"I warn thee once more that my daughter is very irritable and
passionate, and withal so fond of admiration, that nothing in the
shape of a leer comes amiss to her. She likes a good squeeze above all
things. Evil, and the Father of Evil though I be, I am not so very
wicked as to wish thee to marry a woman of that description without
thy knowing what kind of treasure thou wilt possess."
"But thou hast promised me revenge against the Hurons, who slew so
many of my warriors in the last Beaver-Moon: remember that." And the
chief commenced his song, which ran thus:--
I shall taste revenge;
I shall dip my hands in purple gore;
I shall wet my lips with the blood of the men,
Who overcame my Braves;
I shall tinge the lake so blue
With the hue which it wore,
When I stood, like a mouse in a wild cat's den,
And saw the Hurons dig the graves
Of my Maquas good and true!
I shall build a fire
Of hickory branches dry,
And knots of the gum-exuding pine,
And cedar leaves and cones,
Dry stubble shall kindle the pyre.
And there shall the Huron die--
Flesh, and blood, and bones!
But first shall he know the pain
Of a red-hot stone on the ball of his eye,
And a red-hot spear in the spine.
And, if he murmur a grain,
What shouts shall rend the sky,
To see the coward Huron flinch,
As the Maquas rend him inch by inch?
The Maqua, having finished his song of blood, turned around to his
bride, and spoke to her kindly, telling her how happy they should
live, and many other things usually said in such cases, and proving
true as often as larks fall from the skies. The Evil Spirit now spoke
to Cayenguirago, bidding him follow him to an inner room in the
cavern, and finish the marriage at once. He obeyed, leading his pursy
bride by a string which he tied around her neck. The whole body of
rattlesnakes followed the couple--hissing, and slapping, and rattling
their tails, and running out their forked tongues; but, whether for
joy or sorrow, Cayenguirago either cared nothing, or did not think it
worth his while to enquire. At last they came to a small room, which
was lighted up by a great blue fire burning in the centre. This, the
Evil Spirit said, was his daughter's chamber, and there they would
pass the night, upon which the maiden pretended to be much ashamed.
The couple now went through the Indian form of marriage, and the Maqua
became the husband of the rattlesnake--daughter of the Evil Spirit,
Abamocho.
They spent the evening very pleasantly together, and so well was
Cayenguirago entertained with the pleasant stories she told him, and
her wit, and good humour, and the kisses she gave him, that he
entirely forgot the advice of her father. So, after they had spent
some time in talk and fondling, the bride crept to her bed of leaves,
and the husband followed.
By and by the Maqua said to his wife, "Thy flesh is very cold--lie a
little further off."
"My flesh is warm," answered the other; "but thou hast drawn to thy
side all the covering, and the spirit of cold is breathing harshly
upon me from the distant cavern."
Upon that they fell to disputing fiercely about love, and hatred, and
cold, and many other things, which need not be mentioned here. Louder
and louder rose their voices, and more violent grew the dispute, until
the wife, losing the very little patience she possessed, applied the
deadly sting, which dooms to instant death, to bring her husband to
her side of the argument. A horrid shout told the creeping of the
subtle poison through his veins. Few were the moments that elapsed
before he lay a stiffened, and swollen, and blackened, corpse.
And thus perished the wicked Maqua, that married a rattlesnake and
forgot to cut off her tail.
* * * * *
The rattlesnake figures very frequently in the Indian traditions. They
suppose it to be endued with more sagacity than any other animal,
except the owl, and to be peculiarly their intercessor with the Evil
Spirit. Their _Okki_, or "Medicine-spirit," is more frequently the
rattlesnake than any other animal--his teeth and rattles are
invariably ingredients of their medicine-bags. They have a tradition
that there was once a great _talk_, or council, held between the
Mohawks and the Rattlesnakes, and a "firm peace established between
the two nations," which lasted till the coming of the Whites.