CHAPTER XLII.
On that part of Lake Champlain, or Corlear, as it was called by theIndians, where, quitting the narrow basin which it occupies, from itssouthern extremity to some distance northward of Ticonderoga, it opensout into a broader sheet of water, and sweeps round the smallpeninsula of Crown Point, a large canoe was seen crossing to theCanada side, with about sixteen or seventeen persons on board. Therewas no attempt at concealment, no creeping along under the shelter ofthe banks; but boldly and openly the Indians paddled on within rangeof the guns of the French fort, and then directly across the bows oftwo large, flat-bottomed boats, or _bateaux_, accompanied by severallight canoes, each containing six or seven men, which were going downthe lake in the direction of Ticonderoga.
From each of the larger boats, the flag of France was conspicuouslydisplayed; but, as the canoe above mentioned seemed bearing straightfor the shore fully in possession of France, its movements for a timeappeared to excite no attention. Neither the _bateaux_, nor thecanoes, altered their course, the men on board the former continuing ashouted conversation in a mixed jargon, part French, part Indian, withtheir dusky companions in the lesser craft, who kept as nearlyalongside as possible.
At length, however, it would seem some suspicion was excited. Perhapsit might have been by the sight of two figures, male and female, inthe stern of the canoe, whose dress at once showed them to belong tonone of the Indian tribes, and was also somewhat different from thatof either the Canadian colonists, or the native French. The twoparties were now within less than a hundred yards of each other, andit seemed doubtful whether the large canoes would clear the easternboat without trouble. But suddenly a voice was raised loudly in theforemost _bateau_, and a question was put in French, as to whither theothers were bound, and who they were.
The Indians were silent, for they did not understand the wordsaddressed to them; but Woodchuck whispered to Edith, eagerly, "Answer,answer! if you can speak their jargon. Better be in the hands ofFrench officers, than these incarnate devils."
Edith's eyes had been cast down, and were so full of bitter tears,that she had seen nothing since they left the western shore. But nowshe looked up, and, in an instant, her presence of mind returned. Itis true, she did not speak at once, for she feared her voice would notreach the boat; but it was nearing the canoe fast; and, in a momentafter, the question was repeated in a more peremptory and distincttone.
"Tell them we are allies of the great French chief," said Apukwa, whoseemed to comprehend, in some degree, the meaning of the call; "say weare going to join our Canada Father." And he glared at her, fiercely,as he spoke.
"We are English," exclaimed Edith, exerting her utmost power of voice;"we are English, and Iroquois, going I know not whither."
Instantly, at a signal from the _bateaux_, the light canoes dashed outwith extraordinary rapidity; and, before any effectual effort could bemade to escape, the larger canoe was surrounded, while the yells ofthe Hurons announced that they recognized, at length, a band ofancient enemies. With a fiend-like look at Edith, Apukwa drew histomahawk from his belt; but, the brother of the Snake spoke some wordsto him in a low tone, the weapon was replaced, the men ceased to workthe paddles, and every face assumed the stillness of perfectindifference.
The yells and whoops of the Hurons still continued, and their canoescame rushing nearer, so that one danger seemed only to be escaped toencounter a still greater. Their fierce faces, and dark, half-nakedforms, tattooed and painted, were seen all round, and the tomahawk andthe knife were brandished as if for immediate action. But one of thelarger boats bore right down amongst them, and soon grappled the canoein which Edith and her companion were. A handsomely-dressedmiddle-aged man stood up in the stern as it came near, and, turning toan Indian by his side, who seemed a chief, said to him in French--
"Keep your people quiet, Great Elk."
A few words were then spoken, or rather shouted, by the Indian to theothers in the canoes, in a language which Edith did not at allunderstand, and in an instant every Huron sank down in silence, andthe light skiffs lay quietly upon the water, or only moved slightlywith the momentum they had already received from the paddles. Then,raising his hat and plume with an air of much grace, the Frenchofficer addressed Edith, saying--
"Will you have the goodness to explain to me, mademoiselle, who andwhat you are, and how you came to be in the position in which I findyou? I am sorry to be obliged to detain a lady, but you have too manymen with you for me to suffer your canoe to pass."
"I am the daughter of an English gentleman," replied Edith. "I havebeen attacked and captured, with the friend who was escorting me frommy father's house to that of Colonel Schneider; my two servants weremurdered--at least, one of them I am sure was. These Indians, who arewith me, are Iroquois, who are taking me forcibly across the laketowards Canada, and I have little doubt that I shall be put to deathalso, if you do not save me from their hands."
"This is a strange story, mademoiselle," returned the officer. "TheIroquois and your countrymen are in alliance."
"I cannot account for it," answered Edith; "they are certainlyIroquois, for they speak no other language, except a few words ofEnglish. You must ask them what is the meaning of their conduct, ifyou have any on board who can speak their tongue."
The officer turned once more to his Indian companion, and addressedsome words to him in French; but the chief shook his head, and then,drawing his eyelids together, as if to see more distinctly, gazed intothe canoe, scanning the persons of the Indians closely.
"They are Iroquois," he said, at length, in broken French; "let usscalp them."
This proposal, however, the officer did not think fit to comply with,at least for the time; and he replied with a laugh,--
"Wait a little, my friend. The Great Elk shall have scalping enoughsoon. We will take them ashore with us, at all events, and, perhaps,may learn more. Then, if they are really enemies, you shall exerciseyour skill upon them to your heart's content. The lady and her Englishcompanion, however, I claim as my prisoners.--Permit me, mademoiselle,to assist you into the boat. You will be safer here, and may trust tothe honour and courtesy of a French gentleman."
"I have no fears on that score, sir," answered Edith, rising; and,with the aid of the officer and Woodchuck, she passed into the otherboat, which, flat-bottomed and heavily laden, was not much higherabove the water than the canoe. Woodchuck followed her closely, butnot without exciting the wrath of the Honontkoh. They had sat, eversince the canoe had been grappled by the boat, with the utmosttranquillity; not a limb, not a feature had moved; and to the eye ofan observer, ignorant of their habits, they would have seemedperfectly indifferent to all that was taking place. In fact, one ofthem appeared actually going to sleep; for the sun, which had nowbroken out after the storm, shone full on his face, and his eyes wereclosed, and his head bent. But the moment that Woodchuck put his footover the side of the _bateau_, a yell of disappointed rage burst fromevery lip; and, unable to contain himself, Apukwa rose and pouredforth a few words of Huron, mixed with a good deal of Iroquois.
"Hold your tongues!" exclaimed the French officer, waving his handimperiously. "Tow them along behind us; and you, Great Elk, commandyour people to keep close around them, and see that they do not cutthe rope, and slip away."
The orders were given as he directed, and the arrangements made; butwhen all was completed, and the boat was once more moving along thelake, the Indian by his side pulled the officer's sleeve, thusinterrupting a speech he had just begun with a gallant air to Edith,and seemed to explain something to him in a low tone.
"Well, we shall soon find out," said the Frenchman, with a gay laugh."If they be Iroquois, who are about to become Hurons, and take serviceunder his Majesty, we will make them fight for us while we are going.We shall not have too many hands to help us, Great Elk, and they'llmake a good reinforcement to your party. As for the lady and herattendant, I will take care of them." Then turning to Edith, with acourteous smile, he spread his _roquelaure_ in a mor
e convenient partof the boat, and assisted her to seat herself more comfortably,saying--"Mademoiselle is a great deal too charming to travel any morewith such savages. But may I know the name of this gentleman? Can henot speak French?"
"Not a word, I believe," replied Edith.
"That is singular!" exclaimed the Frenchman, giving expression to thegeneral feeling of his nation, who seem to believe that the Frenchlanguage is one of those blessings of God which it is strange that heshould deny to any of his creatures. "What is his name?"
It instantly passed through the mind of Edith that, if she gave hergood companion the name of Captain Brooks, she would be certain tocause his detention as a prisoner of war; and she therefore merelyreplied--"He is called Woodchuck."
"Voodchick!" exclaimed the Frenchman; "_quel drole de nom!_ IsMonsieur Voodchick in the army?"
To the question thus put, Edith could fairly answer in the negative;for Brooks, though he had seen no little fighting in his day, wasmerely one of those amateur soldiers, then very common in theprovinces, who rarely missed an opportunity of joining some band ofvolunteers in times of war with France, or fighting upon their ownhand, according to the Scotchman's expression, as one of the extensiveclass called Stragglers. They generally bore away from the field,especially if they distinguished themselves, some military title, suchas captain or major, without having commanded half-a-dozen men intheir lives.
After having asked his questions and settled his conduct, the Frenchofficer's next business was, of course, _politesse_; and he would fainhave engaged his lovely companion in gay and lively conversationduring the rest of their little voyage; but Edith, though her mind wasgreatly relieved to find herself freed from the power of theHonontkoh, had many a subject of melancholy contemplation to occupyher. The dark and dreary consideration of her brother's fate--theuncertainty of what might befall her father and her lover--theseparation from all most dear to her--the doubt, even now, whether shemight not herself be detained a prisoner amongst strangers--all thesereflections tormented her beyond endurance. Moreover, the war inAmerica had hitherto been conducted by the French upon principles themost barbarous, and the most opposed to the ordinary characteristicsof that nation. The scene which succeeded the capture of FortWilliam-Henry was a black and damning spot, never to be obliteratedfrom the minds of men; and although it has been put forth by anAmerican author as the only stain upon the character of Montcalm, Mr.Cooper must surely have forgotten the violated capitulation of Oswego,the death of the gallant De la Court, and the scalping and massacre ofthe sick in the hospital. All that we can trust is, that thesebarbarities were only permitted, not encouraged. But how can weaccount for or excuse--how can we even palliate--the voluntarydelivery of twenty of the garrison into the hands of the savages, tobe tortured to death under the very eyes of the French soldiery, indirect violation of the articles of capitulation, as compensation forthe loss of twenty Indians? It is a fact which has never been denied,or it would be too horrible for belief.
Edith replied briefly, therefore, to the compliments and prettyspeeches of her military companion; and in the meanwhile the boatproceeded rapidly over the surface of the lake, passed Crown Point,and entered the narrow portion of Champlain, which stretches from thatpromontory towards the spot where the Sounding Waters, as the Indianscalled the outlet of Lake George, flow into the greater lake nearTiconderoga.
The French officer, somewhat baffled in his attempts to make herspeak, tried his fortune with Woodchuck, but with still less success;for, to everything he said in French, he received what can hardly becalled an answer in English, and generally, it must be said, not avery civil speech, as Brooks was filled with all the absurd prejudicesof his country, and never uttered the word "Frenchman," withoutcoupling it with the epithet "rascally."
The voyage was brought to a close before night fell, for the boatstopped short by a mile or two of Ticonderoga, and somewhat further tothe north of the spot where the ferry now exists. The scene would haveappeared beautiful had Edith's mind been free to enjoy it; for infront were seen the tops of the several bold eminences round theFrench fort. On the one side were those rich lands, varied at thattime with scattered masses of forest, though now highly cultivated,known as the New Hampshire grants; and, to the westward, a variedcountry, rising gradually to the foot of the Mohigan mountains.
The spot chosen for the landing was a secluded cove in the woods,where the shelving rocks broke through the soil, and dipped graduallyinto the water. Boats and canoes were all speedily hauled up, and thecommander of the party, with delicate attention, handed Edith out, andthen gave orders to his men to follow him, which was effected withrapidity and precision. The savages, under the orders of their chief,took care of the Iroquois prisoners, and apparently, by no slight actof forbearance, resisted the great temptation to possess themselves oftheir scalps.
When all had disembarked, the canoes were drawn safely up underconcealment of the bushes on either side, and the voyageurs pushedoff, and took their way up the lake again.
"I fear, mademoiselle," said the captain of the Frenchmen, who mighthave amounted in number to sixty or seventy, "I must trouble you totake a somewhat fatiguing promenade of four or five miles--at least, Iam told that such is the distance, for I have never been here myself,and do not know the way."
"Then are we not going to Fort Ticonderoga?" asked Edith.
"Not so," replied the officer; "we are going a little beyond, and Ishall have no opportunity of detaching any party whom I could trust tosend you into the fort to-night. The Indians, indeed, could bespared--at least, a sufficient number to escort you--but I shouldreally be apprehensive, from what I know of their habits, that youmight not be quite so safe in their charge as under the protection ofmy musketeers, with your devoted servant at their head. We willendeavour to make you as comfortable as we can for the night; and Idoubt not that, early to-morrow, I shall be visited by some superiorofficer, who will have the honour of conveying you to the fort."
"Then am I to consider myself as a prisoner?" asked Edith, in a coldtone. "I did not know that it was the habit of French officers to makewomen captives."
"So," replied the Frenchman, with a graceful bow; "we ourselves aremuch more frequently _their_ captives; but, my dear lady, within thelimits of this garrison I myself have no command--am merely actingunder orders, and feel myself imperatively bound to send you and yourcompanion, Monsieur Voodchick, to the commandant of the fortress, whowill act, I am sure, as he finds befitting. I only regret that Icannot do so at once; but my orders are strict, my route marked out,and I am told to hasten across this small peninsula as fast aspossible without approaching the fortress. It is certainly a ratherlong walk; but, if you feel fatigued, I can easily make my menconstruct a little litter and carry you. We shall find somepreparations made for us where we are going, though I am afraid notvery suitable for your use."
Edith evidently saw that remonstrance was in vain; and, saying thatshe should prefer to walk, she took the arm of Woodchuck, andexplained to him, as they went, all that had passed between her andthe Frenchman.
"I guess he is going to form an ambuscade," said Woodchuck. "If so,Miss Prevost, our army must be near, and we shan't be long in theirhands. I wish to Heaven I could get away from them, and had but ahorse to carry me," he added, thoughtfully, and with a sigh. "But it'sno use wishing. God knows his own ways best! Them Hurons look verymuch like as if they would eat the Oneidas before they've done. PrayGod they mayn't take such a fancy to us too!"
Thus saying, he took the place which was assigned to him and Edith inthe march. A number of Indians preceded, several little parties movedupon the flanks, and the small body of French infantry marched on, twoabreast, for the trail was barely wide enough for that number.Woodchuck and Edith followed them, and the French officer, with theIndian whom he called the Great Elk, walked next, succeeded by theIroquois prisoners, a large quantity of baggage borne on men'sshoulders, and the remainder of the Huron auxiliaries.
It was now twilight in th
e forest; and, for more than an hour afterdarkness had fallen upon the earth, the weary and rather perilousmarch was continued. Once, a small stream was crossed, Woodchucktaking up his fair companion in his sturdy arms, and bearing her overlike an infant. Nothing of any note occurred, except a slow andlow-toned conversation in the rear, which led Edith to believe thatthe Iroquois, her late captors, had found some of the other band ofnatives with whom they could converse; but she could not distinguishanything that was said.
Weary and exhausted, the sight of a fire at length glimmering throughthe trees, was exceedingly pleasant to her eyes; and, a minute or twoafter, a scene presented itself which might have looked dreary andcomfortless enough under other circumstances, but which had a cheerfuland comfortable aspect, after that long and gloomy march.
The trail which they had followed terminated in a small open space,flanked on three sides by low earthworks of no very regularconstruction, but evidently designed by an experienced military hand.The outer surface of these works was partially concealed by a thicket;and great care had been taken not only to preserve the brambles andthe large-leaved raspberry, but to fill every gap in this shrubbyscreen with branches of pine, and hemlock, and maple. Within theseembankments the ground had, to a certain extent, been cleared, thoughtwo or three of the larger trees had been left standing, to prevent avacancy being apparent without. About the middle of the open space, anumber of rude huts had been erected of small felled trees andbranches; and before one, somewhat larger than the rest, a sentinelwas seen planted, who, at the moment Edith came in sight, stoodmotionless, presenting arms as his comrades filed into the littlequadrangle. Behind the soldier, and between him and the hut, was alarge, blazing fire, which threw out his dark figure sharply outlinedupon the flame.
"Ah, this will do," said the French captain, in a tone of relief. "Thecommandant has been careful of us. Mademoiselle, I welcome you to myredoubt, and will do the best to make the evening pass pleasantly toyou. Now bring in the baggage, tell the cook to get supper ready, andyou, Pierrot, see that hut properly arranged for this young lady'saccommodation. I calculated on sleeping upon a very comfortablebear-skin to-night; but I will most willingly resign it to you,mademoiselle, in the hope of your passing a good night's rest."
Edith would fain have declined accepting a sacrifice so enhanced; butthe captain insisted, and his servant, whom he called Pierrot, at onceset about the preparations for her comfort with a degree of skill anddexterity truly French. In the meantime, while Edith, sitting on thetrunk of a fallen tree, waited till all was ready, and while a groupof stragglers unpacked the baggage which had just been deposited fromthe sturdy shoulders of the bearers, the French officer called hisfriend the Huron chief to council; and Apukwa and the other Oneidaswere brought before him, accompanied by two young Hurons, whoundertook to act as interpreters. Many were the questions asked; andwhat between the captains' ignorance of Indian manners and theinterpreter's ignorance both of French and Iroquois, the worthyofficer seemed completely puzzled.
At length, however, after consulting the Great Elk in a low voice, heexclaimed,--
"Tell them that, if their tale be really true--though I've got mydoubts, for I never heard of Freemasons amongst Indians before, andthat must be what you mean by Honontkoh--but, if their tale be reallytrue, they can stay here with us, and prove their devotion to theservice of his Majesty Louis XV., king of France, by fighting theEnglish at our side. They shall be sharply watched, however," headded, in a low voice, as if speaking to himself.
Apukwa heard his words translated; and then, saying something inreply, pointed to Edith and her English companion, with a look of twomuch meaning to be misunderstood.
"Nothing of the kind," answered the French officer, without waitingfor the words which seemed about to follow. "Tell him there's but onechoice: either to prove their story and their loyalty by fighting onour side, or to pass under the fire of these gentlemen." And he laidhis hand upon a pile of muskets which stood close beside him.
This intimation was quite sufficient. The Honontkoh agreed to stay andfight, without any further conditions; and the Frenchman then gavestrict directions, both to his own soldiers and to the Hurons, by whomthey were much more likely to be efficiently obeyed, that their verydoubtful allies should be kept continually in sight. He then seemed tocast all thought of the affair behind him, and turned towards Edith,who was already in the hut, saying,--
"I hope, mademoiselle, Pierrot has taken good care of you."
"With all the skill and courtesy of a Frenchman, monsieur," sheanswered, really pleased with the attention and almost fatherlykindness of the old soldier who had been arranging the hut.
"Then, now that you have the means of rest, it only remains to provideyou with meat and drink," said the officer. "I see they have spread mytable-cloth on the grass there. Will you and your friend come andpartake of my fare? Pray make my words understood to him."
Woodchuck readily agreed to accept the Frenchman's hospitality; butEdith declined taking more than a little bread and some wine, allegingthat she needed rest more than anything else. The French officer,however, would not be content with this, but with his own handsbrought her some savory mess, which would not have disgraced aParisian dinner-table, some choice wine, and, what was still morevaluable to her, a small lamp. He then closed the hurdle-door of thehut upon her, and returned to his meal with Woodchuck, keeping up withhim for half an hour a silent conversation by nods and signs, one halfof which was probably unintelligible to both. The Frenchman then tookpossession of another hut, and invited Woodchuck to share it with himfor the night.
But the stout woodsman declined any other covering than the sky; andstretching himself across Edith's door, was soon in profound slumber.