IN THE COUNCIL-LODGE
Massasoit could not relate the whole story of his adventurous
wanderings, since no Indian known to have been a slave might afterwards
be accepted as a leader among his people. Consequently he omitted
all reference to his unhappy experiences in England. Nor did he ever
mention that he had crossed the great salt waters; but he told of
his adventures among the Iroquois, as a captive to the Hurons, while
in Quebec, and on a ship that was to have carried him into slavery
among the Yengeese of the south. He described the destruction of that
ill-fated craft, together with the loss of her company, his own welcome
at the hands of the Saganaga, and his homeward journey, to all of which
the assemblage listened with breathless attention. In conclusion, the
young chieftain said,--
"I have told all there is to tell. When I left you Longfeather ruled
this land. He has gone from you never to return. I am his son, and it
was his wish that I should be Peacemaker in his place. If that be also
your desire, or if it be not, now is the time to speak. Will you have
Massasoit for your sagamore or another?"
Standing very straight and gazing proudly about him, the young man
awaited an answer, and it was promptly given. First came Sassacus,
saying,--
"The Pequots accept Massasoit as their Peacemaker and will listen to
his words."
After him in grave procession came the chiefs to tender their
allegiance; and a few days later the venerable Canonicus came also, for
Massasoit had not told that Miantinomo had attempted to murder him, and
so the Narragansetts were not yet outcast from the federation.
Thus did Massasoit occupy his father's place in the great lodge of
council, while his authority was acknowledged from the Shatemuc to the
sea, and from the country of the Mohicans to that of the Hurons, who
dwelt near the great river of the north.
With his position thus established, the young sachem, leaving Sassacus
to hold Montaup during his absence, set forth on an expedition of the
utmost importance both to himself and to his people. It had three
objects: first, to find his mother, who had fled from Miantinomo;
second, to restore the peaceful relations with the Iroquois that had
been threatened by the usurper; and last, but by no means least, to
visit the lodge of Kaweras.
As a following worthy of his rank he took with him one hundred
warriors, and with these he pressed forward over the trail that he
had followed as a youth three years earlier. At the village of Peace,
on the river of sweet waters, he found Miantomet, and raised her
in a moment from the dejection of a childless fugitive to a proud
motherhood, with the son, whom she had so long mourned as dead, once
more restored to her.
But only for a short time might these two enjoy their reunion, for
Massasoit found that whole section of country alarmed over an invasion
of Hurons, who were said to be coming down the valley of the Shatemuc
in formidable numbers. So he pushed on, hoping to form a junction with
the Iroquois before the common enemy should arrive.
The eastern Iroquois or Maquas were hard beset. Two powerful
expeditions had descended at once upon the country of the Five Nations.
One, under leadership of our old acquaintance Champlain, had crossed
Lake Ontario, penetrated deep into the territory of the Oneidas, and
was supposed to be advancing upon the Maquas from the west. Another
expedition, accompanied by three white men, was coming from the north
by way of the Shatemuc, and already were fugitives flying before
them to the palisaded villages, bringing sad tales of rapine and
destruction. As though this state of affairs were not bad enough, it
was reported that the New England tribes, led by Miantinomo, were
advancing from the east. Thus it seemed as though the Maquas were
doomed to destruction, and a feeling of despair had seized upon the
warriors gathered for the defence of their three palisaded strongholds.
One night, during this unhappy condition of suspense, a group of
chief men were seated about a small fire in the council-house of
the easternmost village, gloomily discussing the situation. News had
come that the enemy was close at hand, and that the village would be
assaulted by overwhelming numbers on the morrow. So oppressed were
the councillors by the hopelessness of their situation that for some
time they sat in silence, and one among them appeared to be dozing, as
though exhausted.
Suddenly this one, who was our old friend Kaweras, awoke, uttering an
exclamation of pleasure, and looked about him with smiling cheerfulness.
"What pleases my brother?" asked he who sat nearest. "Has he seen a
vision of the spirit land to which all of us will go before the setting
of another sun?"
"No," replied Kaweras. "It is not yet time for visions of the spirit
land."
"How so, when even the youngest warrior knows that we are in no
condition to withstand an attack of the Hurons and of those armed with
thunder-sticks who accompany them?"
"It is because he who is to deliver us even now approaches, and in a
vision have I seen him."
"Comes he from the west, and is he the Wild-Cat of the Oneidas?"
"No. He is from the east, and more powerful than the Wild-Cat or any
other single chieftain of the Iroquois. He is not of us, but he has
already fought with us. I have known him, but until now I have not
known him. Whence he comes or how he has passed our young men I know
not, but even now he is at hand. Behold, he is here!"
The old man had risen to his feet in his excitement, and now stood
staring eagerly at the skin-hung entrance.
As he finished speaking the curtain was drawn aside and a young
warrior stepped within the lodge. He advanced to where the firelight
fell full upon his face, and then stood motionless as though awaiting
recognition. Nor was it long in coming, for, after a moment of silence,
Kaweras stepped forward with extended hand, uttering the single word,
"Massasoit."
"Yes, my father, it is Massasoit," was the reply; but the old man
hardly noticed what was said, for his eye had fallen on a belt worn by
the new-comer, and he was studying its devices with an expression of
amazement. Finally he said, in a low tone,--
"It is the Belt of Seven Totems, the great colier of the Peacemaker."
"And I," responded Massasoit, "am the Peacemaker, since I was Nahma,
son of Longfeather. For thy exceeding kindness to me in other days am I
now come with a war-party to help the people of Sacandaga in their time
of trouble."
"How came he inside our walls?" asked one of the chiefs, suspiciously.
"That will I tell at another time," replied Massasoit. "Now there are
things of more importance to be considered."
The young man did not care to acknowledge that Aeana had given him
admittance, but so it was. He had left his warriors in concealment at
some distance from the village while he went alone to discover the
exact state of affairs.
That same afternoon, before warning of the near approach of the Hurons
had been given, he had seen several women go to a small stream for
water, and recognized Aeana among them. After a while he managed to
toss a small packet so that it fell at her feet. Glancing about with a
startled air, the girl picked it up, and found in it the embroidered
tinder-bag that she had concealed in her sister's gift to Massasoit
so long ago that she had almost forgotten the incident. As she gazed
at the token, hardly knowing whether to be frightened or pleased, the
low call of a wood-dove attracted her attention to a nearby thicket.
Hesitatingly she moved close enough to hear the whispered words, "Be
not afraid. I am here as a friend to help the Maquas against their
enemies; but first I would see Kaweras. At moon-setting will I come
alone to the gate, and I rely upon thee to give me admittance."
Outwardly calm, but with a wildly fluttering heart, Aeana rejoined
her companions without having been for an instant out of their sight,
and returned with them to the village. There she debated long with
herself as to whether she should tell her father or Otshata of what
had happened; but, until the time of moon-setting, she had not found
courage to do so. She had not meant to admit the young warrior without
their knowledge, especially as news had come, within an hour, of the
near approach of the Hurons; but a will stronger than her own seemed
to compel her, and finally she did as Massasoit desired. Then, sadly
frightened, she whispered, "In the council-house is Kaweras," and fled
away into the darkness, leaving the young man to discover his bearings
as best he might.
Having at length gained the council-lodge and being received as
already stated, Massasoit was compelled to answer many questions
before securing the confidence of all the chiefs. Little by little,
however, it was acquired. Kaweras told what he knew of him. The belt
that he wore was a potent influence; and finally one, who had been
with Sacandaga at the time of his death, recognized the young man as
he who had risked his own life to save that of the Iroquois chieftain.
After that they listened with closest attention to all he had to say.
Thus, before he left them, he had outlined a plan of operations for
the morrow, or whenever the Hurons should make an attack, that they
promised to follow.
Massasoit also instructed the Iroquois as to the nature of fire-arms,
which they had heretofore regarded with all the terror of ignorance. He
described the manner in which the thunder-sticks must be loaded before
becoming effective as weapons, and assured his hearers that, after
being discharged, they were for a long time no more dangerous than so
many wooden billets. Having thus restored a cheerful confidence to the
council, the young chieftain departed and made his way to where his own
warriors anxiously awaited him.
Immediately upon rejoining these, and without pausing to rest, he led
them on a long detour, so that, before daylight, they had gained a
position in the rear of the Hurons, by whom the presence of the young
Peacemaker was as yet unsuspected.
With the rising of the sun hundreds of dark forms might have been seen
gliding stealthily from tree to tree in the direction of the Maqua
village. At a short interval behind the last of these came another
group moving in the same direction, but with even greater caution.
Foremost among them was Massasoit, leading his people in an enterprise
that would make or mar his own reputation for all future time.
Suddenly the morning stillness of the forest was rudely broken by the
roar of three muskets fired in quick succession, and the battle was
begun.