'Merciful God! how horrible is night!
…There the shout
Of battle, the barbarian yell, the bray
Of dissonant instruments, the clang of arms,
The shriek of agony, the groan of death,
In one wild uproar and continuous din,
Shake the still air; while overhead, the moon,
Regardless of the stir of this low world,
Holds on her heavenly way.’ MADOC.
Henrich was now called on to perform the part of an Indian leader in an
Indian camp. It was no new position to him; for, during his years of
wandering with the Nansetts, he had taken an active part in many of the
wars that were being waged by the tribes among whom they had sojourned,
against their hostile neighbors. He, therefore, was fully conversant
with Indian modes of warfare; but he was as unaccustomed as his
followers were to the defence of a fortress, or to a pitched battle
between assembled forces in an open field.
He had not been long at Fort Mystic ere he found that he was about to
be opposed to some of his own countrymen, and the information filled
him with grief and dismay. It is true, he had dwelt so long among the
Nausett Indians, and all his personal interests were so bound up with
theirs, that he felt as if they were indeed his kindred. But still his
heart yearned towards his own people and the friends of his childhood,
and the idea of being instrumental in shedding the blood of a Briton
was utterly repugnant to him. It was now, however, too late to retract.
He had pledged his word to Tisquantum that he would lead his warriors
bravely against the foes of his allies, and honor forbad him to decline
the post of their Sachem and commander. He therefore concealed his
scruples and anxieties in his own breast, and resolved to do what he
now felt to be his duty. It was with much satisfaction that he learnt,
from one of the Indian spies, that the detachment of troops from New
Plymouth had been unable to join the forces of their countrymen; for
thus he should be spared the trial of being placed in opposition to
those with whom, perhaps, he had been brought up in childhood. Towards
the other settlers be entertained a far less friendly feeling; as
reports of their cruel and unjust conduct towards the natives had, from
time to time, reached him during his residence in different parts of
the continent.
The Pequodees and their allies treated him with respect and honor, as
the representative of their ancient friend Tisquantum; and if his
English blood was known to any of them, they made no remarks on the
subject. They did not dare to notice what such a man as the Nausett
Sachem appeared to be, chose to conceal.
But it is certain that there was one in the fortress of Mystic whose
keen eye had penetrated the disguise, and to whom the features of
Henrich were so familiar, that he could even read his thoughts in his
open and ingenuous countenance. Coubitant was already in the castle
before the Nausett detachment arrived; and, while he dexterously
contrived to conceal himself from Henrich, he watched him narrowly, and
his eye was on him when he first became aware that English soldiers
were with the foes with whom he must contend. Then did the savage exult
in the painful struggle that he could perceive the news excited in his
rival's breast, and he hoped that the white Sachem would find some
pretext for leaving the fort, and deserting to his own countrymen. He
kept spies continually watching his every movement, with orders to
allow him full liberty to escape, but to follow and secure him before
his purpose could be effected, and bring him in bonds to receive from
Coubitant's own hand the punishment of a coward and a deserter.
But he waited in vain for any such attempt on the part of the young
Sachem. Henrich never left the fortress, and employed himself in
endeavoring to keep his men from sharing in the revelry and wild
security of their countrymen.
In this endeavor he had but little success, and Jyanough alone remained
with his friend, and took no part in the noisy songs and dances that
followed the feast, and con-tinned almost until midnight.
Then a deep and profound stillness gradually succeeded to the barbarous
noises of the wild festival; and long before day-break the exhausted
revellers were all buried in a heavy sleep. Even the watch, whose
business it was to patrol round the fort, had that night carelessly
left their respective stations, and come inside the palisades to light
their pipes. Here they found none awake but the Nausett Sachem and his
friend, who were slowly walking among the weary and sleeping warriors,
attended only by a large and powerful dog. There was another wakeful
eye in the fortress, and that was even now fixed on Henrich. Bat he
whose dark soul looked forth from that singular eye, was himself
concealed from view, and was intently watching the object of his hatred,
and hoping that he would now attempt some act of cowardice or
treachery.
Henrich and Jyanough approached the guard, who had thus thoughtlessly
left their post, and desired them immediately to return to their duty.
But while the men remonstrated on the uselessness of so strictly
keeping a watch, now that no present attack could be expected, they
were startled by the loud and furious barking of Rodolph, who had
wandered to the open gate, and thus gave ominous warning of approaching
danger. The terrified guard now reached to the gate, accompanied by
Henrich and Jyanough, when, to their dismay, they beheld in the faint
moonlight a large body of men approaching close to the fort.
They easily discerned that the foremost of the troop were Europeans;
and they raised a loud cry of ‘Owannux! Owannux!’--Englishmen!
Englishmen!--which quickly aroused the sleepers, and brought them
towards the gate. In the next minute the fort was thickly hemmed in by
the British force, and a second dense ring was formed beyond them by
their Indian allies.
The main entrance was soon forced by the swords and muskets of the
vigorous assailants; and, though the Pequodees fought with all the fury
of despair, they were driven back, and compelled to retreat towards the
wigwams. They were closely pursued by their foes; and, at length, threw
themselves into the huts, which contained the terrified women and
children, and resolved to defend them to the last gasp. While the
murderous strife continued, the light of day began to dawn; and soon
the full glow of the rising sun revealed the work that had been done in
darkness. The ground was strewed with dead and dying Indians; but the
band of English warriors was yet unbroken, and was fiercely bearing
onward towards the wigwams. Their numbers were small, indeed, when
compared with those of their opponents; but the latter had no
firearms, and a panic seemed to have struck them from the force and
suddenness of the attack. Still they defended the lines of wigwams with
desperation, until Mason, with amazing boldness, entered one of them,
and, seizing a brand from the hearth, set fire to the roof of reeds. An
Indian warrior was in the act of levelling his arrow at him, when an
English officer sprang forward, and cut the string of the bent bow with
his sword.
This officer caught the eye of Henrich; and, though he knew not why,
riveted it by a strange and unaccountable attraction. He was a noble-
looking man; and, though his dark hair was slightly tinged with grey,
his muscular limbs had apparently lost none of their force, and his
spirit none of its courage and energy.
So fixedly was the attention of Henrich fastened on the gallant
soldier, that, for a time, he was regardless of the battle that raged
around him, and of the fearful conflagration that was spreading along
the Indian huts. These were only composed of weed and dry moss and
reeds; and the flames quickly caught hold of them, and promised soon to
bring the conflict to a dreadful close.
The eye of Henrich was still fixed on that noble English officer; and
the instinctive feeling of admiration and respect with which his aspect
inspired him, was increased by seeing him, regardless of his own
safety, actively engaged in rescuing an Indian woman and her child from
a mass of burning ruins.
He had been observed by other eyes also--by eyes that recognised him,
and glared with irrepressible fury as they fell on him'. An Indian
warrior approached him from behind, while he was unguardedly pursuing
his work of mercy; and Henrich saw the savage preparing to strike a
deadly blow, that would have cleft the head of the stranger in twain.
Could he stand and see the noble Briton thus fall by a secret and
unresisted attack? No! every feeling and every instinct of his heart
forbad it! One instant his tomahawk flew in a gleaming circle round
his head; and the next it fell with crushing force on the right
shoulder of the savage, and sank deeply into his chest. It was a timely
blow, and saved the white man's life. But it could not save him from a
severe wound in the back, where the axe of the Indian fell heavily, as
his arm dropped powerlessly by his side--never to be raised again.
Coubitant sank on the ground; and, as he turned to look on his
unexpected assailant, his blood-shot eyes met those of Henrich, and
glared fiercely, first at him, and then at his intended victim, whose
life had been so strangely preserved. They stood side by side,
unconscious of the tie that bound them so closely together. Coubitant
knew it well; and he felt in this awful moment that Mahneto had, in
righteous retribution, sent the son to preserve the father's life from
the hand of him who had hated both alike. He hated them still: and,
even with his dying breath, he would not reveal the secret that would
have united those seemingly hostile warriors in the embrace of deep
affection.
Rodolph had not seen the friend whose timely aid had partially averted
the deadly blow that had been aimed at him by the savage. But, on
turning round, he was astonished to perceive that his foe and his
avenger were apparently of the same party. The latter--whose countenance
expressed the deepest indignation, and who was raising his bloody
hatchet from the prostrate form of the wounded Indian--was evidently not
one of the allies of the English; and his dress and ornaments, and air
of dignified command, indicated him to be a Chief among his own people.
Why, then, had he come to the aid of an enemy?
Rodolph gazed inquiringly at the fine countenance of the young Sachem,
which was now bent upon the dying Indian at his feet.
'Coubitant!' he exclaimed in the Nausett tongue, ‘is it, indeed, you
whom I have thus slain unknowingly? You have been a bitter and an
untiring enemy to me; but it was not for this that I smote thee to the
earth. I knew you not. But I saw you aim a cowardly blow at the white
chief; and I saved him. I forgive you now for all your hatred, and all
your evil designs, which Mahneto has thus recompensed upon your own
head.'
'I ask not your forgiveness,' replied the savage in a deep, struggling
voice--for the hand of death was on him, and the dark fire of his eye
was waning out. 'In death, I hate and defy you! And in death I enjoy a
revenge that you know not of.'
He strove to raise his hand in menace, but it fell to the ground; and,
with a groan of suppressed agony, he expired.
The fight was raging with unabated violence, and the conflagration had
already spread to the farthest end of the fortress. Henrich looked
around for his comrades, who were bravely contending with their
powerful foes at some distance, and he hastily prepared to join them.
But, as he turned away, he courteously waved his hand to Rodolph, and
said in the English language, but with an Indian accent,
'Farewell, brave Englishman!'
Rodolph started. That voice had thrilled through his heart when it had
spoken a strange language: but now it struck upon him with a sense of
familiarity that be could not account for, as the Indian Chief was
evidently an utter stranger to him. He returned his parting salutation
and 'farewell'; but still he watched his retreating form, and thought
he distinctly heard him utter the name 'Rodolph!' as a large dog, which
had stood near him during their brief encounter, bounded after him over
foe heaps of slain and dying.
'Surely it was my own fancy that conjured up that name,' thought
Rodolph. The next moment he found himself compelled again to join the
conflict, and, at the head of his little band, to fight his way out of
the fortress, which was rapidly becoming a prey to the devouring
flames. All the English withdrew outside the palisades, and thickly
surrounded the fort; while their Indian allies, who had hitherto kept
aloof, now took courage to approach, and form a second circle outside.
The most furious despair now took possession of the souls of the
devoted Pequodees: and their terrible war-cry was heard resounding
high, and mingled with the agonising yells of the women and children,
and helpless aged men, who were expiring amid the flames. Many of the
warriors climbed the palisades, and leaped down among their foes,
hoping to escape; but they were quickly despatched by the muskets and
bayonets of the English; or if any had power to break through the first
hostile line, they fell beneath the battle-axes of the Mohicans.
Rodolph had received a considerable wound, but it had not entirely
disabled him. At the head of his men he passed through the open gate
of the fortress, and attempted still to lead and command them. He
found, however that his strength was failing, and that he could no
longer wield his good broad sword. He therefore stood leaning on it,
and watching, with mingled feelings of pity and horror, the progress of
the work of destruction.
Presently he saw a side entrance to the fort thrown suddenly open, and
the form of the Indian Chief--whose tomahawk had saved his life, and
whose voice had awakened such strange feelings--appeared rushing forth.
He was attended by another striking looking warrior, and followed by a
band of determined natives, who were resolved to escape, or sell their
lives dearly.
Rodolph's men, who occupied the position opposite to that gate, raised
their muskets to fire on these brave men; but their commander loudly
and authoritatively bade them desist.
'Hold! I command you!' he exclaimed. 'Let that noble Chieftain escape,
and all his attendants for his sake. He saved my life in the fort; and
death to the man who injures him!
He attempted to rush forward to enforce his orders, but pain and loss
of blond prevented him from moving; and he would have fallen but for
the support of one of his comrades.
Meanwhile, Henrich and Jyanough, and their band of Nausetts, had rushed
through the unopposing ranks of the English, and were now contending
desperately with the Indian line beyond. The British troops paused, and
looked after them; and the sympathy that brave men feel for each other
prevented any of them from attempting to pursue or molest them. On the
contrary, all now wished them success.
With breathless anxiety Rodolph gazed after them, and watched the
towering plumes that adorned the noble head of the Sachem, as he bore
onward through the opposing crowd of Indians. He passed, and gained the
plain beyond, attended by his followers; and, from the elevated
position at which the fort was erected, Rodolph could still watch the
little band retiring, until the Indian heroes were hidden from view by
a thicket.
So fiercely had the fire seconded the efforts of the English that the
whole conflict only lasted one hour. In that brief space of time,
between five and six hundred Indians--young and old, men and women--
were destroyed by fire and sword; and the small remainder were made
prisoners of war by the English, or carried off as prizes by the
hostile natives. Only two of the British soldiers were slain, but many
were wounded; and the arrows remaining some time in the wounds, and the
want of necessary medicine and refreshment, added greatly to their
sufferings The medical attendants attached to the expedition, and the
provisions, had all been left in the boats, and a march of more than
six miles through their enemies' land was necessary, in order to reach
them.
Litters were therefore constructed and, in these, the wounded were sent
off under the charge of the Mohicans, while the able-bodied men, whose
number was reduced to little more than forty, prepared to follow as a
rear-guard. The whole party were still near the smoking ruins of the
fort, when they were startled by perceiving a large body of armed
natives approaching. These were a band of more than three hundred
Pequodees, sent by Sassacus to aid the garrison of Fort Mystic.
Happily, they did not discover the small number of the English who were
in a condition to oppose them, and they turned aside, and avoided a
re-encounter. The white men took advantage of this mistake on the part
of their enemies, and hastened forward with all the speed that
circumstances would allow.
But they had not proceeded far when their ears were assailed by the
most discordant yells from the Pequodees. They had reached the scene of
devastation; and, when they beheld the ruined fort, and the ground
strewn with hundreds of mangled corpses and expiring friends, their
fury knew no bounds. They stamped and howled with rage and grief, and
madly tore their hair; while they gave vent to their excited feelings
in that fearful and peculiar yell, at the sound of which the stoutest
hearts might quail. Then, with a wild and desperate effort at revenge,
they rushed down the bill in pursuit of their cruel enemies. The rear-
guard turned, and met the onset bravely. The savages were received with
a shower of bullets, which checked their furious assault; but they hung
on the rear of the English, and harassed them during the whole of their
retreat. They, however, reached their vessels in safety, and arrived
in triumph at Hartford, from which port they had sailed three weeks
before.
This discomfiture proved a death-blow to the pride and power of the
redoubted Sassacus. Disgusted alike by his arrogance, and by his recent
defeat, many of his own warriors deserted him and attached themselves
to other tribes; and the Sachem then destroyed his second fortress, end
carried off his treasure to the land of the Mohawks, near the river
Hudson, and, with his principal Chiefs, joined that warlike race.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the troops from Massachusetts, whom the
Government had not thought it necessary to send with Captain Mason, had
landed at Saybroke, led by Captain Houghton, and attended by Wilson as
their spiritual guide. They arrived just in time to hear of the
successful issue of the campaign; and had, therefore, nothing left for
them to do, except to join a small band from Connecticut, and keep down
or destroy the few Pequodees, or other hostile Indians who still lurked
about the district, and kept the settlers in fear and anxiety. These
wretched natives were chased into their most secret haunts, where they
were barbarously slain; their wigwams were burnt, and their fields
desolated. Nor were the English the only foes of the once terrible
Pequodees. Their Indian rivals took advantage of their present weak and
scattered condition, to wreak upon them the suppressed vengeance of
bygone years; and pursued, with ruthless cruelty, those whose very name
had once inspired them with awe and dread. And yet--with shame be it
said!--the _Christian_ leader of the troops of Massachusetts, himself a
member of the strict and exclusive Church of Boston, surpassed these
savages in cruelty.
On one occasion, he made prisoners of nearly a hundred Pequodees. Of
these miserable creatures he sent the wives and children into servitude
at Boston, while he caused the men--thirty-seven in number--to be bound
hand and foot, and carried in a shallop outside the harbor, where they
wore thrown overboard. If this barbarous deed was not committed by the
directions of the _Christian_ Fathers of Massachusetts, yet they
certainly neither disclaimed nor censured it. Indeed, so little were
cruelty and oppression, when exercised against the red men, regarded as
crimes by many of the settlers, that one of their learned divines, even
of the age succeeding the perpetrations of the above appalling event,
expressed it as his opinion that ‘Heaven had smiled on the English
_hunt’;_ and added, with horrible and disgusting levity, 'that it was
found to be the quickest way _feed the fishes_ with the multitude of
Indian captives!'
The other tribes who had joined the Pequodees in opposing the
conquering white men, were pardoned on their submission; but that
devoted race, who fought like heroes to the very last, were extirpated
as a nation from the face of the earth. The very name in which they had
so long gloried, and which had been a terror to all the neighboring
tribes, was not permitted to remain, and to tell where once they had
dwelt and reigned unrivalled. The river, which had been called the
Pequod, received the appellation of the Thames; and the native
township, on the ruins of which an English settlement was founded, was
afterwards called New London. Numbers of the women and boys, who were
taken captive from tune to time by the British troops, were sold and
carried as slaves to Bermuda, and others were divided among the
settlers, and condemned--not _nominally to slavery,_ for that was
forbidden by the laws of New England, but--to _perpetual servitude,_
which must, indeed, have been much the same thing to free-born Indian
spirits, accustomed to the wild liberty of the forests and the
prairies.
Sassacus--the once mighty Chief of this mighty and heroic people--was
basely slain by the Mohawks, among whom he had sought fellowship and
protection, for the sake of the treasures that be had brought with him
from his own lost dominions; and his heart was sent by his murderers as
a peace-offering to the government of Connecticut.
Thus ended the war which had been commenced as a necessary measure of
self-defence, and in which the pious and high-minded Roger Williams
had, at first, taken so active and influential a part. The manner in
which it was carried out, and the cruelty that marked so many of its
details, were repulsive in the highest degree to his just and
benevolent spirit; but where mercy was concerned, his opinion and
advice had no influence with the stern men of Boston. The only act
which met with his approbation in the conclusion of the campaign, was
the assignment of the depopulated lands of the Pequodees to Uncas, the
Chief of the Mohicans. As being a conquered territory, the usual laws
of war would have annexed it to the territory of the victors. But, in
this case, the settlers adhered to their original principle of only
obtaining, by purchase from the natives, those tracts of land on which
they desired to settle; and a great part of that which was now bestowed
on Uncas, was afterwards bought back from him and his inferior Sachems,
or obtained by friendly contract, until the English became possessors
of the whole district.
At a subsequent period, the Pequodees who had escaped from their
desolated land, and joined other tribes, assembled themselves together,
and made one final effort at establishing their independence in a
distant part of the country. But their power and prosperity were broken
for ever. Captain Mason was again sent to subdue this remnant of the
tribe; and the destruction that was accomplished on these unhappy
exiles spread a fear of the white men through all the Indian race in
that part of the continent. From that time the settlers of
Connecticut--who had been the original cause of this cruel war--enjoyed
an unbroken peace and security for forty years.