NEW FRANCE
The huge and savage warrior had never looked more malignant. His face
and his bare chest were painted with the most hideous devices, and his
eyes, in the single glance that he cast upon Robert and his comrades,
showed full of black and evil passions. Then, as if they were no longer
present, he stalked to the fire, took up some cooked deer meat that lay
beside it, and, sitting down Turkish fashion like the other Indians,
began to eat, not saying a word to the Frenchmen.
It was the action of a savage of the savages, but Robert, startled at
first by the unexpected appearance of such an enemy, called to his aid
the forest stoicism that he had learned and sat down, calm, outwardly at
least. The initiative was not his now, nor that of his comrades, and he
glanced anxiously at de Courcelles to see how he would take this rude
invasion of his camp. The French colonel looked at Tandakora, then at
Jumonville, and Jumonville looked at him. The two shrugged their
shoulders, and in a flash of intuition he was convinced that they knew
the Ojibway well.
Whatever anger de Courcelles may have felt at the manners of the savage
he showed none at all. All the tact and forbearance which the French
used with such wonderful effect in their dealings with the North
American Indians were summoned to his aid. He spoke courteously to
Tandakora, but, as his words were in the Ojibway dialect, Robert did not
understand them. The Indian made a guttural reply and continued to gnaw
fiercely at the bone of the deer. De Courcelles still took no offense,
and spoke again, his words smooth and his face smiling. Then Tandakora,
in his deep guttural, spoke rapidly and with heat. When he had finished
de Courcelles turned to his guests, and with a deprecatory gesture,
said:
"Tandakora's heart burns with wrath. He says that you attacked him and
his party in the forest and have slain some of his warriors."
"Tandakora lies!"
It was the Onondaga who spoke. His voice was not raised, but every
syllable was articulated clearly, and the statement came with the impact
of a bullet. The tan of de Courcelles' face could not keep a momentary
flush from breaking through, but he kept his presence of mind.
"It is easy enough to call a man a liar," he said, "but it is another
thing to prove it."
"Since when," said Tayoga, haughtily, "has the word of an Ojibway, a
barbarian who knows not the law, been worth more than that of one who is
a member of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great
League of the Hodenosaunee?"
He spoke in English, which Robert knew the Ojibway understood and which
both Frenchmen spoke fluently. The great hand of Tandakora drifted down
toward the handle of his tomahawk, but Tayoga apparently did not see
him, his fathomless eyes again staring into the fire. Robert looked at
Willet, and he saw the hunter's eye also fall upon the handle of his
tomahawk, a weapon which he knew the Great Bear could hurl with a
swiftness and precision equal to those of any Indian. He understood at
once that Tayoga was protected by the hunter from any sudden movement by
the Ojibway and his great strain relaxed.
De Courcelles frowned, but his face cleared in an instant. Robert,
watching him now, believed he was not at all averse to a quarrel between
the Onondaga and the Ojibway.
"It is not a question for me to decide," he replied. "The differences of
the Hodenosaunee and the western tribes are not mine, though His
Majesty, King Louis of France, wishes all his red brethren to dwell
together in peace. Yet I but tell to you, Tayoga, what Tandakora has
told to me. He says that you three attacked him and peaceful warriors
back there in a gorge of the river, and slew some of his comrades."
"Tandakora lies," repeated Tayoga in calm and measured tones. "It is
true that warriors who were with them fell beneath our bullets, but they
came swimming in the night, seeking to murder us while we slept, and
while there is yet no war between us. An Onondaga or a Mohawk or any
warrior of the Hodenosaunee hates and despises a snake."
The words, quiet though they were, were fairly filled with concentrated
loathing. The eyes of the huge Ojibway flashed and his clutch on the
handle of his tomahawk tightened convulsively, but the fixed gaze of the
hunter seemed to draw him at that moment. He saw that Willet's eyes were
upon him, that every muscle was attuned and that the tomahawk would leap
from his belt like a flash of lightning, and seeing, Tandakora paused.
The two Frenchmen looked at Tayoga, at Tandakora and at Willet. Then
they looked at each other, and being acute men with a full experience of
forest life, they understood the silent drama.
"I don't undertake to pass any judgment here," said de Courcelles, after
a pause. "It is the word of one warrior against another, and I cannot
say which is the better. But since you are going to the Marquis Duquesne
at Quebec, Mr. Lennox, the matter may be laid before him, and it is for
those who make charges to bring proof."
The words were silky, but Robert saw that they were intended to weave a
net.
"We are on an official mission from the Governor of the Province of New
York to the Governor General of Canada," he said. "We cannot be tried at
Quebec for an offense that we have never committed, and for our
commission of which you have only the word of a barbarian who twice
tried to murder us."
The hand of Tandakora on the handle of his tomahawk again made a
convulsive movement, but the gaze of the hunter was fixed upon him with
deadly menace, and another hand equally as powerful and perhaps quicker
than his own was clutched around the handle of another tomahawk. Again
the Ojibway paused and chose the way of peace.
"Patience, Tandakora," said Jumonville, taking the initiative for the
first time. "If you have suffered wrongs Onontio will avenge them. His
eye sees everything, and he does not forget his children of the western
forests."
"When we first saw him," said Robert, "he was with the Chevalier Raymond
Louis de St. Luc, who was going with belts from the Marquis Duquesne to
the council of the fifty chiefs in the vale of Onondaga. Now he has come
on another course, and is here far from the vale of Onondaga."
"We will dismiss the matter," said de Courcelles, who evidently was for
peace also. "Since you and your friends are our guests, Mr. Lennox, we
cannot treat you except as such. Take to your blankets and you rest as
safely with us as if you were sleeping in your own town of Albany."
Willet removed his hand from the handle of his tomahawk, and, rising to
his full height, stretched himself and yawned.
"We accept your pledge in the spirit in which it is given, Colonel de
Courcelles," he said, "and being worn from a long day and long toil I,
for one, shall find sweet slumber here on the leaves with a kindly sky
above me."
"Then, sir, I bid you a happy good night," said Colonel de Courcelles.
Without further ado the three folded their blankets them and fell asleep
on the leaves.
Robert, before closing his eyes, had felt assured that no harm would
befall them while they were in the camp of de Courcelles, knowing that
the French colonel could not permit any attack in his own camp upon
those who bore an important message from the Governor of New York to the
Governor General of Canada. Hence his heart was light as he was wafted
away to the land of slumber, and it was light again when he awoke the
next morning at the first rays of dawn.
Tayoga and Willet still slept, and he knew that they shared his
confidence, else these wary rovers of the woods would have been watching
rather than sleeping. Jumonville also was still rolled in his blankets,
but de Courcelles was up, fully dressed, and alert. Several of the
Canadians and Indians were building a fire. Robert's questing eye sought
at once for the Ojibway, but he was gone, and the youth was not
surprised. His departure in the night was a relief to everybody, even to
the French, and Robert felt that an evil influence was removed. The air
that for a space the night before had been poisonous to the lungs was
now pure and bracing. He took deep breaths, and his eyes sparkled as he
looked at the vast green forest curving about them. Once more he felt to
the full the beauty and majesty of the wilderness. Habit and use could
never dull it for him.
De Courcelles turned upon him a frank and appreciative eye. Robert saw
that he intended to be pleasant, even genial that morning, having no
reason for not showing his better side, and the lad, who was learning
not only to fence and parry with words, but also to take an
intellectual pleasure in their use, was willing to meet him half way.
"I see, Mr. Lennox," said de Courcelles gayly, "that you are in a fine
humor this morning. Your experience with the Ojibway has left no ill
results. He departed in the night. One can never tell what strange ideas
these savages will take into their heads."
"I have forgotten it," said Robert lightly. "I knew that a French
gentleman could not take the word of a wild Ojibway against ours."
De Courcelles gave him a sharp glance, but the youth's face was a mask.
"At least," he said, "the matter is not one of which I could dispose.
Nor can any government take note of everything that passes in a vast
wilderness. I, too, shall forget it. Nor is it likely that it will ever
be taken before the Marquis Duquesne. Come, our breakfast will soon be
ready and your comrades are awakening."
Robert walked down to a small brook, bathed his face, and returned to
find the food ready. He did not wholly trust either de Courcelles or
Jumonville, but their manners were good, and it was quite evident that
they no longer wished to interfere with the progress of the mission.
Tayoga and Willet also seemed to have forgotten the episode of the night
before, and asked no questions about Tandakora. After breakfast, the
three put their canoe back in the river, and thanking their hosts for
the courtesy of a night in their camp, shot out into the stream. De
Courcelles and Jumonville, standing on the bank, waved them farewell,
and they held their paddles aloft a moment or two in salute. Then a bend
shut them from view.
"I don't trust them," said Robert, after a long silence. "This is our
soil, but they march over it and calmly assume that it's their own."
"King George claims it, and King Louis claims it, too," said Willet in a
whimsical tone, "but I'm thinking it belongs to neither. The ownership,
I dare say, will not be decided for many a year. Now, Tayoga, what do
you think has become of that demon, Tandakora?"
The Onondaga looked at the walls of foliage on either side of the stream
before answering.
"One cannot tell," he said in his precise language of the schools. "The
mind of the Ojibway is a fitful thing, but always it is wild and
lawless. He longs, night and day, for scalps, and he covets ours most.
It is because we have defeated the attempts he has made already."
"Do you think he has gone ahead with the intention of ambushing us?
Would he dare?"
"Yes, he would dare. If he were to succeed he would have little to fear.
A bullet in one of our hearts, fired from cover on the bank, and then
the wilderness would swallow him up and hide him from pursuit. He could
go to the country around the last and greatest of the lakes, where only
the white trapper or explorer has been."
"It gives me a tremendously uncomfortable feeling, Tayoga, to think that
bloodthirsty wretch may be waiting for a shot at us. How are we to
guard against him?"
"We must go fast and watch as we go. Our eyes are keen, and we may see
him moving among the trees. The Ojibway is no marksman, and unless we
sit still it is not likely that he can hit us."
Tayoga spoke very calmly, but his words set Robert's heart to beating,
understanding what an advantage Tandakora had if he sought to lie in
ambush. He knew that the soul of the Ojibway was full of malice and that
his craving for scalps was as strong as the Onondaga had said it was.
Had it been anyone else he would not follow them, but Robert foresaw in
Tandakora a bitter and persistent enemy. Both he and Willet, feeling the
wisdom of Tayoga's advice, began to paddle faster. But the hunter
presently slowed down a little.
"No use to take so much out of ourselves now that we'll just creep along
later on," he said.
"The temptation to go fast is very strong," said Robert. "You feel then
that you're really dodging bullets."
Tayoga was looking far ahead toward a point where the stream became much
narrower and both banks were densely wooded, as usual.
"If Tandakora really means to ambush us," he said, "he will be there,
because it offers the best opportunity, and it is a place that the heart
of a murderer would love. Suppose that Dagaeoga and I paddle, and that
the Great Bear rests with his rifle across his knees ready to fire at
the first flash. We know what a wonderful marksman the Great Bear is,
and it may be Tandakora who will fall."
"The plan, like most of yours, is good, Tayoga," said Willet. "The Lord
has given me some skill with the rifle, and I have improved it with
diligent practice. I think I can watch both sides of the stream pretty
well, and if the Ojibway fires I can fire back at the flash. We'll rely
upon our speed to make his bullet miss, and anyway we must take the
chance. You lads needn't exert yourselves until we come to the narrow
part of the stream. Then use the paddles for your lives."
Robert found it hard to be slow, but his will took command of his
muscles and he imitated the long easy strokes of Tayoga. As the current
helped much, their speed was considerable, nevertheless. The river
flowed, a silver torrent, in the clear light of the morning, a fish
leaping up now and then in the waters so seldom stirred by any strange
presence. The whole scene was saturated with the beauty and the majesty
of the wilderness, and to the eye that did not know it suggested only
peace. But Robert often lifted his gaze from the paddle and the river to
search the green thickets on either side. They were only casual glances,
Willet being at once their sentinel and guard.
The great hunter was never more keenly alert. His thick, powerful figure
was poised evenly in the canoe, and the long-barreled rifle lay in the
hollow of his arm, his hand on the lock and his finger on the trigger.
Eyes, trained by many years in the forest, searched continually among
the trees for a figure that did not belong there, and, at the same
time, he listened for the sound of any movement not natural to the
wilderness. He felt his full responsibility as the rifleman of the fleet
of one canoe, and he accepted it.
"Lads," he said, "we're approaching the narrowest part of the river. It
runs straight, I can see a full mile ahead, and for all that distance
it's not more than thirty yards from shore to shore. Now use the
strength that you've been saving, and send the canoe forward like an
arrow. Those are grand strokes, Tayoga! And yours too, Robert! Now, our
speed is increasing! We fairly fly! Good lads! I knew you were both
wonderful with the paddle, but I did not know you were such marvels!
Never mind the woods, Robert, I'm watching 'em! Faster! A little faster,
if you can! I think I see something moving in a thicket on our right!
Bang, there goes his rifle! Just as I expected, his bullet hit the water
twenty feet from us! And bang goes my own rifle! How do you like that,
my good friend Tandakora?"
"Did you make an end of him?" asked Robert breathlessly.
"No," replied the hunter, although his tone was one of satisfaction. "I
had to shoot when I saw the flash of his rifle, and I had only a glimpse
of him. But I saw enough to know that my bullet took him in the
shoulder. His rifle fell from his hand, and then he dropped down in the
underbrush, thinking one of you might snatch up a weapon and fire. No, I
didn't make an end of him, Robert, but I did make an end of his warfare
upon us for a while. That bullet must have gone clean through his
shoulder, and for the present at least he'll have to quit scalp hunting.
But how he must hate us!"
"Let him hate," said Robert. "I don't care how much his hate increases,
so long as he can't lie in ambush for us. It's pretty oppressive to have
an invisible death lurking around you, unable to fend it off, and never
knowing when or where it will strike."
"But we did fend it off," said the big hunter, as he reloaded the rifle
of which he had made such good use. "And now I can see the stream
widening ahead of us, with natural meadows on either side, where no
enemy can lay an ambush. Easy now, lads! The danger has passed. That
fiend is lying in the thicket binding up his wounded shoulder as best he
can, and tomorrow we'll be in Canada. Draw in your paddles, and I'll
take mine. You're entitled to a rest. You couldn't have done better if
you had been in a race, and, after all, it was a race for life."
Robert lifted his paddle and watched the silver bubbles fall from it
into the stream. Then he sank back in his seat, relaxing after his great
effort, his breath coming at first in painful gasps, but gradually
becoming long and easy.
"I'm glad we'll be in Canada tomorrow, Dave," he said, "because the
journey has surely been most difficult."
"Pretty thick with dangers, that's true," laughed the hunter, "but we've
run past most of 'em. The rest of the day will be easy, safe and
pleasant."
His prediction came true, their journey on the river continuing without
interruption. Two or three times they saw distant smoke rising above the
forest, but they judged that it came from the camp fires of hunters, and
they paid no further attention to it. That night they took the canoe
from the river once more, carrying it into the woods and sleeping beside
it, and the next day they entered the mighty St. Lawrence.
"This is Canada," said Willet. "Farther west we claim that our territory
comes to the river and that we have a share in it. But here it's surely
French by right of long occupation. We can reach Montreal by night,
where we'll get a bigger boat, and then we'll go on to Quebec. It's a
fine river, isn't it, Robert?"
"So it is," replied Robert, looking at the vast sheet of water, blue
then under a perfectly blue sky, flowing in a mighty mass toward the
sea. Tayoga's eyes sparkled also. The young warrior could feel to the
full the splendors of the great forests, rivers and lakes of his native
land.
"I too shall be glad to see Stadacona," he said, "the mighty rock that
once belonged to a nation of the Hodenosaunee, the Mohawks, the Keepers
of the Eastern Gate."
"It is the French who have pressed upon you and who have driven you from
some of your old homes, but it is the English who have respected all
your rights," said Robert, not wishing Tayoga to forget who were the
friends of the Hodenosaunee.
"It is so," said the Onondaga.
Taking full advantage of the current, and sparing the paddles as much as
they could, they went down the stream, which was not bare of life. They
saw two great canoes, each containing a dozen Indians, who looked
curiously at them, but who showed no hostility.
"It's likely they take us for French," said Willet. "Of what tribe are
these men, Tayoga?"
"I cannot tell precisely," replied the Onondaga, "but they belong to the
wild tribes that live in the regions north of the Great Lakes. They
bring furs either to Montreal or Quebec, and they will carry back
blankets and beads and guns and ammunition. Above the Great Lakes and
running on, no man knows how far, are many other vast lakes. It is said
that some in the distant north are as large as Erie or Ontario or
larger, but I cannot vouch for it, as we warriors of the Hodenosaunee
have never been there, hearing the tales from warriors of other tribes
that have come down to trade."
"It's true, Tayoga," said Willet. "I've roamed north of the Great Lakes
myself, and I've met Indians of the tribes called Cree and Assiniboine,
and they've told me about those lakes, worlds and worlds of 'em, and
some of 'em so big that you can paddle days without reaching the end. I
suppose there are chains and chains of lakes running up and down a
hollow in the middle of this continent of ours, though it's only a guess
of mine about the middle. Nobody knows how far it is across from sea to
sea."
"We better go in closer to the shore," said Tayoga. "A wind is coming
and on so big a river big waves will rise."
"That's so, Tayoga," said Willet. "A little bark canoe like ours wasn't
made to fight with billows."
They paddled near to the southern shore, and, being protected by the
high banks, the chief force of the wind passed over their heads. In the
center of the stream the water rose in long combers like those of the
sea, and a distant boat with oarsmen rocked violently.
"Hugging the land will be good for us until the wind passes," said
Willet. "Suppose we draw in among those bushes growing in the edge of
the water and stop entirely."
"A good idea," said Robert, who did not relish a swamping of the canoe
in the cold St. Lawrence.
A few strokes of the paddle and they were in the haven, but the three
still watched the distant boat, which seemed to be of large size, and
which still kept in the middle of the stream.
"It has a mast and can carry a sail when it wishes," said Willet, after
a long examination.
"French officers are in it," said Tayoga.
"I believe you are right, boy. I think I caught the glitter of a
uniform."
"And the boat has steered about and is coming this way, Great Bear. The
French officers no doubt have the glasses that magnify, and, having seen
us, are coming to discover what we are."
"Correct again, Tayoga. They've turned their prow toward us, and, as we
don't want to have even the appearance of hiding, I think we'd better
paddle out of the bushes and make way slowly again close to the shore."
A few sweeps of the paddle and the canoe was proceeding once more down
the St. Lawrence, keeping in comparatively quiet waters near the
southern side. The large boat was approaching them fast, but they
pretended not to have seen it.
"Probably it comes from Hochelaga," said Tayoga.
"And your Hochelaga, which is the French Montreal, was Iroquois once,
also," said Robert.
"Our fathers and grandfathers are not sure," replied Tayoga. "Cartier
found there a great village surrounded by a palisade, and many of our
people think that a nation of the Hodenosaunee, perhaps the Mohawks,
lived in it, but other of our old men say it was a Huron town. It is
certain though that the Hodenosaunee lived at Stadacona."
"In any event, most of this country was yours or races kindred to yours
owned it. So, Tayoga, you are traveling on lands and waters that once
belonged to your people. But we're right in believing that boat has come
to spy us out. I can see an officer standing up and watching us with
glasses."
"Let 'em come," said Willet. "There's no war--at least, not yet--and
there's plenty of water in the St. Lawrence for all the canoes, boats
and ships that England and France have."
"If they hail us," said Robert, "and demand, as they probably will, what
we're about, I shall tell them that we're going to the Marquis Duquesne
at Quebec and show our credentials."
The large boat rapidly came nearer, and as men on board furled the sail
others at the oars drew it alongside the little canoe, which seemed a
mere cork on the waves of the mighty St. Lawrence. But Robert, Tayoga
and Willet paddled calmly on, as if boats, barges and ships were
everyday matters to them, and were not to be noticed unduly. A tall
young man standing up in the boat hailed them in French and then in
English. Robert, watching out of the corner of his eye, saw that he was
fair, like so many of the northern French, that he was dressed in a
uniform of white with violet facings, and that his hat was black and
three-cornered. He learned afterward that it was the uniform of a
battalion of Languedoc. He saw also that the boat carried sixteen men,
all except the oarsmen being in uniform.
"Who are you?" demanded the officer imperiously.
Robert, to whom the others conceded the position of spokesman, had
decided already that his course should be one of apparent indifference.
"Travelers," he replied briefly, and the three bent to their paddles.
"What travelers are you and where are you going?" demanded the officer,
in the same imperious manner.
The wash of the heavy boat made the frail canoe rock perilously, but its
three occupants appeared not to notice it. Using wonderful skill, they
always brought it back to the true level and maintained a steady course
ahead. On board the larger boat the oarsmen, rowing hard, kept near, and
for the third time the officer demanded:
"Who are you? I represent the authority of His Majesty, King Louis of
France, upon this river, and unless you answer explicitly I shall order
my men to run you down."
"But we are messengers," said Robert calmly. "We bear letters of great
importance to the Marquis Duquesne at Quebec. If you sink us it's likely
the letters will go down with us."
"It's another matter if you are on such a mission, but I must demand
once more your names."
"The highest in rank among us is the young chief, or coming chief,
Tayoga, of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of the great
League of the Hodenosaunee. Next comes David Willet, a famous hunter and
scout, well known throughout the provinces of New York and Massachusetts
and even in Canada, and often called by his friends, the Iroquois, the
Great Bear. As for me, I am Robert Lennox, of Albany and sometimes of
New York, without rank or office."
The officer abated his haughty manner. The answer seemed to please him.
"That surely is explicit enough," he said. "I am Louis de Galisonnière,
a captain of the battalion Languedoc, stationed for the present at
Montreal and charged with the duty of watching the river for all
doubtful characters, in which class I was compelled to put the three of
you, if you gave no explanations."
"Galisonnière! That is a distinguished name. Was there not a Governor
General of Canada who bore it?"
"A predecessor of the present Governor General, the Marquis Duquesne. It
gives me pride to say that the Count de Galisonnière was my uncle."
Robert saw that he had found the way to young Galisonnière's good
graces through his family and he added with the utmost sincerity, too:
"New France has had many a great Governor General, as we of the English
colonies ought to know, from the Sieur de Roberval, through Champlain,
Frontenac, de Beauharnais and on to your uncle, the Count de
Galisonnière."
Willet and the Onondaga gave Robert approving looks, and the young
Frenchman flushed with pleasure.
"You have more courtesy and appreciation for us than most of the
Bostonnais," he said. "I would talk further with you, but conversation
is carried on with difficulty under such circumstances. Suppose we run
into the first cove, lift your canoe aboard, and we'll take you to
Montreal, since that's our own port of destination."
Robert agreed promptly. He wished to make a good impression upon de
Galisonnière, and, since the big boat was now far safer and more
comfortable than the canoe, two ends would be served at the same time.
Willet and the Onondaga also nodded in acquiescence, and a mile or two
farther on they and the canoe too went aboard de Galisonnière's stout
craft. Then the sail was set again, they steered to the center of the
stream and made speed for Montreal.