A ROYAL HOME-COMING
By murder, treachery, fraud, and force Miantinomo the Narragansett
had finally attained the position upon which he had so long cast
envious eyes. At the death of Longfeather he had caused himself to
be proclaimed Peacemaker, or ruler of the confederated New England
tribes, in the name of his adopted father, who was now too old to take
an active part in affairs of this kind. The various stories concerning
Nahma, circulated from time to time, had not disturbed him, for did he
not know that his rival was dead? Nor had he any fear that the Belt
of Seven Totems would ever again be seen in those parts, since he had
given it to a white trader in exchange for a hatchet, and it had been
carried to that mysterious place beyond the sea from which nothing ever
returned.
He had also learned with satisfaction of Sacandaga's death, for that
chieftain was the only red man who had ever seen the belt in his
possession. With all traces of his own treacherous dealings thus
wiped out, the ambitious young man had no hesitation in proclaiming
Canonicus, his father, to be Longfeather's successor by virtue of his
position as head of the strongest tribe in the confederation.
Although Miantinomo was generally disliked, no person felt strong
enough to dispute this claim, and so he was sullenly accepted as
Lawgiver of the tribes. In this capacity he hastened to take possession
of Montaup, which had become the recognized seat of government.
There he at once proceeded to belie his assumed character of Peacemaker
by making preparations on a large scale for invading the country of
the Iroquois. He had never forgiven them for refusing to treat with
him simply as a Narragansett, and now that he was in a position to
command a war-party equal to any they could put in the field, he
believed the time for humiliating them had come. He sent a runner to
the Hurons urging them to attack the Iroquois from the north about the
time that he proposed to cross the Shatemuc, and he imagined that
the combination thus formed would prove overpowering. He also hoped
that all this warlike activity would divert the thoughts of those who
were displeased with his usurpation of authority, and he knew that a
successful war would firmly establish his position.
So Miantinomo had sent messengers to every tribe and clan of the New
England Confederacy bidding their warriors assemble at Montaup, and
already were a great number thus gathered. Among others Sassacus had
received a summons to this effect, but the fiery Pequot had determined
to disobey it and risk the consequences. Now, however, the coming of
Nahma had so changed the aspect of affairs that he gladly accepted the
invitation to present himself at Montaup accompanied by a strong body
of picked warriors.
Miantinomo, who had feared that Sassacus more than any other might
rebel against his self-assumed authority, received him with effusive
hospitality.
"Now do I know," he said, "that my undertaking against the arrogant
Iroquois will succeed, since they have no warriors to equal the
Pequots in bravery."
"It is good that you esteem my young men so highly," replied Sassacus,
"and it is certain that they will do what may be to establish firmly
the power of the Peacemaker. I am also accompanied to Montaup by one
who will doubtless prove more welcome than all the others. He is a
medicine-man of the Saganaga, who brings to the Peacemaker a belt of
friendship from his people."
"Say you so!" exclaimed Miantinomo, his dark face lighting with
pleasure, for an alliance with the Lenni Lenape of the south as well as
one with the Hurons of the north would render him invincible. "Where is
he? Why has he not already been brought to the lodge of council?"
"He is an old man and weary, who secludes himself from the common gaze
in a lodge of skins that was pitched for him as soon as the canoes came
to land," replied Sassacus. "He desires not to make his message public,
since it is for your ears alone. For this reason he requests that a
new medicine-lodge be erected in which he may receive you in private
and with ceremonies befitting so important an occasion."
"An old man say you?" inquired Miantinomo, doubtfully.
"He has every appearance of extreme age and decrepitude."
"Have you seen the belt that he bears?"
"I have seen it, and know it to be a serpent-belt of the Saganaga. He
hopes also to take one from you, that his people may know his mission
to have been truly performed. If his terms be not granted, then with
his belt will he depart to the land of the Iroquois."
"Without doubt I will grant all that he asks," replied Miantinomo,
hastily, "for a friendship with the Saganaga may not be thrown away.
At once shall a medicine-lodge be built, and when next the shadows are
shortest then will I meet him."
"If it is your pleasure I will see to the building of the lodge," said
Sassacus.
"It is my pleasure," answered the other, and with this the interview
ended.
By noon of the following day the medicine-lodge, a simple affair of
poles and bark, stood finished on the edge of a cleared space that
formed the public gathering-place of Montaup. It was a mere shell bare
of all furnishings, as was noted by the many curious persons who peeped
in at its open doorway. The news that something of absorbing interest
was to take place within it had attracted a large assemblage to its
vicinity, where they waited with eager curiosity.
At the same time there was but little mingling of those belonging to
the several tribes represented. The Narragansetts, with Miantinomo
seated in front of them, were grouped by themselves close to the lodge
but a little to one side. Although they outnumbered any of the visiting
delegations, they formed but a fraction of the whole gathering.
Opposite to them and equally near the lodge stood the Pequots with the
plumed head of Sassacus towering above them, and beside him stood our
old acquaintance, Samoset.
The Wampanoags were there in full force supported by a large delegation
of their near relatives, the Pokanokets. Besides these were
representatives of every New England tribe that had acknowledged the
authority of Longfeather. All were warriors, armed as for battle, and
headed by their most experienced chiefs.
About half an hour before the sun attained his meridian a distant
chanting of voices, accompanied by the measured beating of
medicine-drums, announced the opening of the ceremonies, and a buzz of
expectation swept over the great assembly.
Then appeared a procession of medicine-men clad in fantastic garb
calculated to inspire those who beheld it with awe. Most prominent
among them was an old man enveloped in a long robe of costly furs. He
was so feeble and bent with age that he leaned heavily upon a stick and
was also supported by two attendants. Directly in front of him walked a
boy, very proud of his honorable position, and bearing in outstretched
hands the wampum serpent-belt of the Saganaga so displayed that all
might see it.
The procession halted before the lodge, while its members engaged in
a medicine-dance, circling with furious gestures and wild cries about
the central figure of the old man. Precisely at the hour of noon the
dancing came to an abrupt end, and the old medicine-man, taking from
the boy who had borne it the belt of the Saganaga, entered the empty
lodge alone.
For a few minutes his voice was heard in the feeble chanting of an
incantation, and then it invited the presence of the Peacemaker. Upon
this Miantinomo stepped forth without hesitation and entered the lodge,
vanishing from sight beyond its heavy curtain of double deer-skins.
The light of the interior was so dim that for a moment he could see
nothing; then he made out the form of its solitary occupant standing
before him, and holding the belt that he believed was to confirm him
in his assumed position. The old man, leaning on his stick, was still
enveloped in the long robe that covered him from head to foot.
Gazing steadfastly at Miantinomo, he said, sternly,--
"Why dost thou come here? I summoned Longfeather the Peacemaker."
"He is dead," replied the other, "and I----"
"Then should his son Nahma have come in his place," interrupted the old
man.
"He, too, is dead," said Miantinomo; "that is," he added, hastily, "he
is dead to this people, for he is a traitor and dwells in the lodges of
their enemies."
"Thou, then, art authorized to fill his place?"
"I am so authorized by Canonicus, my father, and will seek to wipe out
the shame cast upon the name of Longfeather by his unworthy son."
"Why, then, dost thou not wear the Peacemaker's badge of authority, the
great Belt of Seven Totems?"
"Because it was stolen and carried away by Nahma the renegade."
"Now do I know that thou liest!" exclaimed the old man with an energy
of voice as startling as it was unexpected. "Thou knowest, better than
any other, that the son of Longfeather was foully murdered while he
slept on the farther bank of the Shatemuc. Thou knowest that his body,
stripped of its badge of authority, was flung into the river. Thou
knowest that the Belt of Seven Totems, first used to blind the eyes of
Sacandaga, was afterwards sold to a white-faced trader that it might
disappear forever beyond the salt waters. Thou knowest who first put
in circulation the false tale that the son of Longfeather was a traitor
and a renegade. Thou knowest, and I know, for such things may not be
hid from the Okis. Also will I prove to thee that the dead may live,
and that evil designs may come to naught even when they seem most
likely to succeed. Look, then, and tremble, thou dog of a murderer."
[Illustration: "LOOK, THEN, AND TREMBLE, THOU DOG OF A MURDERER"]
With these words the dimly outlined form of the old man straightened
into erectness, his stick fell to the ground, he flung back his
enveloping robe, and at the same moment a slab of bark dropped from the
roof of the lodge, allowing a flood of noonday sunlight to stream on
the place where he stood.
For an instant Miantinomo stared dumbly at the figure, young, tall, and
handsome, richly clad and wearing across its breast the Peacemaker's
Belt of Seven Totems, that gazed sternly at him with accusing eyes.
Then, with a great cry of terror, he rushed from the lodge and fled
like one who is pursued by a deadly vengeance in the direction of the
nearest forest.
As the startled assemblage, gathered to witness his crowning triumph,
gazed after the flying figure in bewilderment, their attention was
further attracted, and they were thrilled by a shout of joyful amaze.
Instantly all eyes were again turned towards the lodge, where in place
of an old medicine-man stood a young chieftain, as noble a specimen of
his race as ever trod American soil. Depending from one shoulder was
the long-lost Belt of Seven Totems and from the other a serpent-belt of
the Saganaga. At his feet knelt Samoset, crying out that it was indeed
his brother and his master, Nahma, the son of Longfeather.
"I am the son of Longfeather, and I was Nahma," said the young man, so
distinctly that all might hear. "But now and henceforth am I Massasoit
the Peacemaker."
Upon this the whole assemblage, led by Sassacus and his loyal Pequots,
broke into a joyous tumult of welcome and crowded about the youth
who, so long lost to them, had been thus marvellously restored to
his rightful position. Only the Narragansetts took advantage of the
glad confusion to steal away unnoticed and follow the trail of their
dishonored leader.