Was It a Forgery? [pp. 1-10]

Was it a Forgery.
inductions." It is not difficult to imagine the
pleasure with which this solitary enthusiast,
pursuing his researches day by day among
his red-skinned neighbors, learned that among
the Yazoos, one of the tribes whose history
was such an enigma to him, there was a kindred spirit-an old man who was himself
imbued with a love of research, and who,
like Le Page, lost no opportunity of gathering information upon these subjects; who
had given up seven or eight years of the
prime of life to perilous travel in the pursuit
of knowledge upon these points, and who,
in his mellow old age, would be glad to sit
and chat with his fellow scientist upon the
subject in which they were both interested.
The very name of the old man, "MoncachtAp6,"-"One who destroys obstacles and
overcomes fatigue,"-was a testimonial to
the respect in which his travels caused him
to be held by his friends; while the name by
which he was known among the French"The Interpreter,"-was in turn a tribute to
his extensive knowledge of Indian tongues,
acquired during his wanderings.
The Yazoo district was distant from the
residence of Le Page about forty leagues.
It was inevitable that the sympathy of these
two men should bring them together. If
Moncacht-Ap6 had not come to Le Page,
Le Page must have gone to Moncacht-Ap6.
Here were all the elements to render the story
immortal-a good story-teller and an interested listener; a history of personal adventure to be repeated to an auditor whose
heart sympathized with the motive for the
journey, whose hand cheerfully responded
to the task of recording what he heard, and
whose clear, lucid style preserved in translation the truthful simplicity of the Indian's
narrative.
We can understand the delight of Le Page
at a visit paid him by this native of the Yazoo nation, and we can appreciate his satisfaction at the evident pleasure afforded the
Indian by the request for "an account of his
travels, omitting nothing."
Seated in the rude cabin of this pioneer of
the Mississippi valley, the native began his
story. Its opening sentence furnishes the
key to the interest which has led to the preservation of the record: "I had lost," he
said, "my wife, and the children that I had
by her were dead before her, when I undertook my trip to the country where the sun
rises. I left my village, notwithstanding all
my relations. It was my plan to take counsel with the Chicasaws, our friends and neighbors. I remained there some days to find
out if they knew whence we all came, or,
at least, if they knew whence they themselves
came-they, who are our ancestors, siace it
is through them that the language of the
people comes; but they could tell me nothing new. For this reason I resolved to visit
the people in the country where the sun
rises, and to find if their old language was
the same."
It was thus that he announced the mission
in pursuance of which he plunged alone into
the depths of the mighty forest which then
covered all that portion of the country, and
entered upon the solitary pilgrimage in search
of knowledge of his ancestors which led him
first to the shores of the Atlantic, and then,
after a brief rest, to that far-distant region,
the northwestern coast of America, which
was the bane of the geographer and the hope
of the explorer of that day.
We can easily identify the course that he
took upon his eastern trip. His astonishment at the tides of the Bay of Fundy and
his wonder at the Falls of Niagara betray
themselves in expressions so delicious in
their simplicity that they amount almost to
arguments in favor of the story. The loneliness of the western country at that time is
brought vividly before our eyes, as we read
that he floated down the Ohio River in his
dug-out without meeting any man on the
way.
The only result of this expedition was that
Moncacht-Ape had learned that he must
turn his steps westward if he would pursue
his investigations. " His failure," says Le
Page du Pratz, "far from extinguishing the
desire that he had to learn, only excited him
the more. Determined to dispel the shades
with which he perceived that he was surrounded, he persisted in the design of dis
1885.]
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