The Delawares had not gone far when they heard sounds which convinced
them that the Mohawks were already searching for them. The thought
spurred them to greater efforts, and they scrambled frantically to the
top of a low hardwood ridge to reconnoiter. They saw what appeared to be
a large spruce swamp directly ahead of them, and they determined to make
it their hiding place.
“If we reach that place it will be hard for the Mohawks to find us,”
said Running Fox.
As they started down the ridge, however, the piercing Mohawk war-cry
rang in their ears, and an arrow hummed angrily between them. Spotted
Deer instantly turned to fight, but Running Fox seized his arm and
dragged him forward.
“Run! If we stop we may be surrounded!” cried Running Fox.
They tore through the undergrowth at top speed and another arrow flew
harmlessly above their heads. As they ran Running Fox continued to
shout, “Saganaga! Saganaga!” It was the name by which the Delawares were
known to the Iroquois, and Spotted Deer could not guess his reason for
proclaiming his identity. They heard the Mohawk yelling savagely
somewhere behind them, and they knew that he was leading his comrades to
the trail.
“Let us wait, and kill that warrior,” proposed Spotted Deer.
“Yes, yes, as soon as we get to the swamp,” replied Running Fox.
However, as they neared the swamp they heard other cries still farther
behind them, and they realized that more Mohawks had joined the chase.
Then the cries and signals suddenly ceased, and the Delawares knew that
their foes were hurrying along in silence in the hope of surprising
them. The lads dared not slacken their pace, and when they finally
reached the border of the swamp they were almost exhausted. Then they
turned at bay, and waited in ambush to kill the Mohawk who had attacked
them on the summit of the ridge.
“How did that warrior come up with us so fast?” inquired Spotted Deer,
“Well, I believe that warrior was there all the time,” declared Running
Fox. “Perhaps he was traveling along that ridge when he heard the danger
cry of his people. Then he stopped to listen. Pretty soon he heard us
coming through there. Then he tried to kill us. I do not believe he
knows who we are.”
“Then why did you keep calling out ‘Saganaga’?” demanded Spotted Deer.
“Now he will know that we are Delawares.”
“No, he will not know it,” laughed Running Fox. “I called out that way
to fool him. He will take us for Shawnees. Yes, he will say, ‘Hi, the
frightened Shawanos took me for a Saganaga.’ Yes, he will tell his
people about it. They will take us for the boastful Shawnees.”
“Running Fox, you are very sharp,” said Spotted Deer. “Now I see that
you have done a good thing. But we must kill that warrior who found us
on the ridge. Yes, he will lead his people to this place, and perhaps
they will find us.”
“Well, I would like to kill him, but I do not believe he will rush ahead
alone,” replied Running Fox. “Perhaps he was with a war-party. I believe
the best thing we can do will be to go into this big swamp and hide.”
They watched and listened a few moments longer, and then they retreated
into the dreary depths of the swamp. Two-thirds of the day had passed,
and they believed that it would be impossible for the Mohawks to find
them before it grew dark. Then they hoped to steal away under cover of
the night. However, the Mohawks seemed determined to transform the swamp
into a trap, for instead of following the fugitives they scattered and
surrounded their hiding place. At nightfall the Delawares heard them
signaling on all sides of them, and their hearts filled with gloom.
Running Fox began to fear that he had blundered.
“Spotted Deer, I believe we have done a foolish thing,” he said,
bitterly. “Yes, I believe we should have kept out of this place.”
“The Mohawks cannot find us here,” Spotted Deer declared, confidently.
“Well, I am not sure about it,” replied Running Fox. “But it will be
hard to get away.”
It was too late for regrets, however, and the Delawares determined to
make the best of their predicament. When it grew dark, therefore, they
began a cautions advance toward the edge of the swamp. They moved
through the darkness as silently as phantoms. They had gone a
considerable distance when Running Fox suddenly stopped and whispered a
warning to Spotted Deer, who was following a bow-length behind him.
“Listen, something is coming,” cautioned Running Fox.
“Where is it?” inquired Spotted Deer.
“Sh,” breathed Running Fox.
Then, as they hastily prepared their arrows and stood there endeavoring
to identify the sound, they heard stealthy footfalls somewhere ahead of
them. They had little doubt that it was one of their foes. They wondered
if it was the warrior who had surprised them on the ridge. A moment
later a pair of great glassy eyes glowed in the darkness, and then they
heard a frightened snort. The next instant a deer crashed off toward the
border of the swamp.
“It was only Achtu,” said Spotted Deer.
“It is bad,” declared Running Fox. “If the Mohawks are watching they
will hear Achtu. Then they will say, ‘Something has frightened that
deer. Perhaps it was the people we are looking for.’ Yes, they will know
where we are. We must turn and go a different way.”
“Yes, I believe it would be a good thing to do,” agreed Spotted Deer.
The lads immediately changed their course, and planned to leave the
swamp farther to the west. They were moving cautiously in that direction
when they heard the call of Gokhos, the owl. They felt quite sure it was
a signal. In a few moments it was answered by the husky harking of
Woakus, the fox. Both calls seemed to come from somewhere in the swamp,
and the Delawares feared that the Mohawks had sent scouts to explore
their hiding place.
“The scouts have come to find us,” said Running Fox. “We will fool
them.”
They were almost at the border of the swamp when they were turned back
by voices directly ahead of them. Then, as they retreated into the
night, they again heard the short, quick yapping of Woakus, the fox.
This time it seemed to be almost within bow-shot, and the lads realized
their peril. They stopped and waited for the Mohawk scout to pass them.
In a few moments they heard him. Then he seemed to stop, and the
Delawares wondered if he had discovered them. Long, anxious moments
passed while they stood there, with arrows ready, peering expectantly
into the night. At last, however, they heard their foe moving toward the
edge of the swamp, and they knew that for the moment at least they were
safe.
“We must go back to the place we came from,” whispered Running Fox. “The
Mohawks are all around us. We cannot get away.”
“We will hide until they go away,” said Spotted Deer.
They began a slow, cautious retreat toward the middle of the swamp. They
were stopped many times by mysterious sounds which often seemed within
bow-length of them, but each time the danger passed, and they finally
gained the depths of the swamp in safety. Then they concealed themselves
in the dense top of a fallen hemlock, and determined to stay there until
daylight.
“Now we must find a better place,” said Running Fox, as the soft gray
light of dawn penetrated their hiding place. “Pretty soon the Mohawks
will come here to look for us. Then we must hide as close as Wisawanik,
the squirrel.”
“This is a good place,” replied Spotted Deer. “If we keep still it will
be hard to see us in here.”
“No, I do not like this place,” declared Running Fox. “The Mohawks will
be sure to look into this tree-top. We must hide where they will not
expect to find us.”
“Where shall we go?” asked Spotted Deer.
“Come, I will find a place,” Running Fox assured him.
Running Fox led the way to a great black spruce with low sweeping
branches. Then, as he began to climb, he asked Spotted Deer to remain
upon the ground. When Running Fox finally settled himself well up toward
the top of the tree, he called down to Spotted Deer and asked if he
could see him.
“No, I do not see anything of you,” replied Spotted Deer, after he had
walked carefully about the tree.
“That is good,” said Running Fox. “Now you must climb up here.”
As Spotted Deer began to climb they heard the first Mohawk signal. It
sounded a short distance south of them. In a few moments they heard
other signals from the east, the west and the north.
“The Mohawks have made a circle,” said Running Fox. “Pretty soon they
will draw together. Well, I do not believe they will find anything in
their trap.”
“No, Wisawanik has told us how to hide, and we will fool them,” laughed
Spotted Deer.
It was a long time before the lads heard anything further from their
foes. Then a flock of crows made a great commotion a short distance to
the right of them, and the Delawares believed that the noisy birds had
discovered one of the Mohawk scouts. They took delight in picturing the
rage of the helpless Mohawk as he heard the crows proclaiming his
advance to all within hearing distance of them.
“Ahas is warning us,” whispered Running Fox. “We must watch sharp.”
“Ahas is a good friend,” replied Spotted Deer.
When they had watched a long time without seeing any one they decided
that either Ahas had fooled them, or else the Mohawk had turned in some
other direction. Then the noise began again, and this time the crows
were much nearer. Peering carefully through the branches, the Delawares
saw them circling about above the tree-tops. As-they watched them, and
realized that the Mohawk scout might move directly toward their hiding
place, the lads suddenly understood their peril.
“I do not like that,” Running Fox said, uneasily. “If Ahas flies this
way it will be bad. Yes, he will see us, and make a great noise. Then
the Mohawks will know where to find us.”
“That is true,” agreed Spotted Deer.
They watched the crows with great anxiety. The birds were flying about
in short circles, and making a great racket. Then some of the crows
swung off, and flew directly toward the stand of spruces in which the
Delawares had taken refuge.
“Now we will see what is going to happen,” said Spotted Deer.
“Keep very still,” cautioned Running Fox.
As the crows approached their hiding place the Delawares huddled close
to the trunk of the tree, and sat as motionless as statues. The crows
passed so near that the lads distinctly heard the sound of their wings.
They escaped discovery, however, and the thought gave them confidence.
“See, those other birds are going away,” Spotted Deer whispered,
excitedly, a few moments afterward.
The crows had suddenly ceased their noise, and were flying off toward
the opposite end of the swamp. The Delawares watched them with thankful
hearts. They believed that Getanittowit had suddenly chased them away.
However, the lads knew that the danger was far from over, for at that
moment they heard a signal within bow-shot of their tree. A few moments
afterward they heard an answer. Then they heard twigs snapping, and they
looked at each other in alarm.
“The Mohawks are here,” whispered Running Fox.
They looked carefully down between the branches and saw a Mohawk warrior
emerge from the shadows. He stopped within bow-length of the spruce, and
the lads breathed fast with excitement. Then they heard him speak, and
they saw that another Mohawk had joined him. The newcomer had approached
so quietly that they had failed to hear him, and they realized how
easily one of those soft-footed scouts might steal upon them under cover
of the night. The two Mohawks exchanged a few words, and then they moved
cautiously toward the top of the fallen hemlock. The lads trembled as
they realized what would have happened if they had remained in that
hiding place. The Mohawks stooped and looked carefully into the dense
tangle of branches, and then they seated themselves upon the prostrate
trunk. It was not long, however, before another signal sounded close at
hand, and one of the warriors raised his hands to his mouth and imitated
the gobble of the wild turkey. It brought an immediate response, and
soon afterward a third warrior appeared. It looked as if the Mohawks had
selected that very spot for a meeting place, and the alarmed Delawares
feared the result. They knew that at any moment one of the keen-eyed
scouts might decide to look into the tree-tops, and the possibility kept
them in painful suspense. Signals were constantly being exchanged
between the scouts who had met, and those who were still searching the
swamp, and the crafty Delawares were careful to memorize the calls. When
the signaling finally ceased the lads courted ten Mohawks sitting in
council near the base of the spruce. They were stern, fierce looking
men, and the Delawares could easily guess what their fate would be if
they fell into their hands.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity to the anxious lads in the
tree-top, the Mohawks rose and prepared to leave. However, at the very
moment when the Delawares were rejoicing in their good fortune, one of
the scouts turned and looked toward the big spruce. The lads believed
that in some mysterious way he had suddenly learned their whereabouts.
Their hearts almost stopped beating at the thought. The Mohawk was still
looking up at the tree, and saying something to one of his companions.
That warrior, too, seemed to have discovered something of interest in
the top of the spruce. The Delawares were almost afraid to breathe. They
knew that the slightest move would betray them. Then as the moments
passed, and the Mohawks showed no intention of attacking them, they
began to hope that they had not been seen. Still the two Mohawks
continued to talk, and watch the tree. The other scouts had already
passed from sight.
“Come, these warriors are alone, let us kill them before they tell their
friends about us,” whispered Spotted Deer.
“No, we must wait until we are sure they have found us,” cautioned
Running Fox.
A moment afterward they saw the wisdom of his advice, for the two
Mohawks turned and disappeared after their comrades. The Delawares
looked after them in wide-eyed astonishment. They could scarcely believe
that they had gone.
“See, the robe Wisawanik gave us hides us from our enemies,” said
Running Fox. “Yes, Ahas flew over us, and could not find us. Then the
boastful Mohawks looked into this tree, and could not see us.”
“Perhaps the Mohawks have gone to tell their friends about us,”
suggested Spotted Deer. “Perhaps they will come back.”
“No, they would not leave us here to get away,” replied Running Fox. “I
believe that warrior was looking at this great tree. Yes, I believe he
was telling his friend something about it. Perhaps something happened to
him at this place. I do not believe he saw us.”
However, the lads watched anxiously for some time after the Mohawks had
disappeared. More than once they thought they heard them returning, but
as the time passed and they failed to appear the Delawares began to hope
that they had actually left the swamp. They had little doubt that other
Mohawks were stationed along the boundaries of the swamp, and they
believed it would be folly to attempt to leave their hiding place before
their foes had abandoned the search. They felt quite certain that the
Mohawks would loiter along the edge of the swamp through the night,
hoping that the fugitives would attempt to escape under cover of
darkness. Therefore, the wily Delawares determined to remain in the
swamp until the following day.
“It is the best thing to do,” declared Running Fox. “If the Mohawks do
not hear anything of us when it grows dark, then I believe they will
give up the hunt. Yes, I believe they will go away before the next sun
appears.”
“You are a good leader,” Spotted Dear declared, loyally, “You have
fooled the Mohawks. Now I believe we will get out of here.”