A TRYING ORDEAL
At dawn Spotted Deer looked anxiously about the lodge, hoping to see the
mysterious visitor who had entered during the night. He had disappeared.
The Delaware was alone.
The camp was astir with the usual daylight activities. Spotted Deer
recognized familiar sounds. People were calling from the lodges.
Children were running about in play. The women were breaking sticks for
the fires. He heard the crackle of freshly kindled wood. Smoke drifted
into the lodge. Soon afterward he smelled the tantalizing odor of
roasting meat. It roused his appetite. He wondered if the Shawnees would
bring food.
It was not long before a warrior and an old woman entered the lodge. The
warrior carried his tomahawk and the old woman brought meat and water.
The Shawnee unbound the Delaware in grim silence. Then he motioned for
the woman to place the meat and water beside the captive. He seated
himself to wait while Spotted Deer ate. The old woman stood watching
him. The Shawnee pointed toward the door and she hurried out.
It was some time before Spotted Deer could use his arms. The Shawnee
showed no impatience. He seemed content to enjoy the discomfort of his
foe. He was a young man, not much older than the Delaware. His face was
stern and cruel, and his eyes were bold and piercing. He was sinewy and
well formed, and looked as if he might be a dangerous adversary. He
waited silently until Spotted Deer had finished eating, and then he
bound him. Then he called the old woman who came and took away the bowl.
The Shawnee followed her from the lodge.
As he was not further disturbed, Spotted Deer began to consider his
chances. He wondered if the Shawnees intended to kill him. He had little
doubt of it. The Mystery Woman wished to see him die, and the Shawnee
leader had declared that his people would listen to her words. Spotted
Deer had slight hope of being spared. He knew the hatred which the
Shawnees had for the Delawares and he believed he would be made the
victim of their vengeance. Still he had passed safely through many
perilous days of captivity among the fierce Mohawks, and the thought
gave him courage. If the Shawnees delayed his execution, he believed his
friends might discover his plight in time to rescue him. He relied
particularly upon his friend Running Fox, a famous young warrior who was
the son of the great Delaware war chief, Black Panther. The lads had
shared many perilous adventures and each had implicit confidence in the
loyalty and ability of the other. Spotted Deer felt sure that, once
alarmed at his absence, Running Fox would make desperate efforts to find
him. If he finally learned of Spotted Deer's predicament, the latter
knew that nothing but death would prevent him from extricating him from
his difficulty.
"Running Fox will come," he assured himself.
Then he suddenly realized that, even if his friends should find his
trail, they might arrive too late to save him. The thought sobered him.
He feared that if the Shawnees planned to kill him they would carry out
their intention with little delay. They, too, might anticipate an
attempt by the Delawares to rescue him. He realized that the coming
night might bring his death. For an instant the idea startled him. Then
he drove it from his thoughts, and made an earnest appeal to
Getanittowit, the Great One.
Getanittowit, see what has happened to me;
See, Getanittowit, the Shawnees have caught me.
Great Getanittowit, take pity on me.
Getanittowit, tell my people about it;
Getanittowit, bring them here to help me.
Great Getanittowit, take pity on me.
He had barely finished his petition when the Shawnee leader entered the
lodge. For some moments he stood before Spotted Deer in silence. He
stared steadily into his eyes, and the Delaware met his glance without
flinching. Then the Shawnee began to speak.
"Delaware, I have come to tell you that you must die," he said.
He paused to note the effect of his words. Spotted Deer showed no
emotion. He waited calmly for the Shawnee to continue. It was some
moments before the latter spoke.
"Many bad things will happen to you," he said, finally. "Pretty soon we
will see if you are brave enough to go through with it. I do not believe
you are brave enough to go through with it. You are a Delaware. When you
see what the Shawnees are about to do to you I believe you will cry like
a woman. Then our young men will laugh at you."
The Shawnee again paused and looked searchingly at the captive. Spotted
Deer smiled scornfully. He showed no inclination to speak. His control
amazed his foe. He had expected to rouse him into a violent outburst of
temper. He appeared baffled by Spotted Deer's indifference. It annoyed
him. His anger showed in his face. Having failed to intimidate the young
Delaware, the Shawnee appeared to be in a dilemma. Spotted Deer believed
he had entered the lodge to carry out some crafty plan. For some moments
he maintained an awkward silence. The Delaware watched closely. He saw a
swift, cunning glance flash from the eyes of his foe. At that instant
the Shawnee addressed him.
"Well, young man, I see that you are brave," he said, less harshly. "It
is good. Perhaps I will help you. But you must do as I tell you. Will
you listen to my words?"
"Speak," Spotted Deer said, coldly.
"You are a Delaware," resumed the Shawnee, "Your people are our enemies.
Our enemies must die. If I do not help you my people will surely kill
you. You are a young man. I believe you are a brave warrior. It would be
foolish to throw away your life. I will tell you how you may keep it.
You must help me kill the great chief Black Panther. He is----"
"Stop!" Spotted Deer cried, furiously. "I have closed my ears. You speak
the tongue of my people, but you talk like a Shawnee. The Shawnees are
afraid of our great chief, Black Panther. It is good. They run to their
lodges when they hear his voice. You wish to kill him but you are
afraid. You ask me to help you. Shawnee, if my hands were loose I would
pull you to pieces. I am a Delaware. A Delaware will die for his people.
Go, Shawnee dog, and tell your brothers the words of Spotted Deer."
The Shawnee listened in dumbfounded amazement as the enraged young
Delaware defied him. As Spotted Deer finished speaking, however, his foe
suddenly gave way to passion. Springing wildly upon the helpless
captive, the Shawnee began to choke him. Spotted Deer was entirely at
his mercy. The Shawnee seemed determined to kill him. He slowly
increased the power of his grip, and Spotted Deer began to strangle. The
Shawnee laughed fiercely as he stared upon the distorted features of his
victim. Then, when the tortured Delaware finally began to lose
consciousness, the Shawnee suddenly released him.
"No, I will not kill you," he said. "It would be foolish. I will take
you to my people. I will give them your words. Then you will see how the
Shawnees kill their enemies."
He watched indifferently until he saw Spotted Deer recovering from the
attack, and then he left the lodge. For some time afterward Spotted Deer
gasped and choked in his efforts to recover his breath. Then he composed
himself to think. He feared that his bold defiance would cost him his
life. He believed that the Shawnee had spared him to receive a worse
fate from his tribesmen. Spotted Deer knew only too well the sort of
vengeance the Shawnees would inflict upon him.
"I am a Delaware--I must be brave," he kept telling himself.
Spotted Deer abandoned hope. It was evident that if his friends came,
they would arrive too late to save him. He felt sure that the night
would bring his death. He knew that the Shawnees would do their utmost
to make him suffer, in the hope of breaking his spirit and making him
die a weakling in their eyes. The thought roused his spirit. His eyes
flashed excitedly, as he told himself that it was his duty to uphold the
honor of his people. The thought fired him with enthusiasm. He resolved
to die as the Delawares would wish him to die.
"The Shawnees will see a warrior," he said, proudly.
Then his thoughts turned to Running Fox. The lads had been inseparable
companions and Spotted Deer grieved at the thought of leaving him. It
was the first peril he had faced without the companionship of his
friend. He took comfort, however, in the thought that Running Fox would
avenge him. Spotted Deer was entirely familiar with the grim
determination and dogged courage of that fiery-tempered young warrior,
and he knew that the Shawnees would be made to pay dearly for what they
were about to do.
As the long day finally drew toward its end, Spotted Deer heard sounds
which confirmed his fears. The village hummed with activity. It was
evident that the Shawnees were preparing for some unusual event. He saw
the glow from a great fire in the center of the village. The Shawnees
were shouting and laughing and singing their war songs. He heard them
passing the lodge and calling to him as they went by. Then the robe was
lifted from the doorway, and the diabolical old Mystery Woman peered
into the lodge. She shook her finger at him and laughed shrilly. Her
voice carried a threat of impending disaster, and Spotted Deer was
relieved when she passed on. Other Shawnees drew aside the robe and
looked into the lodge. Some stared in silence, others cried out
threateningly. Then they, too, hurried away.
A few moments afterward Spotted Deer heard some one talking loudly near
the center of the camp. The Shawnees had become quiet. When the speaker
finished, however, they raised their voices in a wild shout that carried
a sinister warning to the helpless young captive. He realized that his
ordeal was at hand. There was no way of escape. He was resigned. He
turned to Getanittowit, the Great One, for strength to defy his foes and
uphold the honor of his people.
O Getanittowit, I am about to die.
See, Getanittowit, I am not afraid.
Getanittowit, make me strong.
Getanittowit, make me brave.
Getanittowit, take pity on me.
O Getanittowit, help me.
Soon afterward Spotted Deer heard some one approaching the lodge. He
realized that the Shawnees were coming for him. He nerved himself to
meet the emergency. The Shawnee leader and another warrior entered the
lodge.
"Delaware, we have come to take you to our people," the leader told him.
"You must get ready to die."
Spotted Deer showed no emotion. He remained silent as the Shawnees
unbound his feet. For some moments, however, he found it difficult to
stand. The effort caused him great agony. The Shawnees were impatient.
The leader seized him and pushed him forward.
"Come, have we frightened you so that you cannot walk?" he asked,
mockingly.
Spotted Deer rallied at the challenge. He staggered unsteadily toward
the doorway of the lodge. Fearing a trick, the Shawnees sprang after
him. They seized him and led him outside.
The village was brightly illuminated by the glow from a large fire in
the center of the camp. About it was gathered a great company of
Shawnees. The appearance of the prisoner threw them into a frenzy of
excitement. As he was led forward by his guards the Shawnees began to
shout and laugh and shake their weapons. They made it plain that he
might expect no mercy.
Spotted Deer was bound to a heavy log that had been set up a short
distance from the fire. Then the warrior who had interfered in the
attack at the edge of the camp came toward him. He was accompanied by
the leader of the scouts and several other warriors. The Shawnees
suddenly grew quiet as these men approached the captive. The oldest
warrior addressed Spotted Deer in the Delaware dialect.
"You are a young man, but you are a Delaware," he said. "The Delawares
are our enemies. The Shawnees kill their enemies. You must die. You have
spoken big words. Now we will see how brave you are."
He turned and spoke briefly to his tribesmen. A company of warriors came
forward and formed a circle about the Delaware. They carried their
weapons and were painted for war. The Shawnees greeted them with shouts
of approval. For a few moments they stood, glaring fiercely at the
prisoner. Then they began to move slowly about the fire, stepping in
time with the rhythm of a slow, mournful chant.
It was a weird and fascinating scene: the great fire roaring and
crackling and sending its sparks high up into the night; the vast
assemblage of Shawnees with their fierce, eager faces, like wolves
gathered about a stricken deer; the circle of half-naked warriors moving
slowly about their foe in the prelude to the grim ceremony that would
follow. And, most interesting of all, the youthful prisoner, bound and
helpless, waiting calmly for torture and death at the hands of his
enemies.
For some moments the dancers continued their slow, sinister parade about
the captive. They made no attempt to attack him, but appeared to be
endeavoring to impress him with their grim earnestness. The solemn,
dirgelike chant was taken up by the entire company, and Spotted Deer
believed that the Shawnees were singing the death song. Then one of the
warriors, who seemed to be a leader, suddenly straightened and raised a
piercing yell that reverberated wildly through the camp. It broke the
solemnity of the ceremony and roused the dancers to action.
A moment afterward they began capering frantically about Spotted Deer,
shouting and jeering and flourishing their weapons. The Shawnees urged
them on with yells of approval, and the entire assemblage was soon in an
uproar. Once aroused, the dancers soon began to threaten and attack
their prisoner. They swung their war clubs about his head, aimed their
arrows at his heart and made close, dangerous passes with their knives.
Some rushed forward and struck him in the face.
Spotted Deer faced the ordeal without a tremor. His heart was filled
with a fierce resolve to uphold the traditional courage of his people,
and he was determined to remain strong to the end. He waited, therefore,
with head erect and eyes flashing, for the punishment which he felt sure
would soon be inflicted upon him. The Shawnees appeared to be rousing
themselves into a fury. Encouraged by the shouts of the spectators, the
dancers had thrown off restraint and abandoned themselves to the mad
antics of the war dance. They made every effort to intimidate the
unfortunate young warrior who had fallen into their hands. Some rushed
toward him and drove their tomahawks into the post close beside him.
Others shot their arrows within a hand-width of his body. Several seized
him by the scalp-lock and swept their knives about his head. Spotted
Deer, however, showed no fear.
Then above the tumult he suddenly heard the shrill, ominous laugh of the
villainous old Mystery Woman. A moment afterward she tottered forward
into the firelight, and pointed excitedly toward the captive. As she
stood revealed in the lurid glow from the flames her appearance was
startling. Her frail, bowed form was covered with an old deerskin robe.
Her white, unkempt hair fell loosely about her shoulders. Her aged
features were distorted in a fiendish grin, and her small, ferretlike
eyes glowed threateningly from their deep cavities beneath her shaggy
brows. She looked like an evil demon whom the fire had drawn from
concealment in the black depths of the night. The Shawnees watched her
in silent, superstitious awe. Spotted Deer felt his courage falter as
the fearsome old creature confronted him.
In a few moments she turned and addressed the four warriors who stood
apart from the rest of the Shawnees. As they made no attempt to stop
her, Spotted Deer believed that they were eager to hear her words. He
had little doubt that she was talking against him. When she finally
finished her excited harangue, one of the warriors called to the
dancers. They immediately ceased their exertions and stood quietly in
their places. Then the warrior whom Spotted Deer believed to be the
Shawnee chief made a brief talk. The Shawnees seemed to approve his
words.
In a few moments Spotted Deer saw preparations which enabled him to
guess the sort of punishment which the Mystery Woman had suggested for
him. The great company of Shawnees suddenly broke up, and the women and
old men and some of the boys hurried to the lodges. The old Mystery
Woman hobbled away, cackling gleefully. It was not long before Spotted
Deer saw his suspicions confirmed. Those who had disappeared were
returning with sticks and stout willow switches and small whips with
rawhide lashes. They were laughing and calling out in joyful
anticipation of their attack upon the prisoner. Behind them followed the
Mystery Woman. She, too, carried a willow wand and Spotted Deer felt
sure she would make savage use of it.
In the meantime the warriors jeered and threatened but made no further
attempts to injure him. Spotted Deer believed they were restrained by
the man whom he took for the war chief. The latter called out sharply
whenever one of the younger warriors showed an inclination to attack the
captive, and each time his command was obeyed. Spotted Deer realized,
however, that the respite was only temporary. He believed that his foes
were simply delaying his torture and death to give the fierce old
Mystery Woman an opportunity for vengeance.
The women and old men and boys had formed in two long lines about two
bow-lengths apart. They were singing and shouting and shaking their
sticks at the captive. Then a warrior freed Spotted Deer from the stake.
A moment afterward he was led forward to receive his punishment. Spotted
Deer realized exactly what was about to happen. He knew that he would be
compelled to make his way along the narrow lane between his foes who
would beat him as he passed. As his arms were bound behind him he was
powerless to defend himself against the attack. He realized that he
might lessen his punishment by dashing wildly along the course, but his
spirit rebelled at the thought. He feared that the maneuver would make
him appear frightened and weak in the eyes of his foes.
"Delaware, run!" cried the Shawnee leader, as he pushed Spotted Deer
between the lines of excited Shawnees.
Spotted Deer ignored the command. For an instant only he hesitated while
he looked calmly along the rows of fierce, eager faces. One in
particular stood out in contrast with the others. It was the evil,
grinning face of the old Mystery Woman who stood at the end of the line.
As Spotted Deer began the perilous journey between the lines, he heard
her shrill, harsh voice rising threateningly above the tumult.
The Shawnees were astounded when the Delaware started forward at a slow
walk. For an instant the unexpected maneuver baffled and confused them.
They wondered if fear had suddenly driven the power from his limbs.
Having expected him to make a wild dash for the end of the lines they
could think of nothing but fright as the reason for his strange action.
They began to laugh and jeer as they struck him about the head and
shoulders with their whips.
"Come, come, make the frightened Delaware run!" they cried.
Then they suddenly realized the significance of his conduct. They saw
that the Delaware was defying them. The realization drove them into a
fury. Weak and aged arms grew strong with emotion, and Spotted Deer
staggered beneath the violence of the attack. Some of the women jabbed
viciously at his eyes with their sticks. Some of the infuriated old men
kicked savagely at his legs. The boys beat him with their fists. All
struck him about the face and head with their sticks. By the time he had
covered half of the course he was suffering from many cuts and bruises.
It was evident that unless he hastened, he was threatened with serious
injury or even death. Still he refused to save himself by running. He
preferred to die rather than give the Shawnees an opportunity to boast
that a Delaware had run from their women and old men.
When Spotted Deer finally reached the end of the course, he was attacked
by the Mystery Woman. Throwing away her stick, she rushed upon him and
thumped him about the body with her fists. Her frail old arms lacked
strength, and her blows did little damage. Then, as several warriors
seized the Delaware and prepared to take him away, the Mystery Woman
drew a knife from her belt and attempted to reach the captive. The
Shawnees intercepted her and led Spotted Deer away.
He was greatly surprised when they took him to the lodge instead of the
stake. The Shawnees followed close behind him, shouting wildly and
threatening to overwhelm his guards and put him to death. He reached the
lodge in safety, however, and was pushed through the doorway. Then he
heard the warrior who seemed to be the chief talking to the people. Was
he attempting to pacify them? Spotted Deer listened anxiously. He heard
the Shawnees moving away. He believed that for the moment at least he
was safe.