172 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 43

 Thus this fire was relighted with profane fire. Immediately sickness took
hold of the Suns. In a few days they were seen to die in rapid succession, and
it was necessary to send after them into the world of spirits many people to
serve them. This mortality lasted four years, without anyone being able to
guess what had occasioned it. Nine great Suns who succeeded each other died
in this interval, and a multitude of people with them. Finally, at the end of
this time the guardian himself fell ill. This bad man, feeling that he was not
able to live a long time, had word sent to the great Sun at once that he had
something to communicate to him of such great importance that if he died
without revealing it all the Natchez would die. The great Sun went to see
him as quickly as possible. As soon as the sick man perceived him his whole
body trembled and he appeared unable to speak. However, he spoke these
words, although with difficulty:
 "' I am going to die, so it makes no difference to me whether the sickness or a
man kills me. I know that I am a bad man for having for so long a time con-
cealed, in order to preserve my life, what I am going to tell you. I am the
cause of the death of my nation, therefore I merit death, but let me not be
eaten by the dogs.'
 "The great Sun understood by these words that this man was guilty of some
great crime, and that it was necessary to reassure him in order to draw from
him his secret, which appeared to be of the last importance. IIe therefore
told him that whatever he had done he might be assured that lie would not be
put to death and that he would be buried, that what he had promised him was
as true as it was true that the Sun, their father, lighted them every day, and
that he should hasten to speak before death prevented him. On Ihis promise
the bad guardian confessed all that he had done, which I have related to you.
 Immediately the great Sun assembled the old men and by their advice it
was resolved to go that very day to wrest fire from the other temple. That was
executed and the Suns ceased dying." This expression, to wrest fire," ap-
pearing extraordinarily to me, I asked the great Sun what it signified. He re-
plied that it was necessary that the fire be carried away by violence and that
blood be shed over it, unless on the way lightning was seen to fall on a tree
and set fire to it, that then they might spare themselves the trouble of going
farther and take this fire, but that that of the Sun was always preferable."

 In the narrative of the temple guardian as recorded by Du Pratz,
the Culture hero is said to have died after seeing his children's chil-
dren. Fortunately a little more regarding the fate of this founder
of the Natchez state is preserved by St. Cosine, which supplements
Du Pratz's narrative in some important particulars. He says:
 The chiefs were regarded as spirits descended from a kind of idol which they
have in their temple and for which they have a great respect. It is a stone
statue inclosed in a wooden box. They say that this is not properly the great
spirit, but one of his relatives which he formerly sent into this place to be the
master of the earth; that this chief became so terrible that he made men die
merely by his look; that in order to prevent it he had a cabin made for him-
self into which he entered and had himself changed into a stone statue for fear
that his flesh would be corrupted in the earth.b
 The thought at once presents itself that Du Pratz's informant
broke off his narrative at this point because he did not wish to make

 SDu Pratz, Hist. de La Loulsiane, II, 326-341.
 b Compte Rendu Cong. Internat. des Amer., 15th sess., I, 39-40.