Chapter 11
The Nashitosh tribe was reunited once again after the decisive battle. They collected the bodies of their fallen brothers and prepared them to take them home on the long journey. Natchitos swore they would all find final rest in their native homeland. St. Denis and his soldiers helped them get organized for the journey. He knew it would be wise to depart the area as soon as they could for fear of reprisal. The Acolapissa were defeated, but they still had enough warriors to mount a counter attack.
Natchitos sought St. Denis before he and the soldiers returned to the fort. “You have stood by your word, my friend. My people are grateful to you. You have the fight of a warrior in you, and the heart of a true man.”
“As do you, Chief Natchitos,” replied St. Denis. “But, we must not delay, I will organize my men at the fort, we will depart at first light tomorrow. We shall meet you at the head of the Great River.” With that, he left with the battalion and returned to the fort.
Natchitos had no intention of staying in the tribal area along the lake any longer than needed. The entire tribe set out before nightfall in a line of canoes down the bayou. They would travel just short of the fort and spend the last few hours of night on the side of the bayou shores. They lit a small fire and spoke a few words of remembrance of their fallen brothers. “We will mourn them when the journey is completed. The souls of our departed will find rest in our land.” Afterwards, they quickly extinguished the fire and waited until first light. A few warriors kept watch over the tribe throughout the night.
At the first light of day, St. Denis was surprised and filled with admiration to find his friends waiting for him and his troops at the head of the Great River. Twenty-five soldiers and the entire Nashitosh tribe set out upon the river and made their way north. The journey would take weeks with so many people, plus they traveled against the current in the north heading. After nearly two weeks, they finally made it to the mouth of the Red River and then headed west. On the fourth day of traveling on the Red River, they stopped at the juncture where it flowed into the Cane River.
At the sight of the Cane, they stopped to rest and setup camp for the night. They would complete the journey the next day. Natchitos lit a fire on the banks of the Cane and spoke to the tribe, “These are the waters of our country. May the ‘great spirit’ bless them as we enter them and let it guide us to our home. We give thanks for guidance and survival. Let this day be remembered.”
The next morning, spirits were high as they made their way down the Cane on the final leg of their journey. The winds blew strong throughout the morning. Natchitos stood high in his canoe at the head of the caravan. They rounded the bend and then a familiar hill came into view. He knew it was the sight of their old home. He raised his spear in triumph to signal the other canoes. The tribe yelled in celebration as they pulled ashore.
The old wooden fort stood along the narrow bayou further down the shore, abandoned and dilapidated. Natchitos was glad to see the familiar lands once again. It was late fall, but the lands were still green and vibrant with life. Much rain had come to the area once again and revitalized the soil. It was just as St. Denis had told him.
As the people continued to unload the canoes and rafts on the shore, Natchitos gazed into the woods and toward the hill that led to their old tribal area. His instincts told him something. He was looking for someone, but he saw nothing. A look of concern washed upon his face. Suddenly, a rifle shot was heard from above. One of the braves was struck in the arm and he fell to the ground in pain.
St. Denis looked to the hill. “Henri!” he shouted. It was LaRouche. He had been following them the entire journey up the river after he escaped. He looked rugged and disheveled. “What are you doing? Have you gone mad?”
LaRouche said nothing, but threw his rifle and retrieved another. The soldiers below scrambled for their weapons as did the Indians. LaRouche aimed his gun again, this time at Natchitos. But, before he could pull the trigger, an arrow hissed through the air and struck him squarely in the chest. He arched his back in agony, then, fell forward to his knees. He looked downriver to find Tooantuh standing on a bluff holding a bow in his hands. Tooantuh stood in triumph. The wound on his shoulder was visible but it has been dressed with a dark bandage. LaRouche’s eyes grew wide in disbelief at seeing him before doubling over in agony. He fell to the ground and rolled down the hillside. He was dead.
St. Denis couldn’t believe his eyes. “Tooantuh is alive!” he said aloud. Natchitos smiled at Tooantuh and was even more relieved to see Ayita and Anoki appear from the woods behind him. They had made it.
Natchitos knew that Tooantuh was not dead as he lay on the ground after the gunshot. Anoki and his father had noticed Tooantuh still breathing as he lay wounded. The wound was shallow and high upon his chest. Ayita and Anoki removed the bullet that same night, then dressed his wounds, and helped him regain his strength during the long journey back home. Ayita had understood when Natchitos told her to take Anoki with her. She knew that he actually wanted her to take Tooantuh ahead of them back to the Cane River. Natchitos knew that a predator’s instincts are to never stop until it knows his adversary is gone. He had suspected this of LaRouche.
St. Denis had some men attend to the wounded brave. The wound was not fatal however, for LaRouche had only nicked him in the arm.
St. Denis approached Natchitos, smiling with his arms folded, and regarded him with admiration for his shrewd foresight. “The proper place to mourn, eh?”
Natchitos smiled and nodded to him, “This is the proper place.”
The tribe and the soldiers worked together to rebuild the old huts and establish new ones in the tribal village. They worked throughout the winter and into the coming year rebuilding the old fort and expanded the structure for greater usage. The promise of trade would soon flourish as soldiers and other peoples had already begun traveling through the area. The tribe lived in their native land where they had originally settled.
By late winter, the first signs of spring had begun to show in the fields and in the trees. The fort was completed and St. Denis gathered his people and the tribe together to mark the completion of their trading post.
“Let it be known that from this day forth, this fort will serve as our home and trading post among the Nashitosh,” St. Denis proclaimed. The land became known to all explorers and traders as the Land of the Nashitosh. The settlement would soon be marked on all French maps, and was called Natchitoches.
One early morning, St. Denis took a long walk along the Cane. He arrived at the hill overlooking the river and saw Natchitos sitting quietly atop the peak. He hesitated for a moment. But, decided to climb up the hill.
He stopped when he reached the top and saw Natchitos staring out towards the rising sun. “Mind if I sit with you, my old friend?” he asked Natchitos.
Natchitos sat for a moment still looking toward the east. At first, St. Denis thought he’d made a mistake by going up there. Then, Natchitos broke his silence. “I was wondering when someone would come and join me up here,” he acceded. He turned and smiled upward at St. Denis. St. Denis sat next to him to share the view. Natchitos fixed his gaze forward once again and said, “Looks like you are the first.”
They sat staring at the vastness and beauty of the land before them. Natchitos then spoke to St. Denis, “Our journeys have brought us far. We have seen many things, you and I.”
“Yes, this is true. I will never forget them,” St. Denis replied. “My happiness is drawn from seeing you and your people in your native homeland. To me, this is the best thing to see.”
Natchitos nodded in acknowledgement. “The sign of the true man is when he has chosen the path that has been set before him. This is what I see in you, my friend, and it is good to see.”
They sat for a while longer until the sun had fully risen. Then, they both stood and started to head down the h
ill. Natchitos patted St. Denis on the back and said, “Very brave of you to come up here.” They both laughed as they walked down to begin the new day.
Epilogue
That same year of 1714, trade would begin to flourish in the settlement of Natchitoches. Traders would come from all over to trade livestock, pelts, poultry, salt, and other dry goods at the fort. Nearly a century later, it would play a pivotal role as a center of activity in what would be called the Louisiana Purchase. To this day, Natchitoches is recognized as the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.
Natchitos remained friendly with his brother, Nakahodot. After Nakahodot had traveled for three days towards the setting sun, he and his tribe settled in an area in East Texas near a narrow bayou called Lanana Creek. In 1716, a Spanish mission, called Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, was established alongside the tribe. The village would become known as Nacogdoches, the oldest settlement in Texas. The tribes established a trade route between the two communities of Nacogdoches and Natchitoches. The road became a well traveled route, and would soon become the eastern part of the trail called the El Camino Real.
St. Denis continued his exploration throughout Louisiana, Texas and Mexico. He made many stops at outposts along the Rio Grande River. Later in 1714, he was charged with violating the Spanish trade restrictions and was imprisoned for a short time at San Juan Bautista outpost. While in prison, he met and fell in love with the commander of the outpost’s granddaughter, Manuela Sanchez.
Later that year, Sieur Charles Claude Dutisné arrived in Natchitoches with another garrison of troops and built a larger outpost around the two huts built by St. Denis. The fort was named Fort St. Jean-Baptiste de Natchitoches, in honor of their fellow explorer and former governor that accompanied St. Denis on his first expedition to Natchitoches. The fort was situated alongside a bayou which would be named Amulet.
Meanwhile, St. Denis was ordered to go to Mexico City to defend his actions in the Spanish court. He succeeded in securing his release and thus returned to San Juan Bautista in 1716. He was granted permission to marry Manuela upon his return. He was later named commander of Fort St. Jean-Baptiste de Natchitoches in 1722. He returned to Natchitoches with Manuela and spent the rest of their lives in Natchitoches amongst the tribe and French settlers.
St. Denis died on June 11, 1744. He was survived by his wife and five children. His son, Louis de St. Denis, took command of the fort at the time of his father’s death.
The spirit of the Natchitoches Indians lived on into history. It remains an important part of local culture and is still evident today up and down the banks of the Cane River.
About the Author
I would like to thank you for your interest in this little story. As a former resident of Natchitoches, I am happy to be able to share it with you. I know very well the proud and rich history the people of Natchitoches have for their little town. And, proud they should be. Only one settlement can claim it is the oldest in the Louisiana Purchase. This is no small claim either, because anyone who took junior high history, knows just how large the Louisiana Purchase was.
Most residents of Natchitoches all know the tale of how their town was founded, way back in 1714. The legend has been told countless times, of how twin Indian brothers from the Caddo Tribe, traveled in opposite directions from the Sabine River area for three days each. One settled his new tribe in Natchitoches, the other in Nacogdoches, which is in East Texas. Thus explains the equal distance between the two towns from that point, and the approximate location of latitude on a geographical map. Both towns are basically at the same exact point of latitude.
The similarities between the two towns are many. They both have roughly the same population. Both are small college towns and they even have similar downtown areas, including the red brick streets! Another fun fact is the friendly rivalry between the two colleges, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin. The last game of their respective football seasons is always between the two universities. The game has been played for over half a century. In 1961, they decided to play the game for a trophy. Northwestern State won the game that year, so the students at Stephen F. Austin decided to carve a 7 foot, 6 inch, wooden statue of Chief Caddo. The statue weighs nearly 300 pounds! They presented it to Northwestern State after its completion. Every year since then, the statue is awarded to be displayed on the victorious school’s campus until the following year.
I grew up in Natchitoches from the age of six, until I graduated from college when I was twenty-two. Through the years that I lived in Natchitoches, I gained many friendships and met many people. I have many fond memories of growing up in Natchitoches, too many to share with you here. But, I did see and do a lot while growing up there. I played a lot of tennis on the old courts in East Natchitoches, and spent many a summer day playing golf at the old college golf course (now called Demon Hills) on the Highway 1 bypass. Many of you probably even had me fill your order down at the old McDonald’s on the strip (South Drive), back when I was in high school. Speaking of education, I, quite literally, went to school in Natchitoches everywhere! I attended high school at St. Mary’s and Natchitoches Central. And, I even went to Northwestern State for a little while. I wanted to be an engineer, so I transferred to Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, my sophomore year. Now, I live in Austin, Texas. I try to visit Natchitoches as often as I can, though. My wife and I were able to come and see the 81st Annual Christmas Festival in 2007. It’s still the best fireworks around!
I have always wanted to tell the story of Natchitoches’ founding. I was always intrigued by the fact that it was the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, and that the event happened so long ago in American history. The pride Natchitoches has in its history is evident everywhere you go in town. There is a bust, of St. Denis, displayed in the downtown area along Front Street. And, of course, the town is adorned with many fleur-de-lis, the symbol of French influence, all around the town. There are also many street name signs in French.
As early as my teens, I thought it would be a neat idea to re-imagine the story and tell it with a fictional twist with the backdrop of the true and factual events that took place. Every kid (and adult, for that matter) in town knows, and has probably seen, the replica of Fort St. Jean-Baptiste near the campus of Northwestern State. I remember visiting it on a school field trip when I was a youngster. St. Denis’ history is well documented, but not much is known about the tribe itself with whom he befriended. So, after doing much research, I was able to gather as much information as possible on the tribe. I then took that information and intertwined as many of the facts into this fictional story. I tried, as best as possible, to retain all the factual events in order to preserve the legacy of the town’s founding.
I hope you enjoyed reading Legend Upon the Cane as much as I did writing it. It was a fun project to work on and fun for me to imagine living in those early days of the 18th century, writing the story as it happened. Once again, thank you.
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