CHAPTER XXIV.
IN THE DESERT.
The news Black-deer brought must be very important, for, in spite ofthat stoicism which the Indians regard as a law, the Chief's face wasimprinted with the most lively anxiety. After sitting down at an equipalto which Loyal Heart pointed, instead of speaking, as he had beeninvited to do, he remained gloomy and silent The hunters looked at himcuriously, waiting with impatience till he thought proper to explain. Atlength Loyal Heart, seeing that he obstinately remained silent, resolvedto address him.
"What is the matter, Chief?" he asked him. "Whence comes the anxiety Isee on your features? What new misfortune have you to announce?"
"An enormous misfortune," he answered, in a hollow voice; "the prisonerhas escaped."
"What prisoner?"
"The son of Blue-fox."
The hunters gave a start of surprise.
"It is impossible," Loyal Heart said; "did he not surrender himself as ahostage? Did he not pledge his word? And an Indian warrior never breaksthat; only white men do so," he added, bitterly.
Black-deer looked down in embarrassment.
"Come," Loyal Heart went on, "let us be frank, Chief; tell us clearlywhat things happened."
"The prisoner was bound and placed in the great medicine lodge."
"What!" Loyal Heart exclaimed, in indignation; "A hostage bound andimprisoned! You are mistaken, Chief, the Sachems have not done such athing, or thus insulted a young man protected by the law of nations."
"I relate things exactly as they happened, Loyal Heart."
"And who gave the order?"
"I," the Chief muttered.
"The hatred you feel for Blue-fox led you astray, Black-deer; youcommitted a great fault in despising the word pledged by this young man;by treating him as a prisoner you gave him the right to escape; theopportunity offered itself, he profited by it, and acted rightly."
"My young men are on his trail," the Chief said, with a hateful smile.
"Your young men will not capture him, for he has fled with the feet ofthe gazelle."
"Is the misfortune irreparable, then?"
"Perhaps not. Listen to me: one way is left us of capturing our enemyagain. The Pale hunters, my brothers, have asked my help in the war theWhites are carrying on at this moment against each other; ask of thecouncil of the Chiefs one hundred picked warriors, whom I will command,and you can accompany me; tomorrow at sunset we will set out; theApaches are burning to take their revenge for the defeat we inflicted onthem, so be assured that ere we join our brothers the Palefaces, weshall see our road barred by Blue-fox and his warriors. This is the onlychance left us to finish with this implacable enemy--do you accept it?"
"I do accept it, Loyal Heart; your medicine is good, it has neverdeceived you, the words your chest utters are inspired by the Wacondah!"the Chief said, eagerly, as he rose. "I am going to the council of theChiefs, will you accompany me?"
"What to do? It is better that the proposition should come from you,Black-deer, for I am only an adopted son of the tribe."
"Good, I will do what my brother desires; I will return shortly."
"You see, my friend," Loyal Heart said to Tranquil, when the Chief hadleft, "that I have not delayed in fulfilling my promises; perhaps, ofthe hundred warriors we take with us one half will remain on the way,but the survivors will not be the less of great assistance to you."
"Thanks, my friend," Tranquil answered; "you know that I have faith inyou."
As Loyal Heart had foreseen, the Indian warriors sent in pursuit of theprisoner returned to the village without him; they had beaten up thecountry in vain, the whole night through, without discovering any traceof his passage. The young man had disappeared from the medicine lodge,and it was impossible to find out what means he had employed to effecthis escape. The only remark the Comanches made--but it had considerableimportance--was that, at a spot in the forest exactly opposite to thatwhere the battle with the Apaches had taken place, the soil was trampledand the bark of the trees nibbled, as if several horses had beenstanding there for some time, but there was no mark of human feet.
The warriors, consequently, returned completely disappointed, and thusaugmented the anger of their countrymen. The moment was well selectedfor the request Black-deer wished to make of the Council of Sachems. Herequested the expedition projected by Loyal Heart, not as anintervention in favour of the Whites, for that was only secondary, butas an experiment he desired to attempt, not merely to recapture thefugitive, but his father, who, doubtless, would be posted in ambush at alittle distance from the village. As the question thus brought beforethem was acceptable, the Sachems authorised Black-deer to select onehundred of the most renowned warriors of the nation, who would make theexpedition under his orders and those of Loyal Heart.
Black-deer spoke to the hachesto, who mounted on the roof of a calli andimmediately convened the members of the tribe. When the braves knew thatan expedition was meditated, under the command of two such renownedChiefs, they eagerly offered to join the war party, so that the Chiefreally had a difficulty in selection. Shortly before sunset one hundredhorsemen, armed with lances, guns, axes, and knives, wearing their warmoccasins, from the heel of which hung numerous coyote tails, and havinground their neck their long ilchochetas, or war whistles, made of ahuman thigh bone, formed one imposing squadron, drawn up in the finestorder on the village square, in front of the ark of the first man. Thesesavage warriors, with their symbolic paint and quaint dresses, offered astrange and terrific appearance.
When the white hunters ranged themselves by their side they were greetedwith shouts of joy and unanimous applause. Loyal Heart and Black-deerplaced themselves at the head of the band, the oldest Sachems advancedand saluted the departing warriors, and at a signal from Loyal Heart thetroop defiled at a walking pace before the members of the council andquitted the village.
At the moment when they entered the plain the sun was setting in a massof purple and golden clouds. Once on the war trail the detachment fellinto Indian file, the deepest silence prevailed in the ranks, and theyadvanced rapidly in the direction of the forest. The Indians, when theystart on a dangerous expedition, always throw out as flankersintelligent men, ordered to discover the enemy and protect thedetachment from any surprise. These spies are changed every day, and,though afoot, they always keep a great distance ahead and on the flanksof the body they have undertaken to lead. Indian warfare in no wayresembles ours; it is composed of a series of tricks and surprises, andIndians must be forced by imperious circumstances to fight in the open;attacking or resisting without a complete certainty of victory isconsidered by them an act of madness. War, in their sight, being only anopportunity for acquiring plunder, they see no dishonour in flight whenthey have only blows to gain by resisting, reserving to themselves theright of taking a brilliant revenge whenever the chance may offer.
During the first fortnight the march of the Comanches was in no waydisquieted, and the scouts, since they left the village, had discoveredno human trail. The only individuals they met were peaceful hunters,travelling with their squaws, dogs, and children, and returning to theirvillage; all agreed with the statement that they had seen no suspicioustrail. Two days after, the Comanches entered on Texan territory.
This apparent tranquillity greatly perturbed the two Chiefs of thedetachment; they fancied themselves too well acquainted with thevindictive character of the Apaches to suppose that they would let themtravel thus peacefully without attempting to check them. Tranquil, too,who had long known Blue-fox, completely shared their opinion. Oneevening the Comanches, after making a long day's march, bivouacked onthe banks of a small stream upon the top of a wooded hill whichcommanded the course of the river and the surrounding country. As usual,the scouts had returned with the assertion that they had discovered nosign; when supper was over, Loyal Heart himself stationed the sentries,and each prepared to enjoy, during a few hours, a repose which thefatigues of the day rendered not only agreeable, but necessary.
Still,
Tranquil, agitated by a secret presentiment, felt a feverish andapparently causeless anxiety which robbed him of sleep; in vain did heclose his eyes with the firm intention of sleeping, they opened again inspite of his will; wearied with this sleeplessness, for which he couldfind no plausible reason, the hunter rose, resolved to keep awake andtake a turn in the neighbourhood. The movement he made in picking up hisrifle woke Loyal Heart.
"What is the matter?" he asked at once.
"Nothing, nothing," the hunter answered, "go to sleep."
"Then why do you get up?"
"Because I cannot sleep, that's all, and intend to profit by mywakefulness to take a walk round the camp."
These words completely aroused Loyal Heart, for Tranquil was not the manto do anything without powerful reasons.
"Come my friend," he said to him, "there is something, tell me.
"I know nothing," the hunter answered, "but I am sad and restless; in aword, I know not what I fancy, but I cannot help thinking an approachingdanger menaces us; what it is I cannot say, but I noticed today twoflocks of flamingoes flying against the wind, several antelopes, deers,and other animals running madly in the same direction; the whole daythrough I have not heard a single bird sing, and as all that is notnatural, I am alarmed."
"Alarmed?" Loyal Heart said with a laugh.
"Alarmed of a snare, and that is why I wish to make a round; I suppose Ishall discover nothing, I believe and hope it, but no matter, I shall atany rate be certain that we have nothing to fear."
Loyal Heart, without saying a word, wrapped himself in his zarape andseized his rifle.
"Let us go," he said.
"What do you mean?" the hunter asked.
"I am going with you."
"What nonsense, my undertaking is only the fancy of a sick brain; do youremain here and rest yourself."
"No, no," Loyal Heart answered with a shake of his head, "I thinkexactly the same as you have just told me; I also feel anxious, I knownot why, and wish to be certain."
"In that case come along; perhaps, after all, it will be the bettercourse."
The two men quitted the bivouac. The night was fresh and light, theatmosphere extremely transparent, the sky studded with stars, the moonseemed floating in aether, and its light, combined with that of thestars, was so great, that objects were as visible as in open day. Aprofound calm brooded over the landscape, which the hunters couldperfectly survey from the elevation on which they were standing; attimes a mysterious breath passed over the leafy tops of the trees, whichit bent with a hoarse murmur. Tranquil and Loyal Heart carefullyexamined the plain which stretched an enormous distance before them.Suddenly the Canadian seized his friend's arms, and by a sharp andirresistible movement, drew him behind the trunk of an enormous larchtree.
"What is it?" the hunter asked eagerly.
"Look!" his comrade answered laconically, as he stretched out his arm inthe direction of the plain.
"Oh, oh, what does that mean?" the young man muttered a moment later.
"It means that I was not mistaken, and that we shall have a fight, butfortunately this time again it will be diamond cut diamond; warn JohnDavis, and let him take the villains in the rear, while we face them."
"There is not a moment to be lost," Loyal Heart muttered, and he boundedtoward the camp.
The two experienced hunters had noticed a thing which would certainlyhave been passed over by the eyes of men less habituated to Indiancustoms. We have said that at intervals a capricious breeze passed overthe tops of the trees; this breeze blew from the South West over theplain for a distance of some few hundred yards, and yet the same breezeran along the tall grass, incessantly approaching the hill where theComanches were encamped, but, extraordinary to say, it blew from theNorth East, or a direction diametrically opposed to the former. This wasall the hunters had perceived, and yet it sufficed them to guess thestratagem of their foes, and foil it.
Five minutes later, sixty Comanches, commanded by Tranquil and LoyalHeart, crawled like serpents down the sides of the hill, and on reachingthe plain stood motionless, as if converted into statues. John Davis,with the rest of the band, turned the hill. All at once a terrible crywas heard--the Comanches rose like a legion of demons, and rushedheadlong on their enemies. The latter, once again surprised when theyhoped to surprise, hesitated for a moment, and then, terrified by thissudden attack, they were seized by a panic terror, and turned to fly,but behind them rose suddenly the American's band.
They must fight, or surrender to the mercy of an implacable foe; hencethe Apaches closed up shoulder to shoulder, and the butchery commenced.It was horrible, and lasted till day. These deadly enemies foughtwithout uttering a cry, and fell without giving way to a sigh. As theApaches fell, their comrades drew closer together, while the Comanchescontracted the circle of steel in which they were enclosed.
The sun, on rising, illuminated a horrible scene of carnage; fortyComanches had fallen, while of the Apaches ten men, all more or lessseverely wounded, alone stood upright. Loyal Heart turned away in sorrowfrom this fearful sight, for it would have been useless for him tointerfere to save the last victims. The Comanches, intoxicated by thesmell of blood and powder, furious at the resistance their enemies hadoffered, did not listen to his orders, and the remaining Apaches werekilled and scalped.
"Ah!" Black-deer exclaimed, pointing with a gesture of triumph to amutilated and almost unrecognizable corpse, "the Sachems will bepleased, for Blue-fox is dead at last."
In truth, the formidable Chief lay on a pile of Comanche corpses; hisbody was literally covered with wounds, and his son, a poor lad scarceadolescent yet, was lying at his feet. Curiously enough, for the Indiansonly take the scalps of their enemies usually, a fresh cut-off head wasfastened to the Chiefs girdle--it was that of Fray Antonio. The poorMonk, who had quitted the village a few days before Tranquil, haddoubtless been surprised and massacred by the Apaches.
So soon as the carnage, for we cannot call it a battle, was over, theIndians prepared to pay the last rites to those of their friends who hadfound death in this sanguinary struggle. Deep graves were dug, and thebodies were thrown in without the usual funeral ceremonies, whichcircumstances prevented, still they were careful to bury their arms withthem, and then stones were piled on the graves to defend them from wildbeasts. As for the Apaches, they were left at the spot where they hadfallen. After this, the war party, diminished by nearly one-half,started again sadly for Texas.
The victory of the Comanches was complete, it is true, but too dearlybought for the Indians to think of rejoicing at it. The massacre of theApaches was far from compensating them for the death of forty Comanchewarriors, without counting those who, in all probability, would perishon the journey from the wounds they had received.