“Flue.—Kill the poys and the luggage! ’Tis expressly against
the law of arms; ’tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can
be offered in the ’orld.”
—King Henry V.
So long as their enemy and his victim continued in sight, the multitude
remained motionless as beings charmed to the place by some power that was
friendly to the Huron; but, the instant he disappeared, it became tossed and
agitated by fierce and powerful passion. Uncas maintained his elevated stand,
keeping his eyes on the form of Cora, until the colors of her dress were
blended with the foliage of the forest; when he descended, and, moving silently
through the throng, he disappeared in that lodge from which he had so recently
issued. A few of the graver and more attentive warriors, who caught the gleams
of anger that shot from the eyes of the young chief in passing, followed him to
the place he had selected for his meditations. After which, Tamenund and Alice
were removed, and the women and children were ordered to disperse. During the
momentous hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled a hive of troubled
bees, who only awaited the appearance and example of their leader to take some
distant and momentous flight.
A young warrior at length issued from the lodge of Uncas; and, moving
deliberately, with a sort of grave march, toward a dwarf pine that grew in the
crevices of the rocky terrace, he tore the bark from its body, and then turned
whence he came without speaking. He was soon followed by another, who stripped
the sapling of its branches, leaving it a naked and blazed[1]
trunk. A third colored the post with stripes of a dark red paint; all which
indications of a hostile design in the leaders of the nation were received by
the men without in a gloomy and ominous silence. Finally, the Mohican himself
reappeared, divested of all his attire, except his girdle and leggings, and
with one-half of his fine features hid under a cloud of threatening black.
[1]
A tree which has been partially or entirely stripped of its bark is said, in
the language of the country, to be “blazed.” The term is strictly
English, for a horse is said to be blazed when it has a white mark.
Uncas moved with a slow and dignified tread toward the post, which he
immediately commenced encircling with a measured step, not unlike an ancient
dance, raising his voice, at the same time, in the wild and irregular chant of
his war song. The notes were in the extremes of human sounds; being sometimes
melancholy and exquisitely plaintive, even rivaling the melody of
birds—and then, by sudden and startling transitions, causing the auditors
to tremble by their depth and energy. The words were few and often repeated,
proceeding gradually from a sort of invocation, or hymn, to the Deity, to an
intimation of the warrior’s object, and terminating as they commenced
with an acknowledgment of his own dependence on the Great Spirit. If it were
possible to translate the comprehensive and melodious language in which he
spoke, the ode might read something like the following: “Manitou!
Manitou! Manitou! Thou art great, thou art good, thou art wise: Manitou!
Manitou! Thou art just. In the heavens, in the clouds, oh, I see many
spots—many dark, many red: In the heavens, oh, I see many clouds.”
“In the woods, in the air, oh, I hear the whoop, the long yell, and the
cry: In the woods, oh, I hear the loud whoop!”
“Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! I am weak—thou art strong; I am slow;
Manitou! Manitou! Give me aid.”
At the end of what might be called each verse he made a pause, by raising a
note louder and longer than common, that was peculiarly suited to the sentiment
just expressed. The first close was solemn, and intended to convey the idea of
veneration; the second descriptive, bordering on the alarming; and the third
was the well-known and terrific war-whoop, which burst from the lips of the
young warrior, like a combination of all the frightful sounds of battle. The
last was like the first, humble and imploring. Three times did he repeat this
song, and as often did he encircle the post in his dance.
At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly esteemed chief of the Lenape
followed his example, singing words of his own, however, to music of a similar
character. Warrior after warrior enlisted in the dance, until all of any renown
and authority were numbered in its mazes. The spectacle now became wildly
terrific; the fierce-looking and menacing visages of the chiefs receiving
additional power from the appalling strains in which they mingled their
guttural tones. Just then Uncas struck his tomahawk deep into the post, and
raised his voice in a shout, which might be termed his own battle cry. The act
announced that he had assumed the chief authority in the intended expedition.
It was a signal that awakened all the slumbering passions of the nation. A
hundred youths, who had hitherto been restrained by the diffidence of their
years, rushed in a frantic body on the fancied emblem of their enemy, and
severed it asunder, splinter by splinter, until nothing remained of the trunk
but its roots in the earth. During this moment of tumult, the most ruthless
deeds of war were performed on the fragments of the tree, with as much apparent
ferocity as if they were the living victims of their cruelty. Some were
scalped; some received the keen and trembling axe; and others suffered by
thrusts from the fatal knife. In short, the manifestations of zeal and fierce
delight were so great and unequivocal, that the expedition was declared to be a
war of the nation.
The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved out of the circle, and cast his
eyes up to the sun, which was just gaining the point, when the truce with Magua
was to end. The fact was soon announced by a significant gesture, accompanied
by a corresponding cry; and the whole of the excited multitude abandoned their
mimic warfare, with shrill yells of pleasure, to prepare for the more hazardous
experiment of the reality.
The whole face of the encampment was instantly changed. The warriors, who were
already armed and painted, became as still as if they were incapable of any
uncommon burst of emotion. On the other hand, the women broke out of the
lodges, with the songs of joy and those of lamentation so strangely mixed that
it might have been difficult to have said which passion preponderated. None,
however, was idle. Some bore their choicest articles, others their young, and
some their aged and infirm, into the forest, which spread itself like a verdant
carpet of bright green against the side of the mountain. Thither Tamenund also
retired, with calm composure, after a short and touching interview with Uncas;
from whom the sage separated with the reluctance that a parent would quit a
long lost and just recovered child. In the meantime, Duncan saw Alice to a
place of safety, and then sought the scout, with a countenance that denoted how
eagerly he also panted for the approaching contest.
But Hawkeye was too much accustomed to the war song and the enlistments of the
natives, to betray any interest in the passing scene. He merely cast an
occasional look at the number and quality of the warriors, who, from time to
time, signified their readiness to accompany Uncas to the field. In this
particular he was soon satisfied; for, as has been already seen, the power of
the young chief quickly embraced every fighting man in the nation. After this
material point was so satisfactorily decided, he despatched an Indian boy in
quest of “killdeer” and the rifle of Uncas, to the place where they
had deposited their weapons on approaching the camp of the Delawares; a measure
of double policy, inasmuch as it protected the arms from their own fate, if
detained as prisoners, and gave them the advantage of appearing among the
strangers rather as sufferers than as men provided with means of defense and
subsistence. In selecting another to perform the office of reclaiming his
highly prized rifle, the scout had lost sight of none of his habitual caution.
He knew that Magua had not come unattended, and he also knew that Huron spies
watched the movements of their new enemies, along the whole boundary of the
woods. It would, therefore, have been fatal to himself to have attempted the
experiment; a warrior would have fared no better; but the danger of a boy would
not be likely to commence until after his object was discovered. When Heyward
joined him, the scout was coolly awaiting the result of this experiment.
The boy, who had been well instructed, and was sufficiently crafty, proceeded,
with a bosom that was swelling with the pride of such a confidence, and all the
hopes of young ambition, carelessly across the clearing to the wood, which he
entered at a point at some little distance from the place where the guns were
secreted. The instant, however, he was concealed by the foliage of the bushes,
his dusky form was to be seen gliding, like that of a serpent, toward the
desired treasure. He was successful; and in another moment he appeared flying
across the narrow opening that skirted the base of the terrace on which the
village stood, with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing a prize in each hand.
He had actually gained the crags, and was leaping up their sides with
incredible activity, when a shot from the woods showed how accurate had been
the judgment of the scout. The boy answered it with a feeble but contemptuous
shout; and immediately a second bullet was sent after him from another part of
the cover. At the next instant he appeared on the level above, elevating his
guns in triumph, while he moved with the air of a conqueror toward the renowned
hunter who had honored him by so glorious a commission.
Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawkeye had taken in the fate of his
messenger, he received “killdeer” with a satisfaction that,
momentarily, drove all other recollections from his mind. After examining the
piece with an intelligent eye, and opening and shutting the pan some ten or
fifteen times, and trying sundry other equally important experiments on the
lock, he turned to the boy and demanded with great manifestations of kindness,
if he was hurt. The urchin looked proudly up in his face, but made no reply.
“Ah! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm!” added the scout,
taking up the limb of the patient sufferer, across which a deep flesh wound had
been made by one of the bullets; “but a little bruised alder will act
like a charm. In the meantime I will wrap it in a badge of wampum! You have
commenced the business of a warrior early, my brave boy, and are likely to bear
a plenty of honorable scars to your grave. I know many young men that have
taken scalps who cannot show such a mark as this. Go!” having bound up
the arm; “you will be a chief!”
The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood than the vainest courtier could
be of his blushing ribbon; and stalked among the fellows of his age, an object
of general admiration and envy.
But, in a moment of so many serious and important duties, this single act of
juvenile fortitude did not attract the general notice and commendation it would
have received under milder auspices. It had, however, served to apprise the
Delawares of the position and the intentions of their enemies. Accordingly a
party of adventurers, better suited to the task than the weak though spirited
boy, was ordered to dislodge the skulkers. The duty was soon performed; for
most of the Hurons retired of themselves when they found they had been
discovered. The Delawares followed to a sufficient distance from their own
encampment, and then halted for orders, apprehensive of being led into an
ambush. As both parties secreted themselves, the woods were again as still and
quiet as a mild summer morning and deep solitude could render them.
The calm but still impatient Uncas now collected his chiefs, and divided his
power. He presented Hawkeye as a warrior, often tried, and always found
deserving of confidence. When he found his friend met with a favorable
reception, he bestowed on him the command of twenty men, like himself, active,
skillful and resolute. He gave the Delawares to understand the rank of Heyward
among the troops of the Yengeese, and then tendered to him a trust of equal
authority. But Duncan declined the charge, professing his readiness to serve as
a volunteer by the side of the scout. After this disposition, the young Mohican
appointed various native chiefs to fill the different situations of
responsibility, and, the time pressing, he gave forth the word to march. He was
cheerfully, but silently obeyed by more than two hundred men.
Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested; nor did they encounter
any living objects that could either give the alarm, or furnish the
intelligence they needed, until they came upon the lairs of their own scouts.
Here a halt was ordered, and the chiefs were assembled to hold a
“whispering council.”
At this meeting divers plans of operation were suggested, though none of a
character to meet the wishes of their ardent leader. Had Uncas followed the
promptings of his own inclinations, he would have led his followers to the
charge without a moment’s delay, and put the conflict to the hazard of an
instant issue; but such a course would have been in opposition to all the
received practises and opinions of his countrymen. He was, therefore, fain to
adopt a caution that in the present temper of his mind he execrated, and to
listen to advice at which his fiery spirit chafed, under the vivid recollection
of Cora’s danger and Magua’s insolence.
After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes, a solitary individual was
seen advancing from the side of the enemy, with such apparent haste, as to
induce the belief he might be a messenger charged with pacific overtures. When
within a hundred yards, however, of the cover behind which the Delaware council
had assembled, the stranger hesitated, appeared uncertain what course to take,
and finally halted. All eyes were turned now on Uncas, as if seeking directions
how to proceed.
“Hawkeye,” said the young chief, in a low voice, “he must
never speak to the Hurons again.”
“His time has come,” said the laconic scout, thrusting the long
barrel of his rifle through the leaves, and taking his deliberate and fatal
aim. But, instead of pulling the trigger, he lowered the muzzle again, and
indulged himself in a fit of his peculiar mirth. “I took the imp for a
Mingo, as I’m a miserable sinner!” he said; “but when my eye
ranged along his ribs for a place to get the bullet in—would you think
it, Uncas—I saw the musicianer’s blower; and so, after all, it is
the man they call Gamut, whose death can profit no one, and whose life, if this
tongue can do anything but sing, may be made serviceable to our own ends. If
sounds have not lost their virtue, I’ll soon have a discourse with the
honest fellow, and that in a voice he’ll find more agreeable than the
speech of ‘killdeer’.”
So saying, Hawkeye laid aside his rifle; and, crawling through the bushes until
within hearing of David, he attempted to repeat the musical effort, which had
conducted himself, with so much safety and eclat, through the Huron encampment.
The exquisite organs of Gamut could not readily be deceived (and, to say the
truth, it would have been difficult for any other than Hawkeye to produce a
similar noise), and, consequently, having once before heard the sounds, he now
knew whence they proceeded. The poor fellow appeared relieved from a state of
great embarrassment; for, pursuing the direction of the voice—a task that
to him was not much less arduous that it would have been to have gone up in the
face of a battery—he soon discovered the hidden songster.
“I wonder what the Hurons will think of that!” said the scout,
laughing, as he took his companion by the arm, and urged him toward the rear.
“If the knaves lie within earshot, they will say there are two
non-compossers instead of one! But here we are safe,” he added, pointing
to Uncas and his associates. “Now give us the history of the Mingo
inventions in natural English, and without any ups and downs of voice.”
David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild-looking chiefs, in mute wonder;
but assured by the presence of faces that he knew, he soon rallied his
faculties so far as to make an intelligent reply.
“The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers,” said David; “and,
I fear, with evil intent. There has been much howling and ungodly revelry,
together with such sounds as it is profanity to utter, in their habitations
within the past hour, so much so, in truth, that I have fled to the Delawares
in search of peace.”
“Your ears might not have profited much by the exchange, had you been
quicker of foot,” returned the scout a little dryly. “But let that
be as it may; where are the Hurons?”
“They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and their village in such
force, that prudence would teach you instantly to return.”
Uncas cast a glance along the range of trees which concealed his own band and
mentioned the name of:
“Magua?”
“Is among them. He brought in the maiden that had sojourned with the
Delawares; and, leaving her in the cave, has put himself, like a raging wolf,
at the head of his savages. I know not what has troubled his spirit so
greatly!”
“He has left her, you say, in the cave!” interrupted Heyward;
“’tis well that we know its situation! May not something be done
for her instant relief?”
Uncas looked earnestly at the scout, before he asked:
“What says Hawkeye?”
“Give me twenty rifles, and I will turn to the right, along the stream;
and, passing by the huts of the beaver, will join the Sagamore and the colonel.
You shall then hear the whoop from that quarter; with this wind one may easily
send it a mile. Then, Uncas, do you drive in the front; when they come within
range of our pieces, we will give them a blow that, I pledge the good name of
an old frontiersman, shall make their line bend like an ashen bow. After which,
we will carry the village, and take the woman from the cave; when the affair
may be finished with the tribe, according to a white man’s battle, by a
blow and a victory; or, in the Indian fashion, with dodge and cover. There may
be no great learning, major, in this plan, but with courage and patience it can
all be done.”
“I like it very much,” cried Duncan, who saw that the release of
Cora was the primary object in the mind of the scout; “I like it much.
Let it be instantly attempted.”
After a short conference, the plan was matured, and rendered more intelligible
to the several parties; the different signals were appointed, and the chiefs
separated, each to his allotted station.