He in turn was an object of astonishment and curious interest to the
natives; for, although they had become familiar with the appearance of
bearded white men, they had never before seen a white boy, Rene being the
first to set foot in this land. The Indians had thought that all white
men were born with beards, and that their closely cropped hair never grew
any longer; so that this smooth-faced boy, whose golden hair hung in
ringlets over his shoulders, was a much greater curiosity to them than
they were to him. The old chief took an immediate fancy to him, and as
he had given to Laudonniere the Indian name of Ta-lah (a palm) upon the
occasion of his previous visit to Seloy, he now called Rene Ta-lah-lo-ko
(the palmetto, or little palm), a name ever afterwards used by all the
Indians in their intercourse with him.
The chief entreated Laudonniere to tarry many days in Seloy; but the
latter answered that the orders of his own great chief were for him to
proceed without delay to the river known as the River of May, and there
erect a fort and found his colony. So, after an exchange of presents,
they parted, and taking to their boats, the white men regained their
ship. As they left, Rene gave many a backward glance at the pleasant
little village of Seloy, and would have loved to linger there among its
simple and kindly people.
As they crossed the bar, in going again to the ships, their boats were
surrounded by a number of what they called dolphins, but what are today
called porpoises, sporting in the great billows; and on their account
Laudonniere named the river they had just left the River of Dolphins.
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