BLACK CAT AND UNICORN.
Black Cat had retained a profound gratitude to Valentine through the
generosity with which the latter had saved his life. The chief sought by
any means possible to pay the debt after the attack on the gambusino
camp, during which he had so vigorously supported the hunter. All the
time he was being carried down the swollen Gila in the buffalo hide
canoes, Black Cat reflected seriously on the events taking place in his
sight.
He knew, like all the Indian chiefs of the Far West, the causes of the
hatred that separated the whites; moreover, he had been on several
occasions enabled to appreciate the moral difference existing between
the American squatter and the French hunter. Besides, the question was
now settled in his mind; all his sympathies were attracted to Valentine.
Still, it would be as well that his help, to be useful, should be freely
accepted by his friends, so as to prevent any misunderstanding.
When the earth had regained its equilibrium, and all had returned to the
order laid down at the commencement of the universe, Black Cat gave a
signal, and the canoes ran a shore. The chief ordered his men to bivouac
where they were, and await him; then noticing a short distance off, a
herd of wild horses, he lassoed one, tamed it in a few minutes, leaped
on its back, and started at a gallop. At this moment the sun rose
splendidly on the horizon.
The Apache chief journeyed the whole day without stopping, except a few
moments to let his horse breathe, and at sunset he found himself a
bowshot from Unicorn's village. After remaining in thought for a few
minutes, the Indian appeared to make up his mind; he urged on his horse,
and boldly entered the village, which, however, was deserted. Black Cat
traversed it in every direction, finding at every step traces of the
fearful fight of which it had been the scene a few days previously; but
he did not see a soul, not even a dog.
When an Indian is following a trail, he is never discouraged, but goes
on until he finds it. Black Cat left the village at the opposite end,
looked about for a minute, and then started unhesitatingly straight
ahead. His admirable knowledge of the prairie had not deceived him; four
hours later he reached the skirt of the virgin forest, under whose green
arches we have seen Unicorn's Comanches disappear. Black Cat also
entered the forest by the same road as the village population had
followed, and within an hour saw the fires flashing through the trees.
The Apache stopped for a moment, looked around him, and then went on.
Though apparently alone Black Cat felt that he was watched; he knew that
since his first step in the forest, he was followed by invisible eyes.
As he had not come however, in any warlike intention, he did not in any
way attempt to conceal his trail. These tactics were comprehended by the
Comanche sentries, who let him pass without revealing their presence,
but still communicated the arrival of an Apache chief on their territory
to each other, so that Black Cat's coming was known at the village,
while he was still a long way from it.
The chief entered a large clearing, in the midst of which stood several
huts. Several chiefs were silently seated round a fire, burning in front
of a calli, which Black Cat recognised as the medicine lodge. Contrary
to the custom generally adopted in such cases, no one seemed to notice
the approach of the chief, or rose to do him honour, and give him
welcome. Black Cat understood that something extraordinary was occurring
in the village, and that he was about to witness a strange scene.
He was in no way affected by the cold reception accorded to him; he
dismounted, threw his bridle over his horse's neck, and, walking to the
fire, sat down opposite Unicorn, between two chiefs, who fell back to
make room for him. Then, drawing the calumet from his girdle, he filled
and lit it, and began smoking, after bowing to the company. The latter
replied by the same gesture, but did not interrupt the silence. At
length Unicorn took the calumet from his lips, and turned to Black Cat.
"My brother is a great warrior," he said; "he is welcome, his arrival is
a happy omen for my young men, at a moment when a terrible chief is
about to leave us, and proceed to the happy hunting grounds."
"The Master of Life protected me, in permitting me to arrive so
opportunely; who is the chief about to die?"
"The Panther is weary of life," Unicorn replied, in a mournful voice;
"he counts many winters, his tired arm can no longer fell the buffalo or
the elk, his clouded eye only distinguishes with difficulty the nearest
objects."
"The Panther is no longer useful to his brothers, but has become a
burden to them; he must die," Black Cat remarked, sententiously.
"That is what the chief himself thought; he has this day communicated
his intentions to the council assembled here round the fire, and I, his
son, have undertaken to open for him the gates of another world."
"Panther is a wise chief; what can a man do with life when he grows a
burden to others? The Wacondah has been kind to the redskins in giving
them the necessary discernment to get rid of the aged and weak, and send
them to another world, where they will be born again, and after this
short trial, hunt with all the vigor of youth."
"My brother has spoken well," Unicorn answered, with a bow.
At this moment a movement took place in the crowd assembled round the
sweating lodge, in which the old chief, was. The door opened, and
Panther appeared. He was an old man of majestic height--in opposition to
the majority of Indians, who retain for a long time the appearance of
youth--his hair and beard, which fell in disorder on his shoulders and
chest, were of a dazzling whiteness. On his face, whose features were
imprinted with unconquerable energy, could be seen all the marks of a
decrepitude which had attained its last limits. He was clothed in his
handsomest costume, and painted and armed for war.
So soon as he appeared in the doorway of the hut all the chiefs rose.
Unicorn walked up to him and respectfully offered his right arm, on
which he leant. The old man, supported by his son, tottered up to the
fire, before which he squatted. The other chiefs took their place by his
side, and the warriors formed a wide circle round them. The great
calumet of peace was brought in by the pipe bearer, who presented it to
the old man, and when it had gone round the circle, Panther took the
word. His voice was low and faint, but, owing to the deep silence that
prevailed, it was heard by all.
"My sons," he said, "I am about to depart for another country; I shall
soon be near the Master of Life. I will tell the warriors of our nation
whom I meet on the road that the Comanches are still invincible, and
their nation is the queen of the prairies."
A murmur of satisfaction, soon suppressed, however, greeted these words;
in a moment the old man continued--
"Continue to be brave as your ancestors; be implacable to the palefaces,
those devouring wolves, covered with an elk skin; let them ever assume
the feet of the antelope, to fly more speedily before you, and may they
never see the wolf tails you fasten to your heels. Never taste the
firewater, that poison, by the help of which the palefaces enervate us,
render us weak as women, and incapable of avenging insults. When you are
assembling round the war or hunting fire in your camp, think sometimes
of Panther, the chief, whose renown was formerly great, and who, seeing
that the Wacondah forgot him on earth, preferred to die sooner than be
longer a burthen to his nation. Tell the young warriors who tread the
path for the first time, the exploits of your chief, Bounding Panther,
who was so long the terror of the foes of the Comanches."
While uttering these words the old chief's eye had become animated, and
his voice trembled with emotion. The Indians assembled round him
listened to him respectfully.
"But what use is it to speak thus?" he went on, suppressing a sigh; "I
know that my memory will not die out among you, for my son Unicorn is
here to succeed me, and guide you in his turn on the path where I so
long led you. Bring my last meal, so that we may soon strike up 'the
song of the Great Remedy.'"
Immediately the Indians brought up pots filled with boiled dog's flesh,
and at a sign from Panther, the meal commenced. When it was ended the
old man lit his calumet, and smoked, while the warriors danced round
him, with Unicorn at their head. Presently the old man made a sign, and
the warriors stopped.
"What does my father desire?" Unicorn asked.
"I wish you to sing the song of the Great Remedy."
"Good," Unicorn replied, "my father shall be obeyed."
Then he struck up that strange chant, of which the following is a
translation, the Indians joining in chorus and continuing to dance:
"Master of Life, thou givest us courage! It is true that redskins know
that thou lovest them. We send thee our father this day. See how old and
decrepit he is! The Bounding Panther has been changed into a clumsy
bear! Grant that he may find himself young in another world, and able
to, hunt as in former times."
And the round danced on, the old man smoking his pipe stoically the
while. At length, when the calumet was empty, he shook out the ashes on
his thumbnail, laid the pipe before him, and looked up to heaven. At
this moment the first signs of twilight tinged the extreme line of the
horizon with an opaline hue, the old man drew himself up, his eye became
animated, and flashed.
"The hour has come," he said, in a loud and firm voice; "the Wacondah,
summons me. Farewell, Comanche warriors; my son, you have to send me to
the Master of Life."
Unicorn drew out the tomahawk hanging from his belt, brandished it over
his head, and without hesitation, and with a movement swift as thought,
cleft the skull of the old man, whose smiling face was turned to him,
and who fell without a sigh.
He was dead!
The dance began again more rapid and irregularly, and the warriors
shouted in chorus:
"Wacondah! Wacondah! Receive this warrior! See, he did not fear death!
He knew there was no such thing, as he was to be born again in thy
bosom!
"Wacondah! Wacondah! Receive this warrior. He was just! The blood
flowed red and pure in his heart! The words his chest uttered were wise!
"Wacondah! Wacondah! Receive this warrior! He was the greatest and most
celebrated of thy Comanche children!
"Wacondah! Wacondah! Receive this warrior. See how many scalps he wears
at his girdle.
"Wacondah! Wacondah! Receive this warrior!"
The song and dancing lasted till daybreak, when, at a signal from
Unicorn, they ceased.
"Our father has gone," he said; "his soul has left his body, which it
inhabited too long, to choose another abode. Let us give him a burial
suited to so great a warrior."
The preparations were not lengthy; the body of the Bounding Panther was
carefully washed, then interred in a sitting posture, with his war
weapons; the last horse he had ridden and his dogs were placed by his
side, after having their throats cut; and then a bark hut was erected
over the tomb to preserve it from the profanation of wild beasts; on the
top of the hut a pole was planted, surmounted by the scalps the old
warrior had taken at a period when he, still young and full of strength,
led the Comanches in action.
Black Cat witnessed all the affecting incidents of this mournful tragedy
respectfully, and with religious devotion. When the funeral rites were
ended, Unicorn came up to him.
"I thank my brother," the Comanche said, "for having helped us to pay
the last duties to an illustrious warrior. Now I am quite at my
brother's service, he can speak without fear; the ears of a friend are
open, and his heart will treasure up the words addressed to it."
"Unicorn is the first warrior of his nation," Black Cat replied, with a
bow; "justice and honour dwell in him: a cloud has passed over my mind
and rendered it sad."
"Let my brother open his heart to me, I know that he is one of the most
celebrated chiefs of his nation. Black Cat no longer counts the scalps
he has taken from his enemies--what is the reason that renders him sad?"
The Apache chief smiled proudly at Unicorn's remarks.
"The friend of my brother, the great pale hunter, adopted by his tribe,"
he said sharply, "is running a terrible danger at this moment."
"Wah!" the chief said; "Can that be true? Koutonepi is the flesh of my
bones; who touches him wounds me. My brother will explain."
Black Cat then narrated to Unicorn the way in which Valentine had saved
his life, the leagues formed by the Apaches and other nations of the Far
West against him, and the critical position in which the hunter now was,
owing to the influence of Red Cedar with the Indians, and the forces he
had at his command at this moment. Unicorn shook his head over the
story.
"Koutonepi is wise and intrepid," he said; "loyalty dwells in his heart,
but he cannot resist--how to help him? A man, however brave he may be,
is not equal to one hundred."
"Valentine is my brother," the Apache answered; "I have sworn to save
him. But what can I do alone?"
Suddenly a woman rushed between, the two chiefs: it was Sunbeam.
"If my master permits," she said with a suppliant look at Unicorn, "I
will help you: a woman can do many things."
There was a silence, during which the chief regarded the squaw, who
stood modest and motionless before them.
"My sister is brave," Black Cat at length said; "but a woman is a weak
creature, whose help is of but very slight weight under such grave
circumstances."
"Perhaps so," she said boldly.
"Wife," Unicorn said, as he laid his hand on her shoulder, "go whither
your heart calls you; save my brother and pay the debt you have
contracted with him: my eye will follow you, and at the first signal I
will run up."
"Thanks," the young woman said, joyfully, and kneeling before the chief,
she affectionately kissed his hand.
Unicorn went on--
"I confide this woman to my brother--I know that his heart is great: I
am at my ease; farewell."
And after a parting signal he dismissed his guest; the chief entered his
calli without looking back, and let the buffalo hide curtain fall behind
him. Sunbeam looked after him; when he had disappeared, she turned to
Black Cat.
"Let us go," she said, "to save our friend."
A few hours later, the Apache chief, followed by a young woman, rejoined
his tribe on the banks of the Gila, and on the next day but one Black
Cat arrived with his entire forces at the hill of Mad Buffalo.