If I was afraid at sight of a dozen savages among the Spaniards of Plaquemine, what was to become of me now?  The bank was entirely covered with men, their faces painted, their heads full of feathers, moccasins on their feet, and bows on shoulder—­Indians indeed, with women simply wrapped in blankets, and children without the shadow of a garment; and all these Indians running, calling to one another, making signs to us, and addressing us in incomprehensible language.  Suzanne, standing up on the bow of the flatboat, replied to their signs and called with all the force of her lungs every Indian word that—­God knows where—­she had learned: 

“Chacounam finnan!  O Choctaw!  Conno Poposso!” And the Indians clapped their hands, laughing with pleasure and increasing yet more their gestures and cries.

The village, about fifty huts, lay along the edge of the water.  The unfortunates were not timid.  Presently several came close to the flatboat and showed us two deer and some wild turkeys and ducks, the spoils of their hunting.  Then came the women laden with sacks made of bark and full of blackberries, vegetables, and a great quantity of baskets; showing all, motioning us to come down, and repeating in French and Spanish, “Money, money!”

It was decided that Mario and Gordon should stay on board and that all the rest of the joyous band should go ashore.  My father, M. Carpentier, and ’Tino loaded their pistols and put them into their belts.  Suzanne did likewise, while Maggie called Tom, her bulldog, to follow her.  Celeste declined to go, because of her children.  As to Alix and me, a terrible contest was raging in us between fright and curiosity, but the latter conquered.  Suzanne and papa laughed so about our fears that Alix, less cowardly than I, yielded first, and joined the others.  This was too much.  Grasping my father’s arm and begging him not to leave me for an instant, I let him conduct me, while Alix followed me, taking her husband’s arm in both her hands.  In front marched ’Tino, his gun on his shoulder; after him went Maggie, followed by Tom; and then Suzanne and little Patrick, inseparable friends.

Hardly had we gone a few steps when we were surrounded by a human wall, and I realized with a shiver how easy it would be for these savages to get rid of us and take all our possessions.  But the poor devils certainly never thought of it:  they showed us their game, of which papa bought the greater part, as well as several sacks of berries, and also vegetables.

But the baskets!  They were veritable wonders.  As several of those that I bought that day are still in your possession, I will not lose much time telling of them.  How those half-savage people could make things so well contrived and ornamented with such brilliant colors is still a problem to us.  Papa bought for mamma thirty-two little baskets fitting into one another, the largest about as tall as a child of five years, and the smallest just large enough