CHAPTER XXXIX.
The lodge of Black Eagle's sister was next in size and importance tothat of the chief himself, and on it, too, some European skill hadbeen expended. Though on a somewhat smaller scale, it was very muchsuch another building as that which has been described by a writer ofthose times as the palace of a celebrated chief of the Mohawks. In aword, "It had the appearance of a good barn, divided across by a mathung in the middle." It was only of one story, however; but theworkmen who had erected it a good many years before, on their returnfrom the completion of Fort Oswego, had added a door of European form,with a latch and a brass knob, which greatly increased its dignity inthe eyes of the tribe.
The possessor of this mansion, who was held in great reverence allthrough the Oneida nation, and was supposed to have communication withthe spiritual world, had obtained, I know not how, the name of theGrey Dove, although her features by no means displayed thecharacteristic meekness of the bird from which she derived herappellation, but bore a considerable resemblance to those of herbrother, which certainly well accorded with his name.
When Otaitsa approached the door, she found it fastened, and sheknocked twice with her hand before it was opened. A young girl thenpeeped out, and, seeing the Sachem's daughter, gave her admission atonce into the outer apartment. The space on that side of the large matwhich formed the partition was vacant; but a murmur of voices camefrom the division beyond, and a light shone through the crevicesbetween the mat and the wall.
The feelings of Otaitsa's heart were too powerful to leave anytimidity in her bosom; and, although she shared in some degree thefeelings with which the other Oneidas regarded the Grey Dove, sheadvanced at once, drew back the corner of the mat, and entered thechamber beyond.
The scene was neither of a beautiful nor of a very solemn character;nevertheless, there was something very striking in it. Seated around alarge fire in the middle, were a number of the elder women of thetribe, whose features and forms, once, perhaps, fair and lovely, hadlost almost every trace of beauty. But their lineaments were stronglymarked, and had, in many instances, a stern and almost fierceexpression. Their eyes, jetty black, and in most cases as brilliant asin early youth, shone in the light of the fire like diamonds; and, inmany an attitude and gesture, appeared much of that grace whichlingers longer with people accustomed to a free and unconfined life,than with those of rigid and conventional habits.
Outside of the first and elder circle, sat a number of the youngerwomen, from fifteen or sixteen years of age, up to five or six andtwenty. Many of them were exceedingly beautiful; but the figures oftheir elder companions shaded them mostly from the glare of the fire,and it was only here and there that one of those countenances could bediscovered which might offer, in many of the Indian tribes, fit modelsfor painter or sculptor.
Seated, not on the ground like the rest, but on a small low settle atthe further side of the inner circle, appeared Black Eagle's sister,gorgeously dressed almost entirely in crimson, with anklets andbracelets of gold, and innumerable glittering ornaments round herneck. She was much older than her brother. Her hair, almost as whiteas snow, was knotted up behind on the ordinary roller, without anydecoration. Her features were aquiline, and much more prominent thanthose of Black Eagle; and her eyes were still keen and bright.
The moment they lighted upon Otaitsa, the exclamation burst from herlips,--
"She is come! the Great Spirit has sent her! Stand there in the midst,Blossom, and hear what we have resolved."
Otaitsa passed between two of the younger and two of the elder women,taking her place between the inner circle and the fire; andwonderfully bright and beautiful did she look, with the flame flashingupon her exquisite form and delicate features, and lighting up acountenance full of strong enthusiasm and pure emotion.
"Thy child hears thy words," she said, without pause or hesitation;for it must be remarked that the stoical gravity which prevailed atthe conferences of the chiefs and warriors was not thought necessaryamong the women of the tribes. "What has the Grey Dove to say to thedaughter of her brother?"
"The boy must not die!" exclaimed the old woman, in a firm and decidedtone. "It is not the will of the Great Spirit; or, if he die, thereshall be wailing in every lodge, and mourning amongst the children ofthe Stone. Art thou willing, Otaitsa, child of the Black Eagle,daughter of the Flower of the East, to do as we do, and to obey myvoice?"
Otaitsa gazed round the circle, and saw a stern and loftydetermination written on every countenance. Her own heart was not oneto quail at any undertaking, known or unknown; and the only thingwhich could have deterred her from taking the pledge proposed, was thespirit of Christianity. But it must not be supposed that theChristianity of the Indian girl, notwithstanding all the labours ofher missionary friend, was pure and unmixed with the characteristicsof her people. All the daily habits of life, all that she saw, allthat she heard around her, mingled the notions and the feelings of theIndian with the doctrines and the sentiments of the Christian. Thefirst impulse was always Indian; the rectifying principle nearlyChristian.
After gazing round them for an instant, she answered, "I am; I will dowhat thou sayest to save him, even unto death."
"She has said!" cried the old woman. "Now then, Blossom, this is thytask; thou shalt watch eagerly as a fox upon the hill-side, and bringword to me of the exact day and hour when the sacrifice is to beoffered. Every one must watch."
"But how shall I discover?" asked Otaitsa. "The warriors tell nottheir secrets to women. The Black Eagle hides his thoughts from hisdaughter; he covers his face with a cloud, and wraps his purposes inshadows from our eyes."
"By little signs shalt thou know," returned the Grey Dove. "Smallclouds prognosticate great storms. When thou seest any change, mark itwell. If his head droops, and his eye seeks the ground more thancommon, bring or send the tidings unto me. If he be silent when heshould speak, and hears not the words thou utterest--if he gazes up tothe heaven as if he were seeking to know the changes of the weather,when all is clear--and if he looks at the tomahawk as it hangs uponthe beam, with a dull and heavy eye--be sure the time is coming."
Otaitsa gave a wild start, and exclaimed,--
"Then it is this night! for all the signs you mention have beenpresent. When I entered the lodge, his head was bowed down, and hiseyes were fixed upon the ground. He was very sad. He heard me; but histhoughts seemed to wander. When he stopped my petition, and turnedtowards the door, his eyes rested gloomily on the hatchet; and when hestood without, they were lifted to the sky, as if looking for stars inthe daytime. It is to-night! it is to-night! Oh, what shall be done?"
"Nay," answered the Grey Dove, with a kindly look, "it is _not_to-night. Be comforted, my child. Not until to-morrow, at the hour oftwilight, will the six moons have passed; and the Black Eagle speaksno word in vain. He will not lift the tomahawk a moment before thehour; but to-morrow will be the time, after the sun has set. Thepale-faces have taken the war-path against each other; and the alliesof the Black Eagle have called upon him to take wing, and help them.They have bade him paint himself for the battle, and come forth withhis warriors. He has waited but for this; and now we know the day andthe hour, for he will not tarry."
Otaitsa still trembled; but her mind was much relieved for the moment.She knew her father well, and she saw the truth of what the Grey Dovesaid.
"How shall we stay him?" she inquired. "The Black Eagle bends not inhis way like a serpent; he goes straight upon his path like a bird inthe air. He hears not the voice of entreaty; his ears are stoppedagainst the words of prayer. You may turn the torrent as it rushesdown after the melting of the snow, or the rock as it falls from theprecipice; but you cannot arrest the course of the Black Eagle, orturn him from his way."
"Be firm and constant," said the Grey Dove. "We are in the hands ofthe Great Spirit. Watch your father closely, Otaitsa, all to-morrow,from the mid-day till the setting sun--from the setting sun till thedawn, if it be needful. The moment he goes forth, come thou to me atthe lodge of
the Lynx, by the western gate of the palisade; thereshalt thou find me with others. I know that thy young heart is strong,and that it will not quail. Watch carefully, but watch secretly. Seeif he take the tomahawk in his belt, and if his face be gay or gloomy.Mark every sign, and bring the news to me."
"They may go by the other gate, and steal round," said one of thewomen in the inner circle. "I will set my daughter, now waitingwithout, to watch that gate, and bring us tidings. She is still andsecret as the air of night, and has the foot of the wind."
"It is good," said the Grey Dove, rising. "Let us all be prepared, forthe boy must not die."
No more was said; for the old prophetess fell into one of those deepand solemn reveries, from which all present knew she could not easilybe wakened, and which probably had acquired for her the reputation ofconversing with the spirit-world.
One by one, slowly and silently, the women stole out of the lodge,dispersing in various directions the moment they quitted the door.Otaitsa remained till the last, in the hope that the Grey Dove wouldspeak again, and afford her some further information of her plans; butthe old woman remained silently gazing on the fire, with her tallfigure erect and stiff, and probably perfectly unconscious of thedeparture of the others, till at length the Blossom followed the rest,and returned quietly to the great lodge.
The following day became dark and stormy about three o'clock in theafternoon. A sharp, cold wind succeeded to the mild breath of spring;and the Indians generally remained assembled round their fires,leaving the wide place within the palisade very nearly deserted.
Shortly before sunset, one Indian woman crept quietly forth, and tookher way towards a hut near the eastern entrance of their village.Another followed very speedily; and before twilight had ended, andnight begun, no less than twelve stood beneath the roof, with the GreyDove in the midst of them. It was too dark for any one to see the faceof another; for the night had fallen heavily and thick, and a blanketwas stretched across the entrance. But the Grey Dove felt them oneafter another with her hands, asking a question of each, to which sheseemed to receive a satisfactory answer.
"The thirteenth is not here," she said; "but she will come, and herheart will not fail."
A dead silence fell over them all after these words were spoken; thatsort of stern, heavy, solemn silence which not unfrequently precedesthe execution of some strong and terrible resolution. Yet, of thosetwelve, there were several gay and lively girls, as well as womenfallen into the decline of life. Nevertheless, all were as still asdeath. The volatile lightness of youth, as well as the garrulity ofold age, was hushed.
Suddenly, after they had waited about twenty minutes, the blanket waspushed aside, and another figure was added to the number. The voice ofOtaitsa whispered--
"He is gone forth armed as if for battle; he has his tomahawk withhim; his face was very sad. I saw the Old Cedar cross to the westgate, with others whom I knew in the darkness."
She spoke in eager haste, and gasped for breath; but the old womantook her by the arm, saying,--
"Be calm, be still! Now follow noiselessly. Then bend down as you passthrough the maize; though, in this black night, who shall see us?"
She was the first to issue forth; then came Otaitsa; and the othersfollowed one by one, with quick but silent steps, through the widefield of maize that swept round the palisade, and then into theneighbouring forest. Once, when they came near a spot where thepolished mirror of the lake collected and cast back every ray of lightthat remained in the air, they caught sight of a dark file, shadowyand ghost-like as themselves, moving on at a little distance in thesame direction. But it was soon lost, and the sight only served tohasten their footsteps.
Passing along a trail which cut across the neck of a little woodedpromontory, they suddenly came in sight of the lake again, and, by itsside, a low Indian hut, marked out plainly against the surface of thewater. When within about thirty yards, the Grey Dove halted, whispereda word or two to those who followed, and then, bending down, creptcloser to the lodge.
"Oh, let us hasten," whispered Otaitsa. "They are already there; Ihear my father speaking."
"Hush, hush! be still!" ejaculated the old woman in the same tone."The Black Eagle will do nothing hastily; it is for him a solemn rite.Let me first get near; then follow, and do what I do."