CHAPTER XXVII
I'll no swaggerers: I am in good name and fame with the very best: --shut the door;--there come no swaggerers here: I have not lived all this while, to have swaggering now: shut the door, I pray you. --Shakspeare.
Mahtoree encountered, at the door of his lodge, Ishmael, Abiram,and Esther. The first glance of his eye, at the countenance of theheavy-moulded squatter, served to tell the cunning Teton, that thetreacherous truce he had made, with these dupes of his superiorsagacity, was in some danger of a violent termination.
"Look you here, old grey-beard," said Ishmael, seizing the trapper, andwhirling him round as if he had been a top; "that I am tired of carryingon a discourse with fingers and thumbs, instead of a tongue, ar' anatural fact; so you'll play linguister and put my words into Indian,without much caring whether they suit the stomach of a Red-skin or not."
"Say on, friend," calmly returned the trapper; "they shall be given asplainly as you send them."
"Friend!" repeated the squatter, eyeing the other for an instant, withan expression of indefinable meaning. "But it is no more than a word,and sounds break no bones, and survey no farms. Tell this thievingSioux, then, that I come to claim the conditions of our solemn bargain,made at the foot of the rock."
When the trapper had rendered his meaning into the Sioux language,Mahtoree demanded, with an air of surprise--
"Is my brother cold? buffaloe skins are plenty. Is he hungry? Let myyoung men carry venison into his lodges."
The squatter elevated his clenched fist in a menacing manner, and struckit with violence on the palm of his open hand, by way of confirming hisdetermination, as he answered--
"Tell the deceitful liar, I have not come like a beggar to pick hisbones, but like a freeman asking for his own; and have it I will. And,moreover, tell him I claim that you, too, miserable sinner as you ar',should be given up to justice. There's no mistake. My prisoner, myniece, and you. I demand the three at his hands, according to a swornagreement."
The immovable old man smiled, with an expression of singularintelligence, as he answered--
"Friend squatter, you ask what few men would be willing to grant. Youwould first cut the tongue from the mouth of the Teton, and then the heartfrom his bosom."
"It is little that Ishmael Bush regards, who or what is damaged inclaiming his own. But put you the questions in straight-going Indian,and when you speak of yourself, make such a sign as a white man willunderstand, in order that I may know there is no foul play."
The trapper laughed in his silent fashion, and muttered a few words tohimself before he addressed the chief--
"Let the Dahcotah open his ears very wide," he said 'that big words mayhave room to enter. His friend the Big-knife comes with an empty hand,and he says that the Teton must fill it."
"Wagh! Mahtoree is a rich chief. He is master of the prairies."
"He must give the dark-hair."
The brow of the chief contracted in an ominous frown, that threatenedinstant destruction to the audacious squatter; but as suddenlyrecollecting his policy, he craftily replied--
"A girl is too light for the hand of such a brave. I will fill it withbuffaloes."
"He says he has need of the light-hair, too; who has his blood in herveins."
"She shall be the wife of Mahtoree; then the Long-knife will be thefather of a chief."
"And me," continued the trapper, making one of those expressive signs,by which the natives communicate, with nearly the same facility as withtheir tongues, and turning to the squatter at the same time, in orderthat the latter might see he dealt fairly by him; "he asks for amiserable and worn-out trapper."
The Dahcotah threw his arm over the shoulder of the old man, with an airof great affection, before he replied to this third and last demand.
"My friend is old," he said, "and cannot travel far. He will stay withthe Tetons, that they may learn wisdom from his words. What Sioux has atongue like my father? No; let his words be very soft, but let them bevery clear. Mahtoree will give skins and buffaloes. He will give theyoung men of the Pale-faces wives, but he cannot give away any who livein his own lodge."
Perfectly satisfied, himself, with this laconic reply, the chief wasmoving towards his expecting counsellors, when suddenly returning, heinterrupted the translation of the trapper by adding--
"Tell the Great Buffaloe" (a name by which the Tetons had alreadychristened Ishmael), "that Mahtoree has a hand which is always open.See," he added, pointing to the hard and wrinkled visage of theattentive Esther, "his wife is too old, for so great a chief. Let himput her out of his lodge. Mahtoree loves him as a brother. He is hisbrother. He shall have the youngest wife of the Teton. Tachechana, thepride of the Sioux girls, shall cook his venison, and many braves willlook at him with longing minds. Go, a Dahcotah is generous."
The singular coolness, with which the Teton concluded this audaciousproposal, confounded even the practised trapper. He stared after theretiring form of the Indian, with an astonishment he did not care toconceal, nor did he renew his attempt at interpretation until theperson of Mahtoree was blended with the cluster of warriors, who had solong, and with so characteristic patience, awaited his return.
"The Teton chief has spoken very plainly," the old man continued; "hewill not give you the lady, to whom the Lord in heaven knows you have noclaim, unless it be such as the wolf has to the lamb. He will not giveyou the child, you call your niece; and therein I acknowledge that Iam far from certain he has the same justice on his side. Moreover,neighbour squatter, he flatly denies your demand for me, miserable andworthless as I am; nor do I think he has been unwise in so doing, seeingthat I should have many reasons against journeying far in your company.But he makes you an offer, which it is right and convenient you shouldknow. The Teton says through me, who am no more than a mouthpiece, andtherein not answerable for the sin of his words, but he says, as thisgood woman is getting past the comely age, it is reasonable for youto tire of such a wife. He therefore tells you to turn her out of yourlodge, and when it is empty, he will send his own favourite, or rathershe that was his favourite, the 'Skipping Fawn,' as the Siouxes callher, to fill her place. You see, neighbour, though the Red-skin isminded to keep your property, he is willing to give you wherewithal tomake yourself some return!"
Ishmael listened to these replies, to his several demands, with thatspecies of gathering indignation, with which the dullest tempers mountinto the most violent paroxysms of rage. He even affected to laugh atthe conceit of exchanging his long-tried partner for the more flexiblesupport of the youthful Tachechana, though his voice was hollow andunnatural in the effort. But Esther was far from giving the proposal sofacetious a reception. Lifting her voice to its most audible key, shebroke forth, after catching her breath like one who had been in someimminent danger of strangulation, as follows--
"Hoity-toity; who set an Indian up for a maker and breaker of the rightsof wedded wives! Does he think a woman is a beast of the prairie, thatshe is to be chased from a village, by dog and gun. Let the bravestsquaw of them all come forth and boast of her doings; can she show sucha brood as mine? A wicked tyrant is that thieving Red-skin, and a boldrogue I warrant me. He would be captain in-doors, as well as out!An honest woman is no better in his eyes than one of your broomstickjumpers. And you, Ishmael Bush, the father of seven sons and so manycomely daughters, to open your sinful mouth, except to curse him! Wouldye disgrace colour, and family, and nation, by mixing white blood withred, and would ye be the parent of a race of mules! The devil has oftentempted you, my man, but never before has he set so cunning a snare asthis. Go back among your children, friend; go, and remember that you arenot a prowling bear, but a Christian man, and thank God that you ar' alawful husband!"
The clamour of Esther was anticipated by the judicious trapper. He hadeasily foreseen that her meek temper would overflow at so scandalous aproposal as repudiation, and he now profited by the tempest, to retireto a place where he was at lea
st safe from any immediate violence on thepart of her less excited, but certainly more dangerous husband. Ishmael,who had made his demands with a stout determination to enforce them, wasdiverted by the windy torrent, like many a more obstinate husband, fromhis purpose, and in order to appease a jealousy that resembled the furywith which the bear defends her cubs, was fain to retire to a distancefrom the lodge, that was known to contain the unoffending object of thesudden uproar.
"Let your copper-coloured minx come forth, and show her tawney beautybefore the face of a woman who has heard more than one church bell, andseen a power of real quality," cried Esther, flourishing her hand intriumph, as she drove Ishmael and Abiram before her, like two truantboys, towards their own encampment. "I warrant me, I warrant me, here isone who would shortly talk her down! Never think to tarry here, my men;never think to shut an eye in a camp, through which the devil walks asopenly as if he were a gentleman, and sure of his welcome. Here, youAbner, Enoch, Jesse, where ar' ye gotten to? Put to, put to; if thatweak-minded, soft-feeling man, your father, eats or drinks again inthis neighbourhood, we shall see him poisoned with the craft of theRed-skins. Not that I care, I, who comes into my place, when it is oncelawfully empty; but, Ishmael, I never thought that you, who have had onewoman with a white skin, would find pleasure in looking on a brazen--ay,that she is copper ar' a fact; you can't deny it, and I warrant me,brazen enough is she too!"
Against this ebullition of wounded female pride, the experienced husbandmade no other head, than by an occasional exclamation, which he intendedto be precursor of a simple asseveration of his own innocence. The furyof the woman would not be appeased. She listened to nothing but her ownvoice, and consequently nothing was heard but her mandates to depart.
The squatter had collected his beasts and loaded his wagons, asa measure of precaution, before proceeding to the extremity hecontemplated. Esther consequently found every thing favourable toher wishes. The young men stared at each other, as they witnessed theextraordinary excitement of their mother, but took little interest inan event which, in the course of their experience, had found so manyparallels. By command of their father, the tents were thrown into thevehicles, as a sort of reprisal for the want of faith in their lateally, and then the train left the spot, in its usual listless andsluggish order.
As a formidable division of well-armed borderers protected the rear ofthe retiring party, the Siouxes saw it depart without manifesting thesmallest evidence of surprise or resentment. The savage, like the tiger,rarely makes his attack on an enemy who expects him; and if the warriorsof the Tetons meditated any hostility, it was in the still and patientmanner with which the feline beasts watch for the incautious moment, inorder to ensure the blow. The counsels of Mahtoree, however, on whom somuch of the policy of his people depended, lay deep in the depository ofhis own thoughts. Perhaps he rejoiced at so easy a manner of getting ridof claims so troublesome; perhaps he awaited a fitting time to exhibithis power; or it even might be, that matters of so much greaterimportance were pressing on his mind, that it had not leisure to devoteany of its faculties to an event of so much indifference.
But it would seem that while Ishmael made such a concession to theawakened feelings of Esther, he was far from abandoning his originalintentions. His train followed the course of the river for a mile, andthen it came to a halt on the brow of the elevated land, and in a placewhich afforded the necessary facilities. Here he again pitched histents, unharnessed his teams, sent his cattle on the bottom, and, inshort, made all the customary preparations to pass the night, with thesame coolness and deliberation as if he had not hurled an irritatingdefiance into the teeth of his dangerous neighbours.
In the mean time the Tetons proceeded to the more regular business ofthe hour. A fierce and savage joy had existed in the camp, from theinstant when it had been announced that their own chief was returningwith the long-dreaded and hated partisan of their enemies. For manyhours the crones of the tribe had been going from lodge to lodge, inorder to stimulate the tempers of the warriors to such a pass, as mightleave but little room for mercy. To one they spoke of a son, whose scalpwas drying in the smoke of a Pawnee lodge. To another, they enumeratedhis own scars, his disgraces, and defeats; with a third, they dwelt onhis losses of skins and horses; and a fourth was reminded of vengeanceby a significant question, concerning some flagrant adventure, in whichhe was known to have been a sufferer.
By these means the men had been so far excited as to have assembled, inthe manner already related, though it still remained a matter of doubthow far they intended to carry their revenge. A variety of opinionsprevailed on the policy of executing their prisoners; and Mahtoree hadsuspended the discussions, in order to ascertain how far the measuremight propitiate, or retard, his own particular views. Hitherto theconsultations had merely been preliminary, with a design that each chiefmight discover the number of supporters his particular views would belikely to obtain, when the important subject should come before a moresolemn council of the tribe. The moment for the latter had now arrived,and the preparations were made with a dignity and solemnity suited tothe momentous interests of the occasion.
With a refinement in cruelty, that none but an Indian would haveimagined, the place, selected for this grave deliberation, wasimmediately about the post to which the most important of its subjectswas attached. Middleton and Paul were brought in their bonds, and laidat the feet of the Pawnee; then the men began to take their places,according to their several claims to distinction. As warrior afterwarrior approached, he seated himself in the wide circle, with a mien ascomposed and thoughtful, as if his mind were actually in a condition todeal out justice, tempered, as it should be, with the heavenly qualityof mercy. A place was reserved for three or four of the principalchiefs, and a few of the oldest of the women, as withered, as age,exposure, hardships, and lives of savage passions could make them,thrust themselves into the foremost circle, with a temerity, to whichthey were impelled by their insatiable desire for cruelty, and whichnothing, but their years and their long tried fidelity to the nation,would have excused.
All, but the chiefs already named, were now in their places. These haddelayed their appearance, in the vain hope that their own unanimitymight smooth the way to that of their respective factions; for,notwithstanding the superior influence of Mahtoree, his power was to bemaintained only by constant appeals to the opinions of his inferiors. Asthese important personages at length entered the circle in a body,their sullen looks and clouded brows, notwithstanding the time given toconsultation, sufficiently proclaimed the discontent which reigned amongthem. The eye of Mahtoree was varying in its expression, from suddengleams, that seemed to kindle with the burning impulses of his soul, tothat cold and guarded steadiness, which was thought more peculiarly tobecome a chief in council. He took his seat, with the studied simplicityof a demagogue; though the keen and flashing glance, that he immediatelythrew around the silent assembly, betrayed the more predominant temperof a tyrant.
When all were present, an aged warrior lighted the great pipe of hispeople, and blew the smoke towards the four quarters of the heavens. Sosoon as this propitiatory offering was made, he tendered it to Mahtoree,who, in affected humility, passed it to a grey-headed chief by his side.After the influence of the soothing weed had been courted by all, agrave silence succeeded, as if each was not only qualified to, butactually did, think more deeply on the matters before them. Then an oldIndian arose, and spoke as follows:--
"The eagle, at the falls of the endless river, was in its egg, manysnows after my hand had struck a Pawnee. What my tongue says, my eyeshave seen. Bohrecheena is very old. The hills have stood longer in theirplaces, than he has been in his tribe, and the rivers were full andempty, before he was born; but where is the Sioux that knows it besideshimself? What he says, they will hear. If any of his words fall to theground, they will pick them up and hold them to their ears. If any blowaway in the wind, my young men, who are very nimble, will catch them.Now listen. Since water ran and trees grew, the Sioux has
found thePawnee on his war-path. As the cougar loves the antelope, the Dahcotahloves his enemy. When the wolf finds the fawn, does he lie down andsleep? When the panther sees the doe at the spring, does he shut hiseyes? You know that he does not. He drinks too; but it is of blood! ASioux is a leaping panther, a Pawnee a trembling deer. Let my childrenhear me. They will find my words good. I have spoken."
A deep guttural exclamation of assent broke from the lips of all thepartisans of Mahtoree, as they listened to this sanguinary advice fromone, who was certainly among the most aged men of the nation. Thatdeeply seated love of vengeance, which formed so prominent a feature intheir characters, was gratified by his metaphorical allusions, and thechief himself augured favourably of the success of his own schemes, bythe number of supporters, who manifested themselves to be in favour ofthe counsels of his friend. But still unanimity was far from prevailing.A long and decorous pause was suffered to succeed the words of the firstspeaker, in order that all might duly deliberate on their wisdom, beforeanother chief took on himself the office of refutation. The secondorator, though past the prime of his days, was far less aged than theone who had preceded him. He felt the disadvantage of this circumstance,and endeavoured to counteract it, as far as possible, by the excess ofhis humility.
"I am but an infant," he commenced, looking furtively around him, inorder to detect how far his well-established character for prudence andcourage contradicted his assertion. "I have lived with the women, sincemy father has been a man. If my head is getting grey, it is not becauseI am old. Some of the snow, which fell on it while I have been sleepingon the war-paths, has frozen there, and the hot sun, near the Osagevillages, has not been strong enough to melt it." A low murmur washeard, expressive of admiration of the services to which he thusartfully alluded. The orator modestly awaited for the feeling to subsidea little, and then he continued, with increasing energy, encouraged bytheir commendations. "But the eyes of a young brave are good. He can seevery far. He is a lynx. Look at me well. I will turn my back, that youmay see both sides of me. Now do you know I am your friend, for you lookon a part that a Pawnee never yet saw. Now look at my face; not in thisseam, for there your eyes can never see into my spirit. It is a hole cutby a Konza. But here is an opening made by the Wahcondah, through whichyou may look into the soul. What am I? A Dahcotah, within and without.You know it. Therefore hear me. The blood of every creature on theprairie is red. Who can tell the spot where a Pawnee was struck, fromthe place where my young men took a bison? It is of the same colour. TheMaster of Life made them for each other. He made them alike. But willthe grass grow green where a Pale-face is killed? My young men must notthink that nation so numerous, that it will not miss a warrior. Theycall them over often, and say, Where are my sons? If they miss one, theywill send into the prairies to look for him. If they cannot find him,they will tell their runners to ask for him, among the Siouxes. Mybrethren, the Big-knives are not fools. There is a mighty medicine oftheir nation now among us; who can tell how loud is his voice, or howlong is his arm?--"
The speech of the orator, who was beginning to enter into his subjectwith warmth, was cut short by the impatient Mahtoree, who suddenly aroseand exclaimed, in a voice in which authority was mingled with contempt,and at the close with a keen tone of irony, also--
"Let my young men lead the evil spirit of the Palefaces to the council.My brother shall see his medicine, face to face!"
A death-like and solemn stillness succeeded this extraordinaryinterruption. It not only involved a deep offence against the sacredcourtesy of debate, but the mandate was likely to brave the unknownpower of one of those incomprehensible beings, whom few Indians wereenlightened enough, at that day, to regard without reverence, or fewhardy enough to oppose. The subordinates, however, obeyed, and Obed wasled forth from the lodge, mounted on Asinus, with a ceremony and statewhich was certainly intended for derision, but which nevertheless wasgreatly enhanced by fear. As they entered the ring, Mahtoree, who hadforeseen and had endeavoured to anticipate the influence of the Doctor,by bringing him into contempt, cast an eye around the assembly, inorder to gather his success in the various dark visages by which he wasencircled.
Truly, nature and art had combined to produce such an effect from theair and appointments of the naturalist, as might have made him thesubject of wonder in any place. His head had been industriously shaved,after the most approved fashion of Sioux taste. A gallant scalp-lock,which would probably not have been spared had the Doctor himself beenconsulted in the matter, was all that remained of an exuberant, and atthat particular season of the year, far from uncomfortable head ofhair. Thick coats of paint had been laid on the naked poll, and certainfanciful designs, in the same material, had even been extended into theneighbourhood of the eyes and mouth, lending to the keen expressionof the former a look of twinkling cunning, and to the dogmatism ofthe latter, not a little of the grimness of necromancy. He had beendespoiled of his upper garments, and, in their stead, his body wassufficiently protected from the cold, by a fantastically painted robe ofdressed deer-skin. As if in mockery of his pursuit, sundry toads, frogs,lizards, butterflies, &c., all duly prepared to take their placesat some future day, in his own private cabinet, were attached to thesolitary lock on his head, to his ears, and to various other conspicuousparts of his person. If, in addition to the effect produced by thesequaint auxiliaries to his costume, we add the portentous and troubledgleamings of doubt, which rendered his visage doubly austere, andproclaimed the misgivings of the worthy Obed's mind, as he beheld hispersonal dignity thus prostrated, and what was of far greater moment inhis eyes, himself led forth, as he firmly believed, to be the victim ofsome heathenish sacrifice, the reader will find no difficulty in givingcredit to the sensation of awe, that was excited by his appearance in aband already more than half-prepared to worship him, as a powerful agentof the evil spirit.
Weucha led Asinus directly into the centre of the circle, and leavingthem together, (for the legs of the naturalist were attached to thebeast in such a manner, that the two animals might be said to beincorporated, and to form a new order,) he withdrew to his proper place,gazing at the conjuror, as he retired, with a wonder and admiration,that were natural to the groveling dulness of his mind.
The astonishment seemed mutual, between the spectators and the subjectof this strange exhibition. If the Tetons contemplated the mysteriousattributes of the medicine, with awe and fear, the Doctor gazed on everyside of him, with a mixture of quite as many extraordinary emotions,in which the latter sensation, however, formed no inconsiderableingredient. Every where his eyes, which just at that moment possessed asecret magnifying quality, seemed to rest on several dark, savage, andobdurate countenances at once, from none of which could he extract asolitary gleam of sympathy or commiseration. At length his wanderinggaze fell on the grave and decent features of the trapper, who, withHector at his feet, stood in the edge of the circle, leaning on thatrifle which he had been permitted, as an acknowledged friend, to resume,and apparently musing on the events that were likely to succeed acouncil, marked by so many and such striking ceremonies.
"Venerable venator, or hunter, or trapper," said the disconsolate Obed,"I rejoice greatly in meeting thee again. I fear that the precious time,which had been allotted me, in order to complete a mighty labour, isdrawing to a premature close, and I would gladly unburden my mind to onewho, if not a pupil of science, has at least some of the knowledge whichcivilisation imparts to its meanest subjects. Doubtless many and earnestenquiries will be made after my fate, by the learned societies of theworld, and perhaps expeditions will be sent into these regions to removeany doubts, which may arise on so important a subject. I esteem myselfhappy that a man, who speaks the vernacular, is present, to preservethe record of my end. You will say that after a well-spent and gloriouslife, I died a martyr to science, and a victim to mental darkness. As Iexpect to be particularly calm and abstracted in my last moments, if youadd a few details, concerning the fortitude and scholastic dignity withwhich I met my death, it
may serve to encourage future aspirants forsimilar honours, and assuredly give offence to no one. And now, friendtrapper, as a duty I owe to human nature, I will conclude by demandingif all hope has deserted me, or if any means still exist by which somuch valuable information may be rescued from the grasp of ignorance,and preserved to the pages of natural history."
The old man lent an attentive ear to this melancholy appeal, andapparently he reflected on every side of the important question, beforehe would presume to answer.
"I take it, friend physicianer," he at length gravely replied, "that thechances of life and death, in your particular case, depend altogether onthe will of Providence, as it may be pleased to manifest it, throughthe accursed windings of Indian cunning. For my own part, I see no greatdifference in the main end to be gained, inasmuch as it can matter noone greatly, yourself excepted, whether you live or die."
"Would you account the fall of a corner-stone, from the foundations ofthe edifice of learning, a matter of indifference to contemporariesor to posterity?" interrupted Obed. "Besides, my aged associate," hereproachfully added, "the interest, that a man has in his own existence,is by no means trifling, however it may be eclipsed by his devotion tomore general and philanthropic feelings."
"What I would say is this," resumed the trapper, who was far fromunderstanding all the subtle distinctions with which his more learnedcompanion so often saw fit to embellish his discourse; "there is but onebirth and one death to all things, be it hound, or be it deer; be itred skin, or be it white. Both are in the hands of the Lord, it being asunlawful for man to strive to hasten the one, as impossible to preventthe other. But I will not say that something may not be done to put thelast moment aside, for a while at least, and therefore it is a question,that any one has a right to put to his own wisdom, how far he will go,and how much pain he will suffer, to lengthen out a time that may havebeen too long already. Many a dreary winter and scorching summer hasgone by since I have turned, to the right hand or to the left, to add anhour to a life that has already stretched beyond fourscore years. I keepmyself as ready to answer to my name as a soldier at evening roll-call.In my judgment, if your cases are left to Indian tempers, the policy ofthe Great Sioux will lead his people to sacrifice you all; nor do Iput much dependence on his seeming love for me; therefore it becomes aquestion whether you are ready for such a journey; and if, being ready,whether this is not as good a time to start as another. Should myopinion be asked, thus far will I give it in your favour; that is tosay, it is my belief your life has been innocent enough, touching anygreat offences that you may have committed, though honesty compels me toadd, that I think all you can lay claim to, on the score of activity indeeds, will not amount to any thing worth naming in the great account."
Obed turned a rueful eye on the calm, philosophic countenance of theother, as he answered with so discouraging a statement of his case,clearing his throat, as he did so, in order to conceal the desperateconcern which began to beset his faculties, with a vestige of thatpride, which rarely deserts poor human nature, even in the greatestemergencies.
"I believe, venerable hunter," he replied, "considering the question inall its bearings, and assuming that your theory is just, it will be thesafest to conclude that I am not prepared to make so hasty a departure,and that measures of precaution should be, forthwith, resorted to."
"Being in that mind," returned the deliberate trapper, "I will act foryou as I would for myself; though as time has begun to roll down thehill with you, I will just advise that you look to your case speedily,for it may so happen that your name will be heard, when quite as littleprepared to answer to it as now."
With this amicable understanding, the old man drew back again into thering, where he stood musing on the course he should now adopt, with thesingular mixture of decision and resignation that proceeded from hishabits and his humility, and which united to form a character, inwhich excessive energy, and the most meek submission to the will ofProvidence, were oddly enough combined.