University of Virginia Library

14. CHAPTER XIV.

So long as their enemy and his victim continued
in sight, the multitude remained, motionless as beings
charmed to the place by some power that was
friendly to the Huron; but the instant he disappeared,
it became tossed and agitated by fierce and powerful
passion. Uncas maintained his elevated stand,
keeping his eyes on the form of Cora, until the colours
of her dress were blended with the foliage of
the forest; when he descended, and moving silently
through the throng, he disappeared in that lodge,
from which he had so recently issued. A few of the
graver and more attentive warriors, who caught the
gleams of anger that shot from the eyes of the young
chief, in passing, followed him to the place he had
selected for his meditations. After which, Tamenund
and Alice were removed, and the women and
children were ordered to disperse. During the momentous
hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled
a hive of troubled bees, who only awaited
the appearance and example of their leader, to take
some distant and momentous flight.

A young warrior, at length, issued from the
lodge of Uncas, and moving deliberately, with a
sort of grave march, towards a dwarf pine, that grew
in the crevices of the rocky terrace, he tore the bark
from its body, and then returned whence he came,
without speaking. He was soon followed by another,
who stripped the sapling of its branches, leaving
it a naked and “blazed” trunk. A third coloured the
post with stripes of a dark red paint; all which indications
of a hostile design in the leaders of the nation,
were received by the men without, in a gloomy and
ominous silence. Finally, the Mohican himself reappeared,
devested of all his attire, except his
girdle and leggings, and with one half of his fine features
hid under a cloud of threatening black.

Uncas moved with a slow and dignified tread towards
the post, which he immediately commenced
encircling with a measured step, not unlike an ancient
dance, raising his voice, at the same time, in
the wild and irregular chant of his war-song. The
notes were in the extremes of human sounds; being
sometimes melancholy and exquisitely plaintive,
even rivalling the melody of birds—and then, by sudden
and startling transitions, causing the auditors to
tremble by their depth and energy. The words
were few, and often repeated, proceeding gradually
from a sort of invocation, or hymn, to the deity, to an
intimation of the warrior's object, and terminating as
they commenced, with an acknowledgment of his own
dependence on the Great Spirit. If it were possible
to translate the comprehensive and melodious

language in which he spoke, the ode might read
something like the following—

At the end of what might be called each verse, he
made a pause, by raising a note louder and longer
than common, that was peculiarly suited to the sentiment
just expressed. The first close was solemn, and
intended to convey the idea of veneration; the second
descriptive, bordering on the alarming; and
the third was the well-known and terrific war-whoop,
which burst from the lips of the young warrior, like
a combination of all the frightful sounds of battle.
The last was like the first, humble, meek, and imploring.
Three times did he repeat this song, and
as often did he encircle the post, in his dance.

At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly
esteemed chief of the Lenape, followed his example,
singing words of his own, however, to music of a similar

character. Warrior after warrior enlisted in
the dance, until all of any renown and authority
were to be numbered in its mazes. The spectacle
now became wildly terrific; the fierce looking and
menacing visages of the chiefs receiving additional
power, from the appalling strains in which they
mingled their guttural tones. Just then, Uncas
struck his tomahawk deep into the post, and raised his
voice in a shout, which might be termed his own battle
cry. The act announced that he had assumed
the chief authority in the intended expedition.

It was a signal that awakened all the slumbering
passions of the nation. A hundred youths, who
had hitherto been restrained by the diffidence of
their years, rushed in a frantic body on the fancied
emblem of their enemy, and severed it asunder, splinter
by splinter, until nothing remained of the trunk
but its roots in the earth. During this moment of
tumult, the most ruthless deeds of war were performed
on the fragments of the tree, with as much apparent
ferocity, as though they were the actual living victims
of their cruelty. Some were scalped; some received
the keen and trembling axe; and others suffered
by thrusts from the fatal knife. In short, the manifestations
of zeal and fierce delight were so great and
unequivocal, that it was soon apparent the expedition
was unqualifiedly declared to be a war of the nation.

The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved
out of the circle, and cast his eyes up at the sun,
which was just gaining the point, when the truce with
Magua was to end. The fact was soon announced by
a significant gesture, accompanied by a corresponding

cry, and the whole of the excited multitude abandoned
their mimic warfare, with shrill and loud yells
of pleasure, to prepare for the more hazardous experiment
of the reality.

The whole face of the encampment was now instantly
changed. The warriors, who were already
armed and painted, became as still, as if they were
incapable of any uncommon burst of emotion. On
the other hand, the women broke out of the lodges,
with the songs of joy and those of lamentation, so
strangely mingled, that it might have been difficult
to have said which passion preponderated. None,
however, were idle. Some bore their choicest articles,
others their young, and some their aged and infirm,
into the forest, which spread itself like a verdant
carpet of bright green, against the side of the mountain.
Thither Tamenund also retired, with calm
composure, after a short and touching interview with
Uncas; from whom the sage separated with the reluctance
that a parent would quit a long, lost, and
just recovered, child. In the mean time, Duncan
saw Alice to a place of safety, and then sought the
scout, with features that denoted how eagerly he,
also, panted for the approaching contest.

But Hawk-eye was too much accustomed to the
war-song and the enlistments of the natives, to betray
any interest in the passing scene. He merely
cast an occasional look at the number and quality of
the warriors, who, from time to time, signified their
readiness to accompany Uncas to the field. In this
particular he was soon satisfied; for, as has been already
seen, the power of the young chief quickly

embraced every fighting man in the nation. After
this material point was so satisfactorily decided, he
despatched an Indian boy, in quest of “kill-deer”
and the rifle of Uncas, to the place, in the margin of
the forest, where they had deposited the weapons, on
approaching the camp of the Delawares—a measure
of double policy, inasmuch as it protected the arms
from their own fate, if detained as prisoners, and
gave them the advantage of appearing among the
strangers rather as sufferers, than as men provided
with the means of defence and subsistence. In selecting
another to perform the office of reclaiming
his highly prized rifle, the scout had lost sight of none
of his habitual caution. He knew that Magua had
not come unattended, and he also knew that Huron
spies watched the movements of their new enemies,
along the whole boundary of the woods. It would,
therefore, have been fatal to himself to have attempted
the experiment; a warrior would have fared no
better; but the danger of a boy would not be likely to
commence until after his object was discovered.
When Heyward joined him, the scout was coolly
awaiting the result of this experiment.

The boy, who had been well instructed, and was
sufficiently crafty, proceeded, with a bosom that was
swelling with the pride of such a confidence, and all
the hopes of young ambition, carelessly across the
clearing to the wood, which he entered at a point at
some little distance from the place where the guns
were secreted. The instant, however, he was concealed
by the foliage of the bushes, his dusky form
was to be seen gliding, like that of a serpent, towards

the desired treasure. He was successful; and
in another moment he appeared, flying across the
narrow opening that skirted the base of the terrace
on which the village stood, with the velocity of an
arrow, and bearing one of his prizes in each hand.
He had actually gained the crags, and was leaping up
their sides with incredible activity, when a shot from
the woods showed how accurate had been the judgment
of the scout. The boy answered it with a feeble,
but contemptuous shout, and immediately a second
bullet was sent after him, from another part of
the cover. At the next instant he appeared on the
level above, elevating his guns in triumph, while
he moved, with the air of a conqueror, towards the
renowned hunter, who had honoured him by so glorious
a commission.

Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawk-eye had
taken in the fate of his messenger, he received “kill-deer”
with a satisfaction that, momentarily, drove all
other recollections from his mind. After examining
the piece with a keen and intelligent eye, and opening
and shutting the pan some ten or fifteen times,
and trying sundry other equally important experiments
on the lock, he turned to the boy, and demanded,
with great manifestations of kindness, if he
was hurt. The urchin looked proudly up in his face,
but made no reply.

“Ay! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm!”
added the scout, taking up the limb of the patient
sufferer, across which a deep flesh wound had been
made by one of the bullets; “but a little bruised
alder will act like a charm. In the mean time, I

will wrap it in a badge of wampum! You have commenced
the business of a warrior early, my brave
boy, and are likely to bear a plenty of honourable
scars to your grave. I know many young men that
have taken scalps, who cannot show such a mark as
this! Go;” having bound up the arm; “you will
be a chief!”

The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood
than the vainest courtier could be of his blushing
riband; and stalked among the fellows of his age,
an object of general admiration and envy.

But in a moment of so many serious and important
duties, this single act of juvenile fortitude, did not
attract the general notice and commendation it
would have received under milder auspices. It
had, however, served to apprise the Delawares of
the position and the intentions of their enemies. Accordingly,
a party of adventurers, better suited to the
task than the weak, though spirited boy, were ordered
to dislodge the skulkers. The duty was soon
performed, for most of the Hurons retired of themselves,
when they found they had been discovered.
The Delawares followed to a sufficient distance from
their own encampment, and then halted for orders,
apprehensive of being led into an ambush. As both
parties secreted themselves, the woods were again
as still and quiet, as a mild summer morning and
deep solitude could render them.

The calm, but still impatient Uncas, now collected
his chiefs, and divided his power. He presented
Hawk-eye as a warrior, often tried, and always
found deserving of confidence. When he found his

friend met with a favourable reception, he bestowed
on him the command of twenty men, like himself,
active, skilful, and resolute. He gave the Delawares
to understand the rank of Heyward among the
troops of the Yengeese, and then tendered to him a
trust of equal authority. But Duncan declined the
charge, professing his readiness to serve as a volunteer
by the side of the scout. After this disposition,
the young Mohican appointed various native chiefs to
fill the different situations of responsibility, and the
time now pressing, he gave forth the word to march.
He was cheerfully, but silently, obeyed, by more
than two hundred men.

Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested;
nor did they encounter any living objects,
that could either give the alarm, or furnish the
intelligence they needed, until they came upon the
lairs of their own scouts. A halt was then ordered,
and the chiefs were assembled in front to hold a
“whispering council.” At this meeting, divers
plans of operation were suggested, though none of
a character to meet the wishes of their ardent leader.
Had Uncas followed the promptings of his own inclinations,
he would have led his followers to the
charge without a moment's delay, and put the conflict
to the hazard of an instant issue; but such a
course would have been in opposition to all the received
practices and opinions of his countrymen.
He was, therefore, fain to adopt a caution, that in
the present temper of his mind, he execrated, and to
listen to advice at which his fiery spirit chafed, under

the vivid recollection of Cora's danger, and Magua's
insolence.

After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes,
a solitary individual was seen advancing from
the side of the enemy, with such apparent haste, as
to induce the belief, he might be a messenger charged
with some pacific overtures. When within a hundred
yards, however, of the cover, behind which the
Delaware council had assembled, the stranger hesitated,
appeared uncertain what course to take, and
finally halted. All eyes were now turned on Uncas,
as if seeking directions how to proceed.

“Hawk-eye,” said the young chief, in a low voice,
“he must never speak to the Hurons again.”

“His time has come,” said the laconic scout,
thrusting the long barrel of his rifle through the
leaves, and taking his deliberate and fatal aim. But,
instead of pulling the trigger, he lowered the muzzle
again, and indulged himself in a fit of his peculiar
mirth. “I took the imp for a Mingo, as I'm a miserable
sinner!” he said; “but when my eye ranged
along his ribs, for a place to get the bullet in—would
you think it, Uncas—I saw the musicianer's blower!
and so, after all, it is the man they call Gamut, whose
death can profit no one, and whose life, if his tongue
can do any thing but sing, may be made serviceable
to our own ends. If sounds have not lost their virtue,
I'll soon have a discourse with the honest fellow,
and that in a voice he'll find more agreeable than
the speech of `kill-deer.”'

So saying, Hawk-eye laid aside his rifle, and
crawling through the bushes, until within hearing of

David, he attempted to repeat the musical effort,
which had conducted himself, with so much safety
and eclat, through the Huron encampment. The
exquisite organs of Gamut could not readily be deceived,
(and, to say the truth, it would have been
difficult for any other than Hawk-eye to produce a
similar noise,) and, consequently, having once before
heard the sounds, he now knew whence they
proceeded. The poor fellow appeared instantly
relieved from a state of great embarrassment; for,
immediately pursuing the direction of the voice—a
task that to him was not much less arduous, than it
would have been to have gone up in face of a battery—he
soon discovered the hidden songster, who
produced such melodious strains.

“I wonder what the Hurons will think of that!”
said the scout, laughing, as he took his companion
by the arm, and urged him swiftly towards the rear.
“If the knaves lie within ear-shot, they will say there
are two non-compossurs, instead of one! But here
we are safe,” he added, pointing to Uncas and his
associates. “Now give us the history of the Mingo
inventions, in natural English, and without any ups-and-downs
of voice.”

David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild
looking chiefs, in mute wonder; but assured by the
presence of faces that he knew, he soon rallied his
faculties so far, as to make an intelligent reply.

“The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers,”
said David; “and, as I fear, with evil intent. There
has been much howling and ungodly revelry, together
with such sounds as it is profanity to

utter, in their habitations within the past hour; so
much so, in truth, that I have fled to the Delawares
in search of peace.”

“Your ears might not have profited much by the
exchange, had you been quicker of foot,” returned
the scout, a little drily. “But let that be as it may;
where are the Hurons?”

“They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and
their village, in such force, that prudence would
teach you instantly to return.”

Uncas cast a proud glance along the range of trees
which concealed his own band, and then mentioned
the name of—

“Magua?”—

“Is among them. He brought in the maiden
that had sojourned with the Delawares, and leaving
her in the cave, has put himself, like a raging wolf, at
the head of his savages. I know not what has troubled
his spirit so greatly!”

“He has left her, you say, in the cave!” interrupted
Heyward; “'tis well that we know its situation!
May not something be done for her instant relief?”

Uncas looked earnestly at the scout, before he
asked—

“What says Hawk-eye?”

“Give me my twenty rifles, and I will turn to the
right, along the stream, and passing by the huts of
the beaver, will join the Sagamore and the Colonel.
You shall then hear the whoop from that quarter;
with this wind one may easily send it a mile. Then,
Uncas, do you drive in their front; when they come
within range of our pieces, we will give them a blow,

that I pledge the good name of an old frontiersman,
shall make their line bend, like an ashen bow. After
which, we will carry their village, and take the woman
from the cave; when the affair may be finished
with the tribe, according to a white man's battle, by
a blow and a victory; or, in the Indian fashion,
with dodge and cover. There may be no great
learning, major, in this plan, but with courage and
patience it can all be done.”

“I like it much,” cried Duncan, who saw that the
release of Cora was the primary object in the mind of
the scout; “I like it much. Let it then be instantly
attempted.”

After a short conference, the plan was matured,
and rendered more intelligible to the several parties;
the different signals were appointed, and the chiefs
separated, each to his allotted station.