"_Salar._--Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his
flesh; what's that good for?"
"_Shy._--To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else, it will
feed my revenge."
_Merchant of Venice._
The shades of evening had come to increase the dreariness of the place,
when the party entered the ruins of William Henry. The scout and his
companions immediately made their preparations to pass the night there;
but with an earnestness and sobriety of demeanor, that betrayed how much
the unusual horrors they had just witnessed worked on even their
practised feelings. A few fragments of rafters were reared against a
blackened wall; and when Uncas had covered them slightly with brush, the
temporary accommodations were deemed sufficient. The young Indian
pointed towards his rude hut, when his labor was ended; and Heyward, who
understood the meaning of the silent gesture, gently urged Munro to
enter. Leaving the bereaved old man alone with his sorrows, Duncan
immediately returned to the open air, too much excited himself to seek
the repose he had recommended to his veteran friend.
While Hawkeye and the Indians lighted their fire, and took their
evening's repast, a frugal meal of dried bear's meat, the young man paid
a visit to that curtain of the dilapidated fort which looked out on the
sheet of the Horican. The wind had fallen, and the waves were already
rolling on the sandy beach beneath him, in a more regular and tempered
succession. The clouds, as if tired of their furious chase, were
breaking asunder; the heavier volumes, gathering in black masses about
the horizon, while the lighter scud still hurried above the water, or
eddied among the tops of the mountains, like broken flights of birds,
hovering around their roosts. Here and there, a red and fiery star
struggled through the drifting vapor, furnishing a lurid gleam of
brightness to the dull aspect of the heavens. Within the bosom of the
encircling hills, an impenetrable darkness had already settled; and the
plain lay like a vast and deserted charnel-house, without omen or
whisper to disturb the slumbers of its numerous and hapless tenants.
Of this scene, so chillingly in accordance with the past, Duncan stood
for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes wandered from the bosom of
the mound, where the foresters were seated around their glimmering fire,
to the fainter light which still lingered in the skies, and then rested
long and anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary void
on that side of him where the dead reposed. He soon fancied that
inexplicable sounds arose from the place, though so indistinct and
stolen, as to render not only their nature but even their existence
uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehensions, the young man turned towards
the water, and strove to divert his attentions to the mimic stars that
dimly glimmered on its moving surface. Still, his too conscious ears
performed their ungrateful duty, as if to warn him of some lurking
danger. At length a swift trampling seemed quite audibly to rush athwart
the darkness. Unable any longer to quiet his uneasiness, Duncan spoke in
a low voice to the scout, requesting him to ascend the mound to the
place where he stood. Hawkeye threw his rifle across an arm, and
complied, but with an air so unmoved and calm, as to prove how much he
counted on the security of their position.
"Listen!" said Duncan, when the other placed himself deliberately at his
elbow: "there are suppressed noises on the plain which may show that
Montcalm has not yet entirely deserted his conquest."
"Then ears are better than eyes," said the undisturbed scout, who,
having just deposited a portion of bear between his grinders, spoke
thick and slow, like one whose mouth was doubly occupied. "I, myself,
saw him caged in Ty, with all his host; for your Frenchers, when they
have done a clever thing, like to get back, and have a dance, or a
merry-making, with the women over their success."
"I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and plunder may keep a
Huron here after his tribe has departed. It would be well to extinguish
the fire, and have a watch--listen! you hear the noise I mean!"
"An Indian more rarely lurks about the graves. Though ready to slay, and
not over-regardful of the means, he is commonly content with the scalp,
unless when blood is hot, and temper up; but after the spirit is once
fairly gone, he forgets his enmity, and is willing to let the dead find
their natural rest. Speaking of spirits, Major, are you of opinion that
the heaven of a redskin and of us whites will be one and the same?"
"No doubt--no doubt. I thought I heard it again! or was it the rustling
of the leaves in the top of the beech?"
"For my own part," continued Hawkeye, turning his face, for a moment, in
the direction indicated by Heyward, but with a vacant and careless
manner, "I believe that paradise is ordained for happiness; and that men
will be indulged in it according to their dispositions and gifts. I
therefore judge that a redskin is not far from the truth when he
believes he is to find them glorious hunting-grounds of which his
traditions tell; nor, for that matter, do I think it would be any
disparagement to a man without a cross to pass his time--"
"You hear it again?" interrupted Duncan.
"Ay, ay; when food is scarce, and when food is plenty, a wolf grows
bold," said the unmoved scout. "There would be picking, too, among the
skins of the devils, if there was light and time for the sport. But,
concerning the life that is to come, major: I have heard preachers say,
in the settlements, that heaven was a place of rest. Now men's minds
differ as to their ideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I say it with
reverence to the ordering of Providence, it would be no great indulgence
to be kept shut up in those mansions of which they preach, having a
natural longing for motion and the chase."
Duncan, who was now made to understand the nature of the noises he had
heard, answered with more attention to the subject which the humor of
the scout had chosen for discussion, by saying,--
"It is difficult to account for the feelings that may attend the last
great change."
"It would be a change, indeed, for a man who has passed his days in the
open air," returned the single-minded scout; "and who has so often
broken his fast on the head-waters of the Hudson, to sleep within sound
of the roaring Mohawk. But it is a comfort to know we serve a merciful
Master, though we do it each after his fashion, and with great tracts of
wilderness atween us--what goes there?"
"Is it not the rushing of the wolves you have mentioned?"
Hawkeye slowly shook his head, and beckoned for Duncan to follow him to
a spot, to which the glare from the fire did not extend. When he had
taken this precaution, the scout placed himself in an attitude of
intense attention, and listened long and keenly for a repetition of the
low sound that had so unexpectedly startled him. His vigilance, however,
seemed exercised in vain; for, after a fruitless pause, he whispered to
Duncan,--
"We must give a call to Uncas. The boy has Indian senses, and may hear
what is hid from us; for being a white-skin, I will not deny my nature."
The young Mohican, who was conversing in a low voice with his father,
started as he heard the moaning of an owl, and springing on his feet he
looked towards the black mounds, as if seeking the place whence the
sounds proceeded. The scout repeated the call, and in a few moments,
Duncan saw the figure of Uncas stealing cautiously along the rampart, to
the spot where they stood.
Hawkeye explained his wishes in a very few words, which were spoken in
the Delaware tongue. So soon as Uncas was in possession of the reason
why he was summoned, he threw himself flat on the turf; where, to the
eyes of Duncan, he appeared to lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at
the immovable attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe the
manner in which he employed his faculties to obtain the desired
information, Heyward advanced a few steps, and bent over the dark
object, on which he had kept his eyes riveted. Then it was he discovered
that the form of Uncas had vanished, and that he beheld only the dark
outline of an inequality in the embankment.
"What has become of the Mohican?" he demanded of the scout, stepping
back in amazement; "it was here that I saw him fall, and I could have
sworn that here he yet remained."
"Hist! speak lower; for we know not what ears are open, and the Mingos
are a quick-witted breed. As for Uncas, he is out on the plain, and the
Maquas, if any such are about us, will find their equal."
"You think that Montcalm has not called off all his Indians? Let us give
the alarm to our companions, that we may stand to our arms. Here are
five of us, who are not unused to meet an enemy."
"Not a word to either, as you value life. Look at the Sagamore, how like
a grand Indian chief he sits by the fire. If there are any skulkers out
in the darkness, they will never discover by his countenance that we
suspect danger at hand."
"But they may discover him, and it will prove his death. His person can
be too plainly seen by the light of that fire, and he will become the
first and most certain victim."
"It is undeniable that now you speak the truth," returned the scout,
betraying more anxiety than was usual; "yet what can be done? A single
suspicious look might bring on an attack before we are ready to receive
it. He knows, by the call I gave to Uncas, that we have struck a scent:
I will tell him that we are on the trail of the Mingos; his Indian
nature will teach him how to act."
The scout applied his fingers to his mouth, and raised a low hissing
sound, that caused Duncan, at first, to start aside, believing that he
heard a serpent. The head of Chingachgook was resting on a hand, as he
sat musing by himself; but the moment he heard the warning of the animal
whose name he bore, it arose to an upright position and his dark eyes
glanced swiftly and keenly on every side of him. With this sudden and
perhaps involuntary movement, every appearance of surprise or alarm
ended. His rifle lay untouched, and apparently unnoticed, within reach
of his hand. The tomahawk that he had loosened in his belt for the sake
of ease, was even suffered to fall from its usual situation to the
ground, and his form seemed to sink, like that of a man whose nerves and
sinews were suffered to relax for the purpose of rest. Cunningly
resuming his former position, though with a change of hands, as if the
movement had been made merely to relieve the limb, the native awaited
the result with a calmness and fortitude that none but an Indian warrior
would have known how to exercise.
But Heyward saw that while to a less instructed eye the Mohican chief
appeared to slumber, his nostrils were expanded, his head was turned a
little to one side, as if to assist the organs of hearing, and that his
quick and rapid glances ran incessantly over every object, within the
power of his vision.
"See the noble fellow!" whispered Hawkeye, pressing the arm of Heyward;
"he knows that a look or a motion might discansart our schemes, and put
us at the mercy of them imps--"
He was interrupted by the flash and report of a rifle. The air was
filled with sparks of fire around that spot where the eyes of Heyward
were still fastened with admiration and wonder. A second look told him
that Chingachgook had disappeared in the confusion. In the meantime the
scout had thrown forward his rifle, like one prepared for service, and
awaited impatiently the moment when an enemy might rise to view. But
with the solitary and fruitless attempt made on the life of
Chingachgook, the attack appeared to have terminated. Once or twice the
listeners thought they could distinguish the distant rustling of bushes,
as bodies of some unknown description rushed through them; nor was it
long before Hawkeye pointed out the "scampering of the wolves," as they
fled precipitately before the passage of some intruder on their proper
domains. After an impatient and breathless pause, a plunge was heard in
the water, and it was immediately followed by the report of another
rifle.
"There goes Uncas!" said the scout; "the boy bears a smart piece! I know
its crack, as well as a father knows the language of his child, for I
carried the gun myself until a better offered."
"What can this mean?" demanded Duncan; "we are watched, and, as it would
seem, marked for destruction."
"Yonder scattered brand can witness that no good was intended, and this
Indian will testify that no harm has been done," returned the scout,
dropping his rifle across his arm again, and following Chingachgook, who
just then reappeared within the circle of light, into the bosom of the
works. "How is it, Sagamore? Are the Mingos upon us in earnest, or is it
only one of those rept_y_les who hang upon the skirts of a war party, to
scalp the dead, go in, and make their boast among the squaws of the
valiant deeds done on the pale-faces?"
Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat; nor did he make any reply,
until after he had examined the firebrand which had been struck by the
bullet that had nearly proved fatal to himself. After which, he was
content to reply, holding a single finger up to view, with the English
monosyllable,--
"One."
"I thought as much," returned Hawkeye, seating himself; "and as he had
got the cover of the lake afore Uncas pulled upon him, it is more than
probable the knave will sing his lies about some great ambushment, in
which he was outlying on the trail of two Mohicans and a white
hunter--for the officers can be considered as little better than idlers
in such a scrimmage. Well, let him--let him. There are always some
honest men in every nation, though heaven knows, too, that they are
scarce among the Maquas, to look down an upstart when he brags ag'in
the face of reason. The varlet sent his lead within whistle of your
ears, Sagamore."
Chingachgook turned a calm and incurious eye towards the place where the
ball had struck, and then resumed his former attitude, with a composure
that could not be disturbed by so trifling an incident. Just then Uncas
glided into the circle, and seated himself at the fire, with the same
appearance of indifference as was maintained by his father.
Of these several movements Heyward was a deeply interested and wondering
observer. It appeared to him as though the foresters had some secret
means of intelligence, which had escaped the vigilance of his own
faculties. In place of that eager and garrulous narration with which a
white youth would have endeavored to communicate, and perhaps
exaggerate, that which had passed out in the darkness of the plain, the
young warrior was seemingly content to let his deeds speak for
themselves. It was, in fact, neither the moment nor the occasion for an
Indian to boast of his exploits; and it is probable, that had Heyward
neglected to inquire, not another syllable would, just then, have been
uttered on the subject.
"What has become of our enemy, Uncas?" demanded Duncan: "we heard your
rifle, and hoped you had not fired in vain."
The young chief removed a fold of his hunting-shirt, and quietly exposed
the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore as the symbol of victory.
Chingachgook laid his hand on the scalp, and considered it for a moment
with deep attention. Then dropping it, with disgust depicted in his
strong features, he ejaculated,--
"Oneida!"
"Oneida!" repeated the scout, who was fast losing his interest in the
scene, in an apathy nearly assimilated to that of his red associates,
but who now advanced with uncommon earnestness to regard the bloody
badge. "By the Lord, if the Oneidas are outlying upon the trail, we
shall be flanked by devils on every side of us! Now, to white eyes there
is no difference between this bit of skin and that of any other Indian,
and yet the Sagamore declares it came from the poll of a Mingo; nay, he
even names the tribe of the poor devil with as much ease as if the scalp
was the leaf of a book, and each hair a letter. What right have
Christian whites to boast of their learning, when a savage can read a
language that would prove too much for the wisest of them all! What say
_you_, lad; of what people was the knave?"
Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout, and answered, in his
soft voice,--
"Oneida."
"Oneida, again! when one Indian makes a declaration it is commonly true;
but when he is supported by his people, set it down as gospel!"
"The poor fellow has mistaken us for French," said Heyward; "or he would
not have attempted the life of a friend."
"He mistake a Mohican in his paint for a Huron! You would be as likely
to mistake the white-coated grenadiers of Montcalm for the scarlet
jackets of the 'Royal Americans'," returned the scout. "No, no, the
sarpent knew his errand; nor was there any great mistake in the matter,
for there is but little love atween a Delaware and a Mingo, let their
tribes go out to fight for whom they may, in a white quarrel. For that
matter, though the Oneidas do serve his sacred majesty, who is my own
sovereign lord and master, I should not have deliberated long about
letting off 'Killdeer' at the imp myself, had luck thrown him in my
way."
"That would have been an abuse of our treaties, and unworthy of your
character."
"When a man consorts much with a people," continued Hawkeye, "if they
are honest and he no knave, love will grow up atwixt them. It is true
that white cunning has managed to throw the tribes into great confusion
as respects friends and enemies; so that the Hurons and the Oneidas, who
speak the same tongue, or what may be called the same, take each other's
scalps, and the Delawares are divided among themselves; a few hanging
about their great council-fire on their own river, and fighting on the
same side with the Mingos, while the greater part are in the Canadas,
out of natural enmity to the Maquas--thus throwing everything into
disorder, and destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet a red natur' is
not likely to alter with every shift of policy; so that the love atwixt
a Mohican and a Mingo is much like the regard between a white man and a
sarpent."
"I regret to hear it; for I had believed those natives who dwelt within
our boundaries had found us too just and liberal, not to identify
themselves fully with our quarrels."
"Why, I believe it is natur' to give a preference to one's own quarrels
before those of strangers. Now, for myself, I do love justice; and
therefore I will not say I hate a Mingo, for that may be unsuitable to
my color and my religion, though I will just repeat, it may have been
owing to the night that 'Killdeer' had no hand in the death of this
skulking Oneida."
Then, as if satisfied with the force of his own reasons, whatever might
be their effect on the opinions of the other disputant, the honest but
implacable woodsman turned from the fire, content to let the controversy
slumber. Heyward withdrew to the rampart, too uneasy and too little
accustomed to the warfare of the woods to remain at ease under the
possibility of such insidious attacks. Not so, however, with the scout
and the Mohicans. Those acute and long practised senses, whose powers so
often exceed the limits of all ordinary credulity, after having detected
the danger, had enabled them to ascertain its magnitude and duration.
Not one of the three appeared in the least to doubt their perfect
security, as was indicated by the preparations that were soon made to
sit in council over their future proceedings.
The confusion of nations, and even of tribes, to which Hawkeye alluded,
existed at that period in the fullest force. The great tie of language,
and, of course, of a common origin, was severed in many places; and it
was one of its consequences, that the Delaware and the Mingo (as the
people of the Six Nations were called) were found fighting in the same
ranks, while the latter sought the scalp of the Huron, though believed
to be the root of his own stock. The Delawares were even divided among
themselves. Though love for the soil which had belonged to his ancestors
kept the Sagamore of the Mohicans with a small band of followers who
were serving at Edward, under the banners of the English king, by far
the largest portion of his nation were known to be in the field as
allies of Montcalm. The reader probably knows, if enough has not already
been gleaned from this narrative, that the Delaware, or Lenape, claimed
to be the progenitors of that numerous people, who once were masters of
most of the Eastern and Northern States of America, of whom the
community of the Mohicans was an ancient and highly honored member.
It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of the minute and
intricate interest which had armed friend against friend, and brought
natural enemies to combat by each other's side, that the scout and his
companions now disposed themselves to deliberate on the measures that
were to govern their future movements, amid so many jarring and savage
races of men. Duncan knew enough of Indian customs to understand the
reason that the fire was replenished, and why the warriors, not
excepting Hawkeye, took their seats within the curl of its smoke with
so much gravity and decorum. Placing himself at an angle of the works,
where he might be a spectator of the scene within, while he kept a
watchful eye against any danger from without, he awaited the result with
as much patience as he could summon.
After a short and impressive pause, Chingachgook lighted a pipe whose
bowl was curiously carved in one of the soft stones of the country, and
whose stem was a tube of wood, and commenced smoking. When he had
inhaled enough of the fragrance of the soothing weed, he passed the
instrument into the hands of the scout. In this manner the pipe had made
its rounds three several times, amid the most profound silence, before
either of the party opened his lips. Then the Sagamore, as the oldest
and highest in rank, in a few calm and dignified words, proposed the
subject for deliberation. He was answered by the scout; and Chingachgook
rejoined, when the other objected to his opinions. But the youthful
Uncas continued a silent and respectful listener, until Hawkeye, in
complaisance, demanded his opinion. Heyward gathered from the manners of
the different speakers, that the father and son espoused one side of a
disputed question, while the white man maintained the other. The contest
gradually grew warmer, until it was quite evident the feelings of the
speakers began to be somewhat enlisted in the debate.
Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the amicable contest, the most
decorous Christian assembly, not even excepting those in which its
reverend ministers are collected, might have learned a wholesome lesson
of moderation from the forbearance and courtesy of the disputants. The
words of Uncas were received with the same deep attention as those which
fell from the maturer wisdom of his father; and so far from manifesting
any impatience, neither spoke in reply, until a few moments of silent
meditation were, seemingly, bestowed in deliberating on what had already
been said.
The language of the Mohicans was accompanied by gestures so direct and
natural, that Heyward had but little difficulty in following the thread
of their argument. On the other hand, the scout was obscure; because,
from the lingering pride of color, he rather affected the cold and
artificial manner which characterizes all classes of Anglo-Americans,
when unexcited. By the frequency with which the Indians described the
marks of a forest trail, it was evident they urged a pursuit by land,
while the repeated sweep of Hawkeye's arm towards the Horican denoted
that he was for a passage across its waters.
The latter was, to every appearance, fast losing ground, and the point
was about to be decided against him, when he arose to his feet, and
shaking off his apathy, he suddenly assumed the manner of an Indian, and
adopted all the arts of native eloquence. Elevating an arm, he pointed
out the track of the sun, repeating the gesture for every day that was
necessary to accomplish their object. Then he delineated a long and
painful path, amid rocks and water-courses. The age and weakness of the
slumbering and unconscious Munro were indicated by signs too palpable to
be mistaken. Duncan perceived that even his own powers were spoken
lightly of, as the scout extended his palm, and mentioned him by
appellation of the "Open Hand,"--a name his liberality had purchased of
all the friendly tribes. Then came a representation of the light and
graceful movements of a canoe, set in forcible contrast to the tottering
steps of one enfeebled and tired. He concluded by pointing to the scalp
of the Oneida, and apparently urging the necessity of their departing
speedily, and in a manner that should leave no trail.
The Mohicans listened gravely, and with countenances that reflected the
sentiments of the speaker. Conviction gradually wrought its influence,
and towards the close of Hawkeye's speech, his sentences were
accompanied by the customary exclamation of commendation. In short,
Uncas and his father became converts to his way of thinking, abandoning
their own previously expressed opinions with a liberality and candor
that, had they been the representatives of some great and civilized
people, would have infallibly worked their political ruin, by
destroying, forever, their reputation for consistency.
The instant the matter in discussion was decided, the debate, and
everything connected with it, except the results, appeared to be
forgotten. Hawkeye, without looking round to read his triumph in
applauding eyes, very composedly stretched his tall frame before the
dying embers, and closed his own organs in sleep.
Left now in a measure to themselves, the Mohicans, whose time had been
so much devoted to the interests of others, seized the moment to devote
some attention to themselves. Casting off, at once, the grave and
austere demeanor of an Indian chief, Chingachgook commenced speaking to
his son in the soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met
the familiar air of his father; and before the hard breathing of the
scout announced that he slept, a complete change was effected in the
manner of his two associates.
It is impossible to describe the music of their language, while thus
engaged in laughter and endearments, in such a way as to render it
intelligible to those whose ears have never listened to its melody. The
compass of their voices, particularly that of the youth, was
wonderful,--extending from the deepest bass to tones that were even
feminine in softness. The eyes of the father followed the plastic and
ingenious movements of the son with open delight, and he never failed to
smile in reply to the other's contagious, but low laughter. While under
the influence of these gentle and natural feelings, no trace of ferocity
was to be seen in the softened features of the Sagamore. His figured
panoply of death looked more like a disguise assumed in mockery, than a
fierce annunciation of a desire to carry destruction in his footsteps.
After an hour passed in the indulgence of their better feelings,
Chingachgook abruptly announced his desire to sleep, by wrapping his
head in his blanket, and stretching his form on the naked earth. The
merriment of Uncas instantly ceased; and carefully raking the coals in
such a manner that they should impart their warmth to his father's feet,
the youth sought his own pillow among the ruins of the place.
Imbibing renewed confidence from the security of these experienced
foresters, Heyward soon imitated their example; and long before the
night had turned, they who lay in the bosom of the ruined work, seemed
to slumber as heavily as the unconscious multitude whose bones were
already beginning to bleach on the surrounding plain.