0016

Murder of the Frenchman Pierre Gambie'

In my narrative I spoke of Pierre Gambie', a Frenchman who obtained a trading license from Laudonniere for that province and not only succeeded in acquiring considerable wealth but also married the daughter of a local chief. As he wished to visit his friends at the fort, he was permitted to go, on condition that he would return within a certain time. He was given a canoe with two Indians to paddle it, and the wealth he had acquired was stowed in the boat. On the journey, however, while the Frenchman was bending over to make a fire, his Indian companions murdered him. They might have done this out of revenge, since once when the chief was absent and Gambie' had taken his place, he had beaten one of them; or they might have killed him because of the riches he had with him in the canoe. The Indians fled with the goods, and nothing was known of the crime for a long while afterwards.

This picture is put at the end so as not to interrupt the series. It would not have been included at all had the author not suddenly remembered the episode.

Monday, 15-May-95 14:17:42 PDT