Legend upon the Cane (9 page)

“Do you think the Nashitosh would
be agreeable to such a move?” he asked St. Denis.

St. Denis thought for a few
moments. “I am certain they would welcome the news, Sir. I think it
is a splendid idea.”

“Then make it so, Louis,”
Cadillac responded. “I will give you three months to organize the
tribe and the men you will need.”

LaRouche and his
platoon
approached the tribal
camps alongside the lake. The tribal women saw them coming and
began to prepare food for them. They grew tired of the white men
coming to demand food and showing up so much more regularly. “We
have nothing for them to suspect and we don’t need their
protection. Why do they keep coming here?” was a common question
among the tribes.

LaRouche made himself at home. He
walked about the tribe nonchalantly, poking his hand into each
kettle to see what was cooking. The other soldiers stood nearby,
not wanting to be a part of his carefree actions. The women ignored
him and the tribal men looked at him with contempt.

Tooantuh was gathering reeds
and firewood for the village fires and was unloading them onto a
pile when he noticed LaRouche poking around the village. He grew
tired of these intrusions and felt them more and more unnecessary.
He frowned with a long sigh as he threw on the last bundle of wood.
Then he noticed LaRouche kneeling down next to Ayita, who was
stirring the fire under a kettle.

“
Good afternoon,
there,” LaRouche said coyly to her, with a mischievous grin. “Sure
would like to get some food for my men. We’re all hungry. But for
you, I can wait just a little longer.” Ayita ignored him, never
looking away from the coals. She didn’t understand him anyway. She
just wished he would go away. Tooantuh grew more agitated and
decided he would no longer tolerate this behavior.

“
Sure is a pretty
day out, isn’t it little lady?” LaRouche said sweetly and brushed
his hand along Ayita’s arm. She stopped stirring the coals and
stared down at the ground coldly.

Just then
Tooantuh came walking up angrily, shouting in his own language,
“
What is this?
What are you doing putting your hands on
my wife?” he demanded. “Leave! All of you. Leave! You are not
wanted here anymore! You are a disgrace!”

LaRouche was now standing
and Tooantuh yelled to his face. LaRouche yelled back at him,
“Quiet mister! I’ve had enough of you. I was just being polite to
the lady. She and I were about to take a walk together.” He grabbed
Ayita’s arm and tried to pull her up, but Tooantuh slapped his arm
away and then gave him a huge shove, knocking him to the ground.
LaRouche had finally pushed him over the edge. Tooantuh pulled his
bow and bundle of arrows off of his back and held them in his hand
defiantly. The soldiers stood and looked on in shock. Tooantuh
stood over LaRouche, gripping his bow and arrows tightly. The
soldiers quickly drew their rifles and pointed them at Tooantuh.
Tooantuh ignored them. He stood over LaRouche and threw down his
bow and arrows in a challenging gesture.

“
Stand down,
men!” yelled LaRouche from his back. He began to pull himself off
the ground. “If he wants to fight me, then he’s got it!” He stood
eye to eye with Tooantuh and glared at him. Tooantuh turned and
walked briskly over to an open area. LaRouche followed directly
behind him.

“
Sir, don’t do
this,” Sommer begged LaRouche. “We can’t be provoking these people,
let’s just get our things and leave.”

“
Not me,”
LaRouche said angrily. “Go if you want to, I’m going to settle this
right now!” He began to walk faster towards Tooantuh. He lunged at
him with his fist aimed at Tooantuh’s back. Just before he landed
his punch, another soldier tackled him from behind, startling
Tooantuh. Tooantuh turned around in a defensive stance, only to see
the soldier pinning LaRouche to the ground.

“
I’m not going to
let you do this, Lieutenant!” said the soldier. “Now
you
stand down!” The soldier was a newly enlisted man, Thomas
Girard.

Girard let him up
and
LaRouche reluctantly stood
and dusted himself off. He glared at Girard, then back at Tooantuh.
“You better watch yourself, soldier. There won’t be a next time if
you try something like that again.”

“
I’ll take my
chances, Sir,” Girard responded sarcastically.

He stared at LaRouche defiantly,
his heart pounding in his chest.

LaRouche seemed astonished
at his bravery. But, he decided to let it go. “Get your gear,” he
said coldly. He looked at the rest of his platoon, “All of you.
We’re getting out of here. Now, let’s move out.” They marched away
as Tooantuh stood and watched them go. Natchitos and Taima stood
together, observing all that had taken place.

Two days later, St. Denis
and a small company of soldiers made their way towards Lake
Pontchartrain. He was eager to deliver the proposal to Natchitos
about returning to the Cane River. The incident at the tribal
village had been reported to him, so he left LaRouche at the fort
and relieved him of his patrol duties. He thought about his
confrontation with LaRouche and wondered how his actions may have
affected the relationship with the Nashitosh.

“
You’re orders
were to simply patrol the area, soldier!” he scolded LaRouche.
“Nothing more! Your actions could cause severe consequences with
our tribal negotiations. You are never to return to that area
again. Do you understand? You will be reassigned!”

He sat in the raft and
thought more about what had happened. He knew this had not gone
over well with LaRouche, but it did not matter. The incident would
give the Indians all the more reason to not trust them
anymore.

They came to the head of the
bayou and pulled their boat ashore. They walked towards the
Nashitosh village. As they neared the village, a lot of activity
could be seen. The Indians grew anxious as the white men
approached. Tooantuh and Natchitos appeared together and approached
St. Denis and his men. Natchitos held up his hand to tell them to
stop.

“
Come no further.
We can
not allow you to enter our
village,” Natchitos said to St. Denis. St. Denis motioned to the
soldiers to stay where they were.

“
May I approach?”
he asked Natchitos. “Not the soldiers, just myself.” Natchitos
nodded to him. St. Denis walked up to them with a contrite look on
his face. “I know what the soldier, LaRouche, has done. I have
dealt with him and he will be reprimanded. It will not happen
again.”

“
He is not
welcome here anymore,” Natchitos spoke in return. “He has
dishonored Tooantuh and his wife. Therefore, he has dishonored our
tribe.”

“
I understand
and
you have my deepest
apologies, great chief,” St. Denis pleaded with him. “With your
permission, I would like to speak to you of another matter.”
Natchitos looked at Tooantuh, then back at St. Denis.

“
What is this
matter?” Natchitos asked impatiently.

“
I am going to
offer Chief Red Hawk the promise of more lands
aroun
d the lake, including this
area,” St. Denis said grimly.

“
Why would you do
such a thing?” Natchitos asked in bewilderment. Tooantuh began to
get very angry.

“
Wait!” St. Denis
interrupted. “I am also here to ask you if you would like to return
home!” The expression on Tooantuh’s face changed, as well as
Natchitos’. St. Denis saw that he had their attention. “Yes, it has
been proposed that we return to the Cane River area and
re-establish the trading post there as we intended from the
beginning, but as your guests. We would only do this if you grant
us the permission to do so and allow us into your country once
again.”

“
Go back,
home?
” Natchitos thought to
himself. The idea had all but left him now. “It is not my country
anymore,” Natchitos replied. “The land will be too dry anyway. The
land is for the ‘great spirit’ now.”

“
But the ‘great
spirit’ holds your spirit there as well, does he not?” St. Denis
asked. “The river is there for you as your right. And it always
will be. Besides, we have word from our scouts that the land is
lush and fertile and waiting to be sewn with the seeds of the
Nashitosh once again. If you decide this will be good for you and
the tribe, then we shall depart in three month’s time.”

Natchitos stood for a moment
and thought about what he had said. A tear appeared on the side of
his eye. He thought for a long moment more, then spoke, “Call to
your men, you are welcome to enter our village.” They followed
Natchitos and Tooantuh into the village. Tooantuh assured the
people that it was alright and not to fear the soldiers. Natchitos
sat at the head of the fire and asked for the tribal members to
come forth.

He spoke loudly
and firmly to all of the tribe.
“The Lieutenant has proposed to us a wonderful thing. We are
to return to our home and let our children grow there.” The people
smiled with happinesss and relief. The older members hugged one
another and laughed with joy.

Natchitos continued, “I have
agreed with this man that this will be so, and that we will trade
with the white men and let them live among us. This accord will be
made so from this day forth.”

St. Denis smiled and knew
that the beginning of something wonderful was taking place. There
was much work to be done yet, but a positive change in the right
direction was now at hand.

Natchitos continued to speak
to the tribe, “But, before we depart from this sacred land, where
the ‘great spirit’ had led us, we will give thanks to Chief Red
Hawk, and the rest of our brothers, with a great feast and dancing
at the fire. They have been our hosts and we will honor them with a
grand celebration.”

T
he tribe began to make
preparations for the feast that was to be held in three month’s
time. Hunters hunted for wild game, fishermen caught ample fish in
the lake and grain was gathered to make bread. Corn was gathered
from the crops, as it was the time of harvest. Everyone in the
tribe did their part in preparing for the celebration.

Natchitos extended an
invitation to the feast to Chief Red Hawk and his tribe. St. Denis
delivered the proposal to Red Hawk for his tribe to take control of
more lands around the lake and offered a guarded passage for his
people to come and go as they pleased to the tribal area of the
Houma. Red Hawk was agreeable to everything that was
proposed.

At
the fort, LaRouche was reduced in rank
to Sergeant for his insubordination and was assigned to three weeks
of kitchen duty. After cleaning up once again after the soldiers’
meal, he stumbled his way back to the barracks. He plopped down on
his bunk, next to Sommer, who was writing in his journal. “I can’t
believe I’m stuck doing kitchen detail. It’s making me sick,” he
whined.

“You picked a fight with a
man defending his wife, you idiot,” Sommer said firmly, no longer
concerned about LaRouche being his superior. “If you ask me, you’re
lucky Girard stepped in when he did. That Indian was ready to
pounce on you like a panther.”

“I should have beaten him
down when I had the chance,” LaRouche said arrogantly. “He’s had it
coming for a long time! Trust me, I will get him back. I need to
get into that camp again. I know exactly what needs to be
done.”

Sommer put down his journal,
“Forget about it, Henri. You’re not going back there. You’re banned
as it is. Just let it go. Besides, how are you going to return
without anyone seeing you?”

“I know those swamps like
the back of my hand,” he boasted. “I’ll get in alright, and I know
just when to do it, too.” Sommer looked at him as if he were crazy.
He kept waiting to hear LaRouche’s big plan, but LaRouche knew
better. He was keeping that one to himself.

It was the day before the
big feast that was to be held at the Nashitosh tribal fire. The
cool air of autumn was setting in along the lake. All the
preparations were set and the tribe readied themselves for their
eventual departure to their homeland on the Cane River. Spirits
were high and smiles were on all faces.

Natchitos found some time to
go hunting with his youngest son, Nule, now just over eleven years
of age. Nule had learned well the art of hunting small game with
hand darts, and was also quite adept at fishing. Today, Natchitos
wanted to test Nule’s skill with the bow and arrow. They crept
slowly through the forest, one step at a time. “Listen to what you
hear, son,” Natchitos spoke softly. “Listen beyond the wind in the
trees. Any sound of a deer can be alerted by the scamper of a
rabbit or a call from a bird, even a snap of a twig. Stay low and
listen.” Nule looked everywhere impatiently.

“We must stay on the
downside of the wind, so we are not detected. Let us move this way,
slowly.” Nule followed his father. Suddenly he froze and Nule
gasped in surprise. Natchitos turned and put a finger to his lips,
then pointed just ahead to their right. Nule’s eyes grew large. No
more than thirty feet away was the large rack of a male buck moving
around. The deer was quietly eating from the forest floor.
Natchitos allowed Nule to proceed towards him as quietly as he
could. “You be the guide for the arrow, Nule. Take a deep breath
and let your instincts come forth.”