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It is believed that the scene of this tale, and most of the information necessary to understand its allusions, are rendered sufficiently obvious to the reader in the text itself, or in the accompanying notes. Still there is so much obscurity in the Indian traditions, and so much confusion in the Indian names, as to render some explanation useful.
Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so express it, greater antithesis of character, than the native warrior of North America. In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace, just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest, and commonly chaste. These are qualities, it is true, which do not distinguish all alike; but they are so far the predominating traits of these remarkable people as to be characteristic.
It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the American continent have an Asiatic origin. There are many physical as well as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and some few that would seem to weigh against it.
The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar
to himself, and while his cheek-bones have a very striking indication of a
Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate may have had great influence on the
former, but it is difficult to see how it can have produced the substantial
difference which
Philologists have said that there are but two or three
languages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes which formerly
occupied the country that now composes the United States. They ascribe the known
difficulty one people have to understand another to corruptions and dialects.
The writer remembers to have been present at an interview between two chiefs of
the Great Prairies west of the Mississippi, and when an interpreter was in
attendance who spoke both their languages. The warriors appeared to be on the
most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed much together; yet, according to
the account of the interpreter, each was absolutely ignorant of what the other
said. They were of hostile tribes, brought together by the influence of the
American government; and it is worthy of remark, that a common policy led them
both to adopt the same subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be of use
in the event of the chances of war throwing either of the parties into the hands
of his enemies. Whatever may be the truth, as respects the root and the genius
of the Indian tongues, it is quite certain they are
Like nations of higher pretensions, the American Indian gives a very different account of his own tribe or race from that which is given by other people. He is much addicted to overestimating his own perfections, and to undervaluing those of his rival or his enemy; a trait which may possibly be thought corroborative of the Mosaic account of the creation.
The whites have assisted greatly in rendering the traditions of the Aborigines more obscure by their own manner of corrupting names. Thus, the term used in the title of this book has undergone the changes of Mahicanni, Mohicans, and Mohegans; the latter being the word commonly used by the whites. When it is remembered that the Dutch (who first settled New York), the English, and the French, all gave appellations to the tribes that dwelt within the country which is the scene of this story, and that the Indians not only gave different names to their enemies, but frequently to themselves, the cause of the confusion will be understood.
In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope, Delawares, Wapanachki, and Mohicans, all mean the same people, or tribes of the same stock. The Mengwe, the Maquas, the Mingoes, and the Iroquois, though not all strictly the same, are identified frequently by the speakers, being politically confederated and opposed to those just named. Mingo was a term of peculiar reproach, as were Mengwe and Maqua in a less degree.
The Mohicans were the possessors of the country first
occupied by the Europeans in this portion of the continent. They were,
consequently, the first dispossessed; and the seemingly inevitable fate of all
these people, who disappear before the advances, or it might be termed the
inroads, of civilization,
In point of fact, the country which is the scene of the following tale has undergone as little change, since the historical events alluded to had place, as almost any other district of equal extent within the whole limits of the United States. There are fashionable and well-attended watering-places at and near the spring where Hawkeye halted to drink, and roads traverse the forests where he and his friends were compelled to journey without even a path. Glen's has a large village; and while William Henry, and even a fortress of later date, are only to be traced as ruins, there is another village on the shores of the Horican. But, beyond this, the enterprise and energy of a people who have done so much in other places have done little here. The whole of that wilderness, in which the latter incidents of the legend occurred, is nearly a wilderness still, though the red man has entirely deserted this part of the state. Of all the tribes named in these pages, there exist only a few half-civilized beings of the Oneidas, on the reservations of their people in New York. The rest have disappeared, either from the regions in which their fathers dwelt, or altogether from the earth.
There is one point on which we would wish to say a word
before closing this preface. Hawkeye calls the Lac du Saint
Sacrement, the "Horican". As we believe this to be an appropriation of
the name that has its origin with ourselves, the time has arrived, perhaps, when
the fact should be frankly admitted. While writing this book, fully a quarter of
a century since, it occurred to us that the French name of this lake was too
complicated, the American too commonplace, and the Indian too unpronounceable,
for either to be used familiarly
It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. A wide and apparently an impervious boundary of forests severed the possessions of the hostile provinces of France and England. The hardy colonist, and the trained European who fought at his side, frequently expended months in struggling against the rapids of the streams, or in effecting the rugged passes of the mountains, in quest of an opportunity to exhibit their courage in a more martial conflict. But, emulating the patience and self-denial of the practiced native warriors, they learned to overcome every difficulty; and it would seem that, in time, there was no recess of the woods so dark, nor any secret place so lovely, that it might claim exemption from the inroads of those who had pledged their blood to satiate their vengeance, or to uphold the cold and selfish policy of the distant monarchs of Europe.
Perhaps no district throughout the wide extent of the
intermediate frontiers can furnish a livelier picture of the
The facilities which nature had there offered to the march
of the combatants were too obvious to be neglected. The lengthened sheet of the
Champlain stretched from the frontiers of Canada, deep within the borders of the
neighboring province of New York, forming a natural passage across half the
distance that the French were compelled to master in order to strike their
enemies. Near its southern termination, it received the contributions of another
lake, whose waters were so limpid as to have been exclusively selected by the
Jesuit missionaries to perform the typical purification of baptism, and to
obtain for it the title of lake "du Saint Sacrement". The less zealous English
thought they conferred a sufficient honor on its unsullied fountains, when they
bestowed the name of their reigning prince, the second of the house of Hanover.
The two united to rob the untutored possessors of its wooded scenery of their
native right to perpetuate its original appellation of "Horican".
Note: 1 As each nation of the Indians had its language or its
dialect, they usually gave different names to the same places, though nearly all
of their appellations were descriptive of the object. Thus a literal translation
of the name of this beautiful sheet of water, used by the tribe that dwelt on
its banks, would be "The Tail of the Lake". Lake George, as it is vulgarly, and
now, indeed, legally, called, forms a sort of tail to Lake Champlain, when
viewed on the map. Hence, the name.
Winding its way among countless islands, and imbedded in mountains, the "holy lake" extended a dozen leagues still further to the south. With the high plain that there interposed itself to the further passage of the water, commenced a portage of as many miles, which conducted the adventurer to the banks of the Hudson, at a point where, with the usual obstructions of the rapids, or rifts, as they were then termed in the language of the country, the river became navigable to the tide.
While, in the pursuit of their daring plans of annoyance,
It was in this scene of strife and bloodshed that the incidents we shall attempt to relate occurred, during the third year of the war which England and France last waged for the possession of a country that neither was destined to retain.
The imbecility of her military leaders abroad, and the
fatal want of energy in her councils at home, had lowered the character of Great
Britain from the proud elevation on which it had been placed by the talents and
enterprise of her former warriors and statesmen. No longer dreaded by her
enemies, her servants were fast losing the confidence of self-respect. In this
mortifying abasement, the colonists, though innocent of her imbecility, and too
humble to be the agents of her
When, therefore, intelligence was received at the fort
which covered the southern termination of the portage between the Hudson and the
lakes, that Montcalm had been seen moving up the Champlain, with an army
"numerous as the leaves on the trees", its truth was admitted with more of the
craven reluctance of fear than with the stern joy that a warrior should feel, in
finding an enemy within reach of his blow. The news had been brought, toward the
decline of a day in midsummer, by an Indian runner, who also bore an urgent
request from Munro, the commander of a work on the shore of the "holy lake", for
a speedy and powerful reinforcement. It has already been mentioned that the
distance between these two posts was less than five leagues. The rude path,
which originally formed their line of communication, had been widened for the
passage of wagons; so that the distance which had been traveled by the son of
the forest in two hours, might easily be effected by a detachment of troops,
with their necessary baggage, between the rising and setting of a summer sun.
The loyal servants of the British crown had given to one of these
forest-fastnesses the name of William Henry, and to the other that of Fort
Edward, calling each after a favorite prince of the reigning family. The veteran
Scotchman just named held the first, with a regiment of regulars and a few
provincials; a force really by far too small to make head against the formidable
power that Montcalm was leading to the foot of his earthen mounds. At the
latter, however, lay General Webb, who commanded the armies of the king in the
But under the influence of their degraded fortunes, both officers and men appeared better disposed to await the approach of their formidable antagonists, within their works, than to resist the progress of their march, by emulating the successful example of the French at Fort du Quesne, and striking a blow on their advance.
After the first surprise of the intelligence had a little
abated, a rumor was spread through the entrenched camp, which stretched along
the margin of the Hudson, forming a chain of outworks to the body of the fort
itself, that a chosen detachment of fifteen hundred men was to depart, with the
dawn, for William Henry, the post at the northern extremity of the portage. That
which at first was only rumor, soon became certainty, as orders passed from the
quarters of the commander-in-chief to the several corps he had selected for this
service, to prepare for their speedy departure. All doubts as to the intention
of Webb now vanished, and an hour or two of hurried footsteps and anxious faces
succeeded. The novice in the military art flew from point to point, retarding
his own preparations by the excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal;
while the more practiced veteran made his arrangements with a deliberation that
scorned every appearance of haste; though his sober lineaments and anxious eye
sufficiently betrayed that he had no very strong professional relish for the, as
yet, untried and dreaded warfare of the wilderness. At length the sun set in a
flood of glory, behind the distant western hills, and as darkness drew its veil
around
According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning drums, whose rattling echoes were heard issuing, on the damp morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day began to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the vicinity, on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless eastern sky. In an instant the whole camp was in motion; the meanest soldier arousing from his lair to witness the departure of his comrades, and to share in the excitement and incidents of the hour. The simple array of the chosen band was soon completed. While the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed; strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the slumbering apprehensions of many a novice, who was now about to make his first essay in arms. While in view of their admiring comrades, the same proud front and ordered array was observed, until the notes of their fifes growing fainter in distance, the forest at length appeared to swallow up the living mass which had slowly entered its bosom.
The deepest sounds of the retiring and invisible column
The person of this individual was to the last degree
ungainly, without being in any particular manner deformed. He had all the bones
and joints of other men, without any of their proportions. Erect, his stature
surpassed that of his fellows; though seated, he appeared reduced within the
ordinary limits of the race. The same contrariety in his members seemed to exist
throughout the whole man. His head was large; his shoulders narrow; his arms
long and dangling; while his hands were small, if not delicate. His legs and
thighs were thin, nearly to emaciation, but of extraordinary length; and his
knees would have been considered tremendous, had they
While the common herd stood aloof, in deference to the quarters of Webb, the figure we have described stalked into the center of the domestics, freely expressing his censures or commendations on the merits of the horses, as by chance they displeased or satisfied his judgment.
"This beast, I rather conclude, friend, is not of home
raising,
Receiving no reply to this extraordinary appeal, which in
truth, as it was delivered with the vigor of full and sonorous tones, merited
some sort of notice, he who had thus sung forth the language of the holy book
turned to the silent figure to whom he had unwittingly addressed himself, and
found a new and more powerful subject of admiration in the object that
encountered his gaze. His eyes fell on the still, upright, and rigid form of the
"Indian runner", who had borne to the camp the unwelcome tidings of the
preceding evening. Although in a state of perfect repose, and apparently
disregarding, with characteristic stoicism, the excitement and bustle around
him, there was a sullen fierceness mingled with the quiet of the savage, that
was likely to arrest the attention of much more experienced eyes than those
which now scanned him, in unconcealed amazement. The native bore both the
tomahawk and
It is impossible to say what unlooked-for remark this short and silent communication, between two such singular men, might have elicited from the white man, had not his active curiosity been again drawn to other objects. A general movement among the domestics, and a low sound of gentle voices, announced the approach of those whose presence alone was wanted to enable the cavalcade to move. The simple admirer of the war-horse instantly fell back to a low, gaunt, switch-tailed mare, that was unconsciously gleaning the faded herbage of the camp nigh by; where, leaning with one elbow on the blanket that concealed an apology for a saddle, he became a spectator of the departure, while a foal was quietly making its morning repast, on the opposite side of the same animal.
A young man, in the dress of an officer, conducted to their
steeds two females, who, as it was apparent by their dresses, were prepared to
encounter the fatigues of a journey in the woods. One, and she was the more
juvenile in her appearance, though both were young, permitted glimpses of her
dazzling complexion, fair golden hair, and bright blue eyes, to be
The flush which still lingered above the pines in the western sky was not more bright nor delicate than the bloom on her cheek; nor was the opening day more cheering than the animated smile which she bestowed on the youth, as he assisted her into the saddle. The other, who appeared to share equally in the attention of the young officer, concealed her charms from the gaze of the soldiery with a care that seemed better fitted to the experience of four or five additional years. It could be seen, however, that her person, though molded with the same exquisite proportions, of which none of the graces were lost by the traveling dress she wore, was rather fuller and more mature than that of her companion.
No sooner were these females seated, than their attendant
sprang lightly into the saddle of the war-horse, when the whole three bowed to
Webb, who in courtesy, awaited their parting on the threshold of his cabin and
turning their horses' heads, they proceeded at a slow amble, followed by their
train, toward the northern entrance of the encampment. As they traversed that
short distance, not a voice was heard among them; but a slight exclamation
proceeded from the younger of the females, as the Indian runner glided by her,
unexpectedly, and led the way along the military road in her front. Though this
sudden and startling movement of the Indian produced no sound from the other, in
the surprise her veil also was allowed to open its folds, and betrayed an
indescribable look of pity, admiration, and horror, as her dark eye followed the
easy motions of the savage. The tresses of this lady were shining and black,
like the plumage of the raven. Her complexion was not brown, but it rather
appeared charged with the color of the rich blood, that seemed ready to burst
its bounds. And yet there was neither coarseness nor want of shadowing in a
countenance
"Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola"! --
While one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily presented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other quickly recovered from the alarm which induced the exclamation, and, laughing at her own weakness, she inquired of the youth who rode by her side:
"Are such specters frequent in the woods, Heyward, or is this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf? If the latter, gratitude must close our mouths; but if the former, both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on that stock of hereditary courage which we boast, even before we are made to encounter the redoubtable Montcalm".
"Yon Indian is a "runner" of the army; and, after the fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero", returned the officer. "He has volunteered to guide us to the lake, by a path but little known, sooner than if we followed the tardy movements of the column; and, by consequence, more agreeably".
"I like him not", said the lady, shuddering, partly in
assumed, yet more in real terror. "You know him, Duncan, or you would not trust
yourself so freely to his keeping"?
"Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do know him, or he would not have my confidence, and least of all at this moment. He is said to be a Canadian too; and yet he served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as you know, are one of the six allied nations. He was brought among us, as I have heard, by some strange accident in which your father was interested, and in which the savage was rigidly dealt by; but I forget the idle tale, it is enough, that he is now our friend".
"If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less"! exclaimed the now really anxious girl. "Will you not speak to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones? Foolish though it may be, you have often heard me avow my faith in the tones of the human voice"!
"It would be in vain; and answered, most probably, by an ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like most of his people, to be ignorant of the English; and least of all will he condescend to speak it, now that the war demands the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops; the private path by which we are to journey is, doubtless, at hand".
The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they reached the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the thicket that fringed the military road; a narrow and blind path, which might, with some little inconvenience, receive one person at a time, became visible.
"Here, then, lies our way", said the young man, in a low voice. "Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger you appear to apprehend".
"Cora, what think you"? asked the reluctant fair one. "If we journey with the troops, though we may find their presence irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our safety"?
"Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages,
Alice, you mistake the place of real danger", said Heyward.
"Should we distrust the man because his manners are not our manners, and that his skin is dark"? coldly asked Cora.
Alice hesitated no longer; but giving her Narrangansett In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow
deer, among the straight trunks of the pines; and, in another instant, the
person of the ungainly man, described in the preceding chapter, came into view,
with as much rapidity as he could excite his meager beast to endure without
coming to an open rupture. Until now this personage had escaped the observation
of the travelers. If he possessed the power to arrest any wandering eye when
exhibiting the glories of his altitude on foot, his equestrian graces were still
more likely to attract attention. Notwithstanding a constant application of his one armed
heel to the flanks of the mare, the most confirmed gait that he could establish
was a Canterbury gallop with the hind legs, in which those more forward assisted
for doubtful moments, though generally content to maintain a loping trot.
Perhaps the rapidity of the changes from one of these paces to the other created
an optical illusion, which might thus magnify the powers of the beast; for it is
certain that Heyward, who possessed a true eye for the merits of a horse, was
unable, with his utmost ingenuity, to decide by what sort of movement his
pursuer worked his sinuous way on his footsteps with such persevering hardihood.
The industry and movements of the rider were not less
remarkable than those of the ridden. At each change in the evolutions of the
latter, the former raised his tall person in the stirrups; producing, in this
manner, by the undue elongation
The frown which had gathered around the handsome, open, and
manly brow of Heyward, gradually relaxed, and his lips curled into a slight
smile, as he regarded the stranger. Alice made no very powerful effort to
control her merriment; and even the dark, thoughtful eye of Cora lighted with a
humor that it would seem, the habit, rather than the nature, of its mistress
repressed. "Seek you any here"? demanded Heyward, when the other had
arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed; "I trust you are no messenger of
evil tidings"? "Even so", replied the stranger, making diligent use of his
triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close air of the woods, and
leaving his hearers in doubt to which of the young man's questions he responded;
when, however, he had cooled his face, and recovered his breath, he continued,
"I hear you are riding to William Henry; as I am journeying thitherward myself,
I concluded good company would seem consistent to the wishes of both parties".
"You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote",
returned Heyward; "we are three, while you have consulted no one but yourself".
"Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know one's
own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are concerned it is not easy, the
next is, to act up to the decision. I have endeavored to do both, and here I
am".
"If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken your route",
said Heyward, haughtily; "the highway thither is at least half a mile behind
you". "Even so", returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this
cold reception; "I have tarried at "Edward" a week, and I should be dumb not to
have inquired the road I was to journey; and if dumb there would be an end to my
calling". After simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty prohibited a
more open expression of his admiration of a witticism that was perfectly
unintelligible to his hearers, he continued, "It is not prudent for any one of
my profession to be too familiar with those he has to instruct; for which reason
I follow not the line of the army; besides which, I conclude that a gentleman of
your character has the best judgment in matters of wayfaring; I have, therefore,
decided to join company, in order that the ride may be made agreeable, and
partake of social communion". "A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision"! exclaimed
Heyward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing anger, or to laugh in the
other's face. "But you speak of instruction, and of a profession; are you an
adjunct to the provincial corps, as a master of the noble science of defense and
offense; or, perhaps, you are one who draws lines and angles, under the pretense
of expounding the mathematics"? The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment in wonder;
and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an expression of solemn
humility, he answered: "Of offense, I hope there is none, to either party: of
defense, I make none -- by God's good mercy, having committed no palpable sin
since last entreating his pardoning grace. I understand not your allusions about
lines and angles; and I leave expounding to those who have been called and set
apart for that holy office. I lay claim to no higher gift than a small
"The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo", cried
the amused Alice, "and I take him under my own especial protection. Nay, throw
aside that frown, Heyward, and in pity to my longing ears, suffer him to journey
in our train. Besides", she added, in a low and hurried voice, casting a glance
at the distant Cora, who slowly followed the footsteps of their silent, but
sullen guide, "it may be a friend added to our strength, in time of need". "Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by this
secret path, did I imagine such need could happen"? "Nay, nay, I think not of it now; but this strange man
amuses me; and if he "hath music in his soul", let us not churlishly reject his
company". She pointed persuasively along the path with her riding whip, while
their eyes met in a look which the young man lingered a moment to prolong; then,
yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs into his charger, and in
a few bounds was again at the side of Cora. "I am glad to encounter thee, friend", continued the
maiden, waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she urged her
Narragansett to renew its amble. "Partial relatives have almost persuaded me
that I am not entirely worthless in a duet myself; and we may enliven our
wayfaring by indulging in our favorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage
to one, ignorant as I, to hear the opinions and experience of a master in the
art". "It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to
indulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons", returned the master of song,
unhesitatingly complying with her intimation to follow; "and nothing would
relieve the mind more than such a consoling communion. But four parts are
altogether necessary to the perfection of melody. You have all the
manifestations
"Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive
appearances", said the lady, smiling; "though Major Heyward can assume such deep
notes on occasion, believe me, his natural tones are better fitted for a mellow
tenor than the bass you heard". "Is he, then, much practiced in the art of psalmody"?
demanded her simple companion. Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in
suppressing her merriment, ere she answered: "I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song.
The chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for the encouragement of
more sober inclinations". "Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to be
used, and not to be abused. None can say they have ever known me to neglect my
gifts! I am thankful that, though my boyhood may be said to have been set apart,
like the youth of the royal David, for the purposes of music, no syllable of
rude verse has ever profaned my lips". "You have, then, limited your efforts to sacred song"? "Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other language,
so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by the divines and sages of
the land, surpass all vain poetry. Happily, I may say that I utter nothing but
the thoughts and the wishes of the King of Israel himself; for though the times
may call for some slight changes, yet does this version which we use in the
colonies of New England so much exceed all other versions, that, by its
richness, its exactness, and its spiritual simplicity, it approacheth, as near
as may be, to the
During this eulogium on the rare production of his native
poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and fitting a pair of
iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened the volume with a care and veneration
suited to its sacred purposes. Then, without circumlocution or apology, first
pronounced the word "Standish", and placing the unknown engine, already
described, to his mouth, from which he drew a high, shrill sound, that was
followed by an octave below, from his own voice, he commenced singing the
following words, in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the music, the
poetry, and even the uneasy motion of his ill-trained beast at defiance;
The delivery of these skillful rhymes was accompanied, on
the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his right hand, which
terminated at the descent, by suffering the fingers to dwell a moment on the
leaves of the little volume; and on the ascent, by such a flourish of the member
as none but the initiated may ever hope to imitate. It would seem that
Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the
forest could not fail to enlist the ears of those who jouneyed at so short a
distance in advance. The Indian muttered a few words in broken English to
Heyward, who, in his turn, spoke to the stranger; at once interrupting, and, for
the time, closing his musical efforts. "Though we are not in danger, common prudence would teach
us to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a manner as possible. You will
then, pardon me, Alice, should I diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this
gentleman to postpone his chant until a safer opportunity". "You will diminish them, indeed", returned the arch girl;
"for never did I hear a more unworthy conjunction of execution and language than
that to which I have been listening; and I was far gone in a learned inquiry
into the causes of such an unfitness between sound and sense, when you broke the
charm of my musings by that bass of yours, Duncan"! "I know not what you call my bass", said Heyward, piqued at
her remark, "but I know that your safety, and that of Cora, is far dearer to me
than could be any orchestra of Handel's music". He paused and turned his head
quickly toward a thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their guide,
who continued his steady pace, in undisturbed gravity. The young man smiled to
himself, for he belived he had mistaken some shining berry of the woods for the
glistening eyeballs of a prowling savage, and he rode forward, continuing the
conversation which had been interrupted by the passing thought. Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youthful
Leaving the unsuspecting Heyward and his confiding
companions to penetrate still deeper into a forest that contained such
treacherous inmates, we must use an author's privilege, and shift the scene a
few miles to the westward of the place where we have last seen them. On that day, two men were lingering on the banks of a small
but rapid stream, within an hour's journey of the encampment of Webb, like those
who awaited the appearance of an absent person, or the approach of some expected
event. The vast canopy of woods spread itself to the margin of the river,
overhanging the water, and shadowing its dark current with a deeper hue. The
rays of the sun were beginning to grow less fierce, and the intense heat of the
day was lessened, as the cooler vapors of the springs and fountains rose above
their leafy beds, and rested in the atmosphere. Still that breathing silence,
which marks the drowsy sultriness of an
The frame of the white man, judging by such parts as were
not concealed by his clothes, was like that of one who had known hardships and
exertion from his earliest youth. His person, though muscular, was rather
attenuated than full; but every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated
by unremitted exposure and toil. He wore a hunting shirt of forest-green,
fringed with faded yellow,1 and a summer cap of skins
which had been shorn of their fur. He also bore a knife in a girdle of wampum,
like that which confined the scanty garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His
moccasins were ornamented after the gay fashion of the natives, while the only
part of his under dress which appeared below the hunging frock was a pair of
buckskin leggings, that laced at the sides, and which were gartered above the
knees, with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and horn completed his personal
accouterments, though a rifle of great length,2 which the
theory of the more ingenious whites had taught them was the most dangerous of
all firearms, leaned against a neighboring sapling. The eye of the hunter, or
scout, whichever he might be, was small, quick, keen, and restless, roving while
he spoke, on every side of him, as if in quest of game, or distrusting the
sudden approach of some lurking enemy. Notwithstanding the symptoms of habitual
suspicion, his countenance was not only without guile, but at the moment at
which he is introduced, it was charged with an expression of sturdy honesty.
Note: 1 The hunting-shirt is a picturesque
smock-frock, being shorter, and ornamented with fringes and tassels. The colors
are intended to imitate the hues of the wood, with a view to concealment. Many
corps of American riflemen have been thus attired, and the dress is one of the
most striking of modern times. The hunting-shirt is frequently white.
Note: 2 The rifle of the army is short; that of
the hunter is always long. "Even your traditions make the case in my favor,
Chingachgook", he said, speaking in the tongue which was known to all the
natives who formerly inhabited the country between the Hudson and the Potomac,
and of which we shall give a
"My fathers fought with the naked red man"! returned the
Indian, sternly, in the same language. "Is there no difference, Hawkeye, between
the stone-headed arrow of the warrior, and the leaden bullet with which you
kill"? "There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made him
with a red skin"! said the white man, shaking his head like one on whom such an
appeal to his justice was not thrown away. For a moment he appeared to be
conscious of having the worst of the argument, then, rallying again, he answered
the objection of his antagonist in the best manner his limited information would
allow: "I am no scholar, and I care not who knows it; but, judging
from what I have seen, at deer chases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below, I
should think a rifle in the hands of their grandfathers was not so dangerous as
a hickory bow and a good flint-head might be, if drawn with Indian judgment, and
sent by an Indian eye". "You have the story told by your fathers", returned the
other, coldly waving his hand. "What say your old men? Do they tell the young
warriors that the pale faces met the red men, painted for war and armed with the
stone hatchet and wooden gun"?
"I am not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself on
his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have on earth, and he is an
Iroquois, daren't deny that I am genuine white", the scout replied, surveying,
with secret satisfaction, the faded color of his bony and sinewy hand, "and I am
willing to own that my people have many ways, of which, as an honest man, I
can't approve. It is one of their customs to write in books what they have done
and seen, instead of telling them in their villages, where the lie can be given
to the face of a cowardly boaster, and the brave soldier can call on his
comrades to witness for the truth of his words. In consequence of this bad
fashion, a man, who is too conscientious to misspend his days among the women,
in learning the names of black marks, may never hear of the deeds of his
fathers, nor feel a pride in striving to outdo them. For myself, I conclude the
Bumppos could shoot, for I have a natural turn with a rifle, which must have
been handed down from generation to generation, as, our holy commandments tell
us, all good and evil gifts are bestowed; though I should be loath to answer for
other people in such a matter. But every story has its two sides; so I ask you,
Chingachgook, what passed, according to the traditions of the red men, when our
fathers first met"? A silence of a minute succeeded, during which the Indian
sat mute; then, full of the dignity of his office, he commenced his brief tale,
with a solemnity that served to heighten its appearance of truth. "Listen, Hawkeye, and your ear shall drink no lie. 'Tis
what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have done". He hesitated a
single instant, and bending a cautious glance toward his companion, he
continued, in a manner that was divided between interrogation and assertion.
"Does not
"It can't be denied that your traditions tell you true in
both these matters", said the white man; "for I have been there, and have seen
them, though why water, which is so sweet in the shade, should become bitter in
the sun, is an alteration for which I have never been able to account". "And the current"! demanded the Indian, who expected his
reply with that sort of interest that a man feels in the confirmation of
testimony, at which he marvels even while he respects it; "the fathers of
Chingachgook have not lied"! "The holy Bible is not more true, and that is the truest
thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide, which is a thing
soon explained, and clear enough. Six hours the waters run in, and six hours
they run out, and the reason is this: when there is higher water in the sea than
in the river, they run in until the river gets to be highest, and then it runs
out again". "The waters in the woods, and on the great lakes, run
downward until they lie like my hand", said the Indian, stretching the limb
horizontally before him, "and then they run no more". "No honest man will deny it", said the scout, a little
nettled at the implied distrust of his explanation of the mystery of the tides;
"and I grant that it is true on the small scale, and where the land is level.
But everything depends on what scale you look at things. Now, on the small
scale, the 'arth is level; but on the large scale it is round. In this manner,
pools and ponds, and even the great fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant, as you
and I both know they are, having seen them; but when you come to spread water
over a great tract, like the sea, where the earth is round, how in reason can
the water be quiet? You might as well expect the river to lie still on the brink
of those
If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his companion, the
Indian was far too dignified to betray his unbelief. He listened like one who
was convinced, and resumed his narrative in his former solemn manner. "We came from the place where the sun is hid at night, over
great plains where the buffaloes live, until we reached the big river. There we
fought the Alligewi, till the ground was red with their blood. From the banks of
the big river to the shores of the salt lake, there was none to meet us. The
Maquas followed at a distance. We said the country should be ours from the place
where the water runs up no longer on this stream, to a river twenty sun's
journey toward the summer. We drove the Maquas into the woods with the bears.
They only tasted salt at the licks; they drew no fish from the great lake; we
threw them the bones". "All this I have heard and believe", said the white man,
observing that the Indian paused; "but it was long before the English came into
the country". "A pine grew then where this chestnut now stands. The first
pale faces who came among us spoke no English. They came in a large canoe, when
my fathers had buried the tomahawk with the red men around them. Then, Hawkeye",
he continued, betraying his deep emotion, only by permitting his voice to fall
to those low, guttural tones, which render his language, as spoken at times, so
very musical; "then, Hawkeye, we were one people, and we were happy. The salt
lake gave us its fish, the wood its deer, and the air its birds. We took wives
who bore us children; we worshipped the Great Spirit; and we kept the Maquas
beyond the sound of our songs of triumph".
"Know you anything of your own family at that time"?
demanded the white. "But you are just a man, for an Indian; and as I suppose you
hold their gifts, your fathers must have been brave warriors, and wise men at
the council-fire". "My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an
unmixed man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it must stay forever. The
Dutch landed, and gave my people the fire-water; they drank until the heavens
and the earth seemed to meet, and they foolishly thought they had found the
Great Spirit. Then they parted with their land. Foot by foot, they were driven
back from the shores, until I, that am a chief and a Sagamore, have never seen
the sun shine but through the trees, and have never visited the graves of my
fathers". "Graves bring solemn feelings over the mind", returned the
scout, a good deal touched at the calm suffering of his companion; "and they
often aid a man in his good intentions; though, for myself, I expect to leave my
own bones unburied, to bleach in the woods, or to be torn asunder by the wolves.
But where are to be found those of your race who came to their kin in the
Delaware country, so many summers since"? "Where are the blossoms of those summers! -- fallen, one by
one; so all of my family departed, each in his turn, to the land of spirits. I
am on the hilltop and must go down into the valley; and when Uncas follows in my
footsteps there will no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores, for my boy
is the last of the Mohicans". "Uncas is here", said another voice, in the same soft,
guttural tones, near his elbow; "who speaks to Uncas"? The white man loosened his knife in his leathern sheath,
and made an involuntary movement of the hand toward his rifle, at this sudden
interruption; but the Indian sat composed, and without turning his head at the
unexpected sounds.
At the next instant, a youthful warrior passed between
them, with a noiseless step, and seated himself on the bank of the rapid stream.
No exclamation of surprise escaped the father, nor was any question asked, or
reply given, for several minutes; each appearing to await the moment when he
might speak, without betraying womanish curiosity or childish impatience. The
white man seemed to take counsel from their customs, and, relinquishing his
grasp of the rifle, he also remained silent and reserved. At length Chingachgook
turned his eyes slowly toward his son, and demanded: "Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their moccasins
in these woods"? "I have been on their trail", replied the young Indian,
"and know that they number as many as the fingers of my two hands; but they lie
hid like cowards". "The thieves are outlying for scalps and plunder", said the
white man, whom we shall call Hawkeye, after the manner of his companions. "That
busy Frenchman, Montcalm, will send his spies into our very camp, but he will
know what road we travel"! "'Tis enough", returned the father, glancing his eye toward
the setting sun; "they shall be driven like deer from their bushes. Hawkeye, let
us eat to-night, and show the Maquas that we are men to-morrow". "I am as ready to do the one as the other; but to fight the
Iroquois 'tis necessary to find the skulkers; and to eat, 'tis necessary to get
the game -- talk of the devil and he will come; there is a pair of the biggest
antlers I have seen this season, moving the bushes below the hill! Now, Uncas",
he continued, in a half whisper, and laughing with a kind of inward sound, like
one who had learned to be watchful, "I will bet my charger three times full of
powder, against a foot of wampum, that
"It cannot be"! said the young Indian, springing to his
feet with youthful eagerness; "all but the tips of his horns are hid"! "He's a boy"! said the white man, shaking his head while he
spoke, and addressing the father. "Does he think when a hunter sees a part of
the creatur', he can't tell where the rest of him should be"! Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make an exhibition of
that skill on which he so much valued himself, when the warrior struck up the
piece with his hand, saying: "Hawkeye! will you fight the Maquas"? "These Indians know the nature of the woods, as it might be
by instinct"! returned the scout, dropping his rifle, and turning away like a
man who was convinced of his error. "I must leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas,
or we may kill a deer for them thieves, the Iroquois, to eat". The instant the father seconded this intimation by an
expressive gesture of the hand, Uncas threw himself on the ground, and
approached the animal with wary movements. When within a few yards of the cover,
he fitted an arrow to his bow with the utmost care, while the antlers moved, as
if their owner snuffed an enemy in the tainted air. In another moment the twang
of the cord was heard, a white streak was seen glancing into the bushes, and the
wounded buck plunged from the cover, to the very feet of his hidden enemy.
Avoiding the horns of the infuriated animal, Uncas darted to his side, and
passed his knife across the throat, when bounding to the edge of the river it
fell, dyeing the waters with its blood. "'Twas done with Indian skill", said the scout laughing
inwardly, but with vast satisfaction; "and 'twas a pretty sight
"Hugh"! ejaculated his companion, turning quickly, like a
hound who scented game. "By the Lord, there is a drove of them"! exclaimed the
scout, whose eyes began to glisten with the ardor of his usual occupation; "if
they come within range of a bullet I will drop one, though the whole Six Nations
should be lurking within sound! What do you hear, Chingachgook? for to my ears
the woods are dumb". "There is but one deer, and he is dead", said the Indian,
bending his body till his ear nearly touched the earth. "I hear the sounds of
feet"! "Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck to shelter, and
are following on his trail". "No. The horses of white men are coming"! returned the
other, raising himself with dignity, and resuming his seat on the log with his
former composure. "Hawkeye, they are your brothers; speak to them". "That I will, and in English that the king needn't be
ashamed to answer", returned the hunter, speaking in the language of which he
boasted; "but I see nothing, nor do I hear the sounds of man or beast; 'tis
strange that an Indian should understand white sounds better than a man who, his
very enemies will own, has no cross in his blood, although he may have lived
with the red skins long enough to be suspected! Ha! there goes something like
the cracking of a dry stick, too -- now I hear the bushes move -- yes, yes,
there is a trampling that I mistook for the falls -- and -- but here they come
themselves; God keep them from the Iroquois"! The words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the
leader of the party, whose approaching footsteps had caught the vigilant ear of
the Indian, came openly into view. A beaten path, such as those made by the
periodical passage of the deer, wound through a little glen at no great
distance, and struck the river at the point where the white man and his red
companions had posted themselves. Along this track the travelers, who had
produced a surprise so unusual in the depths of the forest, advanced slowly
toward the hunter, who was in front of his associates, in readiness to receive
them. "Who comes"? demanded the scout, throwing his rifle
carelessly across his left arm, and keeping the forefinger of his right hand on
the trigger, though he avoided all appearance of menace in the act. "Who comes
hither, among the beasts and dangers of the wilderness"? "Believers in religion, and friends to the law and to the
king", returned he who rode foremost. "Men who have journeyed since the rising
sun, in the shades of this forest, without nourishment, and are sadly tired of
their wayfaring".
"You are, then, lost", interrupted the hunter, "and have
found how helpless 'tis not to know whether to take the right hand or the left"?
"Even so; sucking babes are not more dependent on those who
guide them than we who are of larger growth, and who may now be said to possess
the stature without the knowledge of men. Know you the distance to a post of the
crown called William Henry"? "Hoot"! shouted the scout, who did not spare his open
laughter, though instantly checking the dangerous sounds he indulged his
merriment at less risk of being overheard by any lurking enemies. "You are as
much off the scent as a hound would be, with Horican atwixt him and the deer!
William Henry, man! if you are friends to the king and have business with the
army, your way would be to follow the river down to Edward, and lay the matter
before Webb, who tarries there, instead of pushing into the defiles, and driving
this saucy Frenchman back across Champlain, into his den again". Before the stranger could make any reply to this unexpected
proposition, another horseman dashed the bushes aside, and leaped his charger
into the pathway, in front of his companion. "What, then, may be our distance from Fort Edward"?
demanded a new speaker; "the place you advise us to seek we left this morning,
and our destination is the head of the lake". "Then you must have lost your eyesight afore losing your
way, for the road across the portage is cut to a good two rods, and is as grand
a path, I calculate, as any that runs into London, or even before the palace of
the king himself". "We will not dispute concerning the excellence of the
passage", returned Heyward, smiling; for, as the reader has anticipated, it was
he. "It is enough, for the present, that w
"An Indian lost in the woods"! said the scout, shaking his
head doubtingly; "When the sun is scorching the tree tops, and the water courses
are full; when the moss on every beech he sees will tell him in what quarter the
north star will shine at night. The woods are full of deer-paths which run to
the streams and licks, places well known to everybody; nor have the geese done
their flight to the Canada waters altogether! 'Tis strange that an Indian should
be lost atwixt Horican and the bend in the river! Is he a Mohawk"? "Not by birth, though adopted in that tribe; I think his
birthplace was farther north, and he is one of those you call a Huron". "Hugh"! exclaimed the two companions of the scout, who had
continued until this part of the dialogue, seated immovable, and apparently
indifferent to what passed, but who now sprang to their feet with an activity
and interest that had evidently got the better of their reserve by surprise.
"A Huron"! repeated the sturdy scout, once more shaking his
head in open distrust; "they are a thievish race, nor do I care by whom they are
adopted; you can never make anything of them but skulls and vagabonds. Since you
trusted yourself to the care of one of that nation, I only wonder that you have
not fallen in with more". "Of that there is little danger, since William Henry is so
many miles in our front. You forget that I have told you our guide is now a
Mohawk, and that he serves with our forces as a friend". "And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo will die a
Mingo", returned the other positively. "A Mohawk! No, give me a Delaware or a
Mohican for honesty; and when
"Enough of this", said Heyward, impatiently; "I wish not to
inquire into the character of a man that I know, and to whom you must be a
stranger. You have not yet answered my question; what is our distance from the
main army at Edward"? "It seems that may depend on who is your guide. One would
think such a horse as that might get over a good deal of ground atwixt sun-up
and sun-down". "I wish no contention of idle words with you, friend", said
Heyward, curbing his dissatisfied manner, and speaking in a more gentle voice;
"if you will tell me the distance to Fort Edward, and conduct me thither, your
labor shall not go without its reward". "And in so doing, how know I that I don't guide an enemy
and a spy of Montcalm, to the works of the army? It is not every man who can
speak the English tongue that is an honest subject". "If you serve with the troops, of whom I judge you to be a
scout, you should know of such a regiment of the king as the Sixtieth". "The Sixtieth! you can tell me little of the Royal
Americans that I don't know, though I do wear a hunting-shirt instead of a
scarlet jacket". "Well, then, among other things, you may know the name of
its major"? "Its major"! interrupted the hunter, elevating his body
like one who was proud of his trust. "If there is a man in the country who knows
Major Effingham, he stands before you". "It is a corps which has many majors; the gentleman you
"Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentleman of vast
riches, from one of the provinces far south, has got the place. He is over
young, too, to hold such rank, and to be put above men whose heads are beginning
to bleach; and yet they say he is a soldier in his knowledge, and a gallant
gentleman"! "Whatever he may be, or however he may be qualified for his
rank, he now speaks to you and, of course, can be no enemy to dread". The scout regarded Heyward in surprise, and then lifting
his cap, he answered, in a tone less confident than before -- though still
expressing doubt. "I have heard a party was to leave the encampment this
morning for the lake shore"? "You have heard the truth; but I preferred a nearer route,
trusting to the knowledge of the Indian I mentioned". "And he deceived you, and then deserted"? "Neither, as I believe; certainly not the latter, for he is
to be found in the rear". "I should like to look at the creatur'; if it is a true
Iroquois I can tell him by his knavish look, and by his paint", said the scout;
stepping past the charger of Heyward, and entering the path behind the mare of
the singing master, whose foal had taken advantage of the halt to exact the
maternal contribution. After shoving aside the bushes, and proceeding a few
paces, he encountered the females, who awaited the result of the conference with
anxiety, and not entirely without apprehension. Behind these, the runner leaned
against a tree, where he stood the close examination of the scout with an air
unmoved, though with a look so dark and savage, that it might in itself excite
fear. Satisfied with his scrutiny, the hunter soon left him. As he repassed the
females, he paused a momen
"A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made him so, neither
the Mohawks nor any other tribe can alter him", he said, when he had regained
his former position. "If we were alone, and you would leave that noble horse at
the mercy of the wolves to-night, I could show you the way to Edward myself,
within an hour, for it lies only about an hour's journey hence; but with such
ladies in your company 'tis impossible"! "And why? They are fatigued, but they are quite equal to a
ride of a few more miles". "'Tis a natural impossibility"! repeated the scout; "I
wouldn't walk a mile in these woods after night gets into them, in company with
that runner, for the best rifle in the colonies. They are full of outlying
Iroquois, and your mongrel Mohawk knows where to find them too well to be my
companion". "Think you so"? said Heyward, leaning forward in the
saddle, and dropping his voice nearly to a whisper; "I confess I have not been
without my own suspicions, though I have endeavored to conceal them, and
affected a confidence I have not always felt, on account of my companions. It
was because I suspected him that I would follow no longer; making him, as you
see, follow me". "I knew he was one of the cheats as soon as I laid eyes on
him"! returned the scout, placing a finger on his nose, in sign of caution. "The thief is leaning against the foot of the sugar
sapling, that you can see over them bushes; his right leg is in a line with the
bark of the tree, and", tapping his rifle, "I can take
"It will not do. He may be innocent, and I dislike the act.
Though, if I felt confident of his treachery -- -- " "'Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knavery of an
Iroquois", said the scout, throwing his rifle forward, by a sort of instinctive
movement. "Hold"! interrupted Heyward, "it will not do -- we must
think of some other scheme -- and yet, I have much reason to believe the rascal
has deceived me". The hunter, who had already abandoned his intention of
maiming the runner, mused a moment, and then made a gesture, which instantly
brought his two red companions to his side. They spoke together earnestly in the
Delaware language, though in an undertone; and by the gestures of the white man,
which were frequently directed towards the top of the sapling, it was evident he
pointed out the situation of their hidden enemy. His companions were not long in
comprehending his wishes, and laying aside their firearms, they parted, taking
opposite sides of the path, and burying themselves in the thicket, with such
cautious movements, that their steps were inaudible. "Now, go you back", said the hunter, speaking again to
Heyward, "and hold the imp in talk; these Mohicans here will take him without
breaking his paint". "Nay", said Heyward, proudly, "I will seize him myself".
"Hist! what could you do, mounted, against an Indian in the
bushes"! "I will dismount". "And, think you, when he saw one of your feet out of the
Heyward prepared to comply, though with strong disgust at
the nature of the office he was compelled to execute. Each moment, however,
pressed upon him a conviction of the critical situation in which he had suffered
his invaluable trust to be involved through his own confidence. The sun had
already disappeared, and the woods, suddenly deprived of his light,1 were assuming a dusky hue, which keenly reminded him that
the hour the savage usually chose for his most barbarous and remorseless acts of
vengeance or hostility, was speedily drawing near. Stimulated by apprehension,
he left the scout, who immediately entered into a loud conversation with the
stranger that had so unceremoniously enlisted himself in the party of travelers
that morning. In passing his gentler companions Heyward uttered a few words of
encouragement, and was pleased to find that, though fatigued with the exercise
of the day, they appeared to entertain no suspicion that their present
embarrassment was other than the result of accident. Giving them reason to
believe he was merely employed in a consultation concerning the future route, he
spurred his charger, and drew the reins again when the animal had carried him
within a few yards of the place where the sullen runner still stood, leaning
against the tree. Note: 1 The scene of this tale was
in the 42d degree of latitude, where the twilight is never of long continuation.
"You may see, Magua", he said, endeavoring to assume an air
of freedom and confidence, "that the night is closing around us, and yet we are
no nearer to William Henry than when we left the encampment of Webb with the
rising sun.
The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Heyward as he asked,
in his imperfect English, "Is he alone"? "Alone"! hesitatingly answered Heyward, to whom deception
was too new to be assumed without embarrassment. "Oh! not alone, surely, Magua,
for you know that we are with him". "Then Le Renard Subtil will go", returned the runner,
coolly raising his little wallet from the place where it had lain at his feet;
"and the pale faces will see none but their own color". "Go! Whom call you Le Renard"? "'Tis the name his Canada fathers have given to Magua",
returned the runner, with an air that manifested his pride at the distinction.
"Night is the same as day to Le Subtil, when Munro waits for him". "And what account will Le Renard give the chief of William
Henry concerning his daughters? Will he dare to tell the hot-blooded Scotsman
that his children are left without a guide, though Magua promised to be one"?
"Though the gray head has a loud voice, and a long arm, Le
Renard will not hear him, nor feel him, in the woods". "But what will the Mohawks say? They will make him
petticoats, and bid him stay in the wigwam with the women, for he is no longer
to be trusted with the business of a man". "Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes, and he can
find the bones of his fathers", was the answer of the unmoved runner. "Enough, Magua", said Heyward; "are we not friends?
"The pale faces make themselves dogs to their women",
muttered the Indian, in his native language, "and when they want to eat, their
warriors must lay aside the tomahawk to feed their laziness". "What say you, Renard"? "Le Subtil says it is good". The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly on the open
countenance of Heyward, but meeting his glance, he turned them quickly away, and
seating himself deliberately on the ground, he drew forth the remnant of some
former repast, and began to eat, though not without first bending his looks
slowly and cautiously around him. "This is well", continued Heyward; "and Le Renard will have
strength and sight to find the path in the morning"; he paused, for sounds like
the snapping of a dried stick, and the rustling of leaves, rose from the
adjacent bushes, but recollecting himself instantly, he continued, "we must be
moving before the sun is seen, or Montcalm may lie in our path, and shut us out
from the fortress". The hand of Magua dropped from his mouth to his side, and
though his eyes were fastened on the ground, his head was turned aside, his
nostrils expanded, and his ears seemed even to stand more erect than usual,
giving to him the appearance of a statue that was made to represent intense
attention. Heyward, who watched his movements with a vigilant eye,
carelessly extricated one of his feet from the stirrup, while he passed a hand
toward the bear-skin covering of his holsters.
"Le Renard Subtil does not eat", he said, using the
appellation he had found most flattering to the vanity of the Indian. "His corn
is not well parched, and it seems dry. Let me examine; perhaps something may be
found among my own provisions that will help his appetite". Magua held out the wallet to the proffer of the other. He
even suffered their hands to meet, without betraying the least emotion, or
varying his riveted attitude of attention. But when he felt the fingers of
Heyward moving gently along his own naked arm, he struck up the limb of the
young man, and, uttering a piercing cry, he darted beneath it, and plunged, at a
single bound, into the opposite thicket. At the next instant the form of
Chingachgook appeared from the bushes, looking like a specter in its paint, and
glided across the path in swift pursuit. Next followed the shout of Uncas, when
the woods were lighted by a sudden flash, that was accompanied by the sharp
report of the hunter's rifle. The suddenness of the flight of his guide, and the wild
cries of the pursuers, caused Heyward to remain fixed, for a few moments, in
inactive surprise. Then recollecting the importance of securing the fugitive, he
dashed aside the surrounding bushes, and pressed eagerly forward to lend his aid
in the chase. Before he had, however, proceeded a hundred yards, he met the
three foresters already returning from their unsuccessful pursuit. "Why so soon disheartened"! he exclaimed; "the scoundrel
must be concealed behind some of these trees, and may yet be secured. We are not
safe while he goes at large". "Would you set a cloud to chase the wind"? returned the
disappointed scout; "I heard the imp brushing over the dry leaves, like a black
snake, and blinking a glimpse of him, just over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as
it might be on the scent; but 'twouldn't do! and yet for a reasoning aim, if
anybody but myself had touched the trigger, I should call it a quick sight; and
I may be accounted to have experience in these
"'Tis the blood of Le Subtil! he is hurt, and may yet
fall"! "No, no", returned the scout, in decided disapprobation of
this opinion, "I rubbed the bark off a limb, perhaps, but the creature leaped
the longer for it. A rifle bullet acts on a running animal, when it barks him,
much the same as one of your spurs on a horse; that is, it quickens motion, and
puts life into the flesh, instead of taking it away. But when it cuts the ragged
hole, after a bound or two, there is, commonly, a stagnation of further leaping,
be it Indian or be it deer"! "We are four able bodies, to one wounded man"! "Is life grievous to you"? interrupted the scout. "Yonder
red devil would draw you within swing of the tomahawks of his comrades, before
you were heated in the chase. It was an unthoughtful act in a man who has so
often slept with the war-whoop ringing in the air, to let off his piece within
sound of an ambushment! But then it was a natural temptation! 'twas very
natural! Come, friends, let us move our station, and in such fashion, too, as
will throw the cunning of a Mingo on a wrong scent, or our scalps will be drying
in the wind in front of Montcalm's marquee, ag'in this hour to-morrow". This appalling declaration, which the scout uttered with
the cool assurance of a man who fully comprehended, while he did not fear to
face the danger, served to remind Heyward of the importance of the charge with
which he himself had been intrusted. Glancing his eyes around, with a vain
effort to pierce the gloom that was thickening beneath the leafy arches of the
forest, he felt as if, cut off from human aid, his unresisting companions would
soon lie at the entire mercy of those barbarous enemies, who, like beasts of
prey, only waited till the gathering darkness might render their blows
"What is to be done"! he said, feeling the utter
helplessness of doubt in such a pressing strait; "desert me not, for God's sake!
remain to defend those I escort, and freely name your own reward"! His companions, who conversed apart in the language of
their tribe, heeded not this sudden and earnest appeal. Though their dialogue
was maintained in low and cautious sounds, but little above a whisper, Heyward,
who now approached, could easily distinguish the earnest tones of the younger
warrior from the more deliberate speeches of his seniors. It was evident that
they debated on the propriety of some measure, that nearly concerned the welfare
of the travelers. Yielding to his powerful interest in the subject, and
impatient of a delay that seemed fraught with so much additional danger, Heyward
drew still nigher to the dusky group, with an intention of making his offers of
compensation more definite, when the white man, motioning with his hand, as if
he conceded the disputed point, turned away, saying in a sort of solilquy, and
in the English tongue: "Uncas is right! it would not be the act of men to leave
such harmless things to their fate, even though it breaks up the harboring place
forever. If you would save these tender
"How can such a wish be doubted! Have I not already offered
-- -- " "Offer your prayers to Him who can give us wisdom to
circumvent the cunning of the devils who fill these woods", calmly interrupted
the scout, "but spare your offers of money, which neither you may live to
realize, nor I to profit by. These Mohicans and I will do what man's thoughts
can invent, to keep such flowers, which, though so sweet, were never made for
the wilderness, from harm, and that without hope of any other recompense but
such as God always gives to upright dealings. First, you must promise two
things, both in your own name and for your friends, or without serving you we
shall only injure ourselves"! "Name them". "The one is, to be still as these sleeping woods, let what
will happen and the other is, to keep the place where we shall take you, forever
a secret from all mortal men". "I will do my utmost to see both these conditions
fulfilled". "Then follow, for we are losing moments that are as
precious as the heart's blood to a stricken deer"! Heyward could distinguish the impatient gesture of the
scout, through the increasing shadows of the evening, and he moved in his
footsteps, swiftly, toward the place where he had left the remainder of the
party. When they rejoined the expecting and anxious females, he briefly
acquainted them with the conditions of their new guide, and with the necessity
that existed for their hushing every apprehension in instant and serious
exertions. Although his alarming communication was not received without much
secret terror by the listeners, his earnest and impressive manner, aided perhaps
by the nature of the danger, succeeded in bracing their nerves to undergo
"What to do with these dumb creatures"! muttered the white
man, on whom the sole control of their future movements appeared to devolve; "it
would be time lost to cut their throats, and cast them into the river; and to
leave them here would be to tell the Mingoes that they have not far to seek to
find their owners"! "Then give them their bridles, and let them range the
woods", Heyward ventured to suggest. "No; it would be better to mislead the imps, and make them
believe they must equal a horse's speed to run down their chase. Ay, ay, that
will blind their fireballs of eyes! Chingach -- Hist! what stirs the bush"? "The colt". "That colt, at least, must die", muttered the scout,
grasping at the mane of the nimble beast, which easily eluded his hand; "Uncas,
your arrows"! "Hold"! exclaimed the proprietor of the condemned animal,
aloud, without regard to the whispering tones used by the others; "spare the
foal of Miriam! it is the comely offspring of a faithful dam, and would
willingly injure naught". "When men struggle for the single life God has given them",
said the scout, sternly, "even their own kind seem no more than the beasts of
the wood. If you speak again, I shall leave you to the mercy of the Maquas! Draw
to your arrow's head, Uncas; we have no time for second blows". The low, muttering sounds of his threatening voice were
still audible, when the wounded foal, first rearing on its hinder legs, plunged
forward to its knees. It was met by Chingachgook,
The Indians, however, hesitated not a moment, but taking
the bridles, they led the frightened and reluctant horses into the bed of the
river. At a short distance from the shore they turned, and were
soon concealed by the projection of the bank, under the brow of which they
moved, in a direction opposite to the course of the waters. In the meantime, the
scout drew a canoe of bark from its place of concealment beneath some low
bushes, whose branches were waving with the eddies of the current, into which he
silently motioned for the females to enter. They complied without hesitation,
though many a fearful and anxious glance was thrown behind them, toward the
thickening gloom, which now lay like a dark barrier along the margin of the
stream. So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, the scout, without
regarding the element, directed Heyward to support one side of the frail vessel,
and posting himself at the other, they bore it up against the stream, followed
by the dejected owner of the dead foal. In this manner they proceeded, for many
rods, in a silence that was only interrupted by the rippling of the
"Ay", returned the composed scout, "the Indians have hid
the beasts with the judgment of natives! Water leaves no trail, and an owl's
eyes would be blinded by the darkness of such a hole". The whole party was soon reunited, and another consultation
was held between the scout and his new comrades, during which, they, whose fates
depended on the faith and ingenuity of these unknown foresters, had a little
leisure to observe their situation more minutely. The river was confined between high and cragged rocks, one
of which impended above the spot where the canoe rested. As these, again, were
surmounted by tall trees, which appeared to totter on the brows of the
precipice, it gave the stream the appearance of running through a deep and
narrow dell. All beneath the fantastic limbs and ragged tree tops,
The horses had been secured to some scattering shrubs that
grew in the fissures of the rocks, where, standing in the water, they were left
to pass the night. The scout directed Heyward and his disconsolate fellow
travelers to seat themselves in the forward end of the canoe, and took
possession of the other himself, as erect and steady as if he floated in a
vessel of much firmer materials. The Indians warily retraced their steps toward
the place they had left, when the scout, placing his pole against a rock, by a
powerful shove, sent his frail bark directly into the turbulent stream. For many
minutes the struggle between the light bubble in which they floated and the
swift current was severe and doubtful. Forbidden to stir even a hand, and almost
afraid to breath, lest they should expose the frail fabric to the fury of the
stream, the passengers watched the glancing waters in feverish suspense. Twenty
times they thought the whirling eddies were sweeping them to destruction, when
the masterhand of their pilot would bring the bows of the canoe to stem the
rapid. A long, a vigorous, and, as it appeared to the females, a desperate
effort, closed the struggle. Just as Alice
"Where are we, and what is next to be done"! demanded
Heyward, perceiving that the exertions of the scout had ceased. "You are at the foot of Glenn's", returned the other,
speaking aloud, without fear of consequences within the roar of the cataract;
"and the next thing is to make a steady landing, lest the canoe upset, and you
should go down again the hard road we have traveled faster than you came up;
'tis a hard rift to stem, when the river is a little swelled; and five is an
unnatural number to keep dry, in a hurry-skurry, with a little birchen bark and
gum. There, go you all on the rock, and I will bring up the Mohicans with the
venison. A man had better sleep without his scalp, than famish in the midst of
plenty". His passengers gladly complied with these directions. As
the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its station, when the
tall form of the scout was seen, for an instant, gliding above the waters,
before it disappeared in the impenetrable darkness that rested on the bed of the
river. Left by their guide, the travelers remained a few minutes in helpless
ignorance, afraid even to move along the broken rocks, lest a false step should
precipitate them down some one of the many deep and roaring caverns, into which
the water seemed to tumble, on every side of them. Their suspense, however, was
soon relieved; for, aided by the skill of the natives, the canoe shot back into
the eddy, and floated again at the side of the low rock, before they thought the
scout had even time to rejoin his companions. "We are now fortified, garrisoned, and provisioned", cried
"I call them Iroquois, because to me every native, who
speaks a foreign tongue, is accounted an enemy, though he may pretend to serve
the king! If Webb wants faith and honesty in an Indian, let him bring out the
tribes of the Delawares, and send these greedy and lying Mohawks and Oneidas,
with their six nations of varlets, where in nature they belong, among the
French"! "We should then exchange a warlike for a useless friend! I
have heard that the Delawares have laid aside the hatchet, and are content to be
called women"! "Aye, shame on the Hollanders and Iroquois, who
circumvented them by their deviltries, into such a treaty! But I have known them
for twenty years, and I call him liar that says cowardly blood runs in the veins
of a Delaware. You have driven their tribes from the seashore, and would now
believe what their enemies say, that you may sleep at night upon an easy pillow.
No, no; to me, every Indian who speaks a foreign tongue is an Iroquois, whether
the castle1 of his tribe be in Canada, or be in York".
Note: 1 The principal villages of the Indians are
still called "castles" by the whites of New York. "Oneida castle" is no more
than a scattered hamlet; but the name is in general use. Heyward, perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the
scout to the cause of his friends the Delawares, or Mohicans, for they were
branches of the same numerous people, was likely to prolong a useless
discussion, changed the subject. "Treaty or no treaty, I know full well that your two
companions are brave and cautious warriors! have they heard or seen anything of
our enemies"! "An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen",
returned the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing the deer
"Do your ears tell you that they have traced our retreat"?
"I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a spot
that stout courage might hold for a smart scrimmage. I will not deny, however,
but the horses cowered when I passed them, as though they scented the wolves;
and a wolf is a beast that is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment, craving
the offals of the deer the savages kill". "You forget the buck at your feet! or, may we not owe their
visit to the dead colt? Ha! what noise is that"? "Poor Miriam"! murmured the stranger; "thy foal was
foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts"! Then, suddenly lifting up his
voice, amid the eternal din of the waters, he sang aloud: "The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its
owner", said the scout; "but it's a good sign to see a man account upon his dumb
friends. He has the religion of the matter, in believing what is to happen will
happen; and with such a consolation, it won't be long afore he submits to the
rationality of killing a four-footed beast to save the lives of human men. It
may be as you say", he continued, reverting to the purport of Heyward's last
remark; "and the greater the reason why we should cut our steaks, and let the
carcass drive down the stream, or we shall have the pack howling along the
cliffs, begrudging every mouthful we swallow. Besides, though the Delaware
tongue is the same as a book to the Iroquois, the cunning varlets are quick
enough at understanding the reason of a wolf's howl".
The scout, while making his remarks, was busied in
collecting certain necessary implements; as he concluded, he moved silently by
the group of travelers, accompanied by the Mohicans, who seemed to comprehend
his intentions with instinctive readiness, when the whole three disappeared in
succession, seeming to vanish against the dark face of a perpendicular rock that
rose to the height of a few yards, within as many feet of the water's edge. Heyward and his female companions witnessed this mysterious
movement with secret uneasiness; for, though the conduct of the white man had
hitherto been above reproach, his rude equipments, blunt address, and strong
antipathies, together with the character of his silent associates, were all
causes for exciting distrust in minds that had been so recently alarmed by
Indian treachery. The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents. He
seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he gave no other signs of
consciousness than by the struggles of his spirit, as manifested in frequent and
heavy sighs. Smothered voices were next heard, as though men called to each
other in the bowels of the earth, when a sudden light flashed upon those
without, and laid bare the much-prized secret of the place. At the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the
rock, whose length appeared much extended by the perspective and the nature of
the light by which it was seen, was seated
"I could sleep in peace", whispered Alice, in reply, "with
such a fearless and generous-looking youth for my sentinel. Surely, Duncan,
those cruel murders, those terrific scenes of torture, of which we read and hear
so much, are never acted in the presence of such as he"! "This certainly is a rare and brilliant instance of those
natural qualities in which these peculiar people are said to excel", he
answered. "I agree with you, Alice, in thinking that such a front and eye were
formed rather to intimidate than to deceive; but let us not practice a deception
upon ourselves, by expecting any other exhibition of what we esteem virtue than
according to the fashion of the savage. As bright examples of great qualities
are but too uncommon among Christians, so are they singular and solitary with
the Indians; though, for the honor of our common nature, neither are incapable
of producing them. Let us then hope that this Mohican may not disappoint our
wishes, but prove what his looks assert him to be, a brave and constant friend".
"Now Major Heyward speaks as Major Heyward should", said
Cora; "who that looks at this creature of nature, remembers the shade of his
skin"? A short and apparently an embarrassed silence succeeded
this remark, which was interrupted by the scout calling to them, aloud, to
enter. "This fire begins to show too bright a flame", he
continued, as they complied, "and might light the Mingoes to our undoing. Uncas,
drop the blanket, and show the knaves its dark side. This is not such a supper
as a major of the Royal Americans has a right to expect, but I've known stout
detachments of the corps glad to eat their venison raw, and without
Uncas did as the other had directed, and when the voice of
Hawkeye ceased, the roar of the cataract sounded like the rumbling of distant
thunder. "Are we quite safe in this cavern"? demanded Heyward. "Is
there no danger of surprise? A single armed man, at its entrance, would hold us
at his mercy". A spectral-looking figure stalked from out of the darkness
behind the scout, and seizing a blazing brand, held it toward the further
extremity of their place of retreat. Alice uttered a faint shriek, and even Cora
rose to her feet, as this appalling object moved into the light; but a single
word from Heyward calmed them, with the assurance it was only their attendant,
Chingachgook, who, lifting another blanket, discovered that the cavern had two
outlets. Then, holding the brand, he crossed a deep, narrow chasm in the rocks
which ran at right angles with the passage they were in, but which, unlike that,
was open to the heavens, and entered another cave, answering to the description
of the first, in every essential particular. "Such old foxes as Chingachgook and myself are not often
caught in a barrow with one hole", said Hawkeye, laughing; "you can easily see
the cunning of the place -- the rock is black
"In what part of them are we"? asked Heyward. "Why, we are nigh the spot that Providence first placed
them at, but where, it seems, they were too rebellious to stay. The rock proved
softer on each side of us, and so they left the center of the river bare and
dry, first working out these two little holes for us to hide in". "We are then on an island"! "Ay! there are the falls on two sides of us, and the river
above and below. If you had daylight, it would be worth the trouble to step up
on the height of this rock, and look at the perversity of the water. It falls by
no rule at all; sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles; there it skips; here
it shoots; in one place 'tis white as snow, and in another 'tis green as grass;
hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, that rumble and crush the 'arth; and
thereaways, it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioning whirlpools and gullies
in the old stone, as if 'twas no harder than trodden clay. The whole design of
the river seems disconcerted. First it runs smoothly, as if meaning to go down
the descent as things were ordered; then it angles about and faces the shores;
nor are there places wanting where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave
the wilderness, to mingle with the salt. Ay, lady, the fine cobweb-looking
While his auditors received a cheering assurance of the
security of their place of concealment from this untutored description of
Glenn's,* they were much inclined to judge differently from Hawkeye, of its wild
beauties. But they were not in a situation to suffer their thoughts to dwell on
the charms of natural objects; and, as the scout had not found it necessary to
cease his culinary labors while he spoke, unless to point out, with a broken
fork, the direction of some particularly obnoxious point in the rebellious
stream, they now suffered their attention to be drawn to the necessary though
more vulgar consideration of their supper. Note: * Glenn's Falls are on the
Hudson, some forty or fifty miles above the head of tide, or that place where
the river becomes navigable for sloops. The description of this picturesque and
remakable little cataract, as given by the scout, is sufficiently correct,
though the application of the water to uses of civilized life has materially
injured its beauties. The rocky island and the two caverns are known to every
traveler, since the former sustains the pier of a bridge, which is now thrown
across the river, immediately above the fall. In explanation of the taste of
Hawkeye, it should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least
enjoyed. Thus, in a new country, the woods and other objects, which in an old
country would be maintained at great cost, are got rid of, simply with a view of
"improving" as it is called. The repast, which was greatly aided by the addition of a
few delicacies that Heyward had the precaution to bring with him when they left
their horses, was exceedingly refreshing to the weary party. Uncas acted as
attendant to the females, performing all the little offices within his power,
with a mixture of dignity and anxious grace, that served to amuse Heyward, who
well knew that it was an utter innovation on the
In the meanwhile, the gravity of Chingcachgook remained
immovable. He had seated himself more within the circle of light, where the
frequent, uneasy glances of his guests were better enabled to separate the
natural expression of his face from the artificial terrors of the war paint.
They found a strong resemblance between father and son, with the difference that
might be expected from age and hardships. The fierceness of his countenance now
seemed to slumber, and in its place was to be seen the quiet, vacant composure
which distinguishes an Indian warrior, when his faculties are not required for
any of the greater purposes of his existence. It was, however, easy to be seen,
by the occasional gleams that shot across his swarthy visage, that it was only
necessary to
"Come, friend", said Hawkeye, drawing out a keg from
beneath a cover of leaves, toward the close of the repast, and addressing the
stranger who sat at his elbow, doing great justice to his culinary skill, "try a
little spruce; 'twill wash away all thoughts of the colt, and quicken the life
in your bosom. I drink to our better friendship, hoping that a little
horse-flesh may leave no heart-burnings atween us. How do you name yourself"?
"Gamut -- David Gamut", returned the singing master,
preparing to wash down his sorrows in a powerful draught of the woodsman's
high-flavored and well-laced compound. "A very good name, and, I dare say, handed down from honest
forefathers. I'm an admirator of names, though the Christian fashions fall far
below savage customs in this particular. The biggest coward I ever knew as
called Lyon; and his wife, Patience, would scold you out of hearing in less time
than a hunted deer would run a rod. With an Indian 'tis a matter of conscience;
what he calls himself, he generally is -- not that Chingachgook, which signifies
Big Sarpent, is really a snake, big or little; but that he understands the
windings
"I am an unworthy instructor in the art of psalmody". "Anan"! "I teach singing to the youths of the Connecticut levy".
"You might be better employed. The young hounds go laughing
and singing too much already through the woods, when they ought not to breathe
louder than a fox in his cover. Can you use the smoothbore, or handle the
rifle"? "Praised be God, I have never had occasion to meddle with
murderous implements"! "Perhaps you understand the compass, and lay down the
watercourses and mountains of the wilderness on paper, in order that they who
follow may find places by their given names"? "I practice no such employment". "You have a pair of legs that might make a long path seem
short! you journey sometimes, I fancy, with tidings for the general". "Never; I follow no other than my own high vocation, which
is instruction in sacred music"! "'Tis a strange calling"! muttered Hawkeye, with an inward
laugh, "to go through life, like a catbird, mocking all the ups and downs that
may happen to come out of other men's throats. Well, friend, I suppose it is
your gift, and mustn't be denied any more than if 'twas shooting, or some other
better inclination. Let us hear what you can do in that way; 'twill be a
friendly manner of saying good-night, for 'tis time that these ladies should be
getting strength for a hard and a long push, in the pride of the morning, afore
the Maquas are stirring". "With joyful pleasure do I consent', said David, adjusting
Alice smiled; but, regarding Heyward, she blushed and
hesitated. "Indulge yourself", he whispered; "ought not the suggestion
of the worthy namesake of the Psalmist to have its weight at such a moment"?
Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did what her pious
inclinations, and her keen relish for gentle sounds, had before so strongly
urged. The book was open at a hymn not ill adapted to their situation, and in
which the poet, no longer goaded by his desire to excel the inspired King of
Israel, had discovered some chastened and respectable powers. Cora betrayed a
disposition to support her sister, and the sacred song proceeded, after the
indispensable preliminaries of the pitchpipe, and the tune had been duly
attended to by the methodical David. The air was solemn and slow. At times it rose to the
fullest compass of the rich voices of the females, who hung over their little
book in holy excitement, and again it sank so low, that the rushing of the
waters ran through their melody, like a hollow accompaniment. The natural taste
and true ear of David governed and modified the sounds to suit the confined
cavern, every crevice and cranny of which was filled with the thrilling notes of
their flexible voices. The Indians riveted their eyes on the rocks, and listened
with an attention that seemed to turn them into stone. But the scout, who had
placed his chin in his hand, with an expression of cold indifference, gradually
suffered his rigid features to relax, until, as verse succeeded verse, he felt
his iron nature subdued, while his recollection was carried back to boyhood,
when his ears had been
"What is it"? murmured Alice, after a few moments of
terrible suspense. "What is it"? repeated Hewyard aloud. Neither Hawkeye nor the Indians made any reply. They
listened, as if expecting the sound would be repeated, with a manner that
expressed their own astonishment. At length they spoke together, earnestly, in
the Delaware language, when Uncas, passing by the inner and most concealed
aperture, cautiously left the cavern. When he had gone, the scout first spoke in
English. "What it is, or what it is not, none here can tell, though
two of us have ranged the woods for more than thirty years. I did believe there
was no cry that Indian or beast could make, that my ears had not heard; but this
has proved that I was only a vain and conceited mortal". "Was it not, then, the shout the warriors make when they
wish to intimidate their enemies"? asked Cora who stood drawing her veil about
her person, with a calmness to which her agitated sister was a stranger.
"No, no; this was bad, and shocking, and had a sort of
unhuman sound; but when you once hear the war-whoop, you will never mistake it
for anything else. Well, Uncas"! speaking in Delaware to the young chief as he
re-entered, "what see you? do our lights shine through the blankets"? The answer was short, and apparently decided, being given
in the same tongue. "There is nothing to be seen without", continued Hawkeye,
shaking his head in discontent; "and our hiding-place is still in darkness. Pass
into the other cave, you that need it, and seek for sleep; we must be afoot long
before the sun, and make the most of our time to get to Edward, while the
Mingoes are taking their morning nap". Cora set the example of compliance, with a steadiness that
taught the more timid Alice the necessity of obedience. Before leaving the
place, however, she whispered a request to Duncan, that he would follow. Uncas
raised the blanket for their passage, and as the sisters turned to thank him for
this act of attention, they saw the scout seated again before the dying embers,
with his face resting on his hands, in a manner which showed how deeply he
brooded on the unaccountable interruption which had broken up their evening
devotions. Heyward took with him a blazing knot, which threw a dim
light through the narrow vista of their new apartment. Placing it in a favorable
position, he joined the females, who now found themselves alone with him for the
first time since they had left the friendly ramparts of Fort Edward. "Leave us not, Duncan", said Alice: "we cannot sleep in
such a place as this, with that horrid cry still ringing in our ears". "First let us examine into the security of your fortress",
he answered, "and then we will speak of rest". He approached the further end of the cavern, to an outlet,
"Nature has made an impenetrable barrier on this side", he
continued, pointing down the perpendicular declivity into the dark current
before he dropped the blanket; "and as you know that good men and true are on
guard in front I see no reason why the advice of our honest host should be
disregarded. I am certain Cora will join me in saying that sleep is necessary to
you both". "Cora may submit to the justice of your opinion though she
cannot put it in practice", returned the elder sister, who had placed herself by
the side of Alice, on a couch of sassafras; "there would be other causes to
chase away sleep, though we had been spared the shock of this mysterious noise.
Ask yourself, Heyward, can daughters forget the anxiety a father must endure,
whose children lodge he knows not where or how, in such a wilderness, and in the
midst of so many perils"? "He is a soldier, and knows how to estimate the chances of
the woods". "He is a father, and cannot deny his nature". "How kind has he ever been to all my follies, how tender
and indulgent to all my wishes"! sobbed Alice. "We have been selfish, sister, in
urging our visit at such hazard". "I may have been rash in pressing his consent in a moment
of much embarrassment, but I would have proved to
"When he heard of your arrival at Edward", said Heyward,
kindly, "there was a powerful struggle in his bosom between fear and love;
though the latter, heightened, if possible, by so long a separation, quickly
prevailed. "It is the spirit of my noble- minded Cora that leads them, Duncan",
he said, "and I will not balk it. Would to God, that he who holds the honor of
our royal master in his guardianship, would show but half her firmness""! "And did he not speak of me, Heyward"? demanded Alice, with
jealous affection; "surely, he forgot not altogether his little Elsie"? "That were impossible", returned the young man; "he called
you by a thousand endearing epithets, that I may not presume to use, but to the
justice of which, I can warmly testify. Once, indeed, he said -- -- " Duncan ceased speaking; for while his eyes were riveted on
those of Alice, who had turned toward him with the eagerness of filial
affection, to catch his words, the same strong, horrid cry, as before, filled
the air, and rendered him mute. A long, breathless silence succeeded, during
which each looked at the others in fearful expectation of hearing the sound
repeated. At length, the blanket was slowly raised, and the scout stood in the
aperture with a countenance whose firmness evidently began to give way before a
mystery that seemed to threaten some danger, against which all his cunning and
experience might prove of no avail. "'Twould be neglecting a warning that is given for our good
to lie hid any longer", said Hawkeye "when such sounds are raised in the forest.
These gentle ones may keep close, but the Mohicans and I will watch upon the
rock, where I suppose a major of the Sixtieth would wish to keep us company".
"Is, then, our danger so pressing"? asked Cora. "He who makes strange sounds, and gives them out for man's
information, alone knows our danger. I should think myself wicked, unto
rebellion against His will, was I to burrow with such warnings in the air! Even
the weak soul who passes his days in singing is stirred by the cry, and, as he
says, is "ready to go forth to the battle" If 'twere only a battle, it would be
a thing understood by us all, and easily managed; but I have heard that when
such shrieks are atween heaven and 'arth, it betokens another sort of warfare"!
"If all our reasons for fear, my friend, are confined to
such as proceed from supernatural causes, we have but little
"Lady", returned the scout, solemnly, "I have listened to
all the sounds of the woods for thirty years, as a man will listen whose life
and death depend on the quickness of his ears. There is no whine of the panther,
no whistle of the catbird, nor any invention of the devilish Mingoes, that can
cheat me! I have heard the forest moan like mortal men in their affliction;
often, and again, have I listened to the wind playing its music in the branches
of the girdled trees; and I have heard the lightning cracking in the air like
the snapping of blazing brush as it spitted forth sparks and forked flames; but
never have I thought that I heard more than the pleasure of him who sported with
the things of his hand. But neither the Mohicans, nor I, who am a white man
without a cross, can explain the cry just heard. We, therefore, believe it a
sign given for our good". "It is extraordinary"! said Heyward, taking his pistols
from the place where he had laid them on entering; "be it a sign of peach or a
signal of war, it must be looked to. Lead the way, my friend; I follow". On issuing from their place of confinement, the whole party
instantly experienced a grateful renovation of spirits, by exchanging the pent
air of the hiding-place for the cool and invigorating atmosphere which played
around the whirlpools and pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening breeze swept
along the surface of the river, and seemed to drive the roar of the falls into
the recesses of their own cavern, whence it issued heavily and constant, like
thunder rumbling beyond the distant hills. The moon had risen, and its light was
already glancing here and there on the waters above them; but
"Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of a
lovely evening", whispered Duncan; "how much should we prize such a scene, and
all this breathing solitude, at any other moment, Cora! Fancy yourselves in
security, and what now, perhaps, increases your terror, may be made conducive to
enjoyment -- -- " "Listen"! interrupted Alice. The caution was unnecessary. One more the same sound arose,
as if from the bed of the river, and having broken out of the narrow bounds of
the cliffs, was heard undulating through the forest, in distant and dying
cadences. "Can any here give a name to such a cry"? demanded Hawkeye,
when the last echo was lost in the woods; "if so, let him speak; for myself, I
judge it not to belong to 'arth"! "Here, then, is one who can undeceive you", said Duncan; "I
know the sound full well, for often have I heard it on the field of battle, and
in situations which are frequent in a soldier's life. 'Tis the horrid shriek
that a horse will give in his agony; oftener drawn from him in pain, though
sometimes in terror. My charger is either a prey to the beasts of the forest, or
he sees his danger, without the power to avoid it. The sound might deceive me in
the cavern, but in the open air I know it too well to be wrong".
The scout and his companions listened to this simple
explanation with the interest of men who imbibe new ideas, at the same time that
they get rid of old ones, which had proved disagreeable inmates. The two latter
uttered their usual expressive exclamation, "hugh"! as the truth first glanced
upon their minds, while the former, after a short, musing pause, took upon
himself to reply. "I cannot deny your words", he said, "for I am little
skilled in horses, though born where they abound. The wolves must be hovering
above their heads on the bank, and the timorsome creatures are calling on man
for help, in the best manner they are able. Uncas" -- he spoke in Delaware --
"Uncas, drop down in the canoe, and whirl a brand among the pack; or fear may do
what the wolves can't get at to perform, and leave us without horses in the
morning, when we shall have so much need to journey swiftly"! The young native had already descended to the water to
comply, when a long howl was raised on the edge of the river, and was borne
swiftly off into the depths of the forest, as though the beasts, of their own
accord, were abandoning their prey in sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive
quickness, receded, and the three foresters held another of their low, earnest
conferences. "We have been like hunters who have lost the points of the
heavens, and from whom the sun has been hid for days", said Hawkeye, turning
away from his companions; "now we begin again to know the signs of our course,
and the paths are cleared from briers! Seat yourselves in the shade which the
moon throws from yonder beech -- 'tis thicker than that of the pines -- and let
us wait for that which the Lord may choose to send next. Let all your
conversation be in whispers; though it would be better, and, perhaps, in the
end, wiser, if each one held discourse with his own thoughts, for a time".
The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though no
longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly apprehension. It was evident that
his momentary weakness had vanished with the explanation of a mystery which his
own experience had not served to fathom; and though he now felt all the
realities of their actual condition, that he was prepared to meet them with the
energy of his hardy nature. This feeling seemed also common to the natives, who
placed themselves in positions which commanded a full view of both shores, while
their own persons were effectually concealed from observation. In such
circumstances, common prudence dictated that Heyward and his companions should
imitate a caution that proceeded from so intelligent a source. The young man
drew a pile of the sassafras from the cave, and placing it in the chasm which
separated the two caverns, it was occupied by the sisters, who were thus
protected by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was relieved by
the assurance that no danger could approach without a warning. Heyward himself
was posted at hand, so near that he might communicate with his companions
without raising his voice to a dangerous elevation; while David, in imitation of
the woodsmen, bestowed his person in such a manner among the fissures of the
rocks, that his ungainly limbs were no longer offensive to the eye. In this manner hours passed without further interruption.
The moon reached the zenith, and shed its mild light perpendicularly on the
lovely sight of the sisters slumbering peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan
cast the wide shawl of Cora before a spectacle he so much loved to contemplate,
and then suffered his own head to seek a pillow on the rock. David began to
utter sounds that would have shocked his delicate organs in more wakeful
moments; in short, all but Hawkeye and the Mohicans lost every idea of
consciousness, in uncontrollable
Then, for the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He
crawled along the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy slumbers. "Now is the time to journey", he whispered; "awake the
gentle ones, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring it to the
landing-place". "Have you had a quiet night"? said Heyward; "for myself, I
believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance". "All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick".
By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he
immediately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion caused Cora
to raise her hand as if to repulse him, while Alice murmured, in her soft,
gentle voice, "No, no, dear father, we were not deserted; Duncan was with us"!
"Yes, sweet innocence", whispered the youth; "Duncan is
here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will never quit thee. Cora!
Alice! awake! The hour has come to move"! A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the form
of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered horror, was the
unexpected answer he received.
While the words were still on the lips of Heyward, there
had arisen such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive the swift
currents of his own blood back from its bounding course into the fountains of
his heart. It seemed, for near a minute, as if the demons of hell had possessed
themselves of the air about them, and were venting their savage humors in
barbarous sounds. The cries came from no particular direction, though it was
evident they filled the woods, and, as the appalled listeners easily imagined,
the caverns of the falls, the rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper air.
David raised his tall person in the midst of the infernal din, with a hand on
either ear, exclaiming: "Whence comes this discord! Has hell broke loose, that man
should utter sounds like these"! The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles,
from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this incautious exposure of his
person, and left the unfortunate singing master senseless on that rock where he
had been so long slumbering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidating yell
of their enemies, who raised a shout of savage triumph at the fall of Gamut. The
flash of rifles was then quick and close between them, but either party was too
well skilled to leave even a limb exposed to the hostile aim. Duncan listened
with intense anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that flight was
now their only refuge. The river glanced by with its ordinary velocity, but the
canoe was nowhere to be seen on its dark waters. He had just fancied they were
cruelly deserted by their scout, as a stream of flame issued from the rock
beneath them, and a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced that
the messenger of death sent from the fatal weapon of Hawkeye, had found a
victim. At this slight repulse the assailants instantly withdrew,
Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body of
Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow chasm that protected the
sisters. In another minute the whole party ws collected in this spot of
comparative safety. "The poor fellow has saved his scalp", said Hawkeye, coolly
passing his hand over the head of David; "but he is a proof that a man may be
born with too long a tongue! 'Twas downright madness to show six feet of flesh
and blood, on a naked rock, to the raging savages. I only wonder he has escaped
with life". "Is he not dead"? demanded Cora, in a voice whose husky
tones showed how powerfully natural horror struggled with her assumed firmness.
"Can we do aught to assist the wretched man"? "No, no! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has
slept awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man for it, till the hour
of his real time shall come", returned Hawkeye, casting another oblique glance
at the insensible body, while he filled his charger with admirable nicety.
"Carry him in, Uncas, and lay him on the sassafras. The longer his nap lasts the
better it will be for him, as I doubt whether he can find a proper cover for
such a shape on these rocks; and singing won't do any good with the Iroquois".
"You believe, then, the attack will be renewed"? asked
Heyward. "Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with a
mouthful! They have lost a man, and 'tis their fashion, when they meet a loss,
and fail in the surprise, to fall back; but we shall have them on again, with
new expedients to circumvent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope", he
continued, raising his rugged countenance, across which a
"You hear our probable fortunes, Cora", said Duncan, "and
you know we have everything to hope from the anxiety and experience of your
father. Come, then, with Alice, into this cavern, where you, at least, will be
safe from the murderous rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow a care
suited to your gentle natures on our unfortunate comrade". The sisters followed him into the outer cave, where David
was beginning, by his sighs, to give symptoms of returning consciousness, and
then commending the wounded man to their attention, he immediately prepared to
leave them. "Duncan"! said the tremulous voice of Cora, when he had
reached the mouth of the cavern. He turned and beheld the speaker, whose color
had changed to a deadly paleness, and whose lips quivered, gazing after him,
with an expression of interest which immediately recalled him to her side.
"Remember, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own -- how you bear a
father's sacred trust -- how much depends on your discretion and care -- in
short", she added, while the telltale blood stole over her features, crimsoning
her very temples, "how very deservedly dear you are to all of the name of
Munro". "If anything could add to my own base love of life", said
Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wander to the youthful form of the
silent Alice, "it would be so kind an assurance. As major of the Sixtieth, our
honest host will tell you I must take my share of the fray; but our task will be
easy; it is merely to keep these blood-hounds at bay for a few hours". Without waiting for a reply, he tore himself from
"I tell you, Uncas", said the former, as Heyward joined
them, "you are wasteful of your powder, and the kick of the rifle disconcerts
your aim! Little powder, light lead, and a long arm, seldom fail of bringing the
death screech from a Mingo! At least, such has been my experience with the
creatur's. Come, friends: let us to our covers, for no man can tell when or
where a Maqua1 will strike his blow". Note: 1 Mingo was the Delaware term of the Five Nations. Maquas was
the name given them by the Dutch. The French, from their first intercourse with
them, called them Iroquois. The Indians silently repaired to their appointed stations,
which were fissures in the rocks, whence they could command the approaches to
the foot of the falls. In the center of the little island, a few short and
stunted pines had found root, forming a thicket, into which Hawkeye darted with
the swiftness of a deer, followed by the active Duncan. Here they secured
themselves, as well as circumstances would permit, among the shrubs and
fragments of stone that were scattered about the place. Above them was a bare,
rounded rock, on each side of which the water played its gambols, and plunged
into the abysses beneath, in the manner already described. As the day had now
dawned, the opposite shores no longer presented a confused outline, but they
were able to look into the woods, and distinguish objects beneath a canopy of
gloomy pines. A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any further
evidences of a renewed attack; and Duncan began to hope that their fire had
proved more fatal than was supposed, and that their enemies had been effectually
repulsed. When he ventured to utter this impression to his companions, it was
met by Hawkeye with an incredulous shake of the head.
"You know not the nature of a Maqua, if you think he is so
easily beaten back without a scalp"! he answered. "If there was one of the imps
yelling this morning, there were forty! and they know our number and quality too
well to give up the chase so soon. Hist! look into the water above, just where
it breaks over the rocks. I am no mortal, if the risky devils haven't swam down
upon the very pitch, and, as bad luck would have it, they have hit the head of
the island. Hist! man, keep close! or the hair will be off your crown in the
turning of a knife"! Heyward lifted his head from the cover, and beheld what he
justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The river had worn away the
edge of the soft rock in such a manner as to render its first pitch less abrupt
and perpendicular than is usual at waterfalls. With no other guide than the
ripple of the stream where it met the head of the island, a party of their
insatiable foes had ventured into the current, and swam down upon this point,
knowing the ready access it would give, if successful, to their intended
victims. As Hawkeye ceased speaking, four human heads could be seen
peering above a few logs of drift-wood that had lodged on these naked rocks, and
which had probably suggested the idea of the practicability of the hazardous
undertaking. At the next moment, a fifth form was seen floating over the green
edge of the fall, a little from the line of the island. The savage struggled
powerfully to gain the point of safety, and, favored by the glancing water, he
was already stretching forth an arm to meet the grasp of his companions, when he
shot away again with the shirling current, appeared to rise into the air, with
uplifted arms and starting eyeballs, and fell, with a sudden plunge, into that
deep and yawning abyss over which he hovered. A single, wild, despairing
The first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the
rescue of the hapless wretch; but he felt himself bound to the spot by the iron
grasp of the immovable scout. "Would ye bring certain death upon us, by telling the
Mingoes where we lie"? demanded Hawkeye, sternly; "'Tis a charge of powder
saved, and ammunition is as precious now as breath to a worried deer! Freshen
the priming of your pistols -- the midst of the falls is apt to dampen the
brimstone -- and stand firm for a close struggle, while I fire on their rush".
He placed a finger in his mouth, and drew a long, shrill
whistle, which was answered from the rocks that were guarded by the Mohicans.
Duncan caught glimpses of heads above the scattered drift-wood, as this signal
rose on the air, but they disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced upon
his sight. A low, rustling sound next drew his attention behind him, and turning
his head, he beheld Uncas within a few feet, creeping to his side. Hawkeye spoke
to him in Delaware, when the young chief took his position with singular caution
and undisturbed coolness. To Heyward this was a moment of feverish and impatient
suspense; though the scout saw fit to select it as a fit occasion to read a
lecture to his more youthful associates on the art of using firearms with
discretion. "Of all we'pons", he commenced, "the long barreled,
true-grooved, soft-metaled rifle is the most dangerous in skillful hands, though
it wants a strong arm, a quick eye, and great judgment in charging, to put forth
all its beauties. The gunsmiths can have but little insight into their trade
when they make their fowling-pieces and short horsemen's -- -- " He was interrupted by the low but expressive "hugh" of
Uncas.
"I see them, boy, I see them"! continued Hawkeye; "they are
gathering for the rush, or they would keep their dingy backs below the logs.
Well, let them", he added, examining his flint; "the leading man certainly comes
on to his death, though it should be Montcalm himself"! At that moment the woods were filled with another burst of
cries, and at the signal four savages sprang from the cover of the driftwood.
Heyward felt a burning desire to rush forward to meet them, so intense was the
delirious anxiety of the moment; but he was restrained by the deliberate
examples of the scout and Uncas. When their foes, who had leaped over the black rocks that
divided them, with long bounds, uttering the wildest yells, were within a few
rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly rose among the shrubs, and poured out its
fatal contents. The foremost Indian bounded like a striken deer, and fell
headlong among the clefts of the island. "Now, Uncas"! cried the scout, drawing his long knife,
while his quick eyes began to flash with ardor, "take the last of the screeching
imps; of the other two we are sartain"! He was obeyed; and but two enemies remained to be overcome.
Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawkeye, and together they rushed down a
little declivity toward their foes; they discharged their weapons at the same
instant, and equally without success. "I know'd it! and I said it"! muttered the scout, whirling
the despised little implement over the falls with bitter disdain. "Come on, ye
bloody minded hell-hounds! ye meet a man without a cross"! The words were barely uttered, when he encountered a savage
of gigantic stature, of the fiercest mien. At the same moment, Duncan found
himself engaged with the other, in a similar contest of hand to hand. With ready
skill, Hawkeye
At length, the toughened sinews of the white man prevailed
over the less practiced limbs of the native. The arm of the latter slowly gave
way before the increasing force of the scout, who, suddenly wresting his armed
hand from the grasp of the foe, drove the sharp weapon through his naked bosom
to the heart. In the meantime, Heyward had been pressed in a more deadly
struggle. His slight sword was snapped in the first encounter. As he was
destitute of any other means of defense, his safety now depended entirely on
bodily strength and resolution. Though deficient in neither of these qualities,
he had met an enemy every way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming
his adversary, whose knife fell on the rock at their feet; and from this moment
it became a fierce struggle who should cast the other over the dizzy height into
a neighboring cavern of the falls. Every successive struggle brought them nearer
to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and conquering effort must be
made. Each of the combatants threw all his energies into that effort, and the
result was, that both tottered on the brink of the precipice. Heyward felt the
grasp of the other at his throat, and saw the grim smile the savage gave, under
the revengeful hope that he hurried his enemy to a fate similar to his own, as
he felt his body slowly yielding to a resistless power, and the young man
experienced the passing agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At that
instant of extreme danger, a dark hand and glancing knife appeared before him;
the Indian released his hold, as the blood flowed freely from around the severed
tendons of the wrist; and while Duncan was drawn backward by the saving hand of
Uncas, his
"To cover! to cover"! cried Hawkeye, who just then had
despatched the enemy; "to cover, for your lives! the work is but half ended"!
The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and followed by
Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had descended to the combat, and sought
the friendly shelter of the rocks and shrubs. The warning call of the scout was not uttered without
occasion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter just related, the roar
of the falls was unbroken by any human sound whatever. It would seem that
interest in the result had kept the natives on the opposite shores in breathless
suspense, while the quick evolutions and swift changes in the positions of the
combatants effectually prevented a fire that might prove dangerous alike to
friend and enemy. But the moment the struggle was decided, a yell arose as
fierce and savage as wild and revengeful passions could throw into the air. It
was followed by the swift flashes of the rifles, which sent their leaden
messengers across the rock in volleys, as though the assailants would pour out
their impotent fury on the insensible scene of the fatal contest. A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle
of Chingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout the fray with unmoved
resolution. When the triumphant shout of Uncas was borne to his ears, the
gratified father
"Let them burn their powder", said the deliberate scout,
while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he securely lay; "there
will be a fine gathering of lead when it is over, and I fancy the imps will tire
of the sport afore these old stones cry out for mercy! Uncas, boy, you waste the
kernels by overcharging; and a kicking rifle never carries a true bullet. I told
you to take that loping miscreant under the line of white point; now, if your
bullet went a hair's breadth it went two inches above it. The life lies low in a
Mingo, and humanity teaches us to make a quick end to the sarpents". A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young
Mohican, betraying his knowledge of the English language as well as of the
other's meaning; but he suffered it to pass away without vindication of reply.
"I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judgment or
of skill", said Duncan; "he saved my life in the coolest and readiest manner,
and he has made a friend who never will require to be reminded of the debt he
owes". Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the
grasp of Heyward. During this act of friendship, the two young men exchanged
looks of intelligence which caused Duncan to forget the character and condition
of his wild
"Life is an obligation which friends often owe each other
in the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Uncas some such turn myself
before now; and I very well remember that he has stood between me and death five
different times; three times from the Mingoes, once in crossing Horican, and --
-- " "That bullet was better aimed than common"! exclaimed
Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck the rock at his side
with a smart rebound. Hawkeye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and shook his
head, as he examined it, saying, "Falling lead is never flattened, had it come
from the clouds this might have happened". But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised toward the
heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point, where the mystery was
immediately explained. A ragged oak grew on the right bank of the river, nearly
opposite to their position, which, seeking the freedom of the open space, had
inclined so far forward that its upper branches overhung that arm of the stream
which flowed nearest to its own shore. Among the topmost leaves, which scantily
concealed the gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage was nestled, partly concealed
by the trunk of the tree, and partly exposed, as though looking down upon them
to ascertain the effect produced by his treacherous aim. "These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our
ruin", said Hawkeye; "keep him in play, boy, until I can bring "killdeer" to
bear, when we will try his metal on each side of the tree at once". Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word.
"This must be looked to", said the scout, glancing about
him with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have need of all our
we'pons to bring the cunning varmint from his roost". The signal was instantly given; and, before Hawkeye had
reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook. When his son pointed out
to the experienced warrior the situation of their dangerous enemy, the usual
exclamatory "hugh" burst from his lips; after which, no further expression of
surprise or alarm was suffered to escape him. Hawkeye and the Mohicans conversed
earnestly together in Delaware for a few moments, when each quietly took his
post, in order to execute the plan they had speedily devised. The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick, though
ineffectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his aim was interrupted
by the vigilance of his enemies, whose rifles instantaneously bore on any part
of his person that was left exposed. Still his bullets fell in the center of the
crouching party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered him peculiarly
conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once blood was drawn from a slight wound
in his arm. At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchfulness
of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more
"Give him, in pity, give him the contents of another
rifle", cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from the spectacle of a
fellow creature in such awful jeopardy. "Not a karnel"! exclaimed the obdurate Hawkeye; "his death
is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian fights sometimes last for
days; "tis their scalps or ours! and God, who made us, has put into our natures
the craving to keep the skin on the head". Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as it
was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From that moment the yells in
the forest once more ceased, the fire was suffered to decline, and all eyes,
those of friends as well as enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of
the wretch who was dangling between heaven and earth. The body yielded to the
currents of air, and though no murmur or groan escaped the victim, there were
instants when he grimly faced his foes, and the anguish of cold despair might be
traced, through the intervening distance, in possession of his swarthy
lineaments. Three several times the scout raised his piece in mercy, and as
often, prudence getting the better of his
No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage, but
even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror. A single yell burst from
the woods, and all was again still. Hawkeye, who alone appeared to reason on the
occasion, shook his head at his own momentary weakness, even uttering his
self-disapprobation aloud. "'Twas the last charge in my horn and the last bullet in my
pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy"! he said; "what mattered it whether he struck
the rock living or dead! feeling would soon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the
canoe, and bring up the big horn; it is all the powder we have left, and we
shall need it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of the Mingo nature". The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning over
the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the empty horn with renewed
discontent. From this unsatisfactory examination, however, he was soon called by
a loud and piercing exclamation from Uncas, that sounded, even to the
unpracticed ears of Duncan, as the signal of some new and unexpected calamity.
Every thought filled with apprehension for the previous treasure he had
concealed in the cavern, the young man started to his feet, totally regardless
of the hazard
At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to
be seen floating across the eddy, toward the swift current of the river, in a
manner which proved that its course was directed by some hidden agent. The
instant this unwelcome sight caught the eye of the scout, his rifle was leveled
as by instinct, but the barrel gave no answer to the bright sparks of the flint.
"'Tis too late, 'tis too late"! Hawkeye exclaimed, dropping
the useless piece in bitter disappointment; "the miscreant has struck the rapid;
and had we powder, it could hardly send the lead swifter than he now goes"! The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter of
the canoe, and, while it glided swiftly down the stream, he waved his hand, and
gave forth the shout, which was the known signal of success. His cry was
answered by a yell and a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if
fifty demons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of some Christian soul.
"Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil"! said the
scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and suffering his gun to
fall neglected at his feet, "for the three quickest
"What is to be done"? demanded Duncan, losing the first
feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for exertion; "what will become
of us"? Hawkeye made no other reply than by passing his finger
around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant, that none who
witnessed the action could mistake its meaning. "Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate"! exclaimed
the youth; "the Hurons are not here; we may make good the caverns, we may oppose
their landing". "With what"? coolly demanded the scout. "The arrows of
Uncas, or such tears as women shed! No, no; you are young, and rich, and have
friends, and at such an age I know it is hard to die! But", glancing his eyes at
the Mohicans, "let us remember we are men without a cross, and let us teach
these natives of the forest that white blood can run as freely as red, when the
appointed hour is come". Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the
other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst apprehensions in the conduct
of the Indians. Chingachgook, placing himself in a dignified posture on another
fragment of the rock, had already laid aside his knife and tomahawk, and was in
the act of taking the eagle's plume from his head, and smoothing the solitary
tuft of hair in readiness to perform its last and revolting office. His
countenance was composed, though thoughtful, while his dark, gleaming eyes were
gradually losing the fierceness of the combat in an expression better suited to
the change he expected momentarily to undergo. "Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless"! said Duncan;
"even at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see no
"It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the wily
sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them to be lying within
hearing at this very moment", said Hawkeye; "but come they will, and in such a
fashion as will leave us nothing to hope! Chingachgook" -- he spoke in Delaware
-- "my brother, we have fought our last battle together, and the Maquas will
triumph in the death of the sage man of the Mohicans, and of the pale face,
whose eyes can make night as day, and level the clouds to the mists of the
springs"! "Let the Mingo women go weep over the slain"! returned the
Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved firmness; "the Great Snake of the
Mohicans has coiled himself in their wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph
with the wailings of children, whose fathers have not returned! Eleven warriors
lie hid form the graves of their tribes since the snows have melted, and none
will tell where to find them when the tongue of Chingachgook shall be silent!
Let them draw the sharpest knife, and whirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their
bitterest enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmost branch of a noble trunk, call
on the cowards to hasten, or their hearts will soften, and they will change to
women"! "They look among the fishes for their dead"! returned the
low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain; "the Hurons float with the slimy
eels! They drop from the oaks like fruit that is ready to be eaten! and the
Delawares laugh"! "Ay, ay", muttered the scout, who had listened to this
peculiar burst of the natives with deep attention; "they have warmed their
Indian feelings, and they'll soon provoke the Maquas to give them a speedy end.
As for me, who am of the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that I
should die
"Why die at all"! said Cora, advancing from the place where
natural horror had, until this moment, held her riveted to the rock; "the path
is open on every side; fly, then, to the woods, and call on God for succor. Go,
brave men, we owe you too much already; let us no longer involve you in our
hapless fortunes"! "You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if
you judge they have left the path open to the woods"! returned Hawkeye, who,
however, immediately added in his simplicity, "the down stream current, it is
certain, might soon sweep us beyond the reach of their rifles or the sound of
their voices". "Then try the river. Why linger to add to the number of the
victims of our merciless enemies"? "Why", repeated the scout, looking about him proudly;
"because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself than to live
haunted by an evil conscience! What answer could we give Munro, when he asked us
where and how we left his children"? "Go to him, and say that you left them with a message to
hasten to their aid", returned Cora, advancing nigher to the scout in her
generous ardor; "that the Hurons bear them into the northern wilds, but that by
vigilance and speed they may yet be rescued; and if, after all, it should please
heaven that his assistance come too late, bear to him", she continued, her voice
gradually lowering, until it seemed nearly choked, "the love, the blessings, the
final prayers of his daughters, and bid him not mourn their early fate, but to
look forward with humble confidence to the Christian's goal to meet his
children".
The hard, weather-beaten features of the scout began to
work, and when she had ended, he dropped his chin to his hand, like a man musing
profoundly on the nature of the proposal. "There is reason in her words"! at length broke from his
compressed and trembling lips; "ay, and they bear the spirit of Christianity;
what might be right and proper in a red-skin, may be sinful in a man who has not
even a cross in blood to plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook! Uncas! hear you
the talk of the dark-eyed woman"? He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his
address, though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided. The elder Mohican
heard with deep gravity, and appeared to ponder on his words, as though he felt
the importance of their import. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand
in assent, and uttered the English word "Good"! with the peculiar emphasis of
his people. Then, replacing his knife and tomahawk in his girdle, the warrior
moved silently to the edge of the rock which was most concealed from the banks
of the river. Here he paused a moment, pointed significantly to the woods below,
and saying a few words in his own language, as if indicating his intended route,
he dropped into the water, and sank from before the eyes of the witnesses of his
movements. The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous
girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success of her remonstrance.
"Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to the
old", he said; "and what you have spoken is wise, not to call it by a better
word. If you are led into the woods, that is such of you as may be spared for
awhile, break the twigs on the bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your
trail as
He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his
rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy solicitude, laid it
carefully aside, and descended to the place where Chingachgook had just
disappeared. For an instant he hung suspended by the rock, and looking about
him, with a countenance of peculiar care, he added bitterly, "Had the powder
held out, this disgrace could never have befallen"! then, loosening his hold,
the water closed above his head, and he also became lost to view. All eyes now were turned on Uncas, who stood leaning
against the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After waiting a short time,
Cora pointed down the river, and said: "Your friends have not been seen, and are now, most
probably, in safety. Is it not time for you to follow"? "Uncas will stay", the young Mohican calmly answered in
English. "To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish the
chances of our release! Go, generous young man", Cora continued, lowering her
eyes under the gaze of the Mohican, and perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness
of her power; "go to my father, as I have said, and be the most confidential of
my messengers. Tell him to trust you with the means to buy the freedom of his
daughters. Go!'tis my wish, 'tis my prayer, that you will go"! The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an
expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a noiseless step he
crossed the rock, and dropped into the troubled stream. Hardly a breath was
drawn by those he left behind, until they caught a glimpse of his head emerging
for air, far down the current, when he again sank, and was seen no more.
These sudden and apparently successful experiments had all
taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now become so precious.
After a last look at Uncas, Cora turne,d and with a quivering lip, addressed
herself to Heyward: "I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too,
Duncan", she said; "follow, then, the wise example set you by these simple and
faithful beings". "Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from her
protector"? said the young man, smiling mournfully, but with bitterness. "This is not a time for idle subtleties and false
opinions", she answered; "but a moment when every duty should be equally
considered. To us you can be of no further service here, but your precious life
may be saved for other and nearer friends". He made no reply, though his eye fell wistfully on the
beautiful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with the dependency of an
infant. "Consider", continued Cora, after a pause, during which she
seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than any that her fears had
excited, "that the worst to us can be but death; a tribute that all must pay at
the good time of God's appointment". "There are evils worse than death", said Duncan, speaking
hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, "but which the presence of one
who would die in your behalf may avert". Cora ceased her entreaties; and veiling her face in her
shawl, drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the deepest recess of the
inner cavern. The sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring
incidents of the combat to the stillness that now reigned around him, acted on
the heated imagination of Heyward like some exciting dream. While all the images
and events he had witnessed remained deeply impressed on his memory, he felt a
difficulty in persuading him of their truth. Still ignorant of the fate of those
who had trusted to the aid of the swift current, he at first listened intently
to any signal or sounds of alarm, which might announce the good or evil fortune
of their hazardous undertaking. His attention was, however, bestowed in vain;
for with the disappearance of Uncas, every sign of the adventurers had been
lost, leaving him in total uncertainty of their fate. In a moment of such painful doubt, Duncan did not hesitate
to look around him, without consulting that protection from the rocks which just
before had been so necessary to his safety. Every effort, however, to detect the
least evidence
"The Hurons are not to be seen", he said, addressing David,
who had by no means recovered from the effects of the stunning blow he had
received; "let us conceal ourselves in the cavern, and trust the rest to
Providence". "I remember to have united with two comely maidens, in
lifting up our voices in praise and thanksgiving", returned the bewildered
singing-master; "since which time I have been visited by a heavy judgment for my
sins. I have been mocked with the likensss of sleep, while sounds of discord
have rent my ears, such as might manifest the fullness of time, and that nature
had forgotten her harmony". "Poor fellow! thine own period was, in truth, near its
accomplishment! But arouse, and come with me; I will lead you where all other
sounds but those of your own psalmody shall be excluded".
"There is melody in the fall of the cataract, and the
rushing of many waters is sweet to the senses"! said David, pressing his hand
confusedly on his brow. "Is not the air yet filled with shrieks and cries, as
though the departed spirits of the damned -- -- " "Not now, not now", interrupted the impatient Heyward,
"they have ceased, and they who raised them, I trust in God, they are gone, too!
everything but the water is still and at peace; in, then, where you may create
those sounds you love so well to hear". David smiled sadly, though not without a momentary gleam of
pleasure, at this allusion to his beloved vocation. He no longer hesitated to be
led to a spot which promised such unalloyed gratification to his wearied senses;
and leaning on the arm of his companion, he entered the narrow mouth of the
cave. Duncan seized a pile of the sassafras, which he drew before the passage,
studiously concealing every appearance of an aperture. Within this fragile
barrier he arranged the blankets abandoned by the foresters, darkening the inner
extremity of the cavern, while its outer received a chastened light from the
narrow ravine, through which one arm of the river rushed to form the junction
with its sister branch a few rods below. "I like not the principle of the natives, which teaches
them to submit without a struggle, in emergencies that appear desperate", he
said, while busied in this employment; "our own maxim, which says, "while life
remains there is hope", is more consoling, and better suited to a soldier's
temperament. To you, Cora, I will urge no words of idle encouragement; your own
fortitude and undisturbed reason will teach you all that may become your sex;
but cannot we dry the tears of that trembling weeper on your bosom"?
"I am calmer, Duncan", said Alice, raising herself from the
arms of her sister, and forcing an appearance of composure through her tears;
"much calmer, now. Surely, in this hidden spot we are safe, we are secret, free
from injury; we will hope everything from those generous men who have risked so
much already in our behalf". "Now does our gentle Alice speak like a daughter of Munro"!
said Heyward, pausing to press her hand as he passed toward the outer entrance
of the cavern. "With two such examples of courage before him, a man would be
ashamed to prove other than a hero". He then seated himself in the center of the
cavern, grasping his remaining pistol with a hand convulsively clenched, while
his contracted and frowning eye announced the sullen desperation of his purpose.
"The Hurons, if they come, may not gain our position so easily as they think",
he slowly muttered; and propping his head back against the rock, he seemed to
await the result in patience, though his gaze was unceasingly bent on the open
avenue to their place of retreat. With the last sound of his voice, a deep, a long, and
almost breathless silence succeeded. The fresh air of the morning had penetrated
the recess, and its influence was gradually felt on the spirits of its inmates.
As minute after minute passed by, leaving them in undisturbed security, the
insinuating feeling of hope was gradually gaining possession of every bosom,
though each one felt reluctant to give utterance to expectations that the next
moment might so fearfully destroy. David alone formed an exception to these varying emotions.
A gleam of light from the opening crossed his wan countenance, and fell upon the
pages of the little volume, whose leaves he was again occupied in turning, as if
searching for some song more fitted to their condition than any that
"May not this prove dangerous"? asked Cora, glancing her
dark eye at Major Heyward. "Poor fellow! his voice is too feeble to be heard above the
din of the falls", was the answer; "beside, the cavern will prove his friend.
Let him indulge his passions since it may be done without hazard". "Isle of Wight"! repeated David, looking about him with
that dignity with which he had long been wont to silence the whispering echoes
of his school; "'tis a brave tune, and set to solemn words! let it be sung with
meet respect"! After allowing a moment of stillness to enforce his
discipline, the voice of the singer was heard, in low, murmuring syllables,
gradually stealing on the ear, until it filled the narrow vault with sounds
rendered trebly thrilling by the feeble and tremulous utterance produced by his
debility. The melody, which no weakness could destroy, gradually wrought its
sweet influence on the senses of those who heard it. It even prevailed over the
miserable travesty of the song of David which the singer had selected from a
volume of similar effusions, and caused the sense to be forgotten in the
insinuating harmony of the sounds. Alice unconsciously dried her tears, and bent
her melting eyes on the pallid features of Gamut, with an expression of
chastened delight that she neither affected or wished to conceal. Cora bestowed
an
"We are lost"! exclaimed Alice, throwing herself into the
arms of Cora. "Not yet, not yet", returned the agitated but undaunted
Heyward: "the sound came from the center of the island, and it has been produced
by the sight of their dead companions. We are not yet discovered, and there is
still hope". Faint and almost despairing as was the prospect of escape,
the words of Duncan were not thrown away, for it awakened the powers of the
sisters in such a manner that they awaited the results in silence. A second yell
soon followed the first, when a rush of voices was heard pouring down the
island, from its upper to its lower extremity, until they reached the naked rock
above the caverns, where, after a shout of savage triumph, the air continued
full of horrible cries and screams, such as man alone can utter, and he only
when in a state of the fiercest barbarity. The sounds quickly spread around them in every direction.
Some called to their fellows from the water's edge, and were answered from the
heights above. Cries were heard in the
In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yell was raised
within a few yards of the hidden entrance to the cave. Heyward abandoned every
hope, with the belief it was the signal that they were discovered. Again the
impression passed away, as he heard the voices collect near the spot where the
white man had so reluctantly abandoned his rifle. Amid the jargon of Indian
dialects that he now plainly heard, it was easy to distinguish not only words,
but sentences, in the patois of the Canadas. A burst of voices had shouted
simultaneously, "La Longue Carabine"! causing the oppostie woods to re-echo with
a name which, Heyward well remembered, had been given by his enemies to a
celebrated hunter and scout of the English camp, and who, he now learned for the
first time, had been his late companion. "La Longue Carabine! La Longue Carabine"! passed from mouth
to mouth, until the whole band appeared to be collected around a trophy which
would seem to announce the death of its formidable owner. After a vociferous
consultation, which was, at times, deafened by bursts of savage joy, they again
separated, filling the air with the name of a foe, whose body, Heywood could
collect from their expressions, they hoped to find concealed in some crevice of
the island. "Now", he whispered to the trembling sisters, "now is the
moment of uncertainty! if our place of retreat escape this scrutiny, we are
still safe! In every event, we are assured,
There were now a few minutes of fearful stillness, during
which Heyward well knew that the savages conducted their search with greater
vigilance and method. More than once he could distinguish their footsteps, as
they brushed the sassafras, causing the faded leaves to rustle, and the branches
to snap. At length, the pile yielded a little, a corner of a blanket fell, and a
faint ray of light gleamed into the inner part of the cave. Cora folded Alice to
her bosom in agony, and Duncan sprang to his feet. A shout was at that moment
heard, as if issuing from the center of the rock, announcing that the
neighboring cavern had at length been entered. In a minute, the number and
loudness of the voices indicated that the whole party was collected in and
around that secret place. As the inner passages to the two caves were so close to
each other, Duncan, believing that escape was no longer possible, passed David
and the sisters, to place himself between the latter and the first onset of the
terrible meeting. Grown desperate by his situation, he drew nigh the slight
barrier which separated him only by a few feet from his relentless pursuers, and
placing his face to the casual opening, he even looked out with a sort of
desperate indifference, on their movements. Within reach of his arm was the brawny shoulder of a
gigantic Indian, whose deep and authoritative voice appeared to give directions
to the proceedings of his fellows. Beyond him again, Duncan could look into the
vault opposite, which was filled with savages, upturning and rifling the humble
furniture of the scout. The wound of David had dyed the leaves of sassafras with
a color that the native well knew
As the blankets yielded before the outward pressure, and
the branches settled in the fissure of the rock by their own weight, forming a
compact body, Duncan once more breathed freely. With a light step and lighter
heart, he returned to the center of the cave, and took the place he had left,
where he could command a view of the opening next the river. While he was in the
act of making this movement, the Indians, as if changing their purpose by a
common impulse, broke away from the chasm in a body, and were heard rushing up
the island again, toward the point whence they had originally descended. Here
another wailing cry betrayed that they were again collected around the bodies of
their dead comrades.
Duncan now ventured to look at his companions; for, during
the most critical moments of their danger, he had been apprehensive that the
anxiety of his countenance might communicate some additional alarm to those who
were so little able to sustain it. "They are gone, Cora"! he whispered; "Alice, they are
returned whence they came, and we are saved! To Heaven, that has alone delivered
us from the grasp of so merciless an enemy, be all the praise"! "Then to Heaven will I return my thanks"! exclaimed the
younger sister, rising from the encircling arm of Cora, and casting herself with
enthusiastic gratitude on the naked rock; "to that Heaven who has spared the
tears of a gray-headed father; has saved the lives of those I so much love".
Both Heyward and the more temperate Cora witnessed the act
of involuntary emotion with powerful sympathy, the former secretly believing
that piety had never worn a form so lovely as it had now assumed in the youthful
person of Alice. Her eyes were radiant with the glow of grateful feelings; the
flush of her beauty was again seated on her cheeks, and her whole soul seemed
ready and anxious to pour out its thanksgivings through the medium of her
eloquent features. But when her lips moved, the words they should have uttered
appeared frozen by some new and sudden chill. Her bloom gave place to the
paleness of death; her soft and melting eyes grew hard, and seemed contracting
with horror; while those hands, which she had raised, clasped in each other,
towardheaven, dropped in horizontal lines before her, the fingers pointed
forward in convulsed motion. Heyward turned the instant she gave a direction to
his suspicions, and peering just above the ledge which formed the threshold of
the open outlet of the cavern, he beheld the malignant, fierce and savage
features of Le Renard Subtil.
In that moment of surprise, the self-possession of Heyward
did not desert him. He observed by the vacant expression of the Indian's
countenance, that his eye, accustomed to the open air had not yet been able to
penetrate the dusky light which pervaded the depth of the cavern. He had even
thought of retreating beyond a curvature in the natural wall, which might still
conceal him and his companions, when by the sudden gleam of intelligence that
shot across the features of the savage, he saw it was too late, and that they
were betrayed. The look of exultation and brutal triumph which announced
this terrible truth was irresistibly irritating. Forgetful of everything but the
impulses of his hot blood, Duncan levelled his pistol and fired. The report of
the weapon made the cavern bellow like an eruption from a volcano; and when the
smoke it vomited had been driven away before the current of air which issued
from the ravine the place so lately occupied by the features of his treacherous
guide was vacant. Rushing to the outlet, Heyward caught a glimpse of his dark
figure stealing around a low and narrow ledge, which soon hid him entirely from
sight. Among the savages a frightful stillness succeeded the
explosion, which had just been heard bursting from the bowels of the rock. But
when Le Renard raised his voice in a long and intelligible whoop, it was
answered by a spontaneous yell from the mouth of every Indian within hearing of
the sound. The clamorous noises again rushed down the island; and
before Duncan had time to recover from the shock, his feeble barrier of brush
was scattered to the winds, the cavern was entered at both its extremities, and
he and his companions were dragged from their shelter and borne into the day,
where they stood surrounded by the whole band of the triumphant Hurons. The instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had abated,
Duncan began to make his observations on the appearance and proceedings of their
captors. Contrary to the usages of the natives in the wantonness of their
success they had respected, not only the persons of the trembling sisters, but
his own. The rich ornaments of his military attire had indeed been repeatedly
handled by different individuals of the tribes with eyes expressing a savage
longing to possess the baubles; but before the customary violence could be
resorted to, a mandate in the authoritative voice of the large warrior, already
mentioned, stayed the uplifted hand, and convinced Heyward that they were to be
reserved for some object of particular moment. While, however, these manifestations of weakness were
exhibited by the young and vain of the party, the more experienced warriors
continued their search throughout both caverns, with an activity that denoted
they were far from being satisfied with those fruits of their conquest which had
already
The conduct of this savage had formed a solitary exception
to that of all his fellows. While the others were busily occupied in seeking to
gratify their childish passion for finery, by plundering even the miserable
effects of the scout, or had been searching with such bloodthirsty vengeance in
their looks for their absent owner, Le Renard had stood at a little distance
from the prisoners, with a demeanor so quiet and satisfied, as to betray that he
had already effected the grand purpose of his treachery. When the eyes of
Heyward first met those of his recent guide, he turned them away in horror at
the sinister though calm look he encountered. Conquering his disgust, however,
he was able, with an averted face, to address his successful enemy. "Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior", said the
reluctant Heyward, "to refuse telling an unarmed man what his conquerors say".
"They ask for the hunter who knows the paths through the
woods", returned Magua, in his broken English, laying his hand, at the same
time, with a ferocious smile, on the bundle of leaves with which a wound on his
own shoulder was bandaged. ""La Longue Carabine"! his rifle is good, and
"Le Renard is too brave to remember the hurts received in
war, or the hands that gave them". "Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at the sugartree
to taste his corn! who filled the bushes with creeping enemies! who drew the
knife, whose tongue was peace, while his heart was colored with blood! Did Magua
say that the hatchet was out of the ground, and that his hand had dug it up"?
As Duncan dared not retort upon his accuser by reminding
him of his own premeditated treachery, and disdained to deprecate his resentment
by any words of apology, he remained silent. Magua seemed also content to rest
the controversy as well as all further communication there, for he resumed the
leaning attitude against the rock from which, in momentary energy, he had
arisen. But the cry of "La Longue Carabine" was renewed the instant the
impatient savages perceived that the short dialogue was ended. "You hear", said Magua, with stubborn indifference: "the
red Hurons call for the life of "The Long Rifle", or they will have the blood of
him that keep him hid"! "He is gone -- escaped; he is far beyond their reach". Renard smiled with cold contempt, as he answered: "When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace; but the
red men know how to torture even the ghosts of their enemies. Where is his body?
Let the Hurons see his scalp". "He is not dead, but escaped". Magua shook his head incredulously. "Is he a bird, to spread his wings; or is he a fish, to
swim without air! The white chief read in his books, and he believes the Hurons
are fools"! "Though no fish, "The Long Rifle" can swim. He floated
"And why did the white chief stay"? demanded the still
incredulous Indian. "Is he a stone that goes to the bottom, or does the scalp
burn his head"? "That I am not stone, your dead comrade, who fell into the
falls, might answer, were the life still in him", said the provoked young man,
using, in his anger, that boastful language which was most likely to excite the
admiration of an Indian. "The white man thinks none but cowards desert their
women". Magua muttered a few words, inaudibly, between his teeth,
before he continued, aloud: "Can the Delawares swim, too, as well as crawl in the
bushes? Where is "Le Gros Serpent""? Duncan, who perceived by the use of these Canadian
appellations, that his late companions were much better known to his enemies
than to himself, answered, reluctantly: "He also is gone down with the water".
""Le Cerf Agile" is not here"? "I know not whom you call "The Nimble Deer"", said Duncan
gladly profiting by any excuse to create delay. "Uncas", returned Magua, pronouncing the Delaware name with
even greater difficulty than he spoke his English words. ""Bounding Elk" is what
the white man says, when he calls to the young Mohican". "Here is some confusion in names between us, Le Renard",
said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. "Daim is the French for deer, and
cerf for stag; élan is the true term, when one would speak of an elk". "Yes", muttered the Indian, in his native tongue; "the pale
faces are prattling women! they have two words for each thing, while a red-skin
will make the sound of his voice speak
"If you mean the younger Delaware, he, too, has gone down
with the water". As there was nothing improbable to an Indian in the manner
of the escape, Magua admitted the truth of what he had heard, with a readiness
that afforded additional evidence how little he would prize such worthless
captives. With his companions, however, the feeling was manifestly different.
The Hurons had awaited the result of this short dialogue
with characteristic patience, and with a silence that increased until there was
a general stillness in the band. When Heyward ceased to speak, they turned their
eyes, as one man, on Magua, demanding, in this expressive manner, an explanation
of what had been said. Their interpreter pointed to the river, and made them
acquainted with the result, as much by the action as by the few words he
uttered. When the fact was generally understood, the savages raised a frightful
yell, which declared the extent of their disappointment. Some ran furiously to
the water's edge, beating the air with frantic gestures, while others spat upon
the element, to resent the supposed treason it had committed against their
acknowledged rights as conquerors. A few, and they not the least powerful and
terrific of the band, threw lowering looks, in which the fiercest passion was
only tempered by habitual self-command, at those captives who still remained in
their power, while one or two even gave vent to their malignant feelings by the
most menacing gestures, against which neither the sex nor the beauty of the
sisters was any protection. The young soldier made a desperate but fruitless
effort to spring to the side of
But while Duncan resorted to these words of consolation to
quiet the apprehensions of the sisters, he was not so weak as to deceive
himself. He well knew that the authority of an Indian chief was so little
conventional, that it was oftener maintained by physical superiority than by any
moral supremacy he might possess. The danger was, therefore, magnified exactly
in proportion to the number of the savage spirits by which they were surrounded.
The most positive mandate from him who seemed the acknowledged leader, was
liable to be violated at each moment by any rash hand that might choose to
sacrifice a victim to the manes of some dead friend or relative. While,
therefore, he sustained an outward appearance of calmness and fortitude, his
heart leaped into his throat, whenever any of their fierce captors drew nearer
than common to the helpless sisters, or fastened one of their sullen, wandering
looks on those fragile forms which were so little able to resist the slightest
assault. His apprehensions were, however, greatly relieved, when he
saw that the leader had summoned his warriors to himself in counsel. Their
deliberations were short, and it would seem, by the silence of most of the
party, the decision unanimous.
During his short conference, Heyward, finding a respite
from his gravest fears, had leisure to admire the cautious manner in which the
Hurons had made their approaches, even after hostilities had ceased. It has already been stated that the upper half of the
island was a naked rock, and destitute of any other defenses than a few
scattered logs of driftwood. They had selected this point to make their descent,
having borne the canoe through the wood around the cataract for that purpose.
Placing their arms in the little vessel a dozen men clinging to its sides had
trusted themselves to the direction of the canoe, which was controlled by two of
the most skillful warriors, in attitudes that enabled them to command a view of
the dangerous passage. Favored by this arrangement, they touched the head of the
island at that point which had proved so fatal to their first adventurers, but
with the advantages of superior numbers, and the possession of firearms. That
such had been the manner of their descent was rendered quite apparent to Duncan;
for they now bore the light bark from the upper end of the rock, and placed it
in the water, near the mouth of the outer cavern. As soon as this change was
made, the leader made signs to the prisoners to descend and enter. As resistance was impossible, and remonstrance useless,
Heyward set the example of submission, by leading the way into the canoe, where
he was soon seated with the sisters and the still wondering David.
Notwithstanding the Hurons were necessarily ignorant of the little channels
among the eddies and rapids of the stream, they knew the common signs of such
Here was held another short but earnest consultation,
during which the horses, to whose panic their owners ascribed their heaviest
misfortune, were led from the cover of the woods, and brought to the sheltered
spot. The band now divided. The great chief, so often mentioned, mounting the
charger of Heyward, led the way directly across the river, followed by most of
his people, and disappeared in the woods, leaving the prisoners in charge of six
savages, at whose head was Le Renard Subtil. Duncan witnessed all their
movements with renewed uneasiness. He had been fond of believing, from the uncommon
forbearance of the savages, that he was reserved as a prisoner to be delivered
to Montcalm. As the thoughts of those who are in misery seldom slumber, and the
invention is never more lively than when it is stimulated by hope, however
feeble and remote, he had even imagined that the parental feelings of Munro were
to be made instrumental in seducing him from his duty to the king. For though
the French commander bore a high character for courage and enterprise, he was
also thought to be expert in those political practises which do not always
respect the nicer obligations of morality, and which so generally disgraced the
European diplomacy of that period. All those busy and ingenious speculations were now
annihilated by the conduct of his captors. That portion of the band who had
followed the huge warrior took the route toward the foot of the Horican, and no
other expectation was
"I would speak to Magua, what is fit only for so great a
chief to hear". The Indian turned his eyes on the young soldier scornfully,
as he answered: "Speak; trees have no ears". "But the red Hurons are not deaf; and counsel that is fit
for the great men of a nation would make the young warriors drunk. If Magua will
not listen, the officer of the king knows how to be silent". The savage spoke carelessly to his comrades, who were
busied, after their awkward manner, in preparing the horses for the reception of
the sisters, and moved a little to one side, whither by a cautious gesture he
induced Heyward to follow. "Now, speak", he said; "if the words are such as Magua
should hear". "Le Renard Subtil has proved himself worthy of the
honorable name given to him by his Canada fathers", commenced Heyward; "I see
his wisdom, and all that he has done for us, and shall remember it when the hour
to reward him arrives. Yes! Renard has proved that he is not only a great chief
in council, but one who knows how to deceive his enemies"! "What has Renard done"? coldly demanded the Indian. "What! has he not seen that the woods were filled with
outlying parties of the enemies, and that the serpent could
"What will the young chief, who comes from toward the sun,
give"? demanded the Huron, observing that Heyward hesitated in his desire to end
the enumeration of benefits with that which might form the climax of an Indian's
wishes. "He will make the fire-water from the islands in the salt
lake flow before the wigwam of Magua, until the heart of the
Le Renard had listened gravely as Heyward slowly proceeded
in this subtle speech. When the young man mentioned the artifice he supposed the
Indian to have practised on his own nation, the countenance of the listener was
veiled in an expression of cautious gravity. At the allusion to the injury which
Duncan affected to believe had driven the Huron from his native tribe, a gleam
of such ungovernable ferocity flashed from the other's eyes, as induced the
adventurous speaker to believe he had struck the proper chord. And by the time
he reached the part where he so artfully blended the thirst of vengeance with
the desire of gain, he had, at least, obtained a command of the deepest
attention of the savage. The question put by Le Renard had been calm, and with
all the dignity of an Indian; but it was quite apparent, by the thoughtful
expression of the listener's countenance, that the answer was most cunningly
devised. The Huron mused a few moments, and then laying his hand on the rude
bandages of his wounded shoulder, he said, with some energy: "Do friends make such marks"? "Would "La Longue Carbine" cut one so slight on an enemy"?
"Do the Delawares crawl upon those they love like snakes,
twisting themselves to strike"? "Would "Le Gros Serpent" have been heard by the ears of one
he wished to be deaf"? "Does the white chief burn his powder in the faces of his
brothers"? "Does he ever miss his aim, when seriously bent to kill"?
returned Duncan, smiling with well acted sincerity. Another long and deliberate pause succeeded these
sententious questions and ready replies. Duncan saw that the
"Enough; Le Renard is a wise chief, and what he does will
be seen. Go, and keep the mouth shut. When Magua speaks, it will be the time to
answer". Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of his companion were
warily fastened on the rest of the band, fell back immediately, in order to
avoid the appearance of any suspicious confederacy with their leader. Magua
approached the horses, and affected to be well pleased with the diligence and
ingenuity of his comrades. He then signed to Heyward to assist the sisters into
the saddles, for he seldom deigned to use the English tongue, unless urged by
some motive of more than usual moment. There was no longer any plausible pretext for delay; and
Duncan was obliged, however reluctantly, to comply. As he performed this office,
he whispered his reviving hopes in the ears of the trembling females, who,
through dread of encountering the savage countenances of their captors, seldom
raised their eyes from the ground. The mare of David had been taken with the
followers of the large chief; in consequence, its owner, as well as Duncan, was
compelled to journey on foot. The latter did not, however, so much regret this
circumstance, as it might enable him to retard the speed of the party; for he
still turned his longing looks in the direction of Fort Edward, in the vain
expectation of catching some sound from that quarter of the forest, which might
denote the approach of succor. When all were prepared, Magua made the signal to
proceed, advancing in front to lead the party in person. Next followed David,
who was gradually coming to a true sense of his condition, as the effects of the
wound became less and less apparent. The sisters rode in his rear, with
In this manner they proceeded in uninterrupted silence,
except when Heyward addressed some solitary word of comfort to the females, or
David gave vent to the moanings of his spirit, in piteous exclamations, which he
intended should express the humility of resignation. Their direction lay toward
the south, and in a course nearly opposite to the road to William Henry.
Notwithstanding this apparent adherence in Magua to the original determination
of his conquerors, Hyeward could not believe his tempting bait was so soon
forgotten; and he knew the windings of an Indian's path too well to suppose that
its apparent course led directly to its object, when artifice was at all
necessary. Mile after mile was, however, passed through the boundless woods, in
this painful manner, without any prospect of a termination to their journey.
Heyward watched the sun, as he darted his meridian rays through the branches of
the trees, and pined for the moment when the policy of Magua should change their
route to one more favorable to his hopes. Sometimes he fancied the wary savage,
despairing of passing the army of Montcalm in safety, was holding his way toward
a well-known border settlement, where a distinguished officer of the crown, and
a favored friend of the Six Nations, held his large possessions, as well as his
usual residence. To be delivered into the hands of Sir William Johnson was far
preferable to being led into the wilds of Canada; but in order to effect even
the former, it would be necessary to traverse the forest for many weary leagues,
each step of which was carrying him further from the scene of the war, and,
consequently, from the post, not only of honor, but of duty. Cora alone remembered the parting injunctions of the
As there were horses, to leave the prints of their
footsteps, in both bands of the Indians, this interruption cut off any probable
hopes of assistance being conveyed through the means of their trail. Heyward would have ventured a remonstrance had there been
anything encouraging in the gloomy reserve of Magua. But the savage, during all
this time, seldom turned to look at his followers, and never spoke. With the sun
for his only guide, or aided by such blind marks as are only known to the
sagacity of a native, he held his way along the barrens of pine, through
occasional little fertile vales, across brooks and rivulets, and over undulating
hills, with the accuracy of instinct, and nearly with the directness of a bird.
He never seemed to hesitate. Whether the path was hardly distinguishable,
whether it disappeared, or whether it lay beaten and plain before him, made no
sensible difference in his speed or certainty.
But all this diligence and speed were not without an
object. After crossing a low vale, through which a gushing brook meandered, he
suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and difficult of ascent, that the sisters
were compelled to alight in order to follow. When the summit was gained, they
found themselves on a level spot, but thinly covered with trees, under one of
which Magua had thrown his dark form, as if willing and ready to seek that rest
which was so much needed by the whole party. The Indian had selected for this desirable purpose one of
those steep, pyramidal hills, which bear a strong resemblance to artificial
mounds, and which so frequently occur in the valleys of America. The one in
question was high and precipitous; its top flattened, as usual; but with one of
its sides more than oridinarily irregular. It possessed no other apparent
advantage for a resting place, than in its elevation and form, which might
render defense easy, and surprise nearly impossible. As Heyward, however, no
longer expected that rescue which time and distance now rendered so improbable,
he regarded these little peculiarities with an eye devoid of interest, devoting
himself entirely to the comfort and condolence of his feebler companions. The
Narragansetts were suffered to browse on the branches of the trees and shrubs
that were thinly scattered over the summit of the hill, while the remains of
their provisions were spread under the shade of a beech, that stretched its
horizontal limbs like a canopy above them. Notwithstanding the swiftness of their flight, one of the
This abstinence, so remarkable in an Indian, when he
possessed the means of satisfying hunger, at length attracted the notice of
Heyward. The young man willingly believed that the Huron deliberated on the most
eligible manner of eluding the vigilance of his associates. With a view to
assist his plans by any suggestion of his own, and to strengthen the temptation,
he left the beech, and straggled, as if without an object, to the spot where Le
Renard was seated. "Has not Magua kept the sun in his face long enough to
escape all danger from the Canadians"? he asked, as though no longer doubtful of
the good intelligence established between them; "and will not the chief of
William Henry be better pleased to see his daughters before another night may
have hardened his heart to their loss, to make him less liberal in his reward"?
"Do the pale faces love their children less in the morning
than at night"? asked the Indian, coldly. "By no means", returned Heyward, anxious to recall his
error, if he had made one; "the white man may, and does often, forget the burial
place of his fathers; he sometimes ceases to remember those he should love, and
has promised to cherish; but the affection of a parent for his child is never
permitted to die". "And is the heart of the white-headed chief soft, and
"He is severe to the idle and wicked, but to the sober and
deserving he is a leader, both just and humane. I have known many fond and
tender parents, but never have I seen a man whose heart was softer toward his
child. You have seen the gray-head in front of his warriors, Magua; but I have
seen his eyes swimming in water, when he spoke of those children who are now in
your power"! Heyward paused, for he knew not how to construe the
remarkable expression that gleamed across the swarthy features of the attentive
Indian. At first it seemed as if the remembrance of the promised reward grew
vivid in his mind, while he listened to the sources of parental feeling which
were to assure its possession; but, as Duncan proceeded, the expression of joy
became so fiercely malignant that it was impossible not to apprehend it
proceeded from some passion more sinister than avarice. "Go", said the Huron, suppressing the alarming exhibition
in an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance; "go to the dark-haired
daughter, and say, "Magua waits to speak" The father will remember what the
child promises". Duncan, who interpreted this speech to express a wish for
some additional pledge that the promised gifts should not be withheld, slowly
and reluctantly repaired to the place where the sisters were now resting from
their fatigue, to communicate its purport to Cora. "You understand the nature of an Indian's wishes", he
concluded, as he led her toward the place where she was expected, "and must be
prodigal of your offers of powder and blankets. Ardent spirits are, however, the
most prized by such as he; nor would it be amiss to add some boon from your own
hand, with that grace you so well know how to practise. Remember,
"Heyward, and yours"! "Mine is of little moment; it is already sold to my king,
and is a prize to be seized by any enemy who may possess the power. I have no
father to expect me, and but few friends to lament a fate which I have courted
with the insatiable longings of youth after distinction. But hush! we approach
the Indian. Magua, the lady with whom you wish to speak, is here". The Indian rose slowly from his seat, and stood for near a
minute silent and motionless. He then signed with his hand for Heyward to
retire, saying, coldly: "When the Huron talks to the women, his tribe shut their
ears". Duncan, still lingering, as if refusing to comply, Coras
said, with a calm smile: "You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at least should urge you
to retire. Go to Alice, and comfort her with our reviving prospects". She waited until he had departed, and then turning to the
native, with the dignity of her sex in her voice and manner, she added: "What
would Le Renard say to the daughter of Munro"? "Listen", said the Indian, laying his hand firmly upon her
arm, as if willing to draw her utmost attention to his words; a movement that
Cora as firmly but quietly repulsed, by extricating the limb from his grasp:
"Magua was born a chief and a warrior among the red Hurons of the lakes; he saw
the suns of twenty summers make the snows of twenty winters run off in the
streams before he saw a pale face; and he was happy! Then his Canada fathers
came into the woods, and taught him to drink the fire-water, and he became
"Something like this I had heard before", said Cora,
observing that he paused to suppress those passions which began to burn with too
bright a flame, as he recalled the recollection of his supposed injuries. "Was it the fault of Le Renard that his head was not made
of rock? Who gave him the fire-water? who made him a villain? 'Twas the pale
faces, the people of your own color". "And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled men
exist, whose shades of countenance may resemble mine"? Cora calmly demanded of
the excited savage. "No; Magua is a man, and not a fool; such as you never open
their lips to the burning stream: the Great Spirit has given you wisdom"! "What, then, have I do to, or say, in the matter of your
misfortunes, not to say of your errors"? "Listen", repeated the Indian, resuming his earnest
attitude; "when his English and French fathers dug up the hatchet, Le Renard
struck the war-post of the Mohawks, and went out against his own nation. The
pale faces have driven the red-skins from their hunting grounds, and now when
they fight, a white man leads the way. The old chief at Horican, your father,
was the great captain of our war-party. He said to the Mohawks do this, and do
that, and he was minded. He made a law, that if an Indian swallowed the
fire-water, and came into the cloth wigwams of his warriors, it should not be
forgotten. Magua foolishly opened his mouth, and the
"He forgot not his words, and did justice, by punishing the
offender", said the undaunted daughter. "Justice"! repeated the Indian, casting an oblique glance
of the most ferocious expression at her unyielding countenance; "is it justice
to make evil and then punish for it? Magua was not himself; it was the
fire-water that spoke and acted for him! but Munro did believe it. The Huron
chief was tied up before all the pale-faced warriors, and whipped like a dog".
Cora remained silent, for she knew not how to palliate this
imprudent severity on the part of her father in a manner to suit the
comprehension of an Indian. "See"! continued Magua, tearing aside the slight calico
that very imperfectly concealed his painted breast; "here are scars given by
knives and bullets -- of these a warrior may boast before his nation; but the
gray-head has left marks on the back of the Huron chief that he must hide like a
squaw, under this painted cloth of the whites". "I had thought", resumed Cora, "that an Indian warrior was
patient, and that his spirit felt not and knew not the pain his body suffered".
"When the Chippewas tied Magua to the stake, and cut this
gash", said the other, laying his finger on a deep scar, "the Huron laughed in
their faces, and told them, Women struck so light! His spirit was then in the
clouds! But when he felt the blows of Munro, his spirit lay under the birch. The
spirit of a Huron is never drunk; it remembers forever"! "But it may be appeased. If my father has done you this
injustice, show him how an Indian can forgive an injury, and take back his
daughters. You have heard from Major Heyward -- -- "
Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers
he so much despised. "What would you have"? continued Cora, after a most painful
pause, while the conviction forced itself on her mind that the too sanguine and
generous Duncan had been cruelly deceived by the cunning of the savage. "What a Huron loves -- good for good; bad for bad"! "You would, then, revenge the injury inflicted by Munro on
his helpless daughters. Would it not be more like a man to go before his face,
and take the satisfaction of a warrior"? "The arms of the pale faces are long, and their knives
sharp"! returned the savage, with a malignant laugh: "why should Le Renard go
among the muskets of his warriors, when he holds the spirit of the gray-head in
his hand"? "Name your intention, Magua", said Cora, struggling with
herself to speak with steady calmness. "Is it to lead us prisoners to the woods,
or do you contemplate even some greater evil? Is there no reward, no means of
palliating the injury, and of softening your heart? At least, release my gentle
sister, and pour out all your malice on me. Purchase wealth by her safety and
satisfy your revenge with a single victim. The loss of both his daughters might
bring the aged man to his grave, and where would then be the satisfaction of Le
Renard"? "Listen", said the Indian again. "The light eyes can go
back to the Horican, and tell the old chief what has been done, if the
dark-haired woman will swear by the Great Spirit of her fathers to tell no lie".
"What must I promise"? demanded Cora, still maintaining a
secret ascendency over the fierce native by the collected and feminine dignity
of her presence. "When Magua left his people his wife was given to another
chief; he has now made friends with the Hurons, and
However revolting a proposal of such a character might
prove to Cora, she retained, notwithstanding her powerful disgust, sufficient
self-command to reply, without betraying the weakness. "And what pleasure would Magua find in sharing his cabin
with a wife he did not love; one who would be of a nation and color different
from his own? It would be better to take the gold of Munro, and buy the heart of
some Huron maid with his gifts". The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his
fierce looks on the countenance of Cora, in such wavering glances, that her eyes
sank with shame, under an impression that for the first time they had
encountered an expression that no chaste female might endure. While she was
shrinking within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by some proposal
still more shocking than the last, the voice of Magua answered, in its tones of
deepest malignancy: "When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he would
know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The daughter of Munro would draw
his water, hoe his corn, and cook his venison. The body of the gray-head would
sleep among his cannon, but his heart would lie within reach of the knife of Le
Subtil". "Monster! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name",
cried Cora, in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation. "None but a fiend
could meditate such a vengeance. But thou overratest thy power! You shall find
it is, in truth, the heart of Munro you hold, and that it will defy your utmost
malice"! The Indian answered this bold defiance by a ghastly smile,
that showed an unaltered purpose, while he motioned her away,
"There, there; read our fortunes in their faces; we shall
see; we shall see"! The action, and the choked utterance of Cora, spoke more
impressively than any words, and quickly drew the attention of her companions on
that spot where her own was riveted with an intenseness that nothing but the
importance of the stake could create. When Magua reached the cluster of lolling savages, who,
gorged with their disgusting meal, lay stretched on the earth in brutal
indulgence, he commenced speaking with the dignity of an Indian chief. The first
syllables he uttered had the effect to cause his listeners to raise themselves
in attitudes of respectful attention. As the Huron used his native language, the
prisoners, notwithstanding the caution of the natives had kept them within the
swing of their tomahawks, could only conjecture the substance of his harangue
from the nature of those significant gestures with which an Indian always
illustrates his eloquence. At first, the language, as well as the action of Magua,
appeared calm and deliberative. When he had succeeded in sufficiently
"Are the Hurons dogs to bear this? Who shall say to the
wife of Menowgua that the fishes have his scalp, and that his nation have not
taken revenge! Who will dare meet the mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful
woman, with his hands clean! What shall be said to the old men when they ask us
for scalps, and we have not a hair from a white head to give them! The women
will point their fingers at us. There is a dark spot on the names of the Hurons,
and it must be hid in blood"! His voice was no longer audible in the burst of
rage which now broke into the air, as if the wood, instead of containing so
small a band, was filled with the nation. During the foregoing address the
progress of the speaker was too plainly read by those most interested in his
success through the medium of the countenances of the men he addressed. They had
answered his melancholy and mourning by sympathy and sorrow; his assertions, by
gestures of confirmation; and his boasting, with the exultation of savages. When
he spoke of courage, their looks were firm and responsive; when he alluded to
their injuries, their eyes kindled with fury; when he mentioned the taunts of
the women, they dropped their heads in shame; but when he pointed out their
means of vengeance, he struck a chord which never failed to thrill in the breast
of an Indian. With the first intimation that it was within their reach, the
whole band sprang upon their feet as one man; giving utterance to their rage in
the most frantic cries, they
Two powerful warriors cast themselves on Heyward, while
another was occupied in securing the less active singing-master. Neither of the
captives, however, submitted without a desperate, though fruitless, struggle.
Even David hurled his assailant to the earth; nor was Heyward secured until the
victory over his companion enabled the Indians to direct their united force to
that object. He was then bound and fastened to the body of the sapling, on whose
branches Magua had acted the pantomime of the falling Huron. When the young
soldier regained his recollection, he had the painful certainty before his eyes
that a common fate was intended for the whole party. On his right was Cora in a
durance similar to his own, pale and agitated, but with an eye whose steady look
still read the proceedings of their enemies. On his left, the withes which bound
her to a pine, performed that office for Alice which her trembling limbs
refused, and alone kept her fragile form from sinking. Her hands were clasped
before her in prayer, but instead of looking upward toward that power which
alone could rescue them, her unconscious looks wandered to the countenance of
Duncan with infantile dependency. David had contended, and the novelty of the
circumstance
The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken a new direction,
and they prepared to execute it with that barbarous ingenuity with which they
were familiarized by the practise of centuries. Some sought knots, to raise the
blazing pile; one was riving the splinters of pine, in order to pierce the flesh
of their captives with the burning fragments; and others bent the tops of two
saplings to the earth, in order to suspend Heyward by the arms between the
recoiling branches. But the vengeance of Magua sought a deeper and more
malignant enjoyment. While the less refined monsters of the band prepared,
before the eyes of those who were to suffer, these well-known and vulgar means
of torture, he approached Cora, and pointed out, with the most malign expression
of countenance, the speedy fate that awaited her: "Ha"! he added, "what says the daughter of Munro? Her head
is too good to find a pillow in the wigwam of Le Renard; will she like it better
when it rolls about this hill a plaything for the wolves? Her bosom cannot nurse
the children of a Huron; she will see it spit upon by Indians"! "What means the monster"! demanded the astonished Heyward.
"Nothing"! was the firm reply. "He is a savage, a barbarous
and ignorant savage, and knows not what he does. Let us find leisure, with our
dying breath, to ask for him penitence and pardon". "Pardon"! echoed the fierce Huron, mistaking in his anger,
the meaning of her words; "the memory of an Indian is no longer than the arm of
the pale faces; his mercy shorter than their justice! Say; shall I send the
yellow hair to her
Cora beckoned him away, with an emotion of disgust she
could not control. "Leave me", she said, with a solemnity that for a moment
checked the barbarity of the Indian; "you mingle bitterness in my prayers; you
stand between me and my God"! The slight impression produced on the savage was, however,
soon forgotten, and he continued pointing, with taunting irony, toward Alice.
"Look! the child weeps! She is too young to die! Send her
to Munro, to comb his gray hairs, and keep life in the heart of the old man".
Cora could not resist the desire to look upon her youthful
sister, in whose eyes she met an imploring glance, that betrayed the longings of
nature. "What says he, dearest Cora"? asked the trembling voice of
Alice. "Did he speak of sending me to our father"? For many moments the elder sister looked upon the younger,
with a countenance that wavered with powerful and contending emotions. At length
she spoke, though her tones had lost their rich and calm fullness, in an
expression of tenderness that seemed maternal. "Alice", she said, "the Huron offers us both life, nay,
more than both; he offers to restore Duncan, our invaluable Duncan, as well as
you, to our friends -- to our father -- to our heart-stricken, childless father,
if I will bow down this rebellious, stubborn pride of mine, and consent -- -- "
Her voice became choked, and clasping her hands, she looked
upward, as if seeking, in her agony, intelligence from a wisdom that was
infinite. "Say on", cried Alice; "to what, dearest Cora? Oh! that the
proffer were made to me! to save you, to cheer our aged
"Die"! repeated Cora, with a calmer and firmer voice "that
were easy! Perhaps the alternative may not be less so. He would have me", she
continued, her accents sinking under a deep consciousness of the degradation of
the proposal, "follow him to the wilderness; go to the habitations of the
Hurons; to remain there; in short, to become his wife! Speak, then, Alice; child
of my affections! sister of my love! And you, too, Major Heyward, aid my weak
reason with your counsel. Is life to be purchased by such a sacrifice? Will you,
Alice, receive it at my hands at such a price? And you, Duncan, guide
me; control me between you; for I am wholly yours"! "Would I"! echoed the indignant and astonished youth.
"Cora! Cora! you jest with our misery! Name not the horrid alternative again;
the thought itself is worse than a thousand deaths". "That such would be your answer, I well knew"!
exclaimed Cora, her cheeks flushing, and her dark eyes once more sparkling with
the lingering emotions of a woman. "What says my Alice? for her will I submit
without another murmur". Although both Heyward and Cora listened with painful
suspense and the deepest attention, no sounds were heard in reply. It appeared
as if the delicate and sensitive form of Alice would shrink into itself, as she
listened to this proposal. Her arms had fallen lengthwise before her, the
fingers moving in slight convulsions; her head dropped upon her bosom, and her
whole person seemed suspended against the tree, looking like some beautiful
emblem of the wounded delicacy of her sex, devoid of animation and yet keenly
conscious. In a few moments, however, her head began to move slowly, in a sign
of deep, unconquerable disapprobation.
"No, no, no; better that we die as we have lived,
together"! "Then die"! shouted Magua, hurling his tomahawk with
violence at the unresisting speaker, and gnashing his teeth with a rage that
could no longer be bridled at this sudden exhibition of firmness in the one he
believed the weakest of the party. The axe cleaved the air in front of Heyward,
and cutting some of the flowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in the tree above
her head. The sight maddened Duncan to desperation. Collecting all his energies
in one effort he snapped the twigs which bound him and rushed upon another
savage, who was preparing, with loud yells and a more deliberate aim, to repeat
the blow. They encountered, grappled, and fell to the earth together. The naked
body of his antagonist afforded Heyward no means of holding his adversary, who
glided from his grasp, and rose again with one knee on his chest, pressing him
down with the weight of a giant. Duncan already saw the knife gleaming in the
air, when a whistling sound swept past him, and was rather accompanied than
followed by the sharp crack of a rifle. He felt his breast relieved from the
load it had endured; he saw the savage expression of his adversary's countenance
change to a look of vacant wildness, when the Indian fell dead on the faded
leaves by his side. The Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation of death
on one of their band. But as they regarded the fatal accuracy of an aim which
had dared to immolate an enemy at so much hazard to a friend, the name of "La
Longue Carabine" burst simultaneously from every lip, and was succeeded by a
wild and a sort of plaintive howl. The cry was answered by a loud shout from a
little thicket, where the incautious party had piled their arms; and at the next
moment, Hawkeye, too eager to load the rifle he had regained, was seen advancing
upon them, brandishing the clubbed weapon, and cutting the air with wide and
powerful sweeps. Bold and rapid as was the progress of the scout, it was
exceeded by that of a light and vigorous form which, bounding past him, leaped,
with incredible activity and daring, into the very center of the Hurons, where
it stood, whirling a tomahawk, and flourishing a glittering knife, with fearful
menaces, in front of Cora. Quicker than the thoughts could follow those
unexpected and audacious movements, an image, armed in the
"Le Cerf Agile! Le Gros Serpent"! But the wary and vigilant leader of the Hurons was not so
easily disconcerted. Casting his keen eyes around the little plain, he
comprehended the nature of the assault at a glance, and encouraging his
followers by his voice as well as by his example, he unsheathed his long and
dangerous knife, and rushed with a loud whoop upon the expected Chingachgook. It
was the signal for a general combat. Neither party had firearms, and the contest
was to be decided in the deadliest manner, hand to hand, with weapons of
offense, and none of defense. Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping on an enemy, with a
single, well-directed blow of his tomahawk, cleft him to the brain. Heyward tore
the weapon of Magua from the sapling, and rushed eagerly toward the fray. As the
combatants were now equal in number, each singled an opponent from the adverse
band. The rush and blows passed with the fury of a whirlwind, and the swiftness
of lightning. Hawkeye soon got another enemy within reach of his arm, and with
one sweep of his formidable weapon he beat down the slight and inartificial
defenses of his antagonist, crushing him to the earth with the blow. Heyward
ventured to hurl the tomahawk he had seized, too ardent to await the moment of
closing. It struck the Indian he had selected on the forehead, and checked for
an instant his onward rush. Encouraged by this slight advantage, the impetuous
young man continued his onset, and sprang upon his enemy with naked hands. A
single instant
"Extarminate the varlets! no quarter to an accursed Mingo"!
At the next moment, the breech of Hawkeye's rifle fell on
the naked head of his adversary, whose muscles appeared to wither under the
shock, as he sank from the arms of Duncan, flexible and motionless. When Uncas had brained his first antagonist, he turned,
like a hungry lion, to seek another. The fifth and only Huron disengaged at the
first onset had paused a moment, and then seeing that all around him were
employed in the deadly strife, he had sought, with hellish vengeance, to
complete the baffled work of revenge. Raising a shout of triumph, he sprang
toward the defenseless Cora, sending his keen axe as the dreadful precursor of
his approach. The tomahawk grazed her shoulder, and cutting the withes which
bound her to the tree, left the maiden at liberty to fly. She eluded the grasp
of the savage, and reckless of her own safety, threw herself on the bosom of
Alice, striving with convulsed and ill-directed fingers, to tear asunder the
twigs which confined the person of her sister. Any other than a monster would
have relented at such an act of generous devotion to the best and purest
affection; but the breast of the Huron was a stranger to sympathy. Seizing Cora
by the rich tresses which fell in confusion about her form, he tore her from her
frantic hold, and bowed her
The battle was now entirely terminated with the exception
of the protracted struggle between "Le Renard Subtil" and "Le Gros Serpent".
Well did these barbarous warriors prove that they deserved those significant
names which had been bestowed for deeds in former wars. When they engaged, some
little time was lost in eluding the quick and vigorous thrusts which had been
aimed at their lives. Suddenly darting on each other, they closed, and came to
the earth, twisted together like twining serpents, in pliant and subtle folds.
At the moment when the victors found themselves unoccupied, the spot where these
experienced and desperate combatants lay could only be distinguished by a cloud
of dust and leaves, which moved from the center of the little plain toward its
boundary, as if raised by the passage of a whirlwind. Urged by the different
motives of filial affection, friendship and gratitude, Heyward and his
companions rushed with one accord to the place, encircling the little canopy of
dust which hung above the warriors. In vain did Uncas dart around the
"Well done for the Delawares! victory to the Mohicans"!
cried Hawkeye, once more elevating the butt of the long and fatal rifle; "a
finishing blow from a man without a cross will never tell against his honor, nor
rob him of his right to the scalp". But at the very moment when the dangerous weapon was in the
act of descending, the subtle Huron rolled swiftly from beneath the danger, over
the edge of the precipice, and falling on his feet, was seen leaping, with a
single bound, into the center
"'Twas like himself"! cried the inveterate forester, whose
prejudices contributed so largely to veil his natural sense of justice in all
matters which concerned the Mingoes; "a lying and deceitful varlet as he is. An
honest Delaware now, being fairly vanquished, would have lain still, and been
knocked on the head, but these knavish Maquas cling to life like so many
cats-o'-the-mountain. Let him go -- let him go; 'tis but one man, and he without
rifle or bow, many a long mile from his French commerades; and like a rattler
that lost his fangs, he can do no further mischief, until such time as he, and
we too, may leave the prints of our moccasins over a long reach of sandy plain.
See, Uncas", he added, in Delaware, "your father if flaying the scalps already.
It may be well to go round and feel the vagabonds that are left, or we may have
another of them loping through the woods, and screeching like a jay that has
been winged". So saying the honest but implacable scout made the circuit
of the dead, into whose senseless bosoms he thrust his long knife, with as much
coolness as though they had been so many brute carcasses. He had, however, been
anticipated by the elder Mohican, who had already torn the emblems of victory
from the unresisting heads of the slain. But Uncas, denying his habits, we had almost said his
nature, flew with instinctive delicacy, accompanied by Heyward, to the
assistance of the females, and quickly releasing Alice, placed her in the arms
of Cora. We shall not attempt to describe the gratitude to the Almighty Disposer
of Events which
"We are saved! we are saved"! she murmured; "to return to
the arms of our dear, dear father, and his heart will not be broken with grief.
And you, too, Cora, my sister, my more than sister, my mother; you, too, are
spared. And Duncan", she added, looking round upon the youth with a smile of
ineffable innocence, "even our own brave and noble Duncan has escaped without a
hurt". To these ardent and nearly innocent words Cora made no
other answer than by straining the youthful speaker to her heart, as she bent
over her in melting tenderness. The manhood of Heyward felt no shame in dropping
tears over this spectacle of affectionate rapture; and Uncas stood, fresh and
blood-stained from the combat, a calm, and, apparently, an unmoved looker-on, it
is true, but with eyes that had already lost their fierceness, and were beaming
with a sympathy that elevated him far above the intelligence, and advanced him
probably centuries before, the practises of his nation. During this display of emotions so natural in their
situation, Hawkeye, whose vigilant distrust had satisfied itself that the
Hurons, who disfigured the heavenly scene, no longer possessed the power to
interrupt its harmony, approached David, and liberated him from the bonds he
had, until that moment, endured with the most exemplary patience.
"There", exclaimed the scout, casting the last withe behind
him, "you are once more master of your own limbs, though you seem not to use
them with much greater judgment than that in which they were first fashioned. If
advice from one who is not older than yourself, but who, having lived most of
his time in the wilderness, may be said to have experience beyond his years,
will give no offense, you are welcome to my thoughts; and these are, to part
with the little tooting instrument in your jacket to the first fool you meet
with, and buy some we'pon with the money, if it be only the barrel of a
horseman's pistol. By industry and care, you might thus come to some prefarment;
for by this time, I should think, your eyes would plainly tell you that a
carrion crow is a better bird than a mocking-thresher. The one will, at least,
remove foul sights from before the face of man, while the other is only good to
brew disturbances in the woods, by cheating the ears of all that hear them".
"Arms and the clarion for the battle, but the song of
thanksgiving to the victory"! answered the liberated David. "Friend", he added,
thrusting forth his lean, delicate hand toward Hawkeye, in kindness, while his
eyes twinkled and grew moist, "I thank thee that the hairs of my head still grow
where they were first rooted by Providence; for, though those of other men may
be more glossy and curling, I have ever found mine own well suited to the brain
they shelter. That I did not join myself to the battle, was less owing to
disinclination, than to the bonds of the heathen. Valiant and skillful hast thou
proved thyself in the conflict, and I hereby thank thee, before proceeding to
discharge other and more important duties, because thou hast proved thyself well
worthy of a Christian's praise". "The thing is but a trifle, and what you may often see if
you tarry long among us", returned the scout, a good deal
"Thou sayest well", returned David, "and hast caught the
true spirit of Christianity. He that is to be saved will be saved, and he that
is predestined to be damned will be damned. This is the doctrine of truth, and
most consoling and refreshing it is to the true believer". The scout, who by this time was seated, examining into the
state of his rifle with a species of parental assiduity, now looked up at the
other in a displeasure that he did not affect to conceal, roughly interrupting
further speech. "Doctrine or no doctrine", said the sturdy woodsman, "'tis
the belief of knaves, and the curse of an honest man. I can credit that yonder
Huron was to fall by my hand, for with my own eyes I have seen it; but nothing
short of being a witness will cause me to think he has met with any reward, or
that Chingachgook there will be condemned at the final day". "You have no warranty for such an audacious doctrine, nor
any covenant to support it", cried David who was deeply tinctured with the
subtle distinctions which, in his time , and more especially in his province,
had been drawn around the beautiful simplicity of revelation, by endeavoring to
penetrate the awful mystery of the divine nature, supplying faith by
"Book"! repeated Hawkeye, with singular and ill-concealed
disdain; "do you take me for a whimpering boy at the apronstring of one of your
old gals; and this good rifle on my knee for the feather of a goose's wing, my
ox's horn for a bottle of ink, and my leathern pouch for a cross-barred
handkercher to carry my dinner? Book! what have such as I, who am a warrior of
the wilderness, though a man without a cross, to do with books? I never read but
in one, and the words that are written there are too simple and too plain to
need much schooling; though I may boast that of forty long and hard-working
years". "What call you the volume"? said David, misconceiving the
other's meaning. "'Tis open before your eyes", returned the scout; "and he
who owns it is not a niggard of its use. I have heard it said that there are men
who read in books to convince themselves there is a God. I know not but man may
so deform his works in the settlement, as to leave that which is so clear in the
wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and priests. If any such there be,
and he will follow me from sun to sun, through the windings of the forest, he
shall see enough to teach him that he is a fool, and that the greatest of his
folly lies in striving to rise to the level of One he can never equal, be it in
goodness, or be it in power". The instant David discovered that he battled with a
disputant
"I invite you, friends, to join in praise for this signal
deliverance from the hands of barbarians and infidels, to the comfortable and
solemn tones of the tune called " Northampton"". He next named the page and verse where the rhymes selected
were to be found, and applied the pitch-pipe to his lips, with the decent
gravity that he had been wont to use in the temple. This time he was, however,
without any accompaniment, for the sisters were just then pouring out those
tender effusions of affection which have been already alluded to. Nothing
deterred by the smallness of his audience, which, in truth, consisted only of
the discontented scout, he raised his voice, commencing and ending the sacred
song without accident or interruption of any kind. Hawkeye listened while he coolly adjusted his flint and
reloaded his rifle; but the sounds, wanting the extraneous assistance of scene
and sympathy, failed to awaken his slumbering
When the foresters had made their selection, and
distributed their prizes, the scout announced that the hour had arrived when it
was necessary to move. By this time the song of Gamut had ceased, and the
sisters had learned to still the exhibition of their emotions. Aided by Duncan
and the younger Mohican, the two latter descended the precipitous sides of that
hill which they had so lately ascended under so very different auspices, and
whose summit had so nearly proved the scene of their massacre. At the foot they
found the Narragansetts browsing the herbage of the bushes, and having mounted,
they followed the movements of a guide, who, in the most deadly straits, had so
often proved himself their friend. The journey was, however, short. Hawkeye,
leaving the blind path that the Hurons had followed, turned short to his right,
and entering the thicket, he crossed a babbling brook, and halted in a narrow
dell, under the shade of a few water elms. Their distance from the base of the
fatal hill was but a few rods, and the steeds had been serviceable only in
crossing the shallow stream.
The scout and the Indians appeared to be familiar with the
sequestered place where they now were; for, leaning their rifle against the
trees, they commenced throwing aside the dried leaves, and opening the blue
clay, out of which a clear and sparkling spring of bright, glancing water,
quickly bubbled. The white man then looked about him, as though seeking for some
object, which was not to be found as readily as he expected. "Them careless imps, the Mohawks, with their Tuscarora and
Onondaga brethren, have been here slaking their thirst", he muttered, "and the
vagabonds have thrown away the gourd! This is the way with benefits, when they
are bestowed on such disremembering hounds! Here has the Lord laid his hand, in
the midst of the howling wilderness, for their good, and raised a fountain of
water from the bowels of the 'arth, that might laugh at the richest shop of
apothecary's ware in all the colonies; and see! the knaves have trodden in the
clay, and deformed the cleanliness of the place, as though they were brute
beasts, instead of human men". Uncas silently extended toward him the desired gourd, which
the spleen of Hawkeye had hitherto prevented him from observing on a branch of
an elm. Filling it with water, he retired a short distance, to a place where the
ground was more firm and dry; here he coolly seated himself, and after taking a
long, and, apparently, a grateful draught, he commenced a very strict
examination of the fragments of food left by the Hurons, which had hung in a
wallet on his arm. "Thank you, lad"! he continued, returning the empty gourd
to Uncas; "now we will see how these rampaging Hurons lived, when outlying in
ambushments. Look at this! The varlets know the better pieces of the deer; and
one would think they might carve and roast a saddle, equal to the best cook in
the land! But everything is raw, for the Iroquois are
Heyward, perceiving that their guides now set about their
repast in sober earnest, assisted the ladies to alight, and placed himself at
their side, not unwilling to enjoy a few moments of grateful rest, after the
bloody scene he had just gone through. While the culinary process was in hand,
curiosity induced him to inquire into the circumstances which had led to their
timely and unexpected rescue: "How is it that we see you so soon, my generous friend", he
asked, "and without aid from the garrison of Edward"? "Had we gone to the bend in the river, we might have been
in time to rake the leaves over your bodies, but too late to have saved your
scalps", coolly answered the scout. "No, no; instead of throwing away strength
and opportunity by crossing to the fort, we lay by, under the bank of the
Hudson, waiting to watch the movements of the Hurons". "You were, then, witnesses of all that passed"? "Not of all; for Indian sight is too keen to be easily
cheated, and we kept close. A difficult matter it was, too, to keep this Mohican
boy snug in the ambushment. Ah! Uncas, Uncas, your behavior was more like that
of a curious woman than of a warrior on his scent". Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an instant on the
sturdy countenance of the speaker, but he neither spoke nor gave any indication
of repentance. On the contrary, Heyward thought the manner of the young Mohican
was disdainful, if not a little fierce, and that he suppressed passions that
were ready to explode, as much in compliment to the listeners, as from the
deference he usually paid to his white associate. "You saw our capture"? Heyward next demanded. "We heard it", was the significant answer. "An Indian
"Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It was nearly a
miracle that you did not mistake the path, for the Hurons divided, and each band
had its horses". "Ay! there we were thrown off the scent, and might, indeed,
have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas; we took the path, however, that
led into the wilderness; for we judged, and judged rightly, that the savages
would hold that course with their prisoners. But when we had followed it for
many miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I had advised, my mind
misgave me; especially as all the footsteps had the prints of moccasins". "Our captors had the precaution to see us shod like
themselves", said Duncan, raising a foot, and exhibiting the buckskin he wore.
"Aye, 'twas judgmatical and like themselves; though we were
too expart to be thrown from a trail by so common an invention". "To what, then, are we indebted for our safety"? "To what, as a white man who has no taint of Indian blood,
I should be ashamed to own; to the judgment of the young Mohican, in matters
which I should know better than he, but which I can now hardly believe to be
true, though my own eyes tell me it is so". "'Tis extraordinary! will you not name the reason"? "Uncas was bold enough to say, that the beasts ridden by
the gentle ones", continued Hawkeye, glancing his eyes, not without curious
interest, on the fillies of the ladies, "planted the legs of one side on the
ground at the same time, which is
"'Tis the merit of the animal! They come from the shores of
Narrangansett Bay, in the small province of Providence Plantations, and are
celebrated for their hardihood, and the ease of this peculiar movement; though
other horses are not unfrequently trained to the same". "It may be -- it may be", said Hawkeye, who had listened
with singular attention to this explanation; "though I am a man who has the full
blood of the whites, my judgment in deer and beaver is greater than in beasts of
burden. Major Effingham has many noble chargers, but I have never seen one
travel after such a sidling gait". "True; for he would value the animals for very different
properties. Still is this a breed highly esteemed and, as you witness, much
honored with the burdens it is often destined to bear". The Mohicans had suspended their operations about the
glimmering fire to listen; and, when Duncan had done, they looked at each other
significantly, the father uttering the never-failing exclamation of surprise.
The scout ruminated, like a man digesting his newly-acquired knowledge, and once
more stole a glance at the horses. "I dare to say there are even stranger sights to be seen in
the settlements"! he said, at length "natur' is sadly abused by man, when he
once gets the mastery. But, go sidling or go straight, Uncas had seen the
movement, and their trail led us on to the broken bush. The outer branch, near
the prints of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a lady breaks a flower from
its stem, but all the rest were ragged and broken down, as if the strong hand of
a man had been tearing them! So I
"I do believe your sagacity did not deceive you; for some
such thing occurred"! "That was easy to see", added the scout, in no degree
conscious of having exhibited any extraordinary sagacity; "and a very different
matter it was from a waddling horse! It then struck me the Mingoes would push
for this spring, for the knaves well know the vartue of its waters"! "Is it, then, so famous"? demanded Heyward, examining, with
a more curious eye, the secluded dell, with its bubbling fountain, surrounded,
as it was, by earth of a deep, dingy brown. "Few red-skins, who travel south and east of the great
lakes but have heard of its qualities. Will you taste for yourself"? Heyward took the gourd, and after swallowing a little of
the water, threw it aside with grimaces of discontent. The scout laughed in his
silent but heartfelt manner, and shook his head with vast satisfaction. "Ah! you want the flavor that one gets by habit; the time
was when I liked it as little as yourself; but I have come to my taste, and I
now crave it, as a deer does the licks.1 Your high-spiced
wines are not better liked than a red-skin relishes this water; especially when
his natur' is ailing. But Uncas has made his fire, and it is time we think of
eating, for our journey is long, and all before us". Note: 1 Many of the animals of the American forests resort to those
spots where salt springs are found. These are called "licks" or "salt licks", in
the language of the country, from the circumstance that the quadruped is often
obliged to lick the earth, in order to obtain the saline particles. These licks
are great places of resort with the hunters, who waylay their game near the
paths that lead to them. Interrrupting the dialogue by this abrupt transition, the
scout had instant recourse to the fragments of food which
When this necessary, and, happily, grateful duty had been
performed, each of the foresters stooped and took a long and parting draught at
that solitary and silent spring,1 around which and its
sister fountains, within fifty years, the wealth, beauty and talents of a
hemisphere were to assemble in throngs, in pursuit of health and pleasure. Then
Hawkeye announced his determination to proceed. The sisters resumed their
saddles; Duncan and David grapsed their rifles, and followed on footsteps; the
scout leading the advance, and the Mohicans bringing up the rear. The whole
party moved swiftly through the narrow path, toward the north, leaving the
healing waters to mingle unheeded with the adjacent brooks and the bodies of the
dead to fester on the neighboring mount, without the rites of sepulture; a fate
but too common to the warriors of the woods to excite either commiseration or
comment. Note: 1 The scene of the foregoing incidents
is on the spot where the village of Ballston now stands; one of the two
principal watering places of America. "I'll seek a readier path". -- The route taken by Hawkeye lay across those sandy plains,
relived by occasional valleys and swells of land, which had been traversed by
their party on the morning of the same day, with the baffled Magua for their
guide. The sun had now fallen low toward the distant mountains; and as their
journey lay through the interminable forest, the heat was no longer oppressive.
Their progress, in consequence, was proportionate; and long before the twilight
gathered about them, they had made good many toilsome miles on their return.
The hunter, like the savage whose place he filled, seemed
to select among the blind signs of their wild route, with a species of instinct,
seldom abating his speed, and never pausing to deliberate. A rapid and oblique
glance at the moss on the trees, with an occasional upward gaze toward the
setting sun, or a steady but passing look at the direction of the numerous water
courses, through which he waded, were sufficient to determine his path, and
remove his greatest difficulties. In the meantime, the forest began to change
its hues, losing that lively green which had embellished its arches, in the
graver light which is the usual precursor of the close of day.
While the eyes of the sisters were endeavoring to catch
glimpses through the trees, of the flood of golden glory which formed a
glittering halo around the sun, tinging here and there with ruby streaks, or
bordering with narrow edgings of shining yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled
at no great distance above the western hills, Hawkeye turned suddenly and
pointing upward toward the gorgeous heavens, he spoke: "Yonder is the signal given to man to seek his food and
natural rest", he said; "better and wiser would it be, if he could understand
the signs of nature, and take a lesson from the fowls of the air and the beasts
of the field! Our night, however, will soon be over, for with the moon we must
be up and moving again. I remember to have fou't the Maquas, hereaways, in the
first war in which I ever drew blood from man; and we threw up a work of blocks,
to keep the ravenous varmints from handling our scalps. If my marks do not fail
me, we shall find the place a few rods further to our left". Without waiting for an assent, or, indeed, for any reply,
the sturdy hunter moved boldly into a dense thicket of young chestnuts, shoving
aside the branches of the exuberant shoots which nearly covered the ground, like
a man who expected, at each step, to discover some object he had formerly known.
The recollection of the scout did not deceive him. After penetrating through the
brush, matted as it was with briars, for a few hundred feet, he entered an open
space, that surrounded a low, green hillock, which was crowned by the decayed
blockhouse in question. This rude and neglected building was one of those
deserted works, which, having been thrown up on an emergency, had been abandoned
with the disappearance of danger, and was now quietly crumbling in the solitude
of the forest, neglected and nearly forgotten, like the circumstances which had
caused it to be reared. Such memorials of the passage and struggles of man are
yet frequent
In the meantime, the sisters gladly dismounted, and
prepared to enjoy their halt in the coolness of the evening, and in a security
which they believed nothing but the beasts of the forest could invade. "Would not our resting-place have been more retired, my
worthy friend", demanded the more vigilant Duncan, perceiving that the scout had
already finished his short survey, "had we chosen a spot less known, and one
more rarely visited than this"? "Few live who know the blockhouse was ever raised", was the
slow and musing answer; "'tis not often that books are made, and narratives
written of such a scrimmage as was
Heyward and the sisters arose, on the instant, from the
grassy sepulcher; nor could the two latter, notwithstanding the terrific scenes
they had so recently passed through, entirely suppress an emotion of natural
horror, when they found themselves in such familiar contact with the grave of
the dead Mohawks. The gray light, the gloomy little area of dark grass,
surrounded by its border of brush, beyond which the pines rose, in breathing
silence, apparently into the very clouds, and the deathlike stillness of the
vast forest, were all in unison to deepen such a sensation. "They are gone, and
they are harmless", continued Hawkeye, waving his hand, with a melancholy smile
at their manifest alarm; "they'll never shout the war-whoop nor strike a blow
with the tomahawk again! And of all those who aided in placing them where they
lie, Chingachgook and I only are living! The brothers and
The eyes of the listeners involuntarily sought the forms of
the Indians, with a compassionate interest in their desolate fortune. Their dark
persons were still to be seen within the shadows of the blockhouse, the son
listening to the relation of his father with that sort of intenseness which
would be created by a narrative that redounded so much to the honor of those
whose names he had long revered for their courage and savage virtues. "I had thought the Delawares a pacific people", said
Duncan, "and that they never waged war in person; trusting the defense of their
hands to those very Mohawks that you slew"! "'Tis true in part", returned the scout, "and yet, at the
bottom, 'tis a wicked lie. Such a treaty was made in ages gone by, through the
deviltries of the Dutchers, who wished to disarm the natives that had the best
right to the country, where they had settled themselves. The Mohicans, though a
part of the same nation, having to deal with the English, never entered into the
silly bargain, but kept to their manhood; as in truth did the Delawares, when
their eyes were open to their folly. You see before you a chief of the great
Mohican Sagamores! Once his family could chase their deer over tracts of country
wider than that which belongs to the Albany Patteroon, without crossing brook or
hill that was not their on; but what is left of their descendant? He may find
his six feet of earth when God chooses, and keep it in peace, perhaps, if he has
a friend who will take the pains to sink his head so low that the plowshares
cannot reach it"! "Enough"! said Heyward, apprehensive that the subject might
lead to a discussion that would interrupt the harmony so necessary to the
preservation of his fair companions; "we have journeyed far, and few among us
are blessed with forms
"The sinews and bones of a man carry me through it all",
said the hunter, surveying his muscular limbs with a simplicity that betrayed
the honest pleasure the compliment afforded him; "there are larger and heavier
men to be found in the settlements, but you might travel many days in a city
before you could meet one able to walk fifty miles without stopping to take
breath, or who has kept the hounds within hearing during a chase of hours.
However, as flesh and blood are not always the same, it is quite reasonable to
suppose that the gentle ones are willing to rest, after all they have seen and
done this day. Uncas, clear out the spring, while your father and I make a cover
for their tender heads of these chestnut shoots, and a bed of grass and leaves".
The dialogue ceased, while the hunter and his companions
busied themselves in preparations for the comfort and protection of those they
guided. A spring, which many long years before had induced the natives to select
the place for their temporary fortification, was soon cleared of leaves, and a
fountain of crystal gushed from the bed, diffusing its waters over the verdant
hillock. A corner of the building was then roofed in such a manner as to exclude
the heavy dew of the climate, and piles of sweet shrubs and dried leaves were
laid beneath it for the sisters to repose on. While the diligent woodsmen were employed in this manner,
Cora and Alice partook of that refreshment which duty required much more than
inclination prompted them to accept. They then retired within the walls, and
first offering up their thanksgivings for past mercies, and petitioning for a
continuance of the Divine favor throughout the coming night, they laid their
tender forms on the fragrant couch, and in spite of recollections and
forebodings, soon sank into those
"The eyes of a white man are too heavy and too blind for
such a watch as this! The Mohican will be our sentinel, therefore let us sleep".
"I proved myself a sluggard on my post during the past
night", said Heyward, "and have less need of repose than you, who did more
credit to the character of a soldier. Let all the party seek their rest, then,
while I hold the guard". "If we lay among the white tents of the Sixtieth, and in
front of an enemy like the French, I could not ask for a better watchman",
returned the scout; "but in the darkness and among the signs of the wilderness
your judgment would be like the folly of a child, and your vigilance thrown
away. Do then, like Uncas and myself, sleep, and sleep in safety". Heyward perceived, in truth, that the younger Indian had
thrown his form on the side of the hillock while they were talking, like one who
sought to make the most of the time allotted to rest, and that his example had
been followed by David, whose voice literally "clove to his jaws", with the
fever of his wound, heightened, as it was, by their toilsome march. Unwilling to
prolong a useless discussion, the young man affected to comply, by posting his
back against the logs of the blockhouse, in a half recumbent posture, though
resolutely determined, in his own mind, not to close an eye until he had
delivered his precious charge into the arms of Munro himself. Hawkeye, believing
he had prevailed, soon fell asleep, and a silence as deep as the solitude in
which they had found it, pervaded the retired spot.
For many minutes Duncan succeeded in keeping his senses on
the alert, and alive to every moaning sound that arose from the forest. His
vision became more acute as the shades of evening settled on the place; and even
after the stars were glimmering above his head, he was able to distinguish the
recumbent forms of his companions, as they lay stretched on the grass, and to
note the person of Chingachgook, who sat upright and motionless as one of the
trees which formed the dark barrier on every side. He still heard the gentle
breathings of the sisters, who lay within a few feet of him, and not a leaf was
ruffled by the passing air of which his ear did not detect the whispering sound.
At length, however, the mournful notes of a whip-poor-will became blended with
the moanings of an owl; his heavy eyes occasionally sought the bright rays of
the stars, and he then fancied he saw them through the fallen lids. At instants
of momentary wakefulness he mistook a bush for his associate sentinel; his head
next sank upon his shoulder, which, in its turn, sought the support of the
ground; and, finally, his whole person became relaxed and pliant, and the young
man sank into a deep sleep, dreaming that he was a knight of ancient chivalry,
holding his midnight vigils before the tent of a recaptured princess, whose
favor he did not despair of gaining, by such a proof of devotion and
watchfulness. How long the tired Duncan lay in this insensible state he
never knew himself, but his slumbering visions had been long lost in total
forgetfulness, when he was awakened by a light tap on the shoulder. Aroused by
this signal, slight as it was, he sprang upon his feet with a confused
recollection of the self-imposed duty he had assumed with the commencement of
the night. "Who comes"? he demanded, feeling for his sword, at
"Friend", replied the low voice of Chingachgook; who,
pointing upward at the luminary which was shedding its mild light through the
opening in the trees, directly in their bivouac, immediately added, in his rude
English: "Moon comes and white man's fort far -- far off; time to move, when
sleep shuts both eyes of the Frenchman"! "You say true! Call up your friends, and bridle the horses
while I prepare my own companions for the march"! "We are awake, Duncan", said the soft, silvery tones of
Alice within the building, "and ready to travel very fast after so refreshing a
sleep; but you have watched through the tedious night in our behalf, after
having endured so much fatigue the livelong day"! "Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous eyes
betrayed me; twice have I proved myself unfit for the trust I bear". "Nay, Duncan, deny it not", interrupted the smiling Alice,
issuing from the shadows of the building into the light of the moon, in all the
loveliness of her freshened beauty; "I know you to be a heedless one, when self
is the object of your care, and but too vigilant in favor of others. Can we not
tarry here a little longer while you find the rest you need? Cheerfully, most
cheerfully, will Cora and I keep the vigils, while you and all these brave men
endeavor to snatch a little sleep"! "If shame could cure me of my drowsiness, I should never
close an eye again", said the uneasy youth, gazing at the ingenuous countenance
of Alice, where, however, in its sweet solicitude, he read nothing to confirm
his half-awakened suspicion. "It is but too true, that after leading you into
danger by my heedlessness, I have not even the merit of guarding your pillows as
should become a soldier".
"No one but Duncan himself should accuse Duncan of such a
weakness. Go, then, and sleep; believe me, neither of us, weak girls as we are,
will betray our watch". The young man was relieved from the awkwardness of making
any further protestations of his own demerits, by an exclamation from
Chingachgook, and the attitude of riveted attention assumed by his son. "The Mohicans hear an enemy"! whispered Hawkeye, who, by
this time, in common with the whole party, was awake and stirring. "They scent
danger in the wind"! "God forbid"! exclaimed Heyward. "Surely we have had enough
of bloodshed"! While he spoke, however, the young soldier seized his
rifle, and advancing toward the front, prepared to atone for his venial
remissness, by freely exposing his life in defense of those he attended. "'Tis some creature of the forest prowling around us in
quest of food", he said, in a whisper, as soon as the low, and apparently
distant sounds, which had startled the Mohicans, reached his own ears. "Hist"! returned the attentive scout; "'tis man; even I can
now tell his tread, poor as my senses are when compared to an Indian's! That
Scampering Huron has fallen in with one of Montcalm's outlying parties, and they
have struck upon our trail. I shouldn't like, myself, to spill more human blood
in this spot", he added, looking around with anxiety in his features, at the dim
objects by which he was surrounded; "but what must be, must! Lead the horses
into the blockhouse, Uncas; and, friends, do you follow to the same shelter.
Poor and old as it is, it offers a cover, and has rung with the crack of a rifle
afore to-night"! He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans leading the
Narrangansetts
The sound of approaching footsteps were now too distinctly
audible to leave any doubts as to the nature of the interruption. They were soon
mingled with voices calling to each other in an Indian dialect, which the
hunter, in a whisper, affirmed to Heyward was the language of the Hurons. When
the party reached the point where the horses had entered the thicket which
surrounded the blockhouse, they were evidently at fault, having lost those marks
which, until that moment, had directed their pursuit. It would seem by the voices that twenty men were soon
collected at that one spot, mingling their different opinions and advice in
noisy clamor. "The knaves know our weakness", whispered Hawkeye, who
stood by the side of Heyward, in deep shade, looking through an opening in the
logs, "or they wouldn't indulge their idleness in such a squaw's march. Listen
to the reptiles! each man among them seems to have two tongues, and but a single
leg". Duncan, brave as he was in the combat, could not, in such a
moment of painful suspense, make any reply to the cool and characteristic remark
of the scout. He only grasped his rifle more firmly, and fastened his eyes upon
the narrow opening, through which he gazed upon the moonlight view with
increasing anxiety. The deeper tones of one who spoke as having authority were
next heard, amid a silence that denoted the respect with which his orders, or
rather advice, was received. After which, by the rustling of leaves, and
crackling of dried twigs, it was apparent the savages were separating in pursuit
of the lost trail. Fortunately for the pursued, the light of the moon, while it
shed a flood of mild luster upon the little area around the ruin, was not
sufficiently strong to penetrate the
It was not long, however, before the restless savages were
heard beating the brush, and gradually approaching the inner edge of that dense
border of young chestnuts which encircled the little area. "They are coming", muttered Heyward, endeavoring to thrust
his rifle through the chink in the logs; "let us fire on their approach". "Keep everything in the shade", returned the scout; "the
snapping of a flint, or even the smell of a single karnel of the brimstone,
would bring the hungry varlets upon us in a body. Should it please God that we
must give battle for the scalps, trust to the experience of men who know the
ways of the savages, and who are not often backward when the war-whoop is
howled". Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw that the trembling
sisters were cowering in the far corner of the building, while the Mohicans
stood in the shadow, like two upright posts, ready, and apparently willing, to
strike when the blow should be needed. Curbing his impatience, he again looked
out upon the area, and awaited the result in silence. At that instant the
thicket opened, and a tall and armed Huron advanced a few paces into the open
space. As he gazed upon the silent blockhouse, the moon fell upon his swarthy
countenance, and betrayed its surprise and curiosity. He made the exclamation
which usually accompanies the former emotion in an Indian, and, calling in a low
voice, soon drew a companion to his side. These children of the woods stood together for several
The savages were so near, that the least motion in one of
the horses, or even a breath louder than common, would have betrayed the
fugitives. But in discovering the character of the mound, the attention of the
Hurons appeared directed to a different object. They spoke together, and the
sounds of their voices were low and solemn, as if influenced by a reverence that
was deeply blended with awe. Then they drew warily back, keeping their eyes
riveted on the ruin, as if they expected to see the apparitions of the dead
issue from its silent walls, until, having reached the boundary of the area,
they moved slowly into the thicket and disappeared. Hawkeye dropped the breech of his rifle to the earth, and
drawing a long, free breath, exclaimed, in an audible whisper: "Ay! they respect the dead, and it has this time saved
their own lives, and, it may be, the lives of better men too". Heyward lent his attention for a single moment to his
companion, but without replying, he again turned toward those who just then
interested him more. He heard the two Hurons leave the bushes, and it was soon
plain that all the pursuers were gathered about them, in deep attention to their
report. After a few minutes of earnest and solemn dialogue, altogether different
from the noisy clamor with which they
Hawkeye waited until a signal from the listening
Chingachgook assured him that every sound from the retiring party was completely
swallowed by the distance, when he motioned to Heyward to lead forth the horses,
and to assist the sisters into their saddles. The instant this was done they
issued through the broken gateway, and stealing out by a direction opposite to
the one by which they entered, they quitted the spot, the sisters casting
furtive glances at the silent, grave and crumbling ruin, as they left the soft
light of the moon, to bury themselves in the gloom of the woods. During the rapid movement from the blockhouse, and until
the party was deeply buried in the forest, each individual was too much
interested in the escape to hazard a word even in whispers. The scout resumed
his post in advance, though his steps, after he had thrown a safe distance
between himself and his enemies, were more deliberate than in their previous
march, in consequence of his utter ignorance of the localities of the
surrounding woods. More than once he halted to consult with his confederates,
the Mohicans, pointing upward at the moon, and examining the barks of the trees
with care. In these brief pauses, Heyward and the sisters listened, with senses
rendered doubly acute by the danger, to detect any symptoms which might announce
the proximity of their foes. At such moments, it seemed as if a vast range of
country lay buried in eternal sleep; not the least sound arising from the
forest, unless it was the distant and scarcely audible rippling of a
water-course. Birds, beasts, and man, appeared to slumber alike, if, indeed, any
of the latter were to be found in that wide tract of wilderness. But the sounds
of the rivulet, feeble
When the banks of the little stream were gained, Hawkeye
made another halt; and taking the moccasins from his feet, he invited Heyward
and Gamut to follow his example. He then entered the water, and for near an hour
they traveled in the bed of the brook, leaving no trail. The moon had already
sunk into an immense pile of black clouds, which lay impending above the western
horizon, when they issued from the low and devious water-course to rise again to
the light and level of the sandy but wooded plain. Here the scout seemed to be
once more at home, for he held on this way with the certainty and diligence of a
man who moved in the security of his own knowledge. The path soon became more
uneven, and the travelers could plainly perceive that the mountains drew nigher
to them on each hand, and that they were, in truth, about entering one of their
gorges. Suddenly, Hawkeye made a pause, and, waiting until he was joined by the
whole party, he spoke, though in tones so low and cautious, that they added to
the solemnity of his words, in the quiet and darkness of the place. "It is easy to know the pathways, and to find the licks and
water-courses of the wilderness", he said; "but who that saw this spot could
venture to say, that a mighty army was at rest among yonder silent trees and
barren mountains"? "We are, then, at no great distance from William Henry"?
said Heyward, advancing nigher to the scout. "It is yet a long and weary path, and when and where to
strike it is now our greatest difficulty. See", he said, pointing through the
trees toward a spot where a little basin of water reflected the stars from its
placid bosom, "here is the "bloody pond"; and I am on ground that I have not
only often
"Ha! that sheet of dull and dreary water, then, is the
sepulcher of the brave men who fell in the contest. I have heard it named, but
never have I stood on its banks before". "Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman1 in a day", continued Hawkeye, pursuing the train of his own
thoughts, rather than replying to the remark of Duncan. "He met us hard by, in
our outward march to ambush his advance, and scattered us, like driven deer,
through the defile, to the shores of Horican. Then we rallied behind our fallen
trees, and made head against him, under Sir William -- who was made Sir William
for that very deed; and well did we pay him for the disgrace of the morning!
Hundreds of Frenchmen saw the sun that day for the last time; and even their
leader, Dieskau himself, fell into our hands, so cut and torn with the lead,
that he has gone back to his own country, unfit for further acts in war".
Note: 1 Baron Dieskau, a German, in the service of
France. A few years previously to the period of the tale, this officer was
defeated by Sir William Johnson, of Johnstown, New York, on the shores of Lake
George. "'Twas a noble repulse"! exclaimed Heyward, in the heat of
his youthful ardor; "the fame of it reached us early, in our southern army".
"Ay! but it did not end there. I was sent by Major
Effingham, at Sir William's own bidding, to outflank the French, and carry the
tidings of their disaster across the portage, to the fort on the Hudson. Just
hereaway, where you see the trees rise into a mountain swell, I met a party
coming down to our aid, and I led them where the enemy were taking their meal,
little dreaming that they had not finished the bloody work of the day". "And you surprised them"? "If death can be a surprise to men who are thinking only
"When all was over, the dead, and some say the dying, were
cast into that little pond. These eyes have seen its waters colored with blood,
as natural water never yet flowed from the bowels of the 'arth". "It was a convenient, and, I trust, will prove a peaceful
grave for a soldier. You have then seen much service on this frontier"? "Ay"! said the scout, erecting his tall person with an air
of military pride; "there are not many echoes among these hills that haven't
rung with the crack of my rifle, nor is there the space of a square mile atwixt
Horican and the river, that "killdeer" hasn't dropped a living body on, be it an
enemy or be it a brute beast. As for the grave there being as quiet as you
mention, it is another matter. There are them in the camp who say and think,
man, to lie still, should not be buried while the breath is in the body; and
certain it is that in the hurry of that evening, the doctors had but little time
to say who was living and who was dead. Hist! see you nothing walking on the
shore of the pond"? "'Tis not probable that any are as houseless as ourselves
in this dreary forest". "Such as he may care but little for house or shelter, and
night dew can never wet a body that passes its days in the water", returned the
scout, grasping the shoulder of Heyward with such convulsive strength as to make
the young soldier painfully sensible how much superstitious terror had got the
mastery of a man usually so dauntless. "By heaven, there is a human form, and it approaches!
"Qui vive"? demanded a stern, quick voice, which sounded
like a challenge from another world, issuing out of that solitary and solemn
place. "What says it"? whispered the scout; "it speaks neither
Indian nor English". "Qui vive"? repeated the same voice, which was quickly
followed by the rattling of arms, and a menacing attitude. "France"! cried Heyward, advancing from the shadow of the
trees to the shore of the pond, within a few yards of the sentinel. "D'où venez-vous -- où allez-vous, d'aussi bonne heure"?
demanded the grenadier, in the language and with the accent of a man from old
France. "Je viens de la découverte, et je vais me coucher". "Etes-vous officier du roi"? "Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tu pour un provincial!
Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew that the other was of a
regiment in the line); j'ai ici, avec moi, les filles du commandant de la
fortification. Aha! tu en as entendu parler! je les ai fait prisonnières près de
l'autre fort, et je les conduis au général". "Ma foi! mesdames; j'en suis fâché pour vous", exlaimed the
young soldier, touching his cap with grace; "mais -- fortune de guerre! vous
trouverez notre général un brave homme, et bien poli avec les dames". "C'est le caractère des gens de guerre", said Cora, with
admirable self-possession. "Adieu, mon ami; je vous souhaiterais un devoir plus
agréable à remplir". The soldier made a low and humble acknowledgment for her
civility; and Heyward adding a "Bonne nuit, mon camarade", they moved
deliberately forward, leaving the sentinel
"'Tis well you understood the knave"! whispered the scout,
when they had gained a little distance from the place, and letting his rifle
fall into the hollow of his arm again; "I soon saw that he was one of them
uneasy Frenchers; and well for him it was that his speech was friendly and his
wishes kind, or a place might have been found for his bones among those of his
countrymen". He was interrupted by a long and heavy groan which arose
from the little basin, as though, in truth, the spirits of the departed lingered
about their watery sepulcher. "Surely it was of flesh", continued the scout; "no spirit
could handle its arms so steadily". "It was of flesh; but whether the poor fellow
still belongs to this world may well be doubted", said Heyward, glancing his
eyes around him, and missing Chingachgook from their little band. Another groan
more faint than the former was succeeded by a heavy and sullen plunge into the
water, and all was still again as if the borders of the dreary pool had never
been awakened from the silence of creation. While they yet hesitated in
uncertainty, the form of the Indian was seen gliding out of the thicket. As the
chief rejoined them, with one hand he attached the reeking scalp of the
unfortunate young Frenchman to his girdle, and with the other he replaced the
knife and tomahawk that had drunk his blood. He then
The scout dropped one end of his rifle to the earth, and
leaning his hands on the other, he stood musing in profound silence. Then,
shaking his head in a mournful manner, he muttered: "'Twould have been a cruel and an unhuman act for a
white-skin; but 'tis the gift and natur' of an Indian, and I suppose it should
not be denied. I could wish, though it had befallen an accursed Mingo, rather
than that gay young boy from the old countries". "Enough"! said Heyward, apprehensive the unconscious
sisters might comprehend the nature of the detention, and conquering his disgust
by a train of reflections very much like that of the hunter; "'tis done; and
though better it were left undone, cannot be amended. You see, we are, too
obviously within the sentinels of the enemy; what course do you propose to
follow"? "Yes", said Hawkeye, rousing himself again; "'tis as you
say, too late to harbor further thoughts about it. Ay, the French have gathered
around the fort in good earnest and we have a delicate needle to thread in
passing them". "And but little time to do it in", added Heyward, glancing
his eyes upwards, toward the bank of vapor that concealed the setting moon. "And little time to do it in"! repeated the scout. "The
thing may be done in two fashions, by the help of Providence, without which it
may not be done at all". "Name them quickly for time presses". "One would be to dismount the gentle ones, and let their
beasts range the plain, by sending the Mohicans in front, we might then cut a
lane through their sentries, and enter the fort over the dead bodies".
"It will not do -- it will not do"! interrupted the
generous Heyward; "a soldier might force his way in this manner, but never with
such a convoy". "'Twould be, indeed, a bloody path for such tender feet to
wade in", returned the equally reluctant scout; "but I thought it befitting my
manhood to name it. We must, then, turn in our trail and get without the line of
their lookouts, when we will bend short to the west, and enter the mountains;
where I can hide you, so that all the devil's hounds in Montcalm's pay would be
thrown off the scent for months to come". "Let it be done, and that instantly". Further words were unnecessary; for Hawkeye, merely
uttering the mandate to "follow", moved along the route by which they had just
entered their present critical and even dangerous situation. Their progress,
like their late dialogue, was guarded, and without noise; for none knew at what
moment a passing patrol, or a crouching picket of the enemy, might rise upon
their path. As they held their silent way along the margin of the pond, again
Heyward and the scout stole furtive glances at its appalling dreariness. They
looked in vain for the form they had so recently seen stalking along in silent
shores, while a low and regular wash of the little waves, by announcing that the
waters were not yet subsided, furnished a frightful memorial of the deed of
blood they had just witnessed. Like all that passing and gloomy scene, the low
basin, however, quickly melted in the darkness, and became blended with the mass
of black objects in the rear of the travelers. Hawkeye soon deviated from the line of their retreat, and
striking off towards the mountains which form the western boundary of the narrow
plain, he led his followers, with swift steps, deep within the shadows that were
cast from their high and broken summits. The route was now painful; lying over
The scout now told the sisters to dismount; and taking the
bridles from the mouths, and the saddles off the backs of the jaded beasts, he
turned them loose, to glean a scanty subsistence among the shrubs and meager
herbage of that elevated region. "Go", he said, "and seek your food where natur' gives it to
you; and beware that you become not food to ravenous wolves yourselves, among
these hills". "Have we no further need of them"? demanded Heyward. "See, and judge with your own eyes", said the scout,
advancing toward the eastern brow of the mountain, whither he beckoned for the
whole party to follow; "if it was as easy to look into the heart of man as it is
to spy out the nakedness of Montcalm's camp from this spot, hypocrites would
grow scarce, and the cunning of a Mingo might prove a losing game, compared to
the honesty of a Delaware".
When the travelers reached the verge of the precipices they
saw, at a glance, the truth of the scout's declaration, and the admirable
foresight with which he had led them to their commanding station. The mountain on which they stood, elevated perhaps a
thousand feet in the air, was a high cone that rose a little in advance of that
range which stretches for miles along the western shores of the lake, until
meeting its sisters miles beyond the water, it ran off toward the Canadas, in
confused and broken masses of rock, thinly sprinkled with evergreens.
Immediately at the feet of the party, the southern shore of the Horican swept in
a broad semicircle from mountain to mountain, marking a wide strand, that soon
rose into an uneven and somewhat elevated plain. To the north stretched the
limpid, and, as it appeared from that dizzy height, the narrow sheet of the
"holy lake", indented with numberless bays, embellished by fantastic headlands,
and dotted with countless islands. At the distance of a few leagues, the bed of
the water became lost among mountains, or was wrapped in the masses of vapor
that came slowly rolling along their bosom, before a light morning air. But a
narrow opening between the crests of the hills pointed out the passage by which
they found their way still further north, to spread their pure and ample sheets
again, before pouring out their tribute into the distant Champlain. To the shout
stretched the defile, or rather broken plain, so often mentioned. For several
miles in this direction, the mountains appeared reluctant to yield their
dominion, but within reach of the eye they diverged, and finally melted into the
level and sandy lands, across which we have accompanied our adventurers in their
double journey. Along both ranges of hills, which bounded the opposite sides of
the lake and valley, clouds of light vapor were rising in spiral wreaths from
the uninhabited woods,
Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearer to its
western than to its eastern margin, lay the extensive earthen ramparts and low
buildings of William Henry. Two of the sweeping bastions appeared to rest on the
water which washed their bases, while a deep ditch and extensive morasses
guarded its other sides and angles. The land had been cleared of wood for a
reasonable distance around the work, but every other part of the scene lay in
the green livery of nature, except where the limpid water mellowed the view, or
the bold rocks thrust their black and naked heads above the undulating outline
of the mountain ranges. In its front might be seen the scattered sentinels, who
held a weary watch against their numerous foes; and within the walls themselves,
the travelers looked down upon men still drowsy with a night of vigilance.
Toward the southeast, but in immediate contact with the fort, was an entrenched
camp, posted on a rocky eminence, that would have been far more eligible for the
work itself, in which Hawkeye pointed out the presence of those auxiliary
regiments that had so recently left the Hudson in their company. From the woods,
a little further to the south, rose numerous dark and lurid smokes, that were
easily to be distinguished from the purer exhalations of the springs, and which
the scout also showed to Heyward, as evidences that the enemy lay in force in
that direction. But the spectacle which most concerned the young soldier
was on the western bank of the lake, though quite near to its southern
termination. On a strip of land, which appeared from his stand too narrow to
contain such an army, but which,
"Morning is just touching them below", said the deliberate
and musing scout, "and the watchers have a mind to wake up the sleepers by the
sound of cannon. We are a few hours too late! Montcalm has already filled the
woods with his accursed Iroquois". "The place is, indeed, invested", returned Duncan; "but is
there no expedient by which we may enter? capture in the works would be far
preferable to falling again into the hands of roving Indians". "See"! exclaimed the scout, unconsciously directing the
attention of Cora to the quarters of her own father, "how that shot has made the
stones fly from the side of the commandant's house! Ay! these Frenchers will
pull it to pieces faster than it was put together, solid and thick though it
be"! "Heyward, I sicken at the sight of danger that I cannot
share", said the undaunted but anxious daughter. "Let us go to Montcalm, and
demand admission: he dare not deny a child the boon". "You would scarce find the tent of the Frenchman with the
hair on your head"; said the blunt scout. "If I had but one of the thousand
boats which lie empty along that shore, it might be done! Ha! here will soon be
an end of the firing, for yonder comes a fog that will turn day to night, and
make an Indian arrow more dangerous than a molded cannon. Now,
"We are equal", said Cora, firmly; "on such an errand we
will follow to any danger". The scout turned to her with a smile of honest and cordial
approbation, as he answered: "I would I had a thousand men, of brawny limbs and quick
eyes, that feared death as little as you! I'd send them jabbering Frenchers back
into their den again, afore the week was ended, howling like so many fettered
hounds or hungry wolves. But, sir", he added, turning from her to the rest of
the party, "the fog comes rolling down so fast, we shall have but just the time
to meet it on the plain, and use it as a cover. Remember, if any accident should
befall me, to keep the air blowing on your left cheeks -- or, rather, follow the
Mohicans; they'd scent their way, be it in day or be it at night". He then waved his hand for them to follow, and threw
himself down the steep declivity, with free, but careful footsteps. Heyward
assisted the sisters to descend, and in a few minutes they were all far down a
mountain whose sides they had climbed with so much toil and pain. The direction taken by Hawkeye soon brought the travelers
to the level of the plain, nearly opposite to a sally-port in the western
curtain of the fort, which lay itself at the distance of about half a mile from
the point where he halted to allow Duncan to come up with his charge. In their
eagerness, and favored by the nature of the ground, they had anticipated the
fog, which was rolling heavily down the lake, and it became necessary to pause,
until the mists had wrapped the camp of the enemy in their fleecy mantle. The
Mohicans profited by the delay, to steal out of the woods, and to make a survey
In a very few moments he returned, his face reddened with
vexation, while he muttered his disappointment in words of no very gentle
import. "Here has the cunning Frenchman been posting a picket
directly in our path", he said; "red-skins and whites; and we shall be as likely
to fall into their midst as to pass them in the fog"! "Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the danger", asked
Heyward, "and come into our path again when it is passed"? "Who that once bends from the line of his march in a fog
can tell when or how to find it again! The mists of Horican are not like the
curls from a peace-pipe, or the smoke which settles above a mosquito fire". He was yet speaking, when a crashing sound was heard, and a
cannon-ball entered the thicket, striking the body of a sapling, and rebounding
to the earth, its force being much expended by previous resistance. The Indians
followed instantly like busy attendants on the terrible messenger, and Uncas
commenced speaking earnestly and with much action, in the Delaware tongue. "It may be so, lad", muttered the scout, when he had ended;
"for desperate fevers are not to be treated like a toothache. Come, then, the
fog is shutting in". "Stop"! cried Heyward; "first explain your expectations".
"'Tis soon done, and a small hope it is; but it is better
than nothing. This shot that you see", added the scout, kicking the harmless
iron with his foot, "has plowed the 'arth in its road from the fort, and we
shall hunt for the furrow it has made, when all other signs may fail. No more
words,
Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis had arrived,
when acts were more required than words, placed himself between the sisters, and
drew them swiftly forward, keeping the dim figure of their leader in his eye. It
was soon apparent that Hawkeye had not magnified the power of the fog, for
before they had proceeded twenty yards, it was difficult for the different
individuals of the party to distinguish each other in the vapor. They had made their little circuit to the left, and were
already inclining again toward the right, having, as Heyward thought, got over
nearly half the distance to the friendly works, when his ears were saluted with
the fierce summons, apparently within twenty feet of them, of: "Qui va là"? "Push on"! whispered the scout, once more bending to the
left. "Push on"! repeated Heyward; when the summons was renewed
by a dozen voices, each of which seemed charged with menace. "C'est moi", cried Duncan, dragging rather than leading
those he supported swiftly onward. "Bête! -- qui? -- moi"! "Ami de la France". "Tu m'as plus l'air d'un ennemi de la France;
arrête ou pardieu je te ferai ami du diable. Non! feu, camarades, feu"! The order was instantly obeyed, and the fog was stirred by
the explosion of fifty muskets. Happily, the aim was bad, and the bullets cut
the air in a direction a little different from that taken by the fugitives;
though still so nigh them, that to the unpractised ears of David and the two
females, it appeared as if they whistled within a few inches of the organs. The
outcry was renewed, and the order, not only to fire again,
"Let us deliver our fire", he said; "they will believe it a
sortie, and give way, or they will wait for reinforcements". The scheme was well conceived, but failed in its effects.
The instant the French heard the pieces, it seemed as if the plain was alive
with men, muskets rattling along its whole extent, from the shores of the lake
to the furthest boundary of the woods. "We shall draw their entire army upon us, and bring on a
general assault", said Duncan: "lead on, my friend, for your own life and ours".
The scout seemed willing to comply; but, in the hurry of
the moment, and in the change of position, he had lost the direction. In vain he
turned either cheek toward the light air; they felt equally cool. In this
dilemma, Uncas lighted on the furrow of the cannon ball, where it had cut the
ground in three adjacent ant-hills. "Give me the range"! said Hawkeye, bending to catch a
glimpse of the direction, and then instantly moving onward. Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, and the reports
of muskets, were now quick and incessant, and, apparently, on every side of
them. Suddenly a strong glare of light flashed across the scene, the fog rolled
upward in thick wreaths, and several cannons belched across the plain, and the
roar was thrown heavily back from the bellowing echoes of the mountain. "'Tis from the fort"! exclaimed Hawkeye, turning short on
his tracks; "and we, like stricken fools, were rushing to the woods, under the
very knives of the Maquas". The instant their mistake was rectified, the whole party
retraced the error with the utmost diligence. Duncan willingly relinquished the
support of Cora to the arm of Uncas and
"Point de quartier aux coquins"! cried an eager pursuer,
who seemed to direct the operations of the enemy. "Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant Sixtieths"! suddenly
exclaimed a voice above them; "wait to see the enemy, fire low and sweep the
glacis". "Father! father!" exclaimed a piercing cry from out the
mist: "it is I! Alice! thy own Elsie! Spare, oh! save your daughters"! "Hold"! shouted the former speaker, in the awful tones of
parental agony, the sound reaching even to the woods, and rolling back in solemn
echo. "'Tis she! God has restored me to my children! Throw open the sally-port;
to the field, Sixtieths, to the field; pull not a trigger, lest ye kill my
lambs! Drive off these dogs of France with your steel". Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and darting
to the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line of dark red warriors,
passing swiftly toward the glacis. He knew them for his own battalion of the
Royal Americans, and flying to their head, soon swept every trace of his
pursuers from before the works. For an instant, Cora and Alice had stood trembling and
bewildered by this unexpected desertion; but before either had leisure for
speech, or even thought, an officer of gigantic frame, whose locks were bleached
with years and service, but whose air of military grandeur had been rather
softened than destroyed by time, rushed out of the body of mist, and folded them
to his bosom, while large scalding tears rolled down his pale and wrinkled
cheeks, and he exclaimed, in the peculiar accent of Scotland: "For this I thank thee, Lord! Let danger come as it will,
thy servant is now prepared"! A few succeeding days were passed amid the privations, the
uproar, and the dangers of the siege, which was vigorously pressed by a power,
against whose approaches Munro possessed no competent means of resistance. It
appeared as if Webb, with his army, which lay slumbering on the banks of the
Hudson, had utterly forgotten the strait to which his countrymen were reduced.
Montcalm had filled the woods of the portage with his savages, every yell and
whoop from whom rang through the British encampment, chilling the hearts of men
who were already but too much disposed to magnify the danger. Not so, however, with the besieged. Animated by the words,
and stimulated by the examples of their leaders, they had found their courage,
and maintained their ancient reputation, with a zeal that did justice to the
stern character of their commander. As if satisfied with the toil of marching
through the wilderness to encounter his enemy, the French general, though of
approved skill, had neglected to seize the adjacent
The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the amateur of the
beauties of nature, who, in the train of his four-in-hand, now rolls through the
scenes we have attempted to describe, in quest of information, health, or
pleasure, or floats steadily toward his object on those artificial waters which
have sprung up under the administration of a statesman1
who has dared to stake his political character on the hazardous issue, is not to
suppose that his ancestors traversed those hills, or struggled with the same
currents with equal facility. The transportation of a single heavy gun was often
considered equal to a victory gained; if happily, the difficulties of the
passage had not so far separated it from its necessary concomitant, the
-194-ammunition, as to render it no more than a
useless tube of unwieldy iron. Note: 1 Evidently the
late De Witt Clinton, who died governor of New York in 1828.
The evils of this state of things pressed heavily on the
fortunes of the resolute Scotsman who now defended William Henry. Though his
adversary neglected the hills, he had planted his batteries with judgment on the
plain, and caused them to be served with vigor and skill. Against this assualt,
the besieged could only oppose the imperfect and hasty preparations of a
fortress in the wilderness. It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of the siege, and
the fourth of his own service in it, that Major Heyward profited by a parley
that had just been beaten, by repairing to the ramparts of one of the water
bastions, to breathe the cool air from the lake, and to take a survey of the
progress of the siege. He was alone, if the solitary sentinel who paced the
mound be excepted; for the artillerists had hastened also to profit by the
temporary suspension of their arduous duties. The evening was delightfully calm,
and the light air from the limpid water fresh and soothing. It seemed as if,
with the termination of the roar of artillery and the plunging of shot, nature
had also seized the moment to assume her mildest and most captivating form. The
sun poured down his parting glory on the scene, without the oppression of those
fierce rays that belong to the climate and the season. The mountains looked
green, and fresh, and lovely, tempered with the milder light, or softened in
shadow, as thin vapors floated between them and the sun. The numerous islands
rested on the bosom of the Horican, some low and sunken, as if embedded in the
waters, and others appearing to hover about the element, in little hillocks of
green velvet; among which the fishermen of the beleaguering army peacefully
rowed their skiffs, or floated at rest on the glassy mirror in quiet pursuit of
their employment.
The scene was at once animated and still. All that
pertained to nature was sweet, or simply grand; while those parts which depended
on the temper and movements of man were lively and playful. Two little spotless flags were abroad, the one on a salient
angle of the fort, and the other on the advanced battery of the besiegers;
emblems of the truth which existed, not only to the acts, but it would seem,
also, to the enmity of the combatants. Behind these again swung, heavily opening and closing in
silken folds, the rival standards of England and France. A hundred gay and thoughtless young Frenchmen were drawing
a net to the pebbly beach, within dangerous proximity to the sullen but silent
cannon of the fort, while the eastern mountain was sending back the loud shouts
and gay merriment that attended their sport. Some were rushing eagerly to enjoy
the aquatic games of the lake, and others were already toiling their way up the
neighboring hills, with the restless curiosity of their nation. To all these
sports and pursuits, those of the enemy who watched the besieged, and the
besieged themselves, were, however, merely the idle though sympathizing
spectators. Here and there a picket had, indeed, raised a song, or mingled in a
dance, which had drawn the dusky savages around them, from their lairs in the
forest. In short, everything wore rather the appearance of a day of pleasure,
than of an hour stolen from the dangers and toil of a bloody and vindictive
warfare. Duncan had stood in a musing attitude, contemplating this
scene a few minutes, when his eyes were directed to the glacis in front of the
sally-port already mentioned, by the sounds of approaching footsteps. He walked
to an angle of the bastion, and beheld the scout advancing, under the custody of
a French officer, to the body of the fort. The countenance of Hawkeye
The sounds of other voices, however, caught his attention,
and for a moment caused him to forget his purpose. At the inner angle of the
mound he met the sisters, walking along the parapet, in search, like himself, of
air and relief from confinement. They had not met from that painful moment when
he deserted them on the plain, only to assure their safety. He had parted from
them worn with care, and jaded with fatigue; he now saw them refreshed and
blooming, though timid and anxious. Under such an inducement it will cause no
surprise that the young man lost sight for a time, of other objects in order to
address them. He was, however, anticipated by the voice of the ingenuous and
youthful Alice. "Ah! thou tyrant! thou recreant knight! he who abandons his
damsels in the very lists", she cried; "here have we been days, nay, ages,
expecting you at our feet, imploring mercy and forgetfulness of your craven
backsliding, or I should rather say, backrunning -- for verily you fled in the
manner that no striken deer, as our worthy friend the scout would say, could
equal"! "You know that Alice means our thanks and our blessings",
added the graver and more thoughtful Cora. "In
"Your father himself could tell you, that, though absent
from your presence, I have not been altogether forgetful of your safety",
returned the young man; "the mastery of yonder village of huts", pointing to the
neighboring entrenched camp, "has been keenly disputed; and he who holds it is
sure to be possessed of this fort, and that which it contains. My days and
nights have all been passed there since we separated, because I thought that
duty called me thither. But", he added, with an air of chagrin, which he
endeavored, though unsuccessfully, to conceal, "had I been aware that what I
then believed a soldier's conduct could be so construed, shame would have been
added to the list of reasons". "Heyward! Duncan"! exclaimed Alice, bending forward to read
his half-averted countenance, until a lock of her golden hair rested on her
flushed cheek, and nearly concealed the tear that had started to her eye; "did I
think this idle tongue of mine had pained you, I would silence it forever. Cora
can say, if Cora would, how justly we have prized your services, and how deep --
I had almost said, how fervent -- is our gratitude". "And will Cora attest the
truth of this"? cried Duncan, suffering the cloud to be chased from his
countenance by a smile of open pleasure. "What says our graver sister? Will she
find an excuse for the neglect of the knight in the duty of a soldier"? Cora made no immediate answer, but turned her face toward
the water, as if looking on the sheet of the Horican. When she did bend her dark
eyes on the young man, they were yet filled with an expression of anguish that
at once drove every thought but that of kind solicitude from his mind.
"You are not well, dearest Miss Munro"! he exclaimed; "we
have trifled while you are in suffering"! "'Tis nothing", she answered, refusing his support with
feminine reserve. "That I cannot see the sunny side of the picture of life, like
this artless but ardent enthusiast", she added, laying her hand lightly, but
affectionately, on the arm of her sister, "is the penalty of experience, and,
perhaps, the misfortune of my nature. See", she continued, as if determined to
shake off infirmity, in a sense of duty; "look around you, Major Heyward, and
tell me what a prospect is this for the daughter of a soldier whose greatest
happiness is his honor and his military renown". "Neither ought nor shall be tarnished by circumstances over
which he has had no control", Duncan warmly replied. "But your words recall me
to my own duty. I go now to your gallant father, to hear his determination in
matters of the last moment to the defense. God bless you in every fortune, noble
-- Cora -- I may and must call you". She frankly gave him her hand, though her
lip quivered, and her cheeks gradually became of ashly palness. "In every
fortune, I know you will be an ornament and honor to your sex. Alice, adieu" --
his voice changed from admiration to tenderness -- "adieu, Alice; we shall soon
meet again; as conquerors, I trust, and amid rejoicings"! Without waiting for an answer from either, the young man
threw himself down the grassy steps of the bastion, and moving rapidly across
the parade, he was quickly in the presence of their father. Munro was pacing his
narrow apartment with a disturbed air and gigantic strides as Duncan entered.
"You have anticipated my wishes, Major Heyward", he said;
"I was about to request this favor". "I am sorry to see, sir, that the messenger I so warmly
"The fidelity of "The Long Rifle" is well known to me",
returned Munro, "and is above suspicion; though his usual good fortune seems, at
last, to have failed. Montcalm has got him, and with the accursed politeness of
his nation, he has sent him in with a doleful tale, of "knowing how I valued the
fellow, he could not think of retaining him" A Jesuitical way that, Major Duncan
Heyward, of telling a man of his misfortunes"! "But the general and his succor"? "Did ye look to the south as ye entered, and could ye not
see them"? said the old soldier, laughting bitterly. "Hoot! hoot! you're an impatient boy, sir, and cannot give
the gentlemen leisure for their march"! "They are coming, then? The scout has said as much"? "When? and by what path? for the dunce has omitted to tell
me this. There is a letter, it would seem, too; and that is the only agreeable
part of the matter. For the customary attentions of your Marquis of Montcalm --
I warrant me, Duncan, that he of Lothian would buy a dozen such marquisates --
but if the news of the letter were bad, the gentility of this French monsieur
would certainly compel him to let us know it". "He keeps the letter, then, while he releases the
messenger"? "Ay, that does he, and all for the sake of what you call
your "bonhommie" I would venture, if the truth was known, the fellow's
grandfather taught the noble science of dancing". "But what says the scout? he has eyes and ears, and a
tongue. What verbal report does he make"? "Oh! sir, he is not wanting in natural organs, and he is
free to tell all that he has seen and heard. The whole
"But was there no movement, no signs of any intention to
advance to our relief"? "There were the morning and evening parades; and when one
of the provincial loons -- you'll know, Dunca, you're half a Scotsman yourself
-- when one of them dropped his powder over his porretch, if it touched the
coals, it just burned"! Then, suddenly changing his bitter, ironical manner, to
one more grave and thoughtful, he continued: "and yet there might, and must be,
something in that letter which it would be well to know"! "Our decision should be speedy", said Duncan, gladly
availing himself of this change of humor, to press the more important objects of
their interview; "I cannot conceal from you, sir, that the camp will not be much
longer tenable; and I am sorry to add, that things appear no better in the fort;
more than half the guns are bursted". "And how should it be otherwise? Some were fished from the
bottom of the lake; some have been rusting in woods since the discovery of the
country; and some were never guns at all -- mere privateersmen's playthings! Do
you think, sir, you can have Woolwich Warren in the midst of a wilderness, three
thousand miles from Great Britain"? "The walls are crumbling about our ears, and provisions
begin to fail us", continued Heyward, without regarding the new burst of
indignation; "even the men show signs of discontent and alarm". "Major Heyward", said Munro, turning to his youthful
associate with the dignity of his years and superior rank; "I should have served
his majesty for half a century, and earned
"And can I be of service in the matter"? "Sir, you can; the marquis of Montcalm has, in addition to
his other civilities, invited me to a personal interview between the works and
his own camp; in order, as he says, to impart some additional information. Now,
I think it would not be wise to show any undue solicitude to meet him, and I
would employ you, an officer of rank, as my substitute; for it would but ill
comport with the honor of Scotland to let it be said one of her gentlemen was
outdone in civility by a native of any other country on earth". Without assuming the supererogatory task of entering into a
discussion of the comparative merits of national courtesy, Duncan cheerfully
assented to supply the place of the veteran in the approaching interview. A long
andconfidential communication now succeeded, during which the young man received
some additional insight into his duty, from the experience and native acuteness
of his commander, and then the former took his leave. As Duncan could only act as the representative of the
commandant of the fort, the ceremonies which should have accompanied a meeting
between the heads of the adverse forces were, of course, dispensed with. The
truce still existed, and with a roll and beat of the drum, and covered by a
little white flag, Duncan left the sally-port, within ten minutes after his
instructions were ended. He was received by the French
The general of the enemy received the youthful messenger,
surrounded by his principal officers, and by a swarthy band of the native
chiefs, who had followed him to the field, with the warriors of their several
tribes. Heyward paused short, when, in glancing his eyes rapidly over the dark
group of the latter, he beheld the malignant countenance of Magua, regarding him
with the calm but sullen attention which marked the expression of that subtle
savage. A slight exclamation of surprise even burst from the lips of the young
man, but instantly, recollecting his errand, and the presence in which he stood,
he suppressed every appearance of emotion, and turned to the hostile leader, who
had already advanced a step to receive him. The marquis of Montcalm was, at the period of which we
write, in the flower of his age, and, it may be added, in the zenith of his
fortunes. But even in that enviable situation, he was affable, and distinguished
as much for his attention to the forms of courtesy, as for that chivalrous
courage which, only two short years afterward, induced him to throw away his
life on the plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turning his eyes from the malign
expression of Magua, suffered them to rest with pleasure on the smiling and
polished features, and the noble military air, of the French general. "Monsieur", said the latter, "j'ai beaucoup de plaisir à --
bah! -- où est cet interprête"? "Je crois, monsieur, qu'il ne sear pas nécessaire", Heyward
modestly replied; "je parle un peu français". "Ah! j'en suis bien aise", said Montcalm, taking Duncan
familiarly by the arm, and leading him deep into the marquee, a little out of
earshot; "je déteste ces fripons-là; on ne sait
Duncan bowed low, pleased with the compliment, in spite of
a most heroic determination to suffer no artifice to allure him into
forgetfulness of the interest of his prince; and Montcalm, after a pause of a
moment, as if to collect his thoughts, proceeded: "Your commandant is a brave man, and well qualified to
repel my assault. Mais, monsieur, is it not time to begin to take more counsel
of humanity, and less of your courage? The one as strongly characterizes the
hero as the other". "We consider the qualities as inseparable", returned
Duncan, smiling; "but while we find in the vigor of your excellency every motive
to stimulate the one, we can, as yet, see no particular call for the exercise of
the other". Montcalm, in his turn, slightly bowed, but it was with the
air of a man too practised to remember the language of flattery. After musing a
moment, he added: "It is possible my glasses have deceived me, and that your
works resist our cannon better than I had supposed. You know our force"? "Our accounts vary", said Duncan, carelessly; "the highest,
however, has not exceeded twenty thousand men". The Frenchman bit his lip, and fastened his eyes keenly on
the other as if to read his thoughts; then, with a readiness peculiar to
himself, he continued, as if assenting to the truth of an enumeration which
quite doubled his army: "It is a poor compliment to the vigilance of us soldiers,
monsieur, that, do what we will, we never can conceal our numbers. If it were to
be done at all, one would believe it might succeed in these woods. Though you
think it too soon
"It is true, monsieur; but, so far from weakening our
efforts, they set us an example of courage in their own fortitude. Were nothing
but resolution necessary to repel so accomplished a soldier as M. de Montcalm, I
would gladly trust the defense of William Henry to the elder of those ladies".
"We have a wise ordinance in our Salique laws, which says,
"The crown of France shall never degrade the lance to the distaff"", said
Montcalm, dryly, and with a little hauteur; but instantly adding, with his
former frank and easy air: "as all the nobler qualities are hereditary, I can
easily credit you; though, as I said before, courage has its limits, and
humanity must not be forgotten. I trust, monsieur, you come authorized to treat
for the surrender of the place"? "Has your excellency found our defense so feeble as to
believe the measure necessary"? "I should be sorry to have the defense protracted in such a
manner as to irritate my red friends there", continued Montcalm, glancing his
eyes at the group of grave and attentive Indians, without attending to the
other's questions; "I find it difficult, even now, to limit them to the usages
of war". Heyward was silent; for a painful recollection of the
dangers he had so recently escaped came over his mind, and recalled the images
of those defenseless beings who had shared in all his sufferings. "Ces messieurs-là", said Montcalm, following up the
advantage which he conceived he had gained, "are most formidable when baffled;
and it is unnecessary to tell you with what difficulty they are restrained in
their anger. Eh bien, monsieur! shall we speak of the terms"?
"I fear your excellency has been deceived as to the
strength of William Henry, and the resources of its garrison"! "I have not sat down before Quebec, but an earthen work,
that is defended by twenty-three hundred gallant men", was the laconic reply.
"Our mounds are earthen, certainly -- nor are they seated
on the rocks of Cape Diamond; but they stand on that shore which proved so
destructive to Dieskau and his army. There is also a powerful force within a few
hours' march of us, which we account upon as a part of our means". "Some six or eight thousand men", returned Montcalm, with
much apparent indifference, "whom their leader wisely judges to be safer in
their works than in the field". It was now Heyward's turn to bite his lip with vexation as
the other so coolly alluded to a force which the young man knew to be overrated.
Both mused a little while in silence, when Montcalm renewed the conversation, in
a way that showed he believed the visit of his guest was solely to propose terms
of capitulation. On the other hand, Heyward began to throw sundry inducements in
the way of the French general, to betray the discoveries he had made through the
intercepted letter. The artifice of neither, however, succeeded; and after a
protracted and fruitless interview, Duncan took his leave, favorably impressed
with an opinion of the courtesy and talents of the enemy's captain, but as
ignorant of what he came to learn as when he arrived. Montcalm followed him as
far as the entrance of the marquee, renewing his invitations to the commandant
of the fort to give him an immediate meeting in the open ground between the two
armies. There they separated, and Duncan returned to the advanced
post of the French, accompanied as before; whence he instantly proceeded to the
fort, and to the quarters of his own commander. "Edg. -- Before you fight the battle ope this
letter". -- Major Heyward found Munro attended only by his daughters.
Alice sat upon his knee, parting the gray hairs on the forehead of the old man
with her delicate fingers; and whenever he affected to frown on her trifling,
appeasing his assumed anger by pressing her ruby lips fondly on his wrinkled
brow. Cora was seated nigh them, a calm and amused looker-on; regarding the
wayward movements of her more youthful sister with that species of maternal
fondness which characterized her love for Alice. Not only the dangers through
which they had passed, but those which still impended above them, appeared to be
momentarily forgotten, in the soothing indulgence of such a family meeting. It
seemed as if they had profited by the short truce, to devote an instant to the
purest and best affection; the daughters forgetting their fears, and the veteran
his cares, in the security of the moment. Of this scene, Duncan, who, in his
eagerness to report his arrival, had entered unannounced, stood many moments an
unobserved and a delighted spectator. But the quick and dancing eyes of Alice
soon caught a glimpse of his figure reflected
"Major Heyward"! "What of the lad"? demanded her father; "I have sent him to
crack a little with the Frenchman. Ha, sir, you are young, and you're nimble!
Away with you, ye baggage; as if there were not troubles enough for a soldier,
without having his camp filled with such prattling hussies as yourself"! Alice laughingly followed her sister, who instantly led the
way from an apartment where she perceived their presence was no longer
desirable. Munro, instead of demanding the result of the young man's mission,
paced the room for a few moments, with his hands behind his back, and his head
inclined toward the floor, like a man lost in thought. At length he raised his
eyes, glistening with a father's fondness, and exclaimed: "They are a pair of excellent girls, Heyward, and such as
any one may boast of". "You are not now to learn my opinion of your daughters,
Colonel Munro". "True, lad, true", interrupted the impatient old man; "you
were about opening your mind more fully on that matter the day you got in, but I
did not think it becoming in an old soldier to be talking of nuptial blessings
and wedding jokes when the enemies of his king were likely to be unbidden guests
at the feast. But I was wrong, Duncan, boy, I was wrong there; and I am now
ready to hear what you have to say". "Notwithstanding the pleasure your assurance gives me, dear
sir, I have just now, a message from Montcalm -- -- " "Let the Frenchman and all his host go to the devil, sir"!
exclaimed the hasty veteran. "He is not yet master of William Henry, nor shall
he ever be, provided Webb proves himself the man he should. No, sir, thank
Heaven we are not yet in
Heyward, who perceived that his superior took a malicious
pleasure in exhibiting his contempt for the message of the French general, was
fain to humor a spleen that he knew would be short-lived; he therefore, replied
with as much indifference as he could assume on such a subject: "My request, as you know, sir, went so far as to presume to
the honor of being your son". "Ay, boy, you found words to make yourself very plainly
comprehended. But, let me ask ye, sir, have you been as intelligible to the
girl"? "On my honor, no", exclaimed Duncan, warmly; "there would
have been an abuse of a confided trust, had I taken advantage of my situation
for such a purpose". "Your notions are those of a gentleman, Major Heyward, and
well enough in their place. But Cora Munro is a maiden too discreet, and of a
mind too elevated and improved, to need the guardianship even of a father". "Cora"! "Ay -- Cora! we are talking of your pretensions to Miss
Munro, are we not, sir"?
"I -- I -- I was not conscious of having mentioned her
name", said Duncan, stammering. "And to marry whom, then, did you wish my consent, Major
Heyward"? demanded the old soldier, erecting himself in the dignity of offended
feeling. "You have another, and not less lovely child". "Alice"! exclaimed the father, in an astonishment equal to
that with which Duncan had just repeated the name of her sister. "Such was the direction of my wishes, sir". The young man awaited in silence the result of the
extraordinary effect produced by a communication, which, as it now appeared, was
so unexpected. For several minutes Munro paced the chamber with long and rapid
strides, his rigid features working convulsively, and every faculty seemingly
absorbed in the musings of his own mind. At length, he paused directly in front
of Heyward, and riveting his eyes upon those of the other, he said, with a lip
that quivered violently: "Duncan Heyward, I have loved you for the sake of him whose
blood is in your veins; I have loved you for your own good qualities; and I have
loved you, because I thought you would contribute to the happiness of my child.
But all this love would turn to hatred, were I assured that what I so much
apprehend is true". "God forbid that any act or thought of mine should lead to
such a change"! exclaimed the young man, whose eye never quailed under the
penetrating look it encountered. Without adverting to the impossibility of the
other's comprehending those feelings which were hid in his own bosom, Munro
suffered himself to be appeased by the unaltered countenance he met, and with a
voice sensibly softened, he continued: "You would be my son, Duncan, and you're ignorant of the
history of the man you wish to call your father. Sit ye
By this time, the message of Montcalm was as much forgotten
by him who bore it as by the man for whose ears it was intended. Each drew a
chair, and while the veteran communed a few moments with his own thoughts,
apparently in sadness, the youth suppressed his impatience in a look and
attitude of respectful attention. At length, the former spoke: "You'll know, already, Major Heyward, that my family was
both ancient and honorable", commenced the Scotsman; "though it might not
altogether be endowed with that amount of wealth that should correspond with its
degree. I was, maybe, such an one as yourself when I plighted my faith to Alice
Graham, the only child of a neighboring laird of some estate. But the connection
was disagreeable to her father, on more accounts than my poverty. I did,
therefore, what an honest man should -- restored the maiden her troth, and
departed the country in the service of my king. I had seen many regions, and had
shed much blood in different lands, before duty called me to the islands of the
West Indies. There it was my lot to form a connection with one who in time
became my wife, and the mother of Cora. She was the daughter of a gentleman of
those isles, by a lady whose misfortune it was, if you will", said the old man,
proudly, "to be descended, remotely, from that unfortunate class who are so
basely enslaved to administer to the wants of a luxurious people. Ay, sir, that
is a curse, entailed on Scotland by her unnatural union with a foreign and
trading people. But could I find a man among them who would dare to reflect on
my child, he should feel the weight of a father's anger! Ha! Major Heyward, you
are yourself born at the south, where these unfortunate beings are considered of
a race inferior to your own". "'Tis most unfortunately true, sir", said Duncan, unable
"And you cast it on my child as a reproach! You scorn to
mingle the blood of the Heywards with one so degraded -- lovely and virtuous
though she be"? fiercely demanded the jealous parent. "Heaven protect me from a prejudice so unworthy of my
reason"! returned Duncan, at the same time conscious of such a feeling, and that
as deeply rooted as if it had been ingrafted in his nature. "The sweetness, the
beauty, the witchery of your younger daughter, Colonel Munro, might explain my
motives without imputing to me this injustice". "Ye are right, sir", returned the old man, again changing
his tones to those of gentleness, or rather softness; "the girl is the image of
what her mother was at her years, and before she had become acquainted with
grief. When death deprived me of my wife I returned to Scotland, enriched by the
marriage; and, would you think it, Duncan! the suffering angel had remained in
the heartless state of celibacy twenty long years, and that for the sake of a
man who could forget her! She did more, sir; she overlooked my want of faith,
and, all difficulties being now removed, she took me for her husband". "And became the mother of Alice"? exclaimed Duncan, with an
eagerness that might have proved dangerous at a moment when the thoughts of
Munro were less occupied that at present. "She did, indeed", said the old man, "and dearly did she
pay for the blessing she bestowed. But she is a saint in heaven, sir; and it ill
becomes one whose foot rests on the grave to mourn a lot so blessed. I had her
but a single year, though; a short term of happiness for one who had seen her
youth fade in hopeless pining". There was something so commanding in the distress of
"Have you not, Major Heyward, some communication that I
should hear from the marquis de Montcalm"? Duncan started in his turn, and immediately commenced in an
embarrassed voice, the half-forgotten message. It is unnecessary to dwell upon
the evasive though polite manner with which the French general had eluded every
attempt of Heyward to worm from him the purport of the communication he had
proposed making, or on the decided, though still polished message, by which he
now gave his enemy to understand, that, unless he chose to receive it in person,
he should not receive it at all. As Munro listened to the detail of Duncan, the
excited feelings of the father gradually gave way before the obligations of his
station, and when the other was done, he saw before him nothing but the veteran,
swelling with the wounded feelings of a soldier. "You have said enough, Major Heyward", exclaimed the angry
old man; "enough to make a volume of commentary on French civility. Here has
this gentleman invited me to a conference, and when I send him a capable
substitute, for ye're all that, Duncan, though your years are but few, he
answers me with a riddle". "He may have thought less favorably of the substitue, my
dear sir; and you will remember that the invitation, which he now repeats, was
to the commandant of the works, and not to his second".
"Well, sir, is not a substitute clothed with all the power
and dignity of him who grants the commission? He wishes to confer with Munro!
Faith, sir, I have much inclination to indulge the man, if it should only be to
let him behold the firm countenance we maintain in spite of his numbers and his
summons. There might be not bad policy in such a stroke, young man". Duncan, who believe it of the last importance that they
should speedily come to the contents of the letter borne by the scout, gladly
encouraged this idea. "Without doubt, he could gather no confidence by witnessing
our indifference", he said. "You never said truer word. I could wish, sir, that he
would visit the works in open day, and in the form of a storming party; that is
the least failing method of proving the countenance of an enemy, and would be
far preferable to the battering system he has chosen. The beauty and manliness
of warfare has been much deformed, Major Heyward, by the arts of your Monsieur
Vauban. Our ancestors were far above such scientific cowardice"! "It may be very true, sir; but we are now obliged to repel
art by art. What is your pleasure in the matter of the interview"? "I will meet the Frenchman, and that without fear or delay;
promptly, sir, as becomes a servant of my royal master. Go, Major Heyward, and
give them a flourish of the music; and send out a messenger to let them know who
is coming. We will follow with a small guard, for such respect is due to one who
holds the honor of his king in keeping; and hark'ee, Duncan", he added, in a
half whisper, though they were alone, "it may be prudent to have some aid at
hand, in case there should be treachery at the bottom of it all". The young man availed himself of this order to quit the
They had proceeded only a hundred yards from the works,
when the little array which attended the French general to the conference was
seen issuing from the hollow way which formed the bed of a brook that ran
between the batteries of the besiegers and the fort. From the moment that Munro
left his own works to appear in front of his enemy's, his air had been grand,
and his step and countenance highly military. The instant he caught a glimpse of
the white plume that waved in the hat of Montcalm, his eye lighted, and age no
longer appeared to possess any influence over his vast and still muscular
person. "Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir", he said, in an
undertone, to Duncan; "and to look well to their flints and steel, for one is
never safe with a servant of these Louis's; at the same time, we shall show them
the front of men in deep security. Ye'll understand me, Major Heyward"! He was interrupted by the clamor of a drum from the
approaching Frenchmen, which was immediately answered, when each party pushed an
orderly in advance, bearing a white flag, and the wary Scotsman halted with his
guard close at his back. As soon as this slight salutation had passed, Montcalm
moved toward them with a quick but graceful step, baring his head to the
veteran, and dropping his spotless plume
"I am rejoiced, monsieur, that you have given us the
pleasure of your company on this occasion. There will be no necessity to employ
an ordinary interpreter; for, in your hands, I feel the same security as if I
spoke your langauge myself". Duncan acknowledged the compliment, when Montcalm, turning
to his guard, which in imitation of that of their enemies, pressed close upon
him, continued: "En arrière, mes enfants -- il fait chaud -- retirez-vous
un peu". Before Major Heyward would imitate this proof of
confidence, he glanced his eyes around the plain, and beheld with uneasiness the
numerous dusky groups of savages, who looked out from the margin of the
surrounding woods, curious spectators of the interview. "Monsieur de Montcalm will readily acknowledge the
difference in our situation", he said, with some embarrassment, pointing at the
same time toward those dangerous foes, who were to be seen in almost every
direction. "were we to dismiss our guard, we should stand here at the mercy of
our enemies". "Monsieur, you have the plighted faith of "un gentilhomme
Français", for your safety", returned Montcalm, laying his hand impressively on
his heart; "it should suffice".
"It shall. Fall back", Duncan added to the officer who led
the escort; "fall back, sir, beyond hearing, and wait for orders". Munro witnessed this movement with manifest uneasiness; nor
did he fail to demand an instant explanation. "Is it not our interest, sir, to betray distrust"? retorted
Duncan. "Monsieur de Montcalm pledges his word for our safety, and I have
ordered the men to withdraw a little, in order to prove how much we depend on
his assurance". "It may be all right, sir, but I have no overweening
reliance on the faith of these marquesses, or marquis, as they call themselves.
Their patents of nobility are too common to be certain that they bear the seal
of true honor". "You forget, dear sir, that we confer with an officer,
distinguished alike in Europe and America for his deeds. From a soldier of his
reputation we can have nothing to apprehend". The old man made a gesture of resignation, though his rigid
features still betrayed his obstinate adherence to a distrust, which he derived
from a sort of hereditary contempt of his enemy, rather than from any present
signs which might warrant so uncharitable a feeling. Montcalm waited patiently
until this little dialogue in demi-voice was ended, when he drew nigher, and
opened the subject of their conference. "I have solicited this interview from your superior,
monsieur", he said, "because I believe he will allow himself to be persuaded
that he has already done everything which is necessary for the honor of his
prince, and will now listen to the admonitions of humanity. I will forever bear
testimony that his resistance has been gallant, and was continued as long as
there was hope".
When this opening was translated to Munro, he answered with
dignity, but with sufficienct courtesy: "However I may prize such testimony from Monsieur Montcalm,
it will be more valuable when it shall be better merited". The French general smiled, as Duncan gave him the purport
of this reply, and observed: "What is now so freely accorded to approved courage, may be
refused to useless obstinacy. Monsieur would wish to see my camp, and witness
for himself our numbers, and the impossibility of his resisting them with
success"? "I know that the king of France is well served", returned
the unmoved Scotsman, as soon as Duncan ended his translation; "but my own royal
master has as many and as faithful troops". "Though not at hand, fortunately for us", said Montcalm,
without waiting, in his ardor, for the interpreter. "There is a destiny in war,
to which a brave man knows how to submit with the same courage that he faces his
foes". "Had I been conscious that Monsieur Montcalm was master of
the English, I should have spared myself the trouble of so awkward a
translation", said the vexed Duncan, dryly; remembering instantly his recent
by-play with Munro. "Your pardon, monsieur", rejoined the Frenchman, suffering
a slight color to appear on his dark cheek. "There is a vast difference between
understanding and speaking a foreign tongue; you will, therefore, please to
assist me still". Then, after a short pause, he added: "These hills afford us
every opportunity of reconnoitering your works, messieurs, and I am possibly as
well acquainted with their weak condition as you can be yourselves". "Ask the French general if his glasses can reach to the
"Let General Webb be his own interpreter", returned the
politic Montcalm, suddenly extending an open letter toward Munro as he spoke;
"you will there learn, monsieur, that his movements are not likely to prove
embarrassing to my army". The veteran seized the offered paper, without waiting for
Duncan to translate the speech, and with an eagerness that betrayed how
important he deemed its contents. As his eye passed hastily over the words, his
countenance changed from its look of military pride to one of deep chagrin; his
lip began to quiver; and suffering the paper to fall from his hand, his head
dropped upon his chest, like that of a man whose hopes were withered at a single
blow. Duncan caught the letter from the ground, and without apology for the
liberty he took, he read at a glance its cruel purport. Their common superior,
so far from encouraging them to resist, advised a speedy surrender, urging in
the plainest language, as a reason, the utter impossibility of his sending a
single man to their rescue. "Here is no deception"! exclaimed Duncan, examining the
billet both inside and out; "this is the signature of Webb, and must be the
captured letter". "The man has betrayed me"! Munro at length bitterly
exclaimed; "he has brought dishonor to the door of one where disgrace was never
before known to dwell, and shame has he heaped heavily on my gray hairs". "Say not so", cried Duncan; "we are yet masters of the
fort, and of our honor. Let us, then, sell our lives at such a rate as shall
make our enemies believe the purchase too dear". "Boy, I thank thee", exclaimed the old man, rousing himself
from his stupor; "you have, for once, reminded Munro of his duty. We will go
back, and dig our graves behind those ramparts".
"Messieurs", said Montcalm, advancing toward them a step,
in generous interest, "you little know Louis de St. Vèran if you believe him
capable of profiting by this letter to humble brave men, or to build up a
dishonest reputation for himself. Listen to my terms before you leave me". "What says the Frenchman"? demanded the veteran, sternly;
"does he make a merit of having captured a scout, with a note from headquarters?
Sir, he had better raise this siege, to go and sit down before Edward if he
wishes to frighten his enemy with words". Duncan explained the other's meaning. "Monsieur de Montcalm, we will hear you", the veteran
added, more calmly, as Duncan ended. "To retain the fort is now impossible", said his liberal
enemy; "it is necessary to the interests of my master that it should be
destroyed; but as for yourselves and your brave comrades, there is no privilege
dear to a soldier that shall be denied". "Our colors"? demanded Heyward. "Carry them to England, and show them to your king". "Our arms"? "Keep them; none can use them better". "Our march; the surrender of the place"? "Shall all be done in a way most honorable to yourselves".
Duncan now turned to explain these proposals to his
commander, who heard him with amazement, and a sensibility that was deeply
touched by so unusual and unexpected generosity. "Go you, Duncan", he said; "go with this marquess, as,
indeed, marquess he should be; go to his marquee and arrange it all. I have
lived to see two things in my old age that never did I expect to behold. An
Englishman afraid to support
So saying, the veteran again dropped his head to his chest,
and returned slowly toward the fort, exhibiting, by the dejection of his air, to
the anxious garrison, a harbinger of evil tidings. From the shock of this unexpected blow the haughty feelings
of Munro never recovered; but from that moment there commenced a change in his
determined character, which accompanied him to a speedy grave. Duncan remained
to settle the terms of the capitulation. He was seen to re-enter the works
during the first watches of the night, and immediately after a private
conference with the commandant, to leave them again. It was then openly
announced that hostilities must cease -- Munro having signed a treaty by which
the place was to be yielded to the enemy, with the morning; the garrison to
retain their arms, the colors and their baggage, and, consequently, according to
military opinion, their honor. The hostile armies, which lay in the wilds of the Horican,
passed the night of the ninth of August, 1757, much in the manner they would,
had they encountered on the fairest field of Europe. While the conquered were
still, sullen, and dejected, the victors triumphed. But there are limits alike
to grief and joy; and long before the watches of the morning came the stillness
of those boundless woods was only broken by a gay call from some exulting young
Frenchman of the advanced pickets, or a menacing challenge from the fort, which
sternly forbade the approach of any hostile footsteps before the stipulated
moment. Even these occasional threatening sounds ceased to be heard in that dull
hour which precedes the day, at which period a listener might have sought in
vain any evidence of the presence of those armed powers that then slumbered on
the shores of the "holy lake". It was during these moments of deep silence that the canvas
which concealed the entrance to a spacious marquee in the French encampment was
shoved aside, and a man issued from beneath the drapery into the open air. He
was enveloped in a cloak that might have been intended as a protection
With the exception of such repeated but brief
interruptions, he had moved silently from the center of the camp to its most
advanced outposts, when he drew nigh the soldier who held his watch nearest to
the works of the enemy. As he approached he was received with the usual
challenge: "Qui vive"? "France", was the reply. "Le mot d'ordre"? "La victorie", said the other, drawing so nigh as to be
heard in a loud whisper. "C'est bien", returned the sentinel, throwing his musket
from the charge to his shoulder; "vous promenez bien matin, monsieur"! "Il est nécessaire d'être vigilant, mon enfant", the other
observed, dropping a fold of his cloak, and looking the soldier close in the
face as he passed him, still continuing his way toward the British
fortification. The man started; his arms rattled heavily as he threw them
forward in the lowest and most respectful salute; and when he had again
recovered his piece, he turned to walk his post, muttering between his teeth:
"Il faut être vigilant, en vérité! je crois que nous avons
là, un caporal qui ne dort jamais"!
The officer proceeded, without affecting to hear the words
which escaped the sentinel in his surprise; nor did he again pause until he had
reached the low strand, and in a somewhat dangerous vicinity to the western
water bastion of the fort. The light of an obscure moon was just sufficient to
render objects, though dim, perceptible in their outlines. He, therefore, took
the precaution to place himself against the trunk of a tree, where he leaned for
many minutes, and seemed to contemplate the dark and silent mounds of the
English works in profound attention. His gaze at the ramparts was not that of a
curious or idle spectator; but his looks wandered from point to point, denoting
his knowledge of military usages, and betraying that his search was not
unaccompanied by distrust. At length he appeared satisfied; and having cast his
eyes impatiently upward toward the summit of the eastern mountain, as if
anticipating the approach of the morning, he was in the act of turning on his
footsteps, when a light sound on the nearest angle of the bastion caught his
ear, and induced him to remain. Just then a figure was seen to approach the edge of the
rampart, where it stood, apparently contemplating in its turn the distant tents
of the French encampment. Its head was then turned toward the east, as though
equally anxious for the appearance of light, when the form leaned against the
mound, and seemed to gaze upon the glassy expanse of the waters, which, like a
submarine firmament, glittered with its thousand mimic stars. The melancholy
air, the hour, together with the vast frame of the man who thus leaned, musing,
against the English ramparts, left no doubt as to his person in the mind of the
observant spectator. Delicacy, no less than prudence, now urged him to retire;
and he had moved cautiously round the body of the tree for that purpose, when
another sound drew his attention, and once more arrested his
"Hugh"! exclaimed the savage, whose treacherous aim was so
singularly and so unexpectedly interrupted. Without making any reply, the French officer laid his hand
on the shoulder of the Indian, and led him in profound silence to a distance
from the spot, where their subsequent dialogue might have proved dangerous, and
where it seemed that one of them, at least, sought a victim. Then throwing open
his cloak, so as to expose his uniform and the cross of St. Louis which was
suspended at his breast, Montcalm sternly demanded: "What means this? Does not my son know that the hatchet is
buried between the English and his Canadian Father"? "What can the Hurons do"? returned the savage, speaking
also, though imperfectly, in the French language. "Not a warrior has a scalp, and the pale faces make
friends"! "Ha, Le Renard Subtil! Methinks this is an excess of zeal
for a friend who was so late an enemy! How many suns have set since Le Renard
struck the war-post of the English"? "Where is that sun"? demanded the sullen savage. "Behind
the hill; and it is dark and cold. But when he comes again, it will be bright
and warm. Le Subtil is the sun of his tribe. There have been clouds, and many
mountains between him and his nation; but now he shines and it is a clear sky"!
"That Le Renard has power with his people, I well know",
said Montcalm; "for yesterday he hunted for their scalps, and to-day they hear
him at the council-fire". "Magua is a great chief". "Let him prove it, by teaching his nation how to conduct
themselves toward our new friends". "Why did the chief of the Canadas bring his young men into
the woods, and fire his cannon at the earthen house"? demanded the subtle
Indian. "To subdue it. My master owns the land, and your father was
ordered to drive off these English squatters. They have consented to go, and now
he calls them enemies no longer". "'Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to color it with blood.
It is now bright; when it is red, it shall be buried". "But Magua is pledged not to sully the lilies of France.
The enemies of the great king across the salt lake are his enemies; his friends,
the friends of the Hurons". "Friends"! repeated the Indian in scorn. "Let his father
give Magua a hand". Montcalm, who felt that his influence over the warlike
tribes he had gathered was to be maintained by concession rather than by power,
complied reluctantly with the other's request. The savage placed the fingers of
the French commander on a deep scar in his bosom, and then exultingly demanded:
"Does my father know that"? "What warrior does not? 'Tis where a leaden bullet has
cut". "And this"? continued the Indian, who had turned his naked
back to the other, his body being without its usual calico mantle. "This! -- my son has been sadly injured here; who has done
this"?
"Magua slept hard in the English wigwams, and the sticks
have left their mark", returned the savage, with a hollow laugh, which did not
conceal the fierce temper that nearly choked him. Then, recollecting himself,
with sudden and native dignity, he added: "Go; teach your young men it is peace.
Le Renard Subtil knows how to speak to a Huron warrior". Without deigning to bestow further words, or to wait for
any answer, the savage cast his rifle into the hollow of his arm, and moved
silently through the encampment toward the woods where his own tribe was known
to lie. Every few yards as he proceeded he was challenged by the sentinels; but
he stalked sullenly onward, utterly disregarding the summons of the soldiers,
who only spared his life because they knew the air and tread no less than the
obstinate daring of an Indian. Montcalm lingered long and melancholy on the strand where
he had been left by his companion, brooding deeply on the temper which his
ungovernable ally had just discovered. Already had his fair fame been tarnished
by one horrid scene, and in circumstances fearfully resembling those under which
he how found himself. As he mused he became keenly sensible of the deep
responsibility they assume who disregard the means to attain the end, and of all
the danger of setting in motion an engine which it exceeds human power to
control. Then shaking off a train of reflections that he accounted a weakness in
such a moment of triumph, he retraced his steps toward his tent, giving the
order as he passed to make the signal that should arouse the army from its
slumbers. The first tap of the French drums was echoed from the bosom
of the fort, and presently the valley was filled with the strains of martial
music, rising long, thrilling and lively above the rattling accompaniment. The
horns of the victors sounded
A very different scene presented itself within the lines of
the Anglo-American army. As soon as the warning signal was given, it exhibited
all the signs of a hurried and forced departure. The sullen soldiers shouldered
their empty tubes and fell into their places, like men whose blood had been
heated by the past contest, and who only desired the opportunity to revenge an
indignity which was still wounding to their pride, concealed as it was under the
observances of military etiquette. Women and children ran from place to place, some bearing
the scanty remnants of their baggage, and others searching in the ranks for
those countenances they looked up to for protection. Munro appeared among his silent troops firm but dejected.
It was evident that the unexpected blow had struck deep into his heart, though
he struggled to sustain his misfortune with the port of a man. Duncan was touched at the quiet and impressive exhibition
of his grief. He had discharged his own duty, and he now pressed to the side of
the old man, to know in what particular he might serve him.
"My daughters", was the brief but expressive reply. "Good heavens! are not arrangements already made for their
convenience"? "To-day I am only a soldier, Major Heyward", said the
veteran. "All that you see here, claim alike to be my children". Duncan had heard enough. Without losing one of those
moments which had now become so precious, he flew toward the quarters of Munro,
in quest of the sisters. He found them on the threshold of the low edifice,
already prepared to depart, and surrounded by a clamorous and weeping assemblage
of their own sex, that had gathered about the place, with a sort of instinctive
consciousness that it was the point most likely to be protected. Though the
cheeks of Cora were pale and her countenance anxious, she had lost none of her
firmness; but the eyes of Alice were inflamed, and betrayedhow long and bitterly
she had wept. They both, however, received the young man with undisguised
pleasure; the former, for a novelty, being the first to speak. "The fort is lost", she said, with a melancholy smile;
"though our good name, I trust, remains". "'Tis brighter than ever. But, dearest Miss Munro, it is
time to think less of others, and to make some provision for yourself. Military
usage -- pride -- that pride on which you so much value yourself, demands that
your father and I should for a little while continue with the troops. Then where
to seek a proper protector for you against the confusion and chances of such a
scene"? "None is necessary", returned Cora; "who will dare to
injure or insult the daughter of such a father, at a time like this"? "I would not leave you alone", continued the youth, looking
about him in a hurried manner, "for the command of the best regiment in the pay
of the king. Remember, our Alice
"You may be right", Cora replied, smiling again, but far
more sadly than before. "Listen! chance has already sent us a friend when he is
most needed". Duncan did listen, and on the instant comprehended her
meaning. The low and serious sounds of the sacred music, so well known to the
eastern provinces, caught his ear, and instantly drew him to an apartment in an
adjacent building, which had already been deserted by its customary tenants.
There he found David, pouring out his pious feelings through the only medium in
which he ever indulged. Duncan waited, until, by the cessation of the movement
of the hand, he believed the strain was ended, when, by touching his shoulder,
he drew the attention of the other to himself, and in a few words explained his
wishes. "Even so", replied the single-minded disciple of the King
of Israel, when the young man had ended; "I have found much that is comely and
melodious in the maidens, and it is fitting that we who have consorted in so
much peril, should abide together in peace. I will attend them, when I have
completed my morning praise, to which nothing is now wanting but the doxology.
Wilt thou bear a part, friend? The meter is common, and the tune "Southwell"".
Then, extending the little volume, and giving the pitch of
the air anew with considerate attention, David recommenced and finished his
strains, with a fixedness of manner that it was not easy to interrupt. Heyward
was fain to wait until the verse ws ended; when, seeing David relieving himself
from the spectacles, and replacing the book, he continued. "It will be your duty to see that none dare to approach the
ladies with any rude intention, or to offer insult or taunt at
"Even so". "It is possible that the Indians and stragglers of the
enemy may intrude, in which case you will remind them of the terms of the
capitulation, and threaten to report their conduct to Montcalm. A word will
suffice". "If not, I have that here which shall", returned David,
exhibiting his book, with an air in which meekness and confidence were
singularly blended. Here are words which, uttered, or rather thundered, with
proper emphasis, and in measured time, shall quiet the most unruly temper: ""Why rage the heathen furiously""? "Enough", said Heyward, interrupting the burst of his
musical invocation; "we understand each other; it is time that we should now
assume our respective duties". Gamut cheerfully assented, and together they sought the
females. Cora received her new and somewhat extraordinary protector courteously,
at least; and even the pallid features of Alice lighted again with some of their
native archness as she thanked Heyward for his care. Duncan took occasion to
assure them he had done the best that circumstances permitted, and, as he
believed, quite enough for the security of their feelings; of danger there was
none. He then spoke gladly of his intention to rejoin them the moment he had led
the advance a few miles toward the Hudson, and immediately took his leave. By this time the signal for departure had been given, and
the head of the English column was in motion. The sisters started at the sound,
and glancing their eyes around, they saw the white uniforms of the French
grenadiers, who had already
"Let us go", said Cora; "this is no longer a fit place for
the children of an English officer". Alice clung to the arm of her sister, and together they
left the parade, accompanied by the moving throng that surrounded them. As they passed the gates, the French officers, who had
learned their rank, bowed often and low, forbearing, however, to intrude those
attentions which they saw, with peculiar tact, might not be agreeable. As every
vehicle and each beast of burden was occupied by the sick and wounded, Cora had
decided to endure the fatigues of a foot march, rather than interfere with their
comforts. Indeed, many a maimed and feeble soldier was compelled to drag his
exhausted limbs in the rear of the columns, for the want of the necessary means
of conveyance in that wilderness. The whole, however, was in motion; the weak
and wounded, groaning and in suffering; their comrades silent and sullen; and
the women and children in terror, they knew not of what. As the confused and timid throng left the protecting mounds
of the fort, and issued on the open plain, the whole scene was at once presented
to their eyes. At a little distance on the right, and somewhat in the rear, the
French army stood to their arms, Montcalm having collected his parties, so soon
as his guards had possession of the works. They were attentive but silent
observers of the proceedings of the vanquished, failing in none of the
stipulated military honors, and offering no taunt or insult, in their success,
to their less fortunate foes. Living masses of the English, to the amount, in
the whole, of near three thousand, were moving slowly across the plain,
The advance, with Heyward at its head, had already reached
the defile, and was slowly disappearing, when the attention of Cora was drawn to
a collection of stragglers by the sounds of contention. A truant provincial was
paying the forfeit of his disobedience, by being plundered of those very effects
which had caused him to desert his place in the ranks. The man was of powerful
frame, and too avaricious to part with his goods without a struggle. Individuals
from either party interfered; the one side to prevent and the other to aid in
the robbery. Voices grew loud and angry, and a hundred savages appeared, as it
were, by magic, where a dozen only had been seen a minute before. It was then
that Cora saw the form of Magua gliding among his countrymen, and speaking with
his fatal and artful eloquence. The mass of women and children stopped, and
hovered together like alarmed and fluttering birds. But the cupidity of the
Indian was soon gratified, and the different bodies again moved slowly onward.
The savages now fell back, and seemed content to let their
enemies advance without further molestation. But, as the female crowd approached
them, the gaudy colors of a shawl attracted the eyes of a wild and untutored
Huron. He
"Here -- here -- there -- all -- any -- everything"!
exclaimed the breathless woman, tearing the lighter articles of dress from her
person with ill-directed and trembling fingers; "take all, but give me my babe"!
The savage spurned the worthless rags, and perceiving that
the shawl had already become a prize to another, his bantering but sullen smile
changing to a gleam of ferocity, he dashed the head of the infant against a
rock, and cast its quivering remains to her very feet. For an instant the mother
stood, like a statue of despair, looking wildly down at the unseemly object,
which had so lately nestled in her bosom and smiled in her face; and then she
raised her eyes and countenance toward heaven, as if calling on God to curse the
perpetrator of the foul deed. She was spared the sin of such a prayer for,
maddened at his disappointment, and excited at the sight of blood, the Huron
mercifully drove his tomahawk into her own brain. The mother sank under the
blow, and fell, grasping at her child, in death, with the same engrossing love
that had caused her to cherish it when living. At that dangerous moment, Magua placed his hands to his
mouth, and raised the fatal and appalling whoop. The scattered
More than two thousand raving savages broke from the forest
at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal plain with instinctive
alacrity. We shall not dwell on the revolting horrors that succeeded. Death was
everywhere, and in his most terrific and disgusting aspects. Resistance only
served to inflame the murderers, who inflicted their furious blows long after
their victims were beyond the power of their resentment. The flow of blood might
be likened to the outbreaking of a torrent; and as the natives became heated and
maddened by the sight, many among them even kneeled to the earth, and drank
freely, exultingly, hellishly, of the crimson tide. The trained bodies of the troops threw themselves quickly
into solid masses, endeavoring to awe their assailants by the imposing
appearance of a military front. The experiment in some measure succeeded, though
far too many suffered their unloaded muskets to be torn from their hands, in the
vain hope of appeasing the savages. In such a scene none had leisure to note the fleeting
moments. It might have been ten minutes (it seemed an age) that the sisters had
stood riveted to one spot, horror-stricken and nearly helpless. When the first
blow was struck, their screaming companions had pressed upon them in a body,
rendering flight impossible; and now that fear or death had scattered most, if
not all, from around them, they saw no avenue open, but such as conducted to the
tomahawks of their foes.
"Father -- father -- we are here"! shrieked Alice, as he
passed, at no great distance, without appearing to heed them. "Come to us,
father, or we die"! The cry was repeated, and in terms and tones that might
have melted a heart of stone, but it was unanswered. Once, indeed, the old man
appeared to catch the sound, for he paused and listened; but Alice had dropped
senseless on the earth, and Cora had sunk at her side, hovering in untiring
tenderness over her lifeless form. Munro shook his head in disappointment, and
proceeded, bent on the high duty of his station. "Lady", said Gamut, who, helpless and useless as he was,
had not yet dreamed of deserting his trust, "it is the jubilee of the devils,
and this is not a meet place for Christians to tarry in. Let us up and fly".
"Go", said Cora, still gazing at her unconscious sister;
"save thyself. To me thou canst not be of further use". David comprehended the unyielding character of her
resolution, by the simple but expressive gesture that accompanied her words. He
gazed for a moment at the dusky forms
"If the Jewish boy might tame the great spirit of Saul by
the sound of his harp, and the words of sacred song, it may not be amiss", he
said, "to try the potency of music here". Then raising his voice to its highest tone, he poured out a
strain so powerful as to be heard even amid the din of that bloody field. More
than one savage rushed toward them, thinking to rifle the unprotected sisters of
their attire, and bear away their scalps; but when they found this strange and
unmoved figure riveted to his post, they paused to listen. Astonishment soon
changed to admiration, and they passed on to other and less courageous victims,
openly expressing their satisfaction at the firmness with which the white
warrior sang his death song. Encouraged and deluded by his success, David
exerted all his powers to extend what he believed so holy an influence. The
unwonted sounds caught the ears of a distant savage, who flew raging from group
to group, like one who, scorning to touch the vulgar herd, hunted for some
victim more worthy of his renown. It was Magua, who uttered a yell of pleasure
when he beheld his ancient prisoners again at his mercy. "Come", he said, laying his soiled hands on the dress of
Cora, "the wigwam of the Huron is still open. Is it not better than this place"?
"Away"! cried Cora, veiling her eyes from his revolting
aspect. The Indian laughed tauntingly, as he held up his reeking
hand, and answered: "It is red, but it comes from white veins"!
"Monster! there is blood, oceans of blood, upon thy soul;
thy spirit has moved this scene". "Magua is a great chief"! returned the exulting savage,
"will the dark-hair go to his tribe"? "Never! strike if thou wilt, and complete thy revenge". He
hesitated a moment, and then catching the light and senseless form of Alice in
his arms, the subtle Indian moved swiftly across the plain toward the woods.
"Hold"! shrieked Cora, following wildly on his footsteps;
"release the child! wretch! what is't you do"? But Magua was deaf to her voice; or, rather, he knew his
power, and was determined to maintain it. "Stay -- lady -- stay", called Gamut, after the unconscious
Cora. "The holy charm is beginning to be felt, and soon shalt thou see this
horrid tumult stilled". Perceiving that, in his turn, he was unheeded, the faithful
David followed the distracted sister, raising his voice again in sacred song,
and sweeping the air to the measure, with his long arm, in diligent
accompaniment. In this manner they traversed the plain, through the flying, the
wounded and the dead. The fierce Huron was, at any time, sufficient for himself
and the victim that he bore; though Cora would have fallen more than once under
the blows of her savage enemies, but for the extraordinary being who stalked in
her rear, and who now appeared to the astonished natives gifted with the
protecting spirit of madness. Magua, who knew how to avoid the more pressing dangers, and
also to elude pursuit, entered the woods through a low ravine, where he quickly
found the Narragansetts, which the travelers had abandoned so shortly before,
awaiting his appearance, in custody of a savage as fierce and malign in his
expression as himself. Laying Alice on one of the horses, he made a sign to Cora
to mount the other. Notwithstanding the horror excited by the presence of
They soon began to ascend; but as the motion had a tendency
to revive the dormant faculties of her sister, the attention of Cora was too
much divided between the tenderest solicitude in her behalf, and in listening to
the cries which were still too audible on the plain, to note the direction in
which they journeyed. When, however, they gained the flattened surface of the
mountain-top, and approached the eastern precipice, she recognized the spot to
which she had once before been led under the more friendly auspices of the
scout. Here Magua suffered them to dismount; and notwithstanding their own
captivity, the curiosity which seems inseparable from horror, induced them to
gaze at the sickening sight below. The cruel work was still unchecked. On every side the
captured were flying before their relentless persecutors, while the armed
columns of the Christian king stood fast in an apathy which has never been
explained, and which has left an immovable blot on the otherwise fair escutcheon
of their leader. Nor was the sword of death stayed until cupidity got the
mastery of revenge. Then, indeed, the shrieks of the wounded, and the yells of
their murderers grew less frequent, until, finally, the cries of horror were
lost to their ear, or were drowned in the loud, long and piercing whoops of the
triumphant savages. The bloody and inhuman scene rather incidentally mentioned
than described in the preceding chapter, is conspicuous in the pages of colonial
history by the merited title of "The Massacre of William Henry". It so far
deepened the stain which a previous and very similar event had left upon the
reputation of the French commander that it was not entirely erased by his early
and glorious death. It is now becoming obscured by time; and thousands, who know
that Montcalm died like a hero on the plains of Abraham, have yet to learn how
much he was deficient in that moral courage without which no man can be truly
great. Pages might be written to prove, from this illustrious example, the
defects of human excellence; to show how easy it is for generous sentiments,
high courtesy, and chivalrous courage to lose their influence beneath the
chilling blight of selfishness, and to exhibit to the world a man who was great
in all the minor attributes of character, but who was found wanting when it
became necessary to prove how much principle is superior to policy. But the task
would exceed our prerogatives; and, as history, like
The third day from the capture of the fort was drawing to a
close, but the business of the narrative must still detain the reader on the
shores of the "holy lake". When last seen, the environs of the works were filled
with violence and uproar. They were now possessed by stillness and death. The
blood-stained conquerors had departed; and their camp, which had so lately rung
with the merry rejoicings of a victorious army, lay a silent and deserted city
of huts. The fortress was a smoldering ruin; charred rafters, fragments of
exploded artillery, and rent mason-work covering its earthen mounds in confused
disorder. A frightful change had also occurred in the season. The sun
had hid its warmth behind an impenetrable mass of vapor, and hundreds of human
forms, which had blackened beneath the fierce heats of August, were stiffening
in their deformity before the blasts of a premature November. The curling and
spotless mists, which had been seen sailing above the hills toward the north,
were now returning in an interminable dusky sheet, that was urged along by the
fury of a tempest. The crowded mirror of the Horican was gone; and, in its
place, the green and angry waters lashed the shores, as if indignantly casting
back its impurities to the polluted strand. Still the clear fountain retained a
portion of its charmed influence, but it reflected only the somber gloom that
fell from the impending heavens. That humid and congenial atmosphere
The fiercer element had cropped the verdure of the plain,
which looked as though it were scathed by the consuming lightning. But, here and
there, a dark green tuft rose in the midst of the desolation; the earliest
fruits of a soil that had been fattened with human blood. The whole landscape,
which, seen by a favoring light, and in a genial temperature, had been found so
lovely, appeared now like some pictured allegory of life, in which objects were
arrayed in their harshest but truest colors, and without the relief of any
shadowing. The solitary and arid blades of grass arose from the
passing gusts fearfully perceptible; the bold and rocky mountains were too
distinct in their barrenness, and the eye even sought relief, in vain, by
attempting to pierce the illimitable void of heaven, which was shut to its gaze
by the dusky sheet of ragged and driving vapor. The wind blew unequally; sometimes sweeping heavily along
the ground, seeming to whisper its moanings in the cold ears of the dead, then
rising in a shrill and mournful whistling, it entered the forest with a rush
that filled the air with the leaves and branches it scattered in its path. Amid
the unnatural shower, a few hungry ravens struggled with the gale; but no sooner
was the green ocean of woods which stretched beneath them, passed, than they
gladly stopped, at random, to their hideous banquet. In short, it was a scene of wildness and desolation; and it
appeared as if all who had profanely entered it had been stricken, at a blow, by
the relentless arm of death. But the prohibition had ceased; and for the first
time since the perpetrators
About an hour before the setting of the sun, on the day
already mentioned, the forms of five men might have been seen issuing from the
narrow vista of trees, where the path to the Hudson entered the forest, and
advancing in the direction of the ruined works. At first their progress was slow
and guarded, as though they entered with reluctance amid the horrors of the
post, or dreaded the renewal of its frightful incidents. A light figure preceded
the rest of the party, with the caution and activity of a native; ascending
every hillock to reconnoiter, and indicating by gestures, to his companions, the
route he deemed it most prudent to pursue. Nor were those in the rear wanting in
every caution and foresight known to forest warfare. One among them, he also was
an Indian, moved a little on one flank, and watched the margin of the woods,
with eyes long accustomed to read the smallest sign of danger. The remaining
three were white, though clad in vestments adapted, both in quality and color,
to their present hazardous pursuit -- that of hanging on the skirts of a
retiring army in the wilderness. The effects produced by the appalling sights that
constantly arose in their path to the lake shore, were as different as the
characters of the respective individuals who composed the party. The youth in
front threw serious but furtive glances at the mangled victims, as he stepped
lightly across the plain, afraid to exhibit his feelings, and yet too
inexperienced to quell entirely their sudden and powerful influence. His red
associate, however, was superior to such a weakness. He passed the groups of
dead with a steadiness of purpose, and an eye so calm, that nothing but long and
inveterate practise could enable him to maintain. The sensations produced in
The reader will perceive at once, in these respective
characters, the Mohicans, and their white friend, the scout; together with Munro
and Heyward. It was, in truth, the father in quest of his children, attended by
the youth who felt so deep a stake in their happiness, and those brave and
trusty foresters, who had already proved their skill and fidelity through the
trying scenes related. When Uncas, who moved in front, had reached the center of
the plain, he raised a cry that drew his companions in a body to the spot. The
young warrior had halted over a group of females who lay in a cluster, a
confused mass of dead. Notwithstanding the revolting horror of the exhibition,
Munro and Heyward flew toward the festering heap, endeavoring, with a love that
no unseemliness could extinguish, to discover whether any vestiges of those they
sought were to be seen among the tattered and many-colored garments. The father
and the lover found instant relief in the search; though each was condemned
again to experience the misery of an uncertainty that was hardly less
insupportable than the most
"I have been on many a shocking field, and have followed a
trail of blood for weary miles", he said, "but never have I found the hand of
the devil so plain as it is here to be seen! Revenge is an Indian feeling, and
all who know me know that there is no cross in my veins; but this much will I
say -- here, in the face of heaven, and with the power of the Lord so manifest
in this howling wilderness -- that should these Frenchers ever trust themselves
again within the range of a ragged bullet, there is one rifle which shall play
its part so long as flint will fire or powder burn! I leave the tomahawk and
knife to such as have a natural gift to use them. What say you, Chingachgook",
he added, in Delaware; "shall the Hurons boast of this to their women when the
deep snows come"? A gleam of resentment flashed across the dark lineaments of
the Mohican chief; he loosened his knife in his sheath; and then turning calmly
from the sight, his countenance settled into a repose as deep as if he knew the
instigation of passion. "Montcalm! Montcalm"! continued the deeply resentful and
less self-restrained scout; "they say a time must come when all the deeds done
in the flesh will be seen at a single look; and that by eyes cleared from mortal
infirmities. Woe betide the wretch who is born to behold this plain, with the
judgment hanging about his soul! Ha -- as I am a man of white blood, yonder lies
a red-skin, without the hair of his head where nature rooted it! Look to him,
Delaware; it may be one of your missing people; and he should have burial like a
stout warrior. I see it in your eye, Sagamore; a Huron pays
Chingachgook approached the mutilated form, and, turning it
over, he found the distinguishing marks of one of those six allied tribes, or
nations, as they were called, who, while they fought in the English ranks, were
so deadly hostile to his own people. Spurning the loathsome object with his
foot, he turned from it with the same indifference he would have quitted a brute
carcass. The scout comprehended the action, and very deliberately pursued his
own way, continuing, however, his denunciations against the French commander in
the same resentful strain. "Nothing but vast wisdom and unlimited power should dare to
sweep off men in multitudes", he added; "for it is only the one that can know
the necessity of the judgment; and what is there, short of the other, that can
replace the creatures of the Lord? I hold it a sin to kill the second buck afore
the first is eaten, unless a march in front, or an ambushment, be contemplated.
It is a different matter with a few warriors in open and rugged fight, for 'tis
their gift to die with the rifle or the tomahawk in hand; according as their
natures may happen to be, white or red. Uncas, come this way, lad, and let the
ravens settle upon the Mingo. I know, from often seeing it, that they have a
craving for the flesh of an Oneida; and it is as well to let the bird follow the
gift of its natural appetite". "Hugh"! exclaimed the young Mohican, rising on the
extremities of his feet, and gazing intently in his front, frightening the
ravens to some other prey by the sound and the action. "What is it, boy"? whispered the scout, lowering his tall
form into a crouching attitude, like a panther about to take his leap; "God send
it be a tardy Frencher, skulking for plunder.
Uncas, without making any reply, bounded away from the
spot, and in the next instant he was seen tearing from a bush, and waving in
triumph, a fragment of the green riding-veil of Cora. The movement, the
exhibition, and the cry which again burst from the lips of the young Mohican,
instantly drew the whole party about him. "My child"! said Munro, speaking quickly and wildly; "give
me my child"! "Uncas will try", was the short and touching answer. The simple but meaning assurance was lost on the father,
who seized the piece of gauze, and crushed it in his hand, while his eyes roamed
fearfully among the bushes, as if he equally dreaded and hoped for the secrets
they might reveal. "Here are no dead", sadi Heyward; "the storm seems not to
have passed this way". "That's manifest; and clearer than the heavens above our
heads", returned the undisturbed scout; "but either she, or they that have
robbed her, have passed the bush; for I remember the rag she wore to hide a face
that all did love to look upon. Uncas, you are right; the dark-hair has been
here, and she has fled like a frightened fawn, to the wood; none who could fly
would remain to be murdered. Let us search for the marks she left; for, to
Indian eyes, I sometimes think a humming-bird leaves his trail in the air". The young Mohican darted away at the suggestion, and the
scout had hardly done speaking, before the former raised a cry of success from
the margin of the forest. On reaching the spot, the anxious party perceived
another portion of the veil fluttering on the lower branch of a beech. "Softly, softly", said the scout, extending his long rifle
in front of the eager Heyward; "we now know our work, but
"Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man"! exclaimed Munro; "whither
then, have they fled, and where are my babes"? "The path they have taken depends on many chances. If they
have gone alone, they are quite as likely to move in a circle as straight, and
they may be within a dozen miles of us; but if the Hurons, or any of the French
Indians, have laid hands on them, 'tis probably they are now near the borders of
the Canadas. But what matters that"? continued the deliberate scout, observing
the powerful anxiety and disappointment the listeners exhibited; "here are the
Mohicans and I on one end of the trail, and, rely on it, we find the other,
though they should be a hundred leagues asunder! Gently, gently, Uncas, you are
as impatient as a man in the settlements; you forget that light feet leave but
faint marks"! "Hugh"! exclaimed Chingachgook, who had been occupied in
examining an opening that had been evidently made through the low underbrush
which skirted the forest; and who now stood erect, as he pointed downward, in
the attitude and with the air of a man who beheld a disgusting serpent. "Here is the palpable impression of the footstep of a man",
cried Heyward, bending over the indicated spot; "he has trod in the margin of
this pool, and the mark cannot be mistaken. They are captives". "Better so than left to starve in the wilderness", returned
the scout; "and they will leave a wider trail. I would wager fifty beaver skins
against as many flints, that the Mohicans and I enter their wigwams within the
month! Stoop to it, Uncas, and try what you can make of the moccasin; for
moccasin it plainly is, and no shoe". The young Mohican bent over the track, and removing
"Well, boy", demanded the attentive scout; "what does it
say? Can you make anything of the tell-tale"? "Le Renard Subtil"! "Ha! that rampaging devil again! there will never be an end
of his loping till "killdeer" has said a friendly word to him". Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth of this
intelligence, and now expressed rather his hopes than his doubts by saying: "One moccasin is so much like another, it is probable there
is some mistake". "One moccasin like another! you may as well say that one
foot is like another; though we all know that some are long, and others short;
some broad and others narrow; some with high, and some with low insteps; some
intoed, and some out. One moccasin is no more like another than one book is like
another: though they who can read in one are seldom able to tell the marks of
the other. Which is all ordered for the best, giving to every man his natural
advantages. Let me get down to it, Uncas; neither book nor moccasin is the worse
for having two opinions, instead of one". The scout stooped to the task, and
instantly added: "You are right, boy; here is the patch we saw so often in
the other chase. And the fellow will drink when he can get an opportunity; your
drinking Indian always learns to walk with a wider toe than the natural savage,
it being the gift of a drunkard to straddle, whether of white or red skin. 'Tis
just the length and breadth, too! look at it, Sagamore; you
Chingachgook complied; and after finishing his short
examination, he arose, and with a quiet demeanor, he merely pronounced the word:
"Magua"! "Ay, 'tis a settled thing; here, then, have passed the
dark-hair and Magua". "And not Alice"? demanded Heyward. "Of her we have not yet seen the signs", returned the
scout, looking closely around at the trees, the bushes and the ground. "What
have we there? Uncas, bring hither the thing you see dangling from yonder
thorn-bush". When the Indian had complied, the scout received the prize,
and holding it on high, he laughed in his silent but heartfelt manner. "'Tis the tooting we'pon of the singer! now we shall have a
trail a priest might travel", he said. "Uncas, look for the marks of a shoe that
is long enough to uphold six feet two of tottering human flesh. I begin to have
some hopes of the fellow, since he has given up squalling to follow some better
trade". "At least he has been faithful to his trust", said Heyward.
"And Cora and Alice are not without a friend". "Yes", said Hawkeye, dropping his rifle, and leaning on it
with an air of visible contempt, "he will do their singing. Can he slay a buck
for their dinner; journey by the moss on the beeches, or cut the throat of a
Huron? If not, the first catbird1 he meets is the cleverer
of the two. Well, boy, any signs of such a foundation"? Note: 1 The powers of the American mocking-bird are generally known.
But the true mocking-bird is not found so far north as the state of New York,
where it has, however, two substitutes of inferior excellence, the catbird, so
often named by the scout, and the bird vulgarly called ground-thresher. Either
of these last two birds is superior to the nightingale or the lark, though, in
general, the American birds are less musical than those of Europe.
-250-
"Here is something like the footstep of one who has worn a
shoe; can it be that of our friend"? "Touch the leaves lightly or you'll disconsart the
formation. That! that is the print of a foot, but 'tis the dark-hair's; and
small it is, too, for one of such a noble height and grand appearance. The
singer would cover it with his heel". "Where! let me look on the footsteps of my child", said
Munro, shoving the bushes aside, and bending fondly over the nearly obliterated
impression. Though the tread which had left the mark had been light and rapid,
it ws still plainly visible. The aged soldier examined it with eyes that grew
dim as he gazed; nor did he rise from this stooping posture until Heyward saw
that he had watered the trace of his daughter's passage with a scalding tear.
Willing to divert a distress which threatened each moment to break through the
restraint of appearances, by giving the veteran something to do, the young man
said to the scout: "As we now possess these infallible signs, let us commence
our march. A moment, at such a time, will appear an age to the captives". "It is not the swiftest leaping deer that gives the longest
chase", returned Hawkeye, without moving his eyes from the different marks that
had come under his view; "we know that the rampaging Huron has passed, and the
dark-hair, and the singer, but where is she of the yellow locks and blue eyes?
Though little, and far from being as bold as her sister, she is fair to the
view, and pleasant in discourse. Has she no friend, that none care for her"?
"God forbid she should ever want hundreds! Are we not now
in her pursuit? For one, I will never cease the search till she be found". "In that case we may have to journey by different paths;
Heyward drew back, all his ardor to proceed seeming to
vanish on the instant. Without attending to this sudden change in the other's
humor, the scout after musing a moment continued: "There is no woman in this wilderness could leave such a
print as that, but the dark-hair or her sister. We know that the first has been
here, but where are the signs of the other? Let us push deeper on the trail, and
if nothing offers, we must go back to the plain and strike another scent. Move
on, Uncas, and keep your eyes on the dried leaves. I will watch the bushes,
while your father shall run with a low nose to the ground. Move on, friends; the
sun is getting behind the hills". "Is there nothing that I can do"? demanded the anxious
Heyward. "You"? repeated the scout, who, with his red friends, was
already advancing in the order he had prescribed; "yes, you can keep in our rear
and be careful not to cross the trail". Before they had proceeded many rods, the Indians stopped,
and appeared to gaze at some signs on the earth with more than their usual
keenness. Both father and son spoke quick and loud, now looking at the object of
their mutual admiration, and now regarding each other with the most unequivocal
pleasure. "They have found the little foot"! exclaimed the scout,
moving forward, without attending further to his own portion of the duty. "What
have we here? An ambushment has been planted in the spot! No, by the truest
rifle on the frontiers, here have been them one-sided horses again! Now the
whole secret is out, and all is plain as the north star at midnight. Yes, here
they have mounted. There the beasts have been bound to a sapling, in waiting;
and yonder runs the
"But still there are no signs of Alice, of the younger Miss
Munro", said Duncan. "Unless the shining bauble Uncas has just lifted from the
ground should prove one. Pass it this way, lad, that we may look at it". Heyward instantly knew it for a trinket that Alice was fond
of wearing, and which he recollected, with the tenacious memory of a lover, to
have seen, on the fatal morning of the massacre, dangling from the fair neck of
his mistress. He seized the highly prized jewel; and as he proclaimed the fact,
it vanished from the eyes of the wondering scout, who in vain looked for it on
the ground, long after it was warmly pressed against the beating heart of
Duncan. "Pshaw"! said the disappointed Hawkeye, ceasing to rake the
leaves with the breech of his rifle; "'tis a certain sign of age, when the sight
begins to weaken. Such a glittering gewgaw, and not to be seen! Well, well, I
can squint along a clouded barrel yet, and that is enough to settle all disputes
between me and the Mingoes. I should like to find the thing, too, if it were
only to carry it to the right owner, and that would be bringing the two ends of
what I call a long trail together, for by this time the broad St. Lawrence, or
perhaps, the Great Lakes themselves, are between us". "So much the more reason why we should not delay our
march", returned Heyward; "let us proceed". "Young blood and hot blood, they say, are much the same
thing. We are not about to start on a squirrel hunt, or to drive a deer into the
Horican, but to outlie for days and nights, and to stretch across a wilderness
where the feet of men seldom go, and where no bookish knowledge would carry you
through harmless. An Indian never starts on such an expedition without smoking
over his council-fire; and, though
Heyward saw, by the manner of the scout, that altercation
would be useless. Munro had again sunk into that sort of apathy which had beset
him since his late overwhelming misfortunes, and from which he was apparently to
be roused only by some new and powerful excitement. Making a merit of necessity,
the young man took the veteran by the arm, and followed in the footsteps of the
Indians and the scout, who had already begun to retrace the path which conducted
them to the plain. "Salar. -- Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou
wilt not take his flesh; what's that good for? Shy. -- To bait fish
withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge". -- The shades of evening had come to increase the dreariness
of the place, when the party entered the ruins of William Henry. The scout and
his companions immediately made their preparations to pass the night there; but
with an earnestness and sobriety of demeanor that betrayed how much the unusual
horrors they had just witnessed worked on even their practised feelings. A few
fragments of rafters were reared against a blackened wall; and when Uncas had
covered them slightly with brush, the temporary accommodations were deemed
sufficient. The young Indian point3ed toward his rude hut when his labor was
ended; and Heyward, who understood the meaning of the silent gestures, gently
urged Munro to enter. Leaving the bereaved old man alone with his sorrows,
Duncan immediately returned into the open air, too much excited himself to seek
the repose he had recommended to his veteran friend. While Hawkeye and the Indians lighted their fire and took
their evening's repast, a frugal meal of dried bear's meat, the
Of this scene, so chillingly in accordance with the past,
Duncan stood for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes wandered from the bosom
of the mound, where the foresters were seated around their glimmering fire, to
the fainter light which still lingered in the skies, and then rested long and
anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary void on that side of
him where the dead reposed. He soon fancied that inexplicable sounds arose from
the place, though so indistinct and stolen, as to render not only their nature
but even their existence uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehensions, the young man
turned toward the water, and strove to divert his attention to the mimic stars
that dimly glimmered on its moving surface. Still, his too-conscious ears
performed their ungrateful duty, as if to warn him of some lurking danger. At
length, a swift trampling seemed, quite audibly, to rush athwart the darkness.
Unable any longer to quiet his uneasiness, Duncan spoke in a low voice to the
scout, requesting him to ascend the mound to the place where he stood.
"Listen"! said Duncan, when the other placed himself
deliberately at his elbow; "there are suppressed noises on the plain which may
show Montcalm has not yet entirely deserted his conquest". "Then ears are better than eyes", said the undisturbed
scout, who, having just deposited a portion of a bear between his grinders,
spoke thick and slow, like one whose mouth was doubly occupied. "I myself saw
him caged in Ty, with all his host; for your Frenchers, when they have done a
clever thing, like to get back, and have a dance, or a merry-making, with the
women over their success". "I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and plunder
may keep a Huron here after his tribe has departed. It would be well to
extinguish the fire, and have a watch -- listen! you hear the noise I mean"!
"An Indian more rarely lurks about the graves. Though ready
to slay, and not over regardful of the means, he is commonly content with the
scalp, unless when blood is hot, and temper up; but after spirit is once fairly
gone, he forgets his enmity, and is willling to let the dead find their natural
rest. Speaking of spirits, major, are you of opinion that the heaven of a
red-skin and of us whites will be of one and the same"? "No doubt -- no doubt. I thought I heard it again! or was
it the rustling of the leaves in the top of the beech"? "For my own part", continued Hawkeye, turning his face for
a moment in the direction indicated by
1 a smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the
slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner along the dark and
tangled pathway. The young man regarded the last speaker in open admiration, and
even permitted her fairer, though certainly not more beautiful companion, to
proceed unattended, while he sedulously opened the way himself for the passage
of her who has been called Cora. It would seem that the domestics had been
previously instructed; for, instead of penetrating the thicket, they followed
the route of the column; a measure which Heyward stated had been dictated by the
sagacity of their guide, in order to diminish the marks of their trail, if,
haply, the Canadian savages should be lurking so far in advance of their army.
For many minutes the intricacy of the route admitted of no further dialogue;
after which they emerged from the broad border of underbrush which grew along
the line of the highway, and entered under the high but dark arches of the
forest. Here their progress was less interrupted; and the instant the guide
perceived that the females could command their steeds, he moved on, at a pace
between a trot and a walk, and at a rate which kept the
-17-sure-footed and peculiar animals they rode
at a fast yet easy amble. The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora,
when the distant sound of horses; hoofs, clattering over the roots of the broken
way in his rear, caused him to check his charger; and, as his companions drew
their reins at the same instant, the whole party came to a halt, in order to
obtain an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption. Note: 1 In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay called
Narragansett, so named after a powerful tribe of Indians, which formerly dwelt
on its banks. Accident, or one of those unaccountable freaks which nature
sometimes plays in the animal world, gave rise to a breed of horses which were
once well known in America, and distinguished by their habit of pacing. Horses
of this race were, and are still, in much request as saddle horses, on account
of their hardiness and the ease of their movements. As they were also sure of
foot, the Narragansetts were greatly sought for by females who were obliged to
travel over the roots and holes in the "new countries".
Chapter 23
Chapter 3
-25-"Before these fields were shorn and
till'd, Full to the brim our rivers flow'd; The melody of waters fill'd
The fresh and boundless wood; And torrents dash'd, and rivulets play'd,
And fountains spouted in the shade". -- Chapter 34
Chapter 4
-36-"Well go thy way: thou shalt not from
this grove Till I torment thee for this injury". -- Chapter 45
Chapter 5
-47-..."In such a night Did Thisbe
fearfully o'ertrip the dew; And saw the lion's shadow ere himself".Chapter 56
Chapter 6
-59-"Those strains that once did sweet in
Zion glide; He wales a portion with judicious care; And "Let us worship
God", he says, with solemn air". -- Chapter 67
Chapter 7
-73-"They do not sleep, On yonder
cliffs, a grizzly band, I see them sit".Chapter 78
Chapter 8
-88-"They linger yet, Avengers of
their native land". -- Chapter 89
Chapter 9
-101-"Be gay securely; Dispel, my fair,
with smiles, the tim'rous clouds, That hang on thy clear brow". -- Chapter 910
Chapter 10
-112-"I fear we shall outsleep the coming
morn As much as we this night have overwatched"! -- Chapter 1011
Chapter 11
-127-"Cursed be my tribe If I forgive
him". -- Chapter 1112
Chapter 12
-143-"Clo. -- I am gone, sire,
And anon, sire, I'll be with you again". -- Chapter 1213
Chapter 13
-161-
Chapter 1314
Chapter 14
-175-"Guard. -- Qui est la?
Puc. -- Paisans, pauvres gens de France". -- Chapter 1415
Chapter 15
-192-"Then go we in, to know his embassy;
Which I could, with ready guess, declare, Before the Frenchmen speak a
word of it", -- Chapter 1516
Chapter 16
-206-
Chapter 1617
Chapter 17
-221-"Weave we the woof. The thread is
spun. The web is wove. The work is done". -- Chapter 1718
Chapter 18
-239-"Why, anything; An honorable
murderer, if you will; For naught I did in hate, but all in honor". -- Chapter 1819
Chapter 19
-154-