CHAPTER XI “WE ARE ALL SAVAGES”

The winter was a long one in the valley of the Illinois. Food was scarce and the little band at Fort Crèvec?ur had many hungry days. Once there passed the Peoria village a canoe headed downstream, and in it the Indians recognized two of the men who had set out with La Salle. The canoe was loaded to the gunwale with provisions. Where could the white chief have found such a store? The answer came later from the lips of Chassagoac himself when he returned from his winter hunt.

Trailing through the woods one day Chassagoac had seen the smoke of a camp-fire. Drawing near with two of his men he met a strange white man who presented him with a red blanket, a kettle, and some hatchets¹ and knives. Chassagoac soon learned that the stranger was La Salle, the chief of the company of white men who had settled near the Peoria village. The white man knew the fame of Chassagoac, and the two chiefs sat down for a long conference, during which La Salle told of all the things that had happened at the village and explained to the red chief that his men at the fort were in sad need of food. If the red brother would furnish them with provisions he would repay him on his return from the East.

Then, as the kindly² Chassagoac promised his help, the white chief went on to tell of his plans. He told of the fort and the great ship that was being built on the riverside. Even now he was on his way to the East to make peace with the Iroquois for the Illinois, and he would come back with arms for their defense³ and with merchandise to distribute among them; and many more Frenchmen would return with him to establish themselves at the Illinois villages. He told of his plans for a great expedition down the river to its mouth, whence he could set up more easy trade and bring from across the sea goods of all kinds for the tribes of the Illinois.

Chassagoac was deeply interested, and with generous hand he filled a canoe with stores from the caches of the deserted⁴ Kaskaskia village near at hand. He urged the white man to return soon, and assured him that what had been said about the beauty and the easy passage of the Mississippi was all true. Then after courteous⁵ leave-taking the two chiefs separated. La Salle continued his way up the river, while two of his men paddled the canoe full of supplies down the stream to Fort Crèvec?ur. After parting from La Salle, Chassagoac went on with his hunting until the day when he came once more to the village of his people. Here his arrival was welcomed by the Indians, whose fears were perhaps somewhat quieted by his stanch⁶ belief in the white men. He spent much time with the gray-robed friars and talked with them of how he had met the black-gowned Marquette on the distant shores of the Lake of the Illinois and had given him part of the deer he had killed. Indeed, Chassagoac thought so well of the teachings of the friars that he agreed to follow their strange manitou, and so was baptized after the manner of the Frenchmen.

Meanwhile two more Frenchmen slipped down the river past the village to the fort, which they reached about the middle of April. At once there was much stirring among the whites, and soon Tonty with a few of his men passed up the river toward the village of the Kaskaskias. The Indians were curious at this new move. Some time before the veteran Ako, together with the Picard and the friar Hennepin, had set off down the stream, and La Salle with more men had gone up the river the day after. Now even Tonty was departing.

The Indians watched closely the handful of men who remained in the stockaded walls. N?el Le Blanc and Nicolas Laurent, the two men who had lately arrived at the fort, had come with orders from La Salle to Tonty to build another fort at the upper village. In Tonty’s absence, Le Blanc seemed to be moving about like a restless spirit, talking earnestly among the men. With the blacksmith and the ship carpenters in particular he appeared to be plotting some deep-laid scheme.

Into the village of the Peorias, likewise, crept strange whisperings and rumors⁷. Men from other villages came to tell them that their distrusted neighbors, the Miamis, had been seeking an alliance with the hated Iroquois. Was the fort to be abandoned, and were the Frenchmen to creep off by twos and threes leaving the Peorias to be eaten by the Iroquois?

Presently those who watched the fort saw another party start out. This time there were five men in the canoe—Father Ribourde, Boisrondet, L’Espérance, and two others, Petit-Bled and Boisdardenne. After their departure a strange commotion⁸ arose within the walls of the fort. Ship carpenters ran here and there plundering⁹ the cabins: they tore down the doors, and pillaged¹⁰ and robbed on every hand. They even overturned the effects in the lodgings¹² of the priests. Hillaret and the brawny¹³ blacksmith forced open the storehouse and brought out powder and balls and arms, and furs and merchandise. From every corner of the fortress¹⁴ La Roze and Le Blanc and their fellow-conspirators¹⁵ gathered things of value. Then, loaded down with guns and beaver¹⁶ skins and fine linen¹⁷ and moccasins, they made for the riverside. One man with a sharp instrument scratched on the gleaming white timbers of the half-built ship the words, “Nous sommes tous Sauvages”—“We are all savages”—and the date: “Ce 15 A—1680.” Then off into the woods they vanished, leaving the fort wrecked¹⁸ and plundered¹⁹.

Meantime night had come upon the aged¹¹ friar and his four companions on their way to Tonty at the upper village. Petit-Bled and Boisdardenne, in league with the conspirators at the fort, rose up and spiked²⁰ the guns of L’Espérance and Boisrondet, and made off with the canoe after their fellows, leaving the Recollet and the two young men to find their way on foot and without means of defense to the village of the Kaskaskias.

Tonty heard the news of the mutiny with consternation²¹ and anger, and hastened back to the ruined fort. Everything of value seemed to have been taken, except the forge and some tools and arms too heavy for the deserters to carry on their flight. With this freight the heavy-hearted Tonty made his way back to the Kaskaskia village, where the lodges²² were once more filled by the returning warriors²³ and hunters. After sending, by two routes, messengers to tell La Salle of the catastrophe²⁴, Tonty prepared for a new order of life. The fort and its garrison²⁵ no longer gave him protection; but the Man with the Iron Hand was no coward. With his fragment of a band he entered the village and asked the Kaskaskias if he might live in their midst. They welcomed him to their kettles and their cabins, and shared with him and his men their food and their buffalo²⁶ robes. The band of thirty or more that had come into the valley a few months before was now reduced to six—Tonty and his friend Boisrondet, the two young men, L’Espérance and Renault the Parisian, and the two friars—Father Membré having come up from the lower village.

1 hatchets   

n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战

参考例句：

• Hatchets, knives, bayonets, swords, all brought to be sharpened, were all red with it. 他们带来磨利的战斧、短刀、刺刀、战刀也全都有殷红的血。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. 圣所中一切雕刻的、们现在用斧子锤子打坏了。 来自互联网

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

6 stanch   

v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的

参考例句：

• Cuttlebone can be used as a medicine to stanch bleeding.海螵蛸可以入药，用来止血。
• I thought it my duty to help stanch these leaks.我认为帮助堵塞漏洞是我的职责。

7 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

9 plundering   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The troops crossed the country, plundering and looting as they went. 部队经过乡村，一路抢劫掳掠。
• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。

10 pillaged   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are to be pillaged and terrorised in Hitler's fury and revenge. 在希特勒的狂怒和报复下，他们还遭到掠夺和恐怖统治。 来自辞典例句
• They villages were pillaged and their crops destroyed. 他们的村子被抢，他们的庄稼被毁。 来自辞典例句

11 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

12 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

13 brawny   

adj.强壮的

参考例句：

• The blacksmith has a brawny arm.铁匠有强壮的胳膊。
• That same afternoon the marshal appeared with two brawny assistants.当天下午，警长带着两名身强力壮的助手来了。

14 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

15 conspirators   

n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conspirators took no part in the fighting which ensued. 密谋者没有参加随后发生的战斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The French conspirators were forced to escape very hurriedly. 法国同谋者被迫匆促逃亡。 来自辞典例句

16 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

17 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

18 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

19 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

20 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

21 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

22 lodges   

v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• But I forget, if I ever heard, where he lodges in Liverpool. 可是我记不得有没有听他说过他在利物浦的住址。 来自辞典例句
• My friend lodges in my uncle's house. 我朋友寄居在我叔叔家。 来自辞典例句

23 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

24 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

25 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

26 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。