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As we were talking, the cry of death rang through the forest, and four warriors fell upon me and bound me. Our flight had been discovered, and Simaghan had set out in pursuit with all his band. "In vain did Atala plead for me; I was condemned to be burnt. Happily, the Feast of Souls was being held, and no tribe dares to kill a captive during the days consecrated to this solemn ceremony.
'I am Chactas, the son of the Outalissi who took more than a hundred scalps from the warriors of the Creeks. "'Chactas, son of Outalissi, said Simaghan, 'rejoice! We will burn you before our wig-wams. "'That is good news, I said, and thereupon I sang my song of death. "Although the Creeks were my enemies, I could not help admiring them.
I had forgotten in the city my knowledge of wood-craft, and I lost my way in the great forest, and was captured by a band of Creeks. My costume and the feathers in my hair proclaimed me one of the Natchez, and when Simaghan, the chief of the band, bound me, and demanded who I was, I proudly answered.
'I have not betrayed the faith of my forefathers. "'Oh, you are only a wicked heathen, she exclaimed, covering her face with her hands and weeping. 'I have been baptised by my mother. I am Atala, daughter of Simaghan of the golden bracelets, and the chief of this band. We are going to Cuscowilla, where you will be burnt. "And with a look of anger, Atala rose up and went away."
"'O my beloved, I said, 'open your heart to me, and tell me the secret that makes you so sorrowful. Do you weep at leaving your native land? "'No, she said. 'I do not regret leaving the land of palm trees, for my mother is dead, and Simaghan was only my foster father. "'Then who was your father, my beloved? I cried in astonishment.
"'My father was a Spaniard, said Atala, 'but my grandmother threw water in his face, and made him go away, and she then forced my mother to give herself in marriage to Simaghan, who desired her. But she died from grief at being parted from my father, and Simaghan adopted me as his own daughter.
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