feast. All gathered around the huge
bonfire that was prepared in the center of the village. Natchitos
passed the ceremonial drink over to Chief Red Hawk and they drank
together. The feast had begun and the food was abundant. They ate
deer, lamb, rabbit, and cow. Bread was passed and fresh water was
plentiful all around. The dancers performed near the bonfire to the
chants of the women with noise shakers in their hands and to the
beat of the tribal drummers.

Meanwhile, under cover of
darkness, LaRouche snuck into the unguarded village of the
Acolapissa, which was now empty. He knew exactly which hut he
sought. He crept slowly towards the center of the camp and
approached the hut that belonged to Chief Red Hawk. He walked into
the hut and saw, displayed on a small wooden shelf on the far wall,
the flintlock pistol that was given to the chief by Natchitos. The
leather pouch hung below the pistol, hanging from the handle by the
leather strap. He took the pistol and hid it under his vest. He
grabbed all the gunpowder and ammunition in the pouch and stuffed
it into his vest. He quickly hurried out of the hut and ran out of
the village back to the woods. He could see the light of the fires
and he could hear the yells of celebration coming from the
Nashitosh village. He waited in the woods for the precise moment to
arrive.

The celebration continued
into the night. St. Denis was pleased to see the two tribes
celebrating the end of their time together at the lakeside without
any animosity. The festivities were going well, he thought. He ate
and drank with all of them. Cadillac was pleased to see everyone
celebrating together. He leaned over to St. Denis with a goblet in
hand and said, “Cheers to you, Louis, for your success! You have
done a fine job uniting these people.”

“Thank you,
S
ir.”

“I trust your preparations are
complete and you are ready to make your way up the river?” asked
Cadillac.

“Yes, we will meet with the tribe
the day after tomorrow and set out at first light. Natchitos has
assured me the tribe will be ready,” St. Denis replied.

As the bonfire faded to
small flames and bright embers, the celebrating and dancing also
came to a close. The tribesmen bid farewell to one another and one
by one, the Acolapissa started to make their way back to their
village. There were many people scattered about talking in small
groups. Some of the tribal men were playing games of chance with
rocks and sticks. Through the smoke of the hot fire, Tooantuh
spotted a face that he recognized. The white man seemed to have
come from the forest and began to blend in with the crowds of
people. The Acolapissa continued to slowly depart for their village
and the soldiers were making their way back to the boats on the
bayou to return to the fort. But the lone white man remained and
seemed to be coming back towards the tribal area. The white man
locked eyes with Tooantuh’s. Tooantuh recognized the intruder
immediately. Tooantuh entered his hut and grabbed his bow and
arrows and flung them on his back.

“Where are you going,
husband?” asked Ayita. “You’re going hunting at this hour? They
will be starting a new game soon, they will surely ask for
you.”

“Wait in here, Ayita. I must
attend to something.” Tooantuh left her with a puzzled look on her
face.

Tooantuh hurried outside the
village. The moon was almost full and its light guided his way
through the woods. Natchitos looked at him quizzically as he
hurried by. Natchitos knew that something must be wrong. He called
to Anoki and told him to get his bow. “Wait here with me,” he told
him.

Tooantuh entered the forest,
slowly tracking LaRouche. LaRouche waited patiently, his heart
beating fast. He knew Tooantuh had taken the bait and followed him
into the marshy forest. He hid behind trees, and lay low to crawl
from one to another. Tooantuh walked slowly with an arrow docked at
the ready on his bow. He ducked slowly under branches and stepped
lightly in the thick brush. It was difficult to see even with the
moonlight breaking through the tall trees and thick branches.
LaRouche was covered in sweat, knowing a confrontation was
imminent. But, a little cat and mouse in the woods, woods he knew
so well, was what he had planned for Tooantuh. But Tooantuh also
knew these woods. LaRouche crouched down low, and waited near a
stream just beside a narrow oak tree.

LaRouche could
only
hear the sound of the water.
It had become eerily quiet in the trees. He looked in all
directions, but saw no one. He held the loaded pistol closely to
his chest. He looked to his right, then to his left. He stayed near
the tree leaning his back against it. He sensed movement just a few
paces away to his right. “
There
he is
,” he thought. He took a
deep breath. Then, whirled around to his left and… A hissing sound
ripped through the air. He heard a dull
thump
and he winced in
pain as an arrow pierced his upper left arm. He fell to his knees
and groaned in agony. He opened his eyes to see the arrow had stuck
in his arm and pierced through to the other side. Sweat poured from
his face and he spun in all directions trying to locate Tooantuh.
He looked at the arrow embedded in his arm and groaned again. He
gathered himself and quickly placed his arm to the tree while
sitting on the ground. He pressed the point of the arrow up against
the tree and held the shaft on the other side. With one quick
motion, he snapped the arrow off against the tree. He wailed in
pain and fell over to his side. He slowly removed the arrow cleanly
from his arm and blood immediately poured from the wound. In agony,
he tore off a sleeve from his shirt and tied it around his wound to
help stop the bleeding.

He heard a twig
snap and sensed Tooantuh had come up from behind. Tooantuh
approached him slowly, thinking LaRouche to be gravely injured.
LaRouche lay still on the ground. Then, he heard another footstep.
He rolled over in an instant, pointed the pistol at a surprised
Tooantuh and pulled the trigger.
Bam!
The bullet hit Tooantuh
in his upper chest near the left shoulder. Tooantuh was blown
backwards, landing on his back. LaRouche pulled himself to his
knees and slowly began to stand up. Tooantuh lay motionless on the
dark ground.

The shot was heard in both
tribal areas and braves came running into the woods to see what had
happened. St. Denis ordered the men to turn the rafts around after
hearing the shot. He jumped from the raft and he and two other
soldiers ran in the direction of the gunshot. A loud commotion
could be heard from the Acolapissa village. It had become apparent
that the theft of the pistol had been discovered.

Anoki was the first to
arrive and saw the soldier easily in the moonlight, standing over
Tooantuh. He came running right up to LaRouche. LaRouche spotted
young Anoki charging him and pointed the gun and fired. But, only a
click was heard. The pistol only held one round. Anoki plowed into
LaRouche, tackling him to the ground and knocked the pistol from
his hands. LaRouche growled in agony and tried to escape. Anoki
grabbed the pistol and pointed it fruitlessly at LaRouche.
“Tooantuh! Get up!” he yelled to the lifeless Indian on the ground.
“Stay there, white man! Don’t move!”

St. Denis heard the shouts
in the Nashitosh language. He came running at the same time
Natchitos and the other braves arrived at the sight of the
shooting. Anoki kept shouting, “Tooantuh, Tooantuh!” Then, he
shouted at LaRouche, “You have killed Tooantuh!”

St. Denis barked at the
soldiers, “Arrest that man, take him to one of the huts immediately
and detain him there!” The soldiers dragged LaRouche to his feet
and started to take him away, when suddenly Chief Red Hawk and
others from his tribe arrived at the scene.

Red Hawk’s eyes
fell
upon Anoki, standing with
the flintlock pistol still in his hands. He became incensed at the
sight. “
So!”
he yelled. “
This
is how you honor my
people’s generosity! What kind of
thievery
is this?” He glared
at Natchitos. “There will only be
one
answer for this
treachery!” Shocked, Anoki immediately dropped the pistol at Red
Hawk’s feet. But Red Hawk left it there. He abruptly turned and led
his braves away to their village.

Natchitos ran a
few steps toward him, “No! It is not as you see!” But it was too
late. Red Hawk angrily left the open area in the woods. Natchitos
whirled around with anger in his eyes. “
Whose
work is this?” He
made a fiery glare at LaRouche who was being held by two soldiers.
Then he looked at St. Denis with heartbroken dismay.

“
Great
chief! I knew nothing of this man’s
underhanded deeds!” St. Denis pleaded with Natchitos. “I am
arresting him and he will be imprisoned for what he has done. You
must believe me that I knew nothing of this!” He barked at the two
soldiers holding LaRouche, “Didn’t you hear me? Take him back to
the village and wait for me there, now!” The soldiers dragged
LaRouche away towards the Nashitosh village.

Anoki knelt beside Tooantuh,
as did Natchitos. Just then, Ayita came running into the woods
screaming. “Where is he?” she yelled with panic. “Tooantuh!” she
cried, and fell to her knees beside her husband. Several Indians
crowded around Tooantuh. They were careful to not let St. Denis or
any of the other white men around him. Anoki noticed something from
the corner of his eye, yet Tooantuh still lay with eyes closed and
motionless. “Father,” he whispered softly to Natchitos.