THE COUNCIL OF THE GREAT CHIEFS.
Notwithstanding the stormy conversation he had had with Eusebio, Eagle
Head had continued to treat the prisoners with the greatest kindness,
and that extreme delicacy of proceeding which is innate in the red race,
and which we should be far from expecting on the part of men whom,
without any plausible reason that I am acquainted with, we brand with
the name of savages.
There is one fact worthy of being noticed, and upon which we cannot too
strongly dwell, and that is the manner in which Indians generally treat
their prisoners. Far from inflicting useless tortures upon them, or
tormenting them without cause, as has been too often repeated, they take
the greatest care of them, and appear, in some sort, to compassionate
their misfortune.
In the circumstance of which we speak, the sanguinary determination
of Eagle Head with regard to the mother of Loyal Heart was but an
exception, the reason for which was naturally found in the hatred the
Indian chief had sworn to the hunter.
The separation of the two prisoners was most painful and agonizing;
the old servant set off, despair in his soul, in search of the hunter,
whilst the poor mother, with a broken heart, followed the Comanche
warriors.
On the second day, Eagle Head arrived at the _rendez-vous_ appointed by
the great chiefs of the nation; all the tribe was assembled.
Nothing can be more picturesque and singular than the aspect presented
by an Indian camp.
When the Indians are on an expedition--whether of war or hunting--on
encamping, they confine themselves to erecting, on the spot where they
stop, tents of buffalo hides stretched upon poles planted cross-wise.
These tents, the bottom parts of which are filled up with mounds of
earth, have all a hole at the top, to leave a free issue for the smoke,
which, without that precaution, would render them uninhabitable.
The camp presented the most animated picture possible; the squaws passed
here and there, loaded with wood and meat, or guided the sledges drawn
by dogs, which conveyed their wealth; the warriors, gravely squatted
around fires lighted in the open air, on account of the mildness of the
temperature, were smoking and chatting together.
And yet it was easy to guess that something extraordinary was about to
happen; for notwithstanding the early hour--the sun scarcely appearing
above the horizon--the principal chiefs were assembled in the council
lodge, where, judging from the grave and reflective expression of their
countenances, they were about to discuss some serious question.
This day was the last of those granted by Eagle Head to Eusebio.
The Indian warrior, faithful to his hatred, and in haste to satisfy
his vengeance, had convoked the great chiefs in order to obtain their
authority for the execution of his abominable project.
We repeat it here, in order that our readers may be perfectly
convinced--Indians are not cruel for the pleasure of being so.
Necessity is their first law; and never do they order the punishment
of a prisoner, particularly a woman, unless the interest of the nation
requires it.
As soon as the chiefs were assembled round the fire of council, the
pipe bearer entered the circle, holding in his hand the calumet ready
lighted; he bowed towards the four cardinal points, murmuring a short
prayer, and then presented the calumet to the oldest chief, but
retaining the bowl of the pipe in his hand.
When all the chiefs had smoked, one after the other, the pipe bearer
emptied the ashes of the pipe into the fire, saying--
"Chiefs of the great Comanche nation, may _Natosh_ (God) give you
wisdom, so that whatever be your determination, it may be conformable to
justice."
Then, after bowing respectfully, he retired.
A moment of silence followed, in which everyone seemed meditating
seriously upon the words that had just been pronounced.
At length the most aged of the chiefs arose.
He was a venerable old man, whose body was furrowed with the scars of
innumerable wounds, and who enjoyed among his people a great reputation
for wisdom. He was named Eshis (the Sun).
"My son Eagle Head has," he said, "an important communication to make to
the council of the chiefs; let him speak, our ears are open. Eagle Head
is a warrior as wise as he is valiant; his words will be listened to by
us with respect."
"Thanks!" the warrior replied; "my father is wisdom itself. Natosh
conceals nothing from him."
The chiefs bowed, and Eagle Head continued.
"The palefaces, our eternal persecutors, pursue and harass us without
intermission, forcing us to abandon to them, one by one, our best
hunting grounds, and to seek refuge in the depths of the forest like
timid deer; many of them even dare to come into the prairies which serve
us as places of refuge, to trap beavers and hunt elks and buffaloes
which are our property. These faithless men, the outcasts of their
people, rob us and assassinate us when they can do it with impunity. Is
it just that we should suffer their rapine without complaining? Shall we
allow ourselves to be slaughtered like timid ashahas without seeking to
avenge ourselves? Does not the law of the prairies say, 'an eye for an
eye, a tooth for a tooth?' Let my father reply; let my brothers say if
that is just?"
"Vengeance is allowable," said the Sun; "it is the undoubted right of
the weak and the oppressed; and yet it ought to be proportioned to the
injury received."
"Good! My father has spoken like a wise man; what think you of it, my
brothers?"
"The Sun cannot lie; all that he says is right," the chiefs replied.
"Has my brother cause to complain of anyone?" the old man asked.
"Yes," Eagle Head replied; "I have been insulted by a white hunter; he
has several times attacked my camp; he has killed some of my young men
in ambush; I myself have been wounded, as you may see--the scar is not
yet closed. This man, in short, is the most cruel enemy the Comanches
have, for he pursues them like wild beasts, that he may enjoy their
tortures, and hear their cries of agony."
At these words, pronounced with an imposing expression, a shudder of
anger ran through the assembly. The astute chief, perceiving that his
cause was gained in the minds of his auditors, continued, without
showing the internal joy he experienced--
"I might have been able, if it had only concerned myself," he said, "to
pardon these injuries, however serious they may be; but we have now to
deal with a public enemy, with a man who has sworn the destruction of
our nation. Hence, however painful be the necessity which constrains
me, I ought not to hesitate to strike him in that which is dearest to
him. His mother is in my hands. I have hesitated to sacrifice her; I
have not allowed myself to be carried away by my hatred. I have wished
to be just; and though it would have been so easy for me to kill this
woman, I have preferred waiting till you, revered chiefs of our nation,
should yourselves give me the order to do so. I have done still more: so
repugnant was it to me to shed blood uselessly, and punish the innocent
for the guilty, that I have granted this woman a respite of four days,
in order to give her son the power of saving her, by presenting himself
to suffer in her place. A paleface made prisoner by me is gone in search
of him; but that man is a rabbit's heart--he has only the courage to
assassinate unarmed enemies. He is not come! he will not come! This
morning, at sunrise, expires the delay granted by me. Where is this man?
He has not appeared! What say my brothers? Is my conduct just? Ought
I to be blamed? Or shall this woman be tied to the stake, so that the
palefaced robbers, terrified by her death, may acknowledge that the
Comanches are formidable warriors, who never leave an insult unpunished?
Have I spoken well, men of power?"
After having pronounced this long speech, Eagle Head resumed his seat,
and crossing his arms on his breast, he awaited, with his head cast
down, the decision of the chiefs.
A tolerably long silence followed this speech. At length the Sun arose.
"My brother has spoken well," he said. "His words are those of a man
who does not allow himself to be governed by his passions; all he has
said is just; the whites, our ferocious enemies, are eager for our
destruction; however painful for us may be the punishment of this woman,
it is necessary."
"It is necessary!" the chiefs repeated, bowing their heads.
"Go!" the Sun resumed, "make the preparations; give to this execution
the appearance of an expiation, and not that of a vengeance; everybody
must be convinced that the Comanches do not torture women for pleasure,
but that they know how to punish the guilty. I have spoken."
The chiefs arose, and after respectfully bowing to the old man, they
retired.
Eagle Head had succeeded; he was about to avenge himself, without
assuming the responsibility of an action of which he comprehended all
the hideousness, but in which he had had the heart to implicate all
the chiefs of his nation under an appearance of justice, for which,
inwardly, he cared but very little.
The preparations for the punishment were hurried on as fast as possible.
The women cut thin splinters of ash to be introduced under the nails,
others prepared elder pith to make sulphur matches, whilst the youngest
went into the forest to seek for armfuls of green wood destined to burn
the condemned woman slowly, while stifling her with the smoke it would
produce.
In the meantime, the men had completely stripped the bark off a tree
which they had chosen to serve as the stake of torture; they had then
rubbed it well with elk fat mixed with red ochre; round its base they
had placed the wood of the pyre, and this done, the sorcerer had come to
conjure the tree by means of mysterious words, in order to render it fit
for the purpose to which they destined it.
These preparations terminated, the condemned was brought to the foot
of the stake, and seated, without being tied, upon the pile of wood
intended to burn her; and the scalp dance commenced.
The unfortunate woman was, in appearance, impassible. She had made the
sacrifice of her life; nothing that passed around her could any longer
affect her.
Her eyes, burning with fever and swollen with tears, wandered without
purpose, over the vast crowd that enveloped her with the roarings of
wild beasts. Her mind watched, nevertheless, as keenly and as lucidly
as in her happiest days. The poor mother had a fear which wrung her
heart and made her endure a torture, compared with which those which the
Indians were preparing to inflict upon her were as nothing; she trembled
lest her son, warned of the horrid fate that awaited her, should hasten
to save her, and give himself up to his ferocious enemies.
With her ear attentive to the least noise, she seemed to hear every
instant the precipitate steps of her son flying to her assistance. Her
heart bounded with fear. She prayed God from the very depths of her soul
to permit her to die instead of her beloved child.
The scalp dance whirled ferociously around her.
A crowd of warriors, tall, handsome, magnificently dressed, but with
their faces blackened, danced, two by two, round the stake, led by seven
musicians armed with drums and chicikoués, who were striped with black
and red, and wore upon their heads feathers of the screech owl, falling
down behind.
The warriors had in their hands guns and clubs, ornamented with black
feathers and red cloth, of which they brought the butts to the ground as
they danced.
These men formed a vast semicircle around the stake; in face of them,
and completing the circle, the women danced.
Eagle Head, who led the warriors, carried a long staff, at the end of
which was suspended a human scalp, surmounted by a stuffed pie with its
wings out-spread; a little lower on the same stick were a second scalp,
the skin of a lynx, and some feathers.
When they had danced thus for an instant, the musicians placed
themselves by the side of the condemned, and made a deafening noise,
singing, whilst beating the drums with all their force, and shaking the
chicikoués.
This dance continued a considerable time, accompanied by atrocious
howlings, enough to madden with terror the unfortunate woman to whom
they presaged the frightful tortures that awaited her.
At length Eagle Head touched the condemned lightly with his stick. At
this signal the tumult ceased as if by enchantment, the ranks were
broken, and everyone seized his weapons.
The punishment was about to begin!