Free Legend upon the Cane by ketihrees Page B

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.

Chapter 8
     
    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