CHAPTER 31
"Flue.--Kill the poys and the luggage! 'Tis expressly against the law of arms; 'tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offered in the 'orld." --King Henry V.
So long as their enemy and his victim continued in sight, the multituderemained motionless as beings charmed to the place by some power thatwas friendly to the Huron; but, the instant he disappeared, it becametossed and agitated by fierce and powerful passion. Uncas maintained hiselevated stand, keeping his eyes on the form of Cora, until the colorsof her dress were blended with the foliage of the forest; when hedescended, and, moving silently through the throng, he disappeared inthat lodge from which he had so recently issued. A few of the graver andmore attentive warriors, who caught the gleams of anger that shot fromthe eyes of the young chief in passing, followed him to the place hehad selected for his meditations. After which, Tamenund and Alice wereremoved, and the women and children were ordered to disperse. Duringthe momentous hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled a hive oftroubled bees, who only awaited the appearance and example of theirleader to take some distant and momentous flight.
A young warrior at length issued from the lodge of Uncas; and, movingdeliberately, with a sort of grave march, toward a dwarf pine that grewin the crevices of the rocky terrace, he tore the bark from its body,and then turned whence he came without speaking. He was soon followedby another, who stripped the sapling of its branches, leaving it a nakedand blazed* trunk. A third colored the post with stripes of a dark redpaint; all which indications of a hostile design in the leaders of thenation were received by the men without in a gloomy and ominous silence.Finally, the Mohican himself reappeared, divested of all his attire,except his girdle and leggings, and with one-half of his fine featureshid under a cloud of threatening black.
* A tree which has been partially or entirely stripped of its bark is said, in the language of the country, to be "blazed." The term is strictly English, for a horse is said to be blazed when it has a white mark.
Uncas moved with a slow and dignified tread toward the post, which heimmediately commenced encircling with a measured step, not unlike anancient dance, raising his voice, at the same time, in the wild andirregular chant of his war song. The notes were in the extremes ofhuman sounds; being sometimes melancholy and exquisitely plaintive,even rivaling the melody of birds--and then, by sudden and startlingtransitions, causing the auditors to tremble by their depth and energy.The words were few and often repeated, proceeding gradually from a sortof invocation, or hymn, to the Deity, to an intimation of the warrior'sobject, and terminating as they commenced with an acknowledgment of hisown dependence on the Great Spirit. If it were possible to translate thecomprehensive and melodious language in which he spoke, the ode mightread something like the following: "Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! Thou artgreat, thou art good, thou art wise: Manitou! Manitou! Thou art just. Inthe heavens, in the clouds, oh, I see many spots--many dark, many red:In the heavens, oh, I see many clouds."
"In the woods, in the air, oh, I hear the whoop, the long yell, and thecry: In the woods, oh, I hear the loud whoop!"
"Manitou! Manitou! Manitou! I am weak--thou art strong; I am slow;Manitou! Manitou! Give me aid."
At the end of what might be called each verse he made a pause, byraising a note louder and longer than common, that was peculiarlysuited to the sentiment just expressed. The first close was solemn,and intended to convey the idea of veneration; the second descriptive,bordering on the alarming; and the third was the well-known and terrificwar-whoop, which burst from the lips of the young warrior, like acombination of all the frightful sounds of battle. The last was like thefirst, humble and imploring. Three times did he repeat this song, and asoften did he encircle the post in his dance.
At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly esteemed chief of theLenape followed his example, singing words of his own, however, to musicof a similar character. Warrior after warrior enlisted in the dance,until all of any renown and authority were numbered in its mazes. Thespectacle now became wildly terrific; the fierce-looking and menacingvisages of the chiefs receiving additional power from the appallingstrains in which they mingled their guttural tones. Just then Uncasstruck his tomahawk deep into the post, and raised his voice in a shout,which might be termed his own battle cry. The act announced that he hadassumed the chief authority in the intended expedition.
It was a signal that awakened all the slumbering passions of the nation.A hundred youths, who had hitherto been restrained by the diffidenceof their years, rushed in a frantic body on the fancied emblem of theirenemy, and severed it asunder, splinter by splinter, until nothingremained of the trunk but its roots in the earth. During this moment oftumult, the most ruthless deeds of war were performed on the fragmentsof the tree, with as much apparent ferocity as if they were the livingvictims of their cruelty. Some were scalped; some received the keen andtrembling axe; and others suffered by thrusts from the fatal knife. Inshort, the manifestations of zeal and fierce delight were so great andunequivocal, that the expedition was declared to be a war of the nation.
The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved out of the circle, andcast his eyes up to the sun, which was just gaining the point, whenthe truce with Magua was to end. The fact was soon announced by asignificant gesture, accompanied by a corresponding cry; and the wholeof the excited multitude abandoned their mimic warfare, with shrillyells of pleasure, to prepare for the more hazardous experiment of thereality.
The whole face of the encampment was instantly changed. The warriors,who were already armed and painted, became as still as if they wereincapable of any uncommon burst of emotion. On the other hand, the womenbroke out of the lodges, with the songs of joy and those of lamentationso strangely mixed that it might have been difficult to have said whichpassion preponderated. None, however, was idle. Some bore their choicestarticles, others their young, and some their aged and infirm, intothe forest, which spread itself like a verdant carpet of bright greenagainst the side of the mountain. Thither Tamenund also retired, withcalm composure, after a short and touching interview with Uncas; fromwhom the sage separated with the reluctance that a parent would quit along lost and just recovered child. In the meantime, Duncan saw Aliceto a place of safety, and then sought the scout, with a countenance thatdenoted how eagerly he also panted for the approaching contest.
But Hawkeye was too much accustomed to the war song and the enlistmentsof the natives, to betray any interest in the passing scene. He merelycast an occasional look at the number and quality of the warriors, who,from time to time, signified their readiness to accompany Uncas tothe field. In this particular he was soon satisfied; for, as has beenalready seen, the power of the young chief quickly embraced everyfighting man in the nation. After this material point was sosatisfactorily decided, he despatched an Indian boy in quest of"killdeer" and the rifle of Uncas, to the place where they had depositedtheir weapons on approaching the camp of the Delawares; a measure ofdouble policy, inasmuch as it protected the arms from their own fate,if detained as prisoners, and gave them the advantage of appearing amongthe strangers rather as sufferers than as men provided with means ofdefense and subsistence. In selecting another to perform the office ofreclaiming his highly prized rifle, the scout had lost sight of none ofhis habitual caution. He knew that Magua had not come unattended, and healso knew that Huron spies watched the movements of their new enemies,along the whole boundary of the woods. It would, therefore, have beenfatal to himself to have attempted the experiment; a warrior would havefared no better; but the danger of a boy would not be likely to commenceuntil after his object was discovered. When Heyward joined him, thescout was coolly awaiting the result of this experiment.
The boy, who had been well instructed, and was sufficiently crafty,proceeded, with a bosom that was swelling with the pride of such aconfidence, and all the hopes of young ambition, carelessly acrossthe clearing to the wood, which he entered at a point at some littledistance from t
he place where the guns were secreted. The instant,however, he was concealed by the foliage of the bushes, his dusky formwas to be seen gliding, like that of a serpent, toward the desiredtreasure. He was successful; and in another moment he appeared flyingacross the narrow opening that skirted the base of the terrace on whichthe village stood, with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing a prizein each hand. He had actually gained the crags, and was leaping up theirsides with incredible activity, when a shot from the woods showed howaccurate had been the judgment of the scout. The boy answered it with afeeble but contemptuous shout; and immediately a second bullet wassent after him from another part of the cover. At the next instant heappeared on the level above, elevating his guns in triumph, while hemoved with the air of a conqueror toward the renowned hunter who hadhonored him by so glorious a commission.
Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawkeye had taken in the fate of hismessenger, he received "killdeer" with a satisfaction that, momentarily,drove all other recollections from his mind. After examining the piecewith an intelligent eye, and opening and shutting the pan some ten orfifteen times, and trying sundry other equally important experiments onthe lock, he turned to the boy and demanded with great manifestations ofkindness, if he was hurt. The urchin looked proudly up in his face, butmade no reply.
"Ah! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm!" added the scout,taking up the limb of the patient sufferer, across which a deep fleshwound had been made by one of the bullets; "but a little bruised alderwill act like a charm. In the meantime I will wrap it in a badge ofwampum! You have commenced the business of a warrior early, my braveboy, and are likely to bear a plenty of honorable scars to your grave.I know many young men that have taken scalps who cannot show such a markas this. Go!" having bound up the arm; "you will be a chief!"
The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood than the vainest courtiercould be of his blushing ribbon; and stalked among the fellows of hisage, an object of general admiration and envy.
But, in a moment of so many serious and important duties, this singleact of juvenile fortitude did not attract the general notice andcommendation it would have received under milder auspices. It had,however, served to apprise the Delawares of the position and theintentions of their enemies. Accordingly a party of adventurers, bettersuited to the task than the weak though spirited boy, was ordered todislodge the skulkers. The duty was soon performed; for most of theHurons retired of themselves when they found they had been discovered.The Delawares followed to a sufficient distance from their ownencampment, and then halted for orders, apprehensive of being led intoan ambush. As both parties secreted themselves, the woods were again asstill and quiet as a mild summer morning and deep solitude could renderthem.
The calm but still impatient Uncas now collected his chiefs, and dividedhis power. He presented Hawkeye as a warrior, often tried, and alwaysfound deserving of confidence. When he found his friend met with afavorable reception, he bestowed on him the command of twenty men,like himself, active, skillful and resolute. He gave the Delawares tounderstand the rank of Heyward among the troops of the Yengeese, andthen tendered to him a trust of equal authority. But Duncan declined thecharge, professing his readiness to serve as a volunteer by the side ofthe scout. After this disposition, the young Mohican appointed variousnative chiefs to fill the different situations of responsibility, and,the time pressing, he gave forth the word to march. He was cheerfully,but silently obeyed by more than two hundred men.
Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested; nor did theyencounter any living objects that could either give the alarm, orfurnish the intelligence they needed, until they came upon the lairs oftheir own scouts. Here a halt was ordered, and the chiefs were assembledto hold a "whispering council."
At this meeting divers plans of operation were suggested, though noneof a character to meet the wishes of their ardent leader. Had Uncasfollowed the promptings of his own inclinations, he would have led hisfollowers to the charge without a moment's delay, and put the conflictto the hazard of an instant issue; but such a course would have been inopposition to all the received practises and opinions of his countrymen.He was, therefore, fain to adopt a caution that in the present temper ofhis mind he execrated, and to listen to advice at which his fieryspirit chafed, under the vivid recollection of Cora's danger and Magua'sinsolence.
After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes, a solitaryindividual was seen advancing from the side of the enemy, with suchapparent haste, as to induce the belief he might be a messenger chargedwith pacific overtures. When within a hundred yards, however, of thecover behind which the Delaware council had assembled, the strangerhesitated, appeared uncertain what course to take, and finally halted.All eyes were turned now on Uncas, as if seeking directions how toproceed.
"Hawkeye," said the young chief, in a low voice, "he must never speak tothe Hurons again."
"His time has come," said the laconic scout, thrusting the long barrelof his rifle through the leaves, and taking his deliberate and fatalaim. But, instead of pulling the trigger, he lowered the muzzle again,and indulged himself in a fit of his peculiar mirth. "I took the imp fora Mingo, as I'm a miserable sinner!" he said; "but when my eye rangedalong his ribs for a place to get the bullet in--would you think it,Uncas--I saw the musicianer's blower; and so, after all, it is the manthey call Gamut, whose death can profit no one, and whose life, if thistongue can do anything but sing, may be made serviceable to our ownends. If sounds have not lost their virtue, I'll soon have a discoursewith the honest fellow, and that in a voice he'll find more agreeablethan the speech of 'killdeer'."
So saying, Hawkeye laid aside his rifle; and, crawling through thebushes until within hearing of David, he attempted to repeat the musicaleffort, which had conducted himself, with so much safety and eclat,through the Huron encampment. The exquisite organs of Gamut could notreadily be deceived (and, to say the truth, it would have beendifficult for any other than Hawkeye to produce a similar noise), and,consequently, having once before heard the sounds, he now knew whencethey proceeded. The poor fellow appeared relieved from a state of greatembarrassment; for, pursuing the direction of the voice--a task that tohim was not much less arduous that it would have been to have gone up inthe face of a battery--he soon discovered the hidden songster.
"I wonder what the Hurons will think of that!" said the scout, laughing,as he took his companion by the arm, and urged him toward the rear."If the knaves lie within earshot, they will say there are twonon-compossers instead of one! But here we are safe," he added, pointingto Uncas and his associates. "Now give us the history of the Mingoinventions in natural English, and without any ups and downs of voice."
David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild-looking chiefs, in mutewonder; but assured by the presence of faces that he knew, he soonrallied his faculties so far as to make an intelligent reply.
"The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers," said David; "and, I fear,with evil intent. There has been much howling and ungodly revelry,together with such sounds as it is profanity to utter, in theirhabitations within the past hour, so much so, in truth, that I have fledto the Delawares in search of peace."
"Your ears might not have profited much by the exchange, had you beenquicker of foot," returned the scout a little dryly. "But let that be asit may; where are the Hurons?"
"They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and their village in suchforce, that prudence would teach you instantly to return."
Uncas cast a glance along the range of trees which concealed his ownband and mentioned the name of:
"Magua?"
"Is among them. He brought in the maiden that had sojourned with theDelawares; and, leaving her in the cave, has put himself, like a ragingwolf, at the head of his savages. I know not what has troubled hisspirit so greatly!"
"He has left her, you say, in the cave!" interrupted Heyward; "'tis wellthat we know its situation! May not something be done for her instantrelief?"
Uncas looked earnestly at the scou
t, before he asked:
"What says Hawkeye?"
"Give me twenty rifles, and I will turn to the right, along the stream;and, passing by the huts of the beaver, will join the Sagamore and thecolonel. You shall then hear the whoop from that quarter; with this windone may easily send it a mile. Then, Uncas, do you drive in the front;when they come within range of our pieces, we will give them a blowthat, I pledge the good name of an old frontiersman, shall make theirline bend like an ashen bow. After which, we will carry the village, andtake the woman from the cave; when the affair may be finished with thetribe, according to a white man's battle, by a blow and a victory;or, in the Indian fashion, with dodge and cover. There may be no greatlearning, major, in this plan, but with courage and patience it can allbe done."
"I like it very much," cried Duncan, who saw that the release of Corawas the primary object in the mind of the scout; "I like it much. Let itbe instantly attempted."
After a short conference, the plan was matured, and rendered moreintelligible to the several parties; the different signals wereappointed, and the chiefs separated, each to his allotted station.