The Border Rifles: A Tale of the Texan War

  CHAPTER V.

  BLACK-DEER.

  So soon as the three rangers descended, they collected the scatteredlogs, in order to rekindle the fire over which they would cook theirbreakfast.

  As there was no lack of provisions, they had no occasion to draw ontheir own private resources; several buffaloes that lay lifeless on theground offered them the most succulent meal known in the desert.

  While Tranquil was engaged in getting a buffalo hump ready, the Blackand Redskin examined each other with a curiosity revealed inexclamations of surprise from both sides.

  The Negro laughed like a maniac on remarking the strange appearance ofthe Indian warrior, whose face was painted of four different colours,and who wore a costume so strange in the eyes of Quoniam; for thatworthy, as he himself said, had never before come in contact withIndians.

  The other manifested his astonishment in a different way: after standingfor a long time motionless, and watching the Negro, he walked up to him,and not uttering a word, seized Quoniam's arm, and began rubbing it withall his strength with the skirt of his buffalo robe.

  The Negro, who at the outset readily indulged the Indian's whims, soonbegan to grow impatient; he tried at first to liberate himself, but wasunable to succeed, for the Chief held him firmly, and conscientiouslywent on with his singular operation. In the meanwhile, the Negro, whomthis continued rubbing was beginning not merely to annoy, but causeterrible suffering, began uttering frequent yells, while making the mosttremendous efforts to escape from his pitiless torturer.

  Tranquil's attention was aroused by Quoniam's cries; he threw up hishead smartly, and ran up at full speed to deliver the Negro, who wasrolling his eyes in terror, leaping from one side to the other, andyelling like a condemned man.

  "Why does my brother torture that man so?" the Canadian asked as heinterposed.

  "I?" the Chief asked in surprise, "I am not torturing him; his disguiseis not necessary, so I am removing it."

  "What! My disguise?" Quoniam shouted.

  Tranquil made him a sign to be silent.

  "This man is not disguised," he continued.

  "Why, then, has he painted all his body in this way?" the Chief askedobstinately, "Warriors only paint their face."

  The hunter could not repress a burst of laughter.

  "My brother is mistaken," he said, so soon as he recovered hisseriousness; "this man belongs to a separate race; the Wacondah hasgiven him a black skin, in the same way as he made my brother's red, andmine white; all the brothers of this man are of his colour; the greatSpirit has willed it so, in order that they may not be confused with theRedskin nations and the Palefaces; if my brother look at his buffalorobe, he will see that not the least bit of black has come off on it."

  "Wah!" the Indian said, letting his head sink, like a man placed beforean insoluble problem; "the Wacondah can do everything!"

  And he mechanically obeyed the hunter by taking a peep at the tail ofhis robe, which he had not yet thought of letting go.

  "Now," Tranquil went on, "be kind enough to regard this man as a friend,and do for him what you would do, if wanted, for me, and I shall feelunder the greatest obligations to you."

  The Chief bowed gracefully, and held out his hand to the Negro.

  "The words of my brother the hunter warble in my ears with the sweetnessof the song of the _centzontle,"_ he said. "Black-deer is a Sachem ofhis nation, his tongue is not forked, and the words his chest breathesare clear, for they come from his heart; Black-face will have his placeat the Council fire of the Pawnees, for from this moment he is thefriend of a Chief."

  Quoniam bowed to the Indian, and warmly returned the pressure of hishand.

  "I am only a poor black," he said, "but my heart is pure, and the bloodis as red in my veins as if I were Indian or white; both of you have aright to ask my life of me, and I will give it you joyfully."

  After this mutual exchange of assurances of friendship, the three mensat down on the ground, and began their breakfast.

  Owing to the excitement of the morning, the three adventurers had aferocious appetite; they did honour to the buffalo hump, whichdisappeared almost entirely before their repeated attacks, and whichthey washed down with a few horns of water mixed with rum, of whichliquor Tranquil had a small stock in a gourd, hanging from his waistbelt.

  When the meal was ended, pipes were lighted, and each began smoking,silently, with the gravity peculiar to men who live in the woods.

  When the Chief's pipe was ended, he shook out the ashes on his leftthumbnail, passed the stem through his belt, and turned to Tranquil,

  "Will my brothers hold a council?" he asked.

  "Yes," the Canadian answered: "when I left you on the Upper Missouri, atthe end of the Moon of the burned fruit (July), you gave me the meetingat the creek of the dead oaks of the Elk River, on the tenth day of theMoon of the falling leaves (September), two hours before sunrise: bothof us were punctual, and I am now waiting till it please you to explainto me, Chief, why you gave me this meeting."

  "My brother is correct, Black-deer will speak."

  After uttering these words, the Indian's face seemed to grow dark, andhe fell into a profound reverie, which his comrades respected bypatiently waiting till he spoke again.

  At length, after about a quarter of an hour, the Indian Chief passed hishand over his brow several times, raised his head, took a searchingglance around, and made up his mind to speak, though in a low andrestrained voice, as if, even on the desert, he feared lest his wordsmight fall on hostile ears.

  "My brother the hunter has known me since child-hood," he said, "for hewas brought up by the Sachems of my nation: hence I will say nothing ofmyself. The great Paleface hunter has an Indian heart in his breast;Black-deer will speak to him as a brother to a brother. Three moons ago,the Chief was following with his friend the elks and the deer on theprairies of the Missouri, when a Pawnee warrior arrived at full speed,took the Chief aside, and spoke with him privately for long hours; doesmy brother remember this?"

  "Perfectly, Chief; I remember that after the conversation Blue Fox, forthat was the name of the Chief, set off as rapidly as he had come, andmy brother, who till then had been gay and cheerful, became suddenlysad. In spite of the questions I addressed to my brother he could nottell me the cause of this sudden grief, and on the morrow, at sunrise,he left me, giving me the meeting here for this day."

  "Yes," the Indian said, "that is exact. Things happened so; but what Icould not then tell, I will now impart to my brother."

  "My ears are open," the hunter replied, with a bow. "I fear that,unfortunately, my brother has only bad news to tell me."

  "My brother shall judge," he said. "This is what Blue Fox came to tellme. One day a Paleface of the Long Knives of the West arrived on thebanks of Elk River, where stood the village of the Snake Pawnees,followed by some thirty warriors of the Palefaces, several women, andlarge medicine lodges, drawn by buffaloes without humps or manes. ThisPaleface halted two arrow shots' lengths from the village of my nation,on the opposite bank, lit his fires, and camped. My father, as mybrother knows, was the first sachem of the tribe. He mounted his horseand, followed by several warriors, crossed the river and presentedhimself to the stranger, in order to bid him welcome on the huntinggrounds of our nation, and offer him the refreshments he might have needof.

  "This Paleface was a man of lofty stature, with harsh and markedfeatures. The snow of several winters had whitened his scalp. He beganlaughing at my father's words, and replied to him--'Are you the chief ofthe Redskins of this village?' 'Yes,' said my father. Then the Palefacetook from his clothes a great necklace, on which strange figures weredrawn, and showing it to my father, said, 'Your Pale Grandfather of theUnited States has given me the property in all the land stretching fromAntelope's Fall to Buffalo Lake. This,' he added, as he struck thenecklace with the back of his hand, 'proves my title.'

  "My father and the warriors who accompanied him burst into a laugh.

  "'Our Pale Grandfather,' h
e answered, 'cannot give what does not belongto him. The land of which you speak has been the hunting ground of mynation ever since the great tortoise came out of the sea to support theworld on its shell.'

  "'I do not understand what you say to me,' the Paleface continued. 'Ionly know that this land has been given to me; and that, if you do notconsent to withdraw and leave me to the full enjoyment of it, I possessthe means to compel you.'"

  "Yes," Tranquil interrupted, "such is the system of those men--murderand rapine."

  "My father retired," the Indian continued, "under the blow of thisthreat. The warriors immediately took up arms, the women were hidden ina cave, and the tribe prepared for resistance. The next morning, atdaybreak, the Palefaces crossed the river and attacked the village. Thefight was long and obstinate. It lasted the whole period containedbetween two suns. But what could poor Indians do against Palefaces armedwith rifles? They were conquered and forced to take to flight. Two hourslater, their village was reduced to ashes, and the bones of theirancestors cast to the four winds. My father was killed in the battle."

  "Oh!" the Canadian exclaimed, sadly.

  "That is not all," the Chief went on. "The Palefaces discovered the cavewhere the women of my tribe were sheltered; and nearly all--for about adozen contrived to escape with their papooses--were coldly massacred,with all the refinements of the most horrible barbarity."

  After uttering these words, the Chief hid his head on his buffalo robe,and his comrades heard the sobs he tried in vain to stifle.

  "Such," he went on a moment later, "was the news Blue Fox communicatedto me. 'My father died in his arms, leaving his vengeance as myinheritance. My brothers, pursued like wild beasts by their ferociousenemies, and compelled to hide themselves in the most impenetrableforests, had elected me as Chief. I accepted, making the warriors of mynation swear to avenge themselves on the Palefaces, who had seized ourvillage and massacred our brothers. Since our parting, I have not lost amoment in collecting all the means of revenge. To-day all is ready. ThePalefaces have gone to sleep in a deceitful security, and theirawakening shall be terrible. Will my brother follow me?'"

  "Yes, by Heaven! I will follow you, Chief, and help you with all myability," Tranquil answered, resolutely, "for your cause is just; buton one condition."

  "My brother can speak."

  "The law of the desert says, 'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth,' it istrue; but you can avenge yourself without dishonouring your victory byuseless barbarity. Do not follow the example given you, but be humane,Chief; and the Great Spirit will smile on your efforts and be favourableto you."

  "Black-deer is not cruel," the Chief answered. "He leaves that to thePalefaces. He only wishes to be just."

  "What you say is noble, Chief; and I am happy to hear you speak thus;but are your measures well taken? Is your force large enough to ensuresuccess? You know that the Palefaces are numerous, and never allow oneaggressor to pass unpunished. Whatever may happen, you have to expectterrible reprisals."

  The Indian smiled disdainfully. "The Long Knives of the West arecowardly dogs and rabbits. The squaws of the Pawnees will make thempetticoats," he answered. "Black-deer will go with his tribe to settleon the great prairies of the Comanches, who will receive them asbrothers, and the Palefaces of the West will not know where to findthem."

  "That is a good idea, Chief; but, since you have been driven from yourvillage, have you not kept spies round the Americans, in order to beinformed of their actions? that was important for the success of yourfurther plans."

  Black-deer smiled, but made no other answer, whence the Canadianconcluded that the Redskin had, with the sagacity and prudence whichcharacterize his race, taken all the necessary precautions to insurethe success of the blow he was about to deal at the new clearing.

  Tranquil, owing to his semi-Indian education, and the hereditary hatredwhich, as a true Canadian, he bore to the Anglo-Saxon race, wasperfectly well inclined to help the Pawnee Chief in taking an exemplaryvengeance on the Americans for the insults he had received at theirhands; but with that correctness of judgment which formed the basis ofhis character, he did not wish to let the Indians indulge in thoseatrocious cruelties, to which they only too often yield in the firstintoxication of victory. Hence the determination he formed had a doubleobject--in the first place, to insure as far as he could the success ofhis friends, and, secondly, to employ all the influence he possessedover them, to restrain them after the battle, and prevent them satiatingtheir vengeance on the conquered, and, above all, on the women andchildren.

  As we have seen, he did not attempt to conceal his object fromBlack-deer, and laid down as the first condition of his co-operation,which the Indians would be delighted to receive, that no unnecessarycruelty should be committed.

  Quoniam, for his part, did not make any stipulation; a natural enemy ofthe Whites, and specially of the North Americans, he eagerly seized theoccasion of dealing them as much injury as possible, and avenginghimself for the ill treatment he had experienced, without taking thetrouble to reflect that the people he was about to fight were innocentin the matter of his wrong; these individuals were North Americans, andthat reason was more than sufficient to justify, in the sight of thevindictive Negro, the conduct he proposed to carry out when the momentarrived.

  After a few minutes the Canadian spoke again.

  "Where are your warriors?" he asked the Chief.

  "I left them three suns' march from the spot where we now are; if mybrother has nothing to keep him longer here, we will set outimmediately, in order to join them as soon as possible, for my return isimpatiently expected by the warriors."

  "Let us go," the Canadian said; "the day is not yet far advanced, and itis needless for us to waste our time in chattering like curious oldwomen."

  The three men rose, drew on their belts, walked hastily along the pathformed by the manada through the forest, and soon disappeared under itscovert.