University of Virginia Library

2. CHAPTER II.

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 demeanour, 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 pointed impressively toward his
rude hut, when his labour was ended; and Heyward,
who understood the meaning of the silent gesture,
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 Hawk-eye and the Indians lighted their
fire, and took their evening's repast, a frugal mean of

dried bear's meat, the young man paid a visit to that
curtain of the dilapidated fort, which looked out on
the sheet of the Horican. The wind had fallen, and
the waves were already rolling on the sandy beach
beneath him, in a more regular and tempered succession.
The clouds, as if tired of their furious chase,
were breaking asunder; the heavier volumes, gathering
in black masses about the horizon, while the
lighter scud still hurried above the water, or eddied
among the tops of the mountains, like broken flights
of birds, hovering around their roosts. Here and
there, a red and fiery star struggled through the
drifting vapour, furnishing a lurid gleam of brightness
to the dull aspect of the heavens. Within the
bosom of the encircling hills, an impenetrable darkness
had already settled, and the plain lay like a vast
and deserted charnel-house, without omen or whisper,
to disturb the slumbers of its numerous and
hapless tenants.

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 reposed the
dead. 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 towards the water, and strove

to divert his attention to the mimic stars, that dimly
glimmered along 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. Hawk-eye threw his rifle across an arm,
and complied, but with an air so unmoved and calm,
as to prove how much he accounted on the security
of their position.

“Listen,” said Duncan, when the other had placed
himself deliberately at his elbow; “there are
suppressed noises on the plain, which may show that
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,
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 the
spirit is once fairly gone, he forgets his enmity, and
is willing 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
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 Hawk-eye, turning
his face, for a moment, in the direction indicated
by Heyward, but with a vacant and careless
manner, “I believe that paradise is ordained for
happiness; and that men will be indulged in it according
to their dispositions and gifts. I therefore
judge, that a red-skin is not far from the truth, when
he believes he is to find them glorious hunting
grounds of which his traditions tell; nor, for that
matter, do I think it would be any disparagement to
a man without a cross, to pass his time—”

“You hear it again!” interrupted Duncan.

“Ay, ay; when food is scarce, and when food is
plenty, a wolf grows bold,” said the unmoved scout.
“There would be picking, too, among the skins of
the devils, if there was light and time for the sport!
But, concerning the life that is to come, major. I
have heard preachers say, in the settlements, that
heaven was a place of rest. Now men's minds differ
as to their ideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I
say it with reverence to the ordering of Providence,
it would be no great indulgence to be kept shut up in

those mansions of which they preach, having a natural
longing for motion and the chase.”

Duncan, who was now made to understand the
nature of the noises he had heard, answered, with
more attention to the subject which the humour of
the scout had chosen for discussion, by saying—

“It is difficult to account for the feelings that may
attend the last great change.”

“It would be a change indeed, for a man who has
passed his days in the open air,” returned the single
minded scout; “and who has so often broken his fast
on the head waters of the Hudson, to sleep within
sound of the roaring Mohawk! But it is a comfort
to know we serve a merciful Master, though we do it
each after his fashion, and with great tracts of wilderness
atween us—What goes there?”

“Is it not the rushing of the wolves, as you have
mentioned?”

Hawk-eye slowly shook his head, and beckoned
for Duncan to follow him to a spot, whither the glare
from the fire did not extend. When he had taken
this precaution, the scout placed himself in an attitude
of intense attention, and listened, long and
keenly, for a repetition of the low sound that had so
unexpectedly startled him. His vigilance, however,
seemed exercised in vain; for, after a fruitless pause,
he whispered to Duncan—

“We must give a call to Uncas. The boy has
Indian senses, and may hear what is hid from us;
for, being a white-skin, I will not deny my nature.”

The young Mohican, who was conversing in a low
voice with his father, started as he heard the meaning

of an owl, and springing on his feet, he looked
toward the black mounds, as if seeking the place
whence the sounds proceeded. The scout repeated
the call, and in a few moments, Duncan saw the
figure of Uncas stealing cautiously along the rampart,
to the spot where they stood.

Hawk-eye explained his wishes in a very few
words, which were spoken in the Delaware tongue.
So soon as Uncas was in possession of the reason
why he was summoned, he threw himself flat on the
turf; where, to the eyes of Duncan, he appeared to
lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at the immovable
attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe
the manner in which he employed his faculties
to obtain the desired information, Heyward advanced
a few steps, and bent over the dark object, on which
he had kept his eyes intently riveted. Then it
was he discovered that the form of Uncas had vanished,
and that he beheld only the dark outline of
an inequality in the embankment.

“What has become of the Mohican?” he demanded
of the scout, stepping back in amazement; “it
was here that I saw him fall, and I could have sworn
that here he yet remained!”

“Hist! speak lower; for we know not what ears
are open, and the Mingoes are a quick-witted breed.
As for Uncas, he is out on the plain, and the Maquas,
if any such are about us, will find their equal.”

“You then think that Montcalm has not called off
all his Indians! Let us give the alarm to our companions,
that we may stand by our arms. Here are
five of us, who are not unused to meet an enemy.”

“Not a word to either, as you value life! Look at
the Sagamore, how like a grand Indian chief he sits
by the fire! If there are any skulkers out in the
darkness, they will never discover, by his countenance,
that we suspect danger to be at hand!”

“But they may discover him, and it will prove his
death. His person can be too plainly seen by the
light of that fire, and he will become the first and
most certain victim!”

“It is undeniable, that now you speak the truth,”
returned the scout, betraying more of anxiety in his
manner than was usual; “yet what can be done!
A single suspicious look might bring on an attack before
we are ready to receive it. He knows, by the
call I gave to Uncas, that we have struck a scent; I
will tell him that we are on the trail of the Mingoes;
his Indian nature will teach him how to act.”

The scout then applied his fingers to his mouth,
and raised a low hissing sound, that caused Duncan,
at first, to start aside, believing that he heard a serpent.
The head of Chingachgook was resting on a
hand, as he sat musing by himself; but the moment
he heard the warning of the animal whose name he
bore, it arose to an upright position, and his dark
eyes glanced swiftly and keenly on every side of him.
With this sudden and perhaps involuntary movement,
every appearance of surprise or alarm was
ended. His rifle lay untouched, and apparently unnoticed,
within reach of his hand. The tomahawk
that he had loosened in his belt, for the sake of ease,
was even suffered to fall from its usual situation to
the ground, and his form seemed to sink, like that of a

man whose nerves and sinews were suffered to relax
for the purpose of rest. Cunningly resuming his
former position, though with a change of hands, as if
the movement had been made merely to relieve the
limb, the native awaited the result with a calmness
and fortitude, that none but an Indian warrior would
have known how to exercise.

But Heyward saw, that while to a less instructed
eye the Mohican chief appeared to slumber, his nostrils
were expanded, his head was turned a little to
one side, as if to assist the organs of hearing, and
that his quick and rapid glances ran incessantly over
every object within the power of his vision.

“See the noble fellow!” whispered Hawk-eye,
pressing the arm of Heyward; “he knows that a
look, or a motion, might disconsart our wisdom,
and put us at the mercy of them imps—”

He was interrupted by the flash and report of a
rifle. The air was filled with sparks of fire, around
that spot where the eyes of Heyward were still fastened,
with admiration and wonder. A second
look told him, that Chingachgook had disappeared in
the confusion. In the mean time, the scout had
thrown forward his rifle, like one prepared for instant
service, and awaited, impatiently, the moment, when
an enemy might rise to view. But with the solitary
and fruitless attempt made on the life of Chingachgook,
the attack appeared to have terminated.
Once or twice the listeners thought they could distinguish
the distant rustling of bushes, as bodies of
some unknown description rushed through them;
nor was it long before Hawk-eye pointed out the

“scampering of the wolves,” as if they fled precipitately
before the passage of some intruders on their
proper domains. After an impatient and breathless
pause of several minutes, a plunge was heard into the
water, and was immediately succeeded by the report
of another rifle.

“There goes Uncas!” said the scout; “the boy
bears a smart piece! I know its crack, as well
as a father knows the language of his child, for I carried
the gun myself until a better offered.”

“What can this mean!” demanded Duncan;
“we are watched, and, as it would seem, marked
for destruction.”

“Yonder scattered brand can witness that no good
was intended, and this Indian will testify that no harm
has been done,” returned the scout, dropping his
rifle coolly across his arm again, and following Chingachgook,
who just then re-appeared within the circle
of light, into the bosom of the works. “How is
it, Sagamore! Are the Mingoes upon us in earnest,
or is it only one of those reptyles who hang upon the
skirts of a war party, to scalp the dead, go in, and
make their boast among the squaws of the valiant
deeds done on the pale-faces!”

Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat, nor
did he make any reply, until after he had examined
the firebrand which had been struck by the bullet,
that had nearly proved fatal to himself. After which,
he was content to reply, holding a single finger up to
view, with the English monosyllable—

“One.”

“I thought as much,” returned Hawk-eye, seating

himself; “and as he had got the cover of the lake
afore Uncas pulled upon him, it is more than probable
the knave will sing his lies about some great ambushment,
in which he was outlying on the trail of
two Mohicans and a white hunter—for the officers
can be considered as little better than idlers in
such a skrimmage. Well, let him—let him. There
are always some honest men in every nation, though
heaven knows, too, that they are scarce among the
Maquas, to look down an upstart when he brags
ag'in the face of all reason! The varlet sent his lead
within whistle of your ears, Sagamore.”

Chingachgook turned a calm and incurious eye
towards the place where the ball had struck, and
then resumed his former attitude, with a composure
that could not be disturbed by so trifling an incident.
Just then Uncas glided into the circle, and seated
himself at the fire, with the same appearance of indifference
as was maintained by his father.

Of these several movements, Heyward was a
deeply interested and wondering observer. It appeared
to him as though the foresters had some secret
means of intelligence, which had escaped the
vigilance of his own faculties. In place of that eager
and garrulous narration, with which a white youth
would have endeavoured to communicate, and perhaps
exaggerate, that which had passed out in the
darkness of the plain, the young warrior was seemingly
content to let his deeds speak for themselves.
It was, in fact, neither the moment nor the occasion
for an Indian to boast of his exploits; and it is probable,
that had Heyward neglected to inquire, not

another syllable would, just then, have been uttered
on the subject.

“What has become of our enemy, Uncas?” demanded
Duncan; “we heard your rifle, and hoped
you had not fired in vain.”

The young chief removed a fold of his hunting shirt,
and quietly exposed the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore
as the symbol of his victory. Chingachgook laid his
hand on the scalp, and considered it for a moment
with deep attention. Then dropping it, with powerful
disgust depicted in his strong and expressive features,
he exclaimed—

“Hugh! Oneida!”

“Oneida!” repeated the scout, who was fast losing
his interest in the scene, in an apathy nearly assimilated
to that of his red associates, but who now advanced
with uncommon earnestness to regard the
bloody badge. “By the Lord, if the Oneidas are
outlying upon our trail, we shall be flanked by devils
on every side of us! Now, to white eyes there is no
difference between this bit of skin and that of any
other Indian, and yet the Sagamore declares it came
from the poll of a Mingo; nay, he even names the
tribe of the poor devil, with as much ease as if the
scalp was the leaf of a book, and each hair a letter.
What right have christian whites to boast of their
learning, when a savage can read a language, that
would prove too much for the wisest of them all!
What say you, lad; of what people was the knave?”

Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout, and
answered, in his soft, musical voice—

“Oneida.”

“Oneida again! when one Indian makes a declaration
it is commonly true; but when he is supported
by his people, set it down as gospel!”

“The poor fellow has mistaken us for French!”
said Heyward, “or he would not have attempted
the life of a friend.”

“He mistake a Mohican, in his paint, for a Huron!
You would be as likely to mistake them white coated
grenadiers of Montcalm, for the scarlet jackets of
the `Royal Americans,”' returned the scout. “No,
no, the sarpent knew his errand; nor was there any
great mistake in the matter, for there is but little love
atween a Delaware and a Mingo, let their tribes go
out to fight for whom they may, in a white quarrel.
For that matter, though the Oneidas do serve his sacred
majesty, who is my own sovereign lord and master,
I should not have deliberated long about letting
off `killdeer' at the imp myself, had luck thrown him
in my way.”

“That would have been an abuse of our treaties,
and unworthy of your character.”

“When a man consorts much with a people,”
continued Hawk-eye, “if they are honest, and he
no knave, love will grow up atwixt them. It is true,
that white cunning has managed to throw the tribes
into great confusion, as respects friends and enemies;
so that the Hurons and the Oneidas, who speak the
same tongue, or what may be called the same, take
each other's scalps, and the Delawares are divided
among themselves; a few hanging about their great
council fire, on their own river, and fighting on the
same side with the Mingoes, while the greater part
are in the Canadas, out of natural enmity to the Maquas—thus

throwing every thing into disorder, and
destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet a red
natur is not likely to alter with every shift of policy!
so that the love atwixt a Mohican and a Mingo is
much like the regard between a white man and a
sarpent.”

“I regret to hear it; for I had believed, those natives
who dwelt within our boundaries had found us
too just and liberal, not to identify themselves, fully,
with our quarrels.”

“Why,” said the scout, “I believe it is natur to
give a preference to one's own quarrels before those
of strangers. Now, for myself, I do love justice;
and therefore—I will not say I hate a Mingo, for that
may be unsuitable to my colour and my religion—
though I will just repeat, it may have been owing to
the night that `kill-deer' had no hand in the death
of this skulking Oneida.”

Then, as if satisfied with the force of his own
reasons, whatever might be their effect on the opinions
of the other disputant, the honest but implacable
woodsman turned from the fire, content to
let the controversy slumber. Heyward withdrew to
the rampart, too uneasy and too little accustomed to
the warfare of the woods, to remain at ease under
the possibility of such insidious attacks. Not so,
however, with the scout and the Mohicans. Those
acute and long practised senses, whose powers so often
exceed the limits of all ordinary credulity, after
having detected the danger, had enabled them to ascertain
its magnitude and duration. Not one of the
three appeared in the least to doubt, now, of their

perfect security, as was indicated by the preparations
that were soon made, to sit in council over their future
proceedings.

The confusion of nations, and even of tribes, to
which Hawk-eye alluded, existed at that period in
the fullest force. The great tie of language, and, of
course, of a common origin, was severed in many
places; and it was one of its consequences that the
Delaware and the Mingo, (as the people of the Six Nations
were called,) were found fighting in the same
ranks, while the latter sought the scalp of the Huron,
though believed to be the root of his own stock. The
Delawares were even divided among themselves.
Though love for the soil which had belonged to his
ancestors, kept the Sagamore of the Mohicans, with
a small band of followers who were serving at Edward,
under the banners of the English king, by far
the largest portion of his nation were known to be in
the field as allies of Montcalm. The reader probably
knows, if enough has not already been gleaned
from this narrative, that the Delaware, or Lenape,
claimed to be the progenitors of that numerous people,
who once were masters of most of the eastern and
northern states of America, of whom the community
of the Mohicans was an ancient and highly honoured
member.

It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of
the minute and intricate interests, which had armed
friend against friend, and brought natural enemies to
combat by each other's side, that the scout and his
companions now disposed themselves to deliberate
on the measures that were to govern their future

movements, amid so many jarring and savage races
of men. Duncan knew enough of Indian customs,
to understand the reason that the fire was replenished,
and why the warriors, not excepting Hawk-eye, took
their seats within the curl of its smoke, with so much
gravity and decorum. Placing himself at an angle
of the works, where he might be a spectator of the
scene within, while he kept a watchful eye against
any danger from without, he awaited the result, with
as much patience as he could summon for the occasion.

After a short and impressive pause, Chingachgook
lighted a pipe, whose bowl was curiously carved in
one of the soft stones of the country, and whose
stem was a tube of wood, and commenced smoking.
When he had inhaled enough of the fragrance of the
soothing weed, he passed the instrument into the
hands of the scout. In this manner the pipe had
made its rounds three several times, amid the most
profound silence, before either of the party opened
his lips to speak. Then the Sagamore, as the oldest
and highest in rank, in a few calm and dignified
words, proposed the subject for deliberation. He
was answered by the scout; and Chingachgook rejoined,
when the other objected to his opinions. But the
youthful Uncas continued a silent and respectful
listener, until Hawk-eye, in complaisance, demanded
his opinion. Heyward gathered from the manners
of the different speakers, that the father and son espoused
one side of a disputed question, while the
white man maintained the other. The contest gradually
grew warmer, until it was quite evident the

feelings of the speakers began to be somewhat enlisted
in the debate.

Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the
amicable contest, the most decorous christian assembly,
not even excepting those in which its reverend
ministers are collected, might have learned a wholesome
lesson of moderation from the forbearance and
courtesy of the disputants. The words of Uncas were
received with the same deep attention as those which
fell from the maturer wisdom of his father; and so far
from manifesting any impatience, none spoke, in reply,
until a few moments of silent meditation were,
seemingly, bestowed in deliberating on what had already
been said.

The language of the Mohicans was accompanied
by gestures so direct and natural, that Heyward had
but little difficulty in following the thread of their
argument. On the other hand, the scout was obscure;
because, from the lingering pride of colour, he
rather affected the cold and inartificial manner, which
characterizes all classes of Anglo-Americans, when
unexcited. By the frequency with which the Indians
described the marks of a forest trail, it was
evident they urged a pursuit by land, while the repeated
sweep of Hawk-eye's arm toward the Horican,
denoted that he advocated a passage across its
waters.

The latter was, to every appearance, fast losing
ground, and the point was about to be decided against
him, when he arose to his feet, and shaking off his
apathy, he suddenly assumed the manner of an Indian,
and adopted all the arts of native eloquence. Elevating

an arm, he pointed out the track of the sun, repeating
the gesture for every day that was necessary to
accomplish their object. Then he delineated a long
and painful path, amid rocks and water courses.
The age and weakness of the slumbering and unconscious
Munro, were indicated by signs too palpable
to be mistaken. Duncan perceived that even his
own powers were spoken lightly of, as the scout extended
his palm, and mentioned him by the appellation
of the “open hand;” a name his liberality
had purchased of all the friendly tribes. Then came
the representation of the light and graceful movements
of a canoe, set in forcible contrast to the tottering
steps of one enfeebled and tired. He concluded
by pointing to the scalp of the Oneida,
and apparently urging the necessity of their departing
speedily, and in a manner that should leave no
trail.

The Mohicans listened gravely, and with countenances
that reflected the sentiments of the speaker.
Conviction gradually wrought its influence, and towards
the close of Hawk-eye's speech, his sentences
were accompanied by the customary exclamation of
commendation. In short, Uncas and his father became
converts to his way of thinking, abandoning
their own previously expressed opinions, with a liberality
and candour, that, had they been the representatives
of some great and civilized people, would
have infallibly worked their political ruin, by destroying,
for ever, their reputation for consistency.

The instant the matter in discussion was decided,
the debate, and every thing connected with it, except

the result, appeared to be forgotten. Hawk-eye,
without looking round to read his triumph in
applauding eyes, very composedly stretched his tall
frame before the dying embers, and closed his own
organs in sleep.

Left now in a measure to themselves, the Mohicans,
whose time had been so much devoted to the
interests of others, seized the moment to devote some
attention to themselves. Casting off, at once, the
grave and austere demeanour of an Indian chief,
Chingachgook commenced speaking to his son in the
soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly
met the familiar air of his father, and before the hard
breathing of the scout announced that he slept, a
complete change was effected in the manner of his
two associates.

It is impossible to describe the music of their language,
while thus engaged in laughter and endearments,
in such a way as to render it intelligible to
those whose ears have never listened to its melody.
The compass of their voices, particularly that of the
youth, was wonderful; extending from the deepest
bass, to tones that were even feminine in softness.
The eyes of the father followed the plastic and ingenious
movements of the son with open delight, and he
never failed to smile in reply to the other's contagious,
but low laughter. While under the influence of these
gentle and natural feelings, no trace of ferocity was
to be seen in the softened features of the Sagamore.
His figured panoply of death looked more like a disguise
assumed in mockery, than a fierce annunciation

of a desire to carry destruction and desolation in
his footsteps.

After an hour passed in the indulgence of their
better feelings, Chingachgook abruptly announced
his desire to sleep, by wrapping his head in his blanket,
and stretching his form on the naked earth. The
merriment of Uncas instantly ceased; and carefully
raking the coals, in such a manner that they should
impart their warmth to his father's feet, the youth
sought his own pillow among the ruins of the place.

Imbibing renewed confidence from the security of
these experienced foresters, Heyward soon imitated
their example; and long before the night had turned,
they who lay in the bosom of the ruined work,
seemed to slumber as heavily as the unconscious multitude,
whose bones were already beginning to bleach,
on the surrounding plain.