 | CHAPTER X. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path |  |
10. CHAPTER X.
Athwart my brightest visions here,
A cloud of darkest gloom has wrapt
The remnant of my brief career!
No song, no echo can I win;
The sparkling fount has dried within.”
Margaret Davidson.
Hist and Hetty arose with the return of light, leaving
Judith still buried in sleep. It took but a minute for the
first to complete her toilet. Her long coal-black hair was
soon adjusted in a simple knot, the calico dress belted tight
to her slender waist, and her little feet concealed in their
gaudily-ornamented moccasins. When attired, she left her
companion employed in household affairs, and went herself
on the platform, to breathe the pure air of the morning.
Here she found Chingachgook studying the shores of the
lake, the mountains, and the heavens, with the sagacity of
a man of the woods, and the gravity of an Indian.
The meeting between the lovers was simple, but affectionate.
The chief showed a manly kindness, equally removed
from boyish weakness and haste; while the girl
betrayed in her smile and half-averted looks, the bashful
tenderness of her sex. Neither spoke, unless it were with
the eyes, though each understood the other as fully as if a
vocabulary of words and protestations had been poured out.
Hist seldom appeared to more advantage than at that moment;
for, just from her rest and ablutions, there was a
freshness about her youthful form and face, that the toils of
the wood do not always permit to be exhibited, by even the
juvenile and pretty. Then Judith had not only imparted
some of her own skill in the toilet, during their short intercourse,
but she had actually bestowed a few well-selected
ornaments from her own stores, that contributed not a little
to set off the natural graces of the Indian maid. All this
was illuminated with a look of pleasure; but it soon grew
grave, again, and became saddened and anxious. The
stools used the previous night were still standing on the
platform; placing two against the walls of the hut, he
seated himself on one, making a gesture to his companion
to take the other. This done, he continued thoughtful and
silent, for quite a minute, maintaining the reflecting dignity
of one born to take his seat at the council-fire, while Hist
was furtively watching the expression of his face, patient
and submissive, as became a woman of her people. Then
the young warrior stretched his arm before him, as if to
point out the glories of the scene at that witching hour,
when the whole panorama, as usual, was adorned by the
mellow distinctness of early morning, sweeping with his
hand slowly over lake, hills and heavens. The girl followed
the movement with pleased wonder, smiling as each new
beauty met her gaze.
“Hugh!” exclaimed the chief, in admiration of a scene
so unusual even to him, for this was the first lake he had
ever beheld. “This is the country of the Manitou! It is
too good for Mingos, Hist; but the curs of that tribe are
howling in packs through the woods. They think that the
Delawares are asleep, over the mountains.”
“All but one of them is, Chingachgook. There is one
here; and he is of the blood of Uncas!”
“What is one warrior against a tribe?—The path to our
villages is very long and crooked, and we shall travel it
under a cloudy sky. I am afraid, too, Honeysuckle of the
Hills, that we shall travel it alone!”
Hist understood the allusion, and it made her sad; though
it sounded sweet to her ears to be compared, by the warrior
she so loved, to the most fragrant, and the pleasantest of all
the wild-flowers of her native woods. Still she continued silent,
as became her when the allusion was to a grave interest
that men could best control, though it exceeded the power of
education to conceal the smile that gratified feeling brought
to her pretty mouth.
“When the sun is thus,” continued the Delaware, pointing
to the zenith, by simply casting upward a hand and
finger, by a play of the wrist, “the great hunter of our tribe
they roast and skin, even on full stomachs.”
“The Great Spirit may soften their hearts, and not suffer
them to be so bloody-minded. I have lived among the Hurons,
and know them. They have hearts, and will not forget
their own children, should they fall into the hands of
the Delawares.”
“A wolf is for ever howling; a hog will always eat.
They have lost warriors; even their women will call out
for vengeance. The pale-face has the eyes of an eagle, and
can see into a Mingo's heart; he looks for no mercy. There
is a cloud over his spirit, though it is not before his face.”
A long, thoughtful pause succeeded, during which Hist
stealthily took the hand of the chief, as if seeking his support,
though she scarce ventured to raise her eyes to a countenance
that was now literally becoming terrible, under the
conflicting passions, and stern resolution that were struggling
in the breast of its owner.
“What will the Son of Uncas do?” the girl at length
timidly asked. “He is a chief, and is already celebrated
in council, though so young; what does his heart tell him
is wisest; does the head, too, speak the same words as the
heart?”
“What does Wah-ta!-Wah say, at a moment when my
dearest friend is in such danger. The smallest birds sing
the sweetest; it is always pleasant to hearken to their songs.
I wish I could hear the Wren of the Woods in my difficulty;
its note would reach deeper than the ear.”
Again Hist experienced the profound gratification that the
language of praise can always awaken, when uttered by
those we love. The “Honeysuckle of the Hills” was a
term often applied to the girl, by the young men of the
Delawares, though it never sounded so sweet in her ears, as
from the lips of Chingachgook; but the latter alone had ever
styled her the Wren of the Woods. With him, however, it
had got to be a familiar phrase, and it was past expression
pleasant to the listener, since it conveyed to her mind the
idea that her advice and sentiments were as acceptable to
her future husband, as the tones of her voice and modes of
conveying them were agreeable; uniting the two things most
prized by an Indian girl, as coming from her betrothed, admiration
opinion. She pressed the hand she held between both her
own, and answered—
“Wah-ta!-Wah says that neither she nor the Great Serpent
could ever laugh again, or ever sleep without dreaming
of the Hurons, should the Deerslayer die under a Mingo
tomahawk, and they do nothing to save him. She would
rather go back, and start on her long path alone, than let
such a dark cloud pass before her happiness.”
“Good! The husband and the wife will have but one heart;
they will see with the same eyes, and feel with the same
feelings.”
What further was said, need not be related here. That
the conversation was of Deerslayer, and his hopes, has been
seen already, but the decision that was come to, will better
appear in the course of the narrative. The youthful pair
were yet conversing when the sun appeared above the tops
of the pines, and the light of a brilliant American day
streamed down into the valley, bathing “in deep joy” the
lake, the forests and the mountain sides. Just at this instant
Deerslayer came out of the cabin of the ark, and stepped
upon the platform. His first look was at the cloudless heavens,
then his rapid glance took in the entire panorama of
land and water, when he had leisure for a friendly nod at
his friends, and a cheerful smile for Hist.
“Well,” he said, in his usual, composed manner, and
pleasant voice; “he that sees the sun set in the west, and
wakes 'arly enough in the morning, will be sartain to find
him coming back ag'in in the east, like a buck that is hunted
round his ha'nts. I dare say, now, Hist, you've beheld
this, time and ag'in, and yet it never entered into your galish
mind to ask the reason?”
Both Chingachgook and his betrothed looked up at the
luminary, with an air that betokened sudden wonder, and
then they gazed at each other, as if to seek the solution of
the difficulty. Familiarity deadens the sensibilities, even as
connected with the gravest natural phenomena; and never
before had these simple beings thought of inquiring into a
movement that was of daily occurrence, however puzzling
it might appear on investigation. When the subject was thus
suddenly started, it struck both alike, and at the same instant,
in the natural sciences would strike the scholar.
Chingachgook alone saw fit to answer.
“The pale-faces know every thing,” he said; “can they
tell us why the sun hides his face, when he goes back, at
night.”
“Ay, that is downright red-skin l'arnin',” returned the
other, laughing; though he was not altogether insensible to
the pleasure of proving the superiority of his race, by solving
the difficulty, which he set about doing, in his own peculiar
manner. “Hark'ee, Sarpent,” he continued more gravely,
though too simply for affectation; “this is easierly explained
than an Indian brain may fancy. The sun, while he seems
to keep travelling in the heavens, never budges, but it is the
'arth that turns round; and any one can understand, if he
is placed on the side of a mill-wheel, for instance, when it's
in motion, that he must sometimes see the heavens, while he
is at other times under water. There's no great secret in
that, but plain natur'; the difficulty being in setting the 'arth
in motion.”
“How does my brother know that the earth turns round?”
demanded the Indian. “Can he see it?”
“Well, that's been a puzzler, I will own, Delaware; for
I've often tried, but never could fairly make it out. Sometimes
I've consaited that I could; and then ag'in, I've been
obliged to own it an onpossibility. Howsever, turn it does,
as all my people say, and you ought to believe 'em, since
they can foretell eclipses, and other prodigies, that used to
fill the tribes with terror, according to your own traditions
of such things.”
“Good. This is true; no red man will deny it. When
a wheel turns, my eyes can see it—they do not see the earth
turn.”
“Ay, that's what I call sense-obstinacy! Seeing is believing,
they say; and what they can't see, some men won't
in the least give credit to. Nevertheless, chief, that isn't
quite as good reason as it may at first seem. You believe
in the Great Spirit, I know; and yet, I conclude, it would
puzzle you to show where you see him!”
“Chingachgook can see Him everywhere—everywhere in
good things—the Evil Spirit in bad. Here, in the lake;
son of Uncas, in Tamenund, in Deerslayer. The Evil Spirit
is in the Mingos. That I know; I do not see the earth turn
round.”
“I don't wonder they call you the Sarpent, Delaware; no,
I don't! There's always a meaning in your words, and
there's often a meaning in your countenance, too! Notwithstanding,
your answers doesn't quite meet my idee.
That God is obsarvable in all nat'ral objects is allowable;
but then he is not parceptible in the way I mean. You know
there is a Great Spirit, by his works, and the pale-faces
know that the 'arth turns round by its works. This is the
reason of the matter, though how it is to be explained, is
more than I can exactly tell you. This I know; all my
people consait that fact; and what all the pale-faces consait,
is very likely to be true.”
“When the sun is in the top of that pine to-morrow,
where will my brother Deerslayer be?”
The hunter started, and he looked intently, though totally
without alarm, at his friend. Then he signed for him to follow,
and led the way into the ark, where he might pursue
the subject unheard by those, whose feelings he feared might
get the mastery over their reason. Here he stopped, and
pursued the conversation in a more confidential tone.
“'Twas a little onreasonable in you, Sarpent,” he said,
“to bring up such a subject afore Hist, and when the young
woman of my own colour might overhear what was said.
Yes, 'twas a little more onreasonable than most things that
you do. No matter; Hist didn't comprehend, and the other
didn't hear. Howsever, the question is easier put than answered.
No mortal can say where he will be when the sun
rises to-morrow. I will ask you the same question, Sarpent,
and should like to hear what answer you can give.”
“Chingachgook will be with his friend Deerslayer; if he
be in the land of spirits, the Great Serpent will crawl at his
side; if beneath yonder sun, its warmth and light shall fall
on both.”
“I understand you, Delaware,” returned the other, touched
with the simple self-devotion of his friend. “Such language
is as plain in one tongue as in another; it comes
from the heart, and goes to the heart, too. 'Tis well to
it would not be well to do so, Sarpent. You are no longer
alone in life; for, though you have the lodges to change,
and other ceremonies to go through, afore Hist becomes
your lawful wife, yet are you as good as married, in all that
bears on the feelin's, and joy, and misery. No, no; Hist
must not be desarted, because a cloud is passing atween you
and me, a little onexpectedly, and a little darker than we
may have looked for.”
“Hist is a daughter of the Mohicans; she knows how to
obey her husband. Where he goes, she will follow. Both
will be with the Great Hunter of the Delawares, when the
sun shall be in the pine to-morrow.”
“The Lord bless and protect you! Chief; this is down-right
madness. Can either, or both, of you alter a Mingo
natur'? Will your grand looks, or Hist's tears and beauty,
change a wolf into a squirrel, or make a catamount as innocent
as a fa'an! No, Sarpent, you will think better of
this matter, and leave me in the hands of God. After all,
it's by no means sartain that the scamps design the torments,
for they may yet be pitiful, and bethink them of the
wickedness of such a course; though it is but a hopeless
expectation to look forward to a Mingo's turning aside from
evil, and letting marcy get uppermost in his heart. Nevertheless,
no one knows to a sartainty what will happen; and
young creatur's, like Hist, ar'n't to be risked on onsartainties.
This marrying is altogether a different undertaking
from what some young men fancy. Now, if you was single,
or as good as single, Delaware, I should expect you to
be actyve and stirring about the camp of the vagabonds,
from sunrise to sunset, sarcumventing, and contriving, as
restless as a hound off the scent, and doing all manner of
things to help me, and to distract the inimy; but two are
oftener feebler than one, and we must take things as they
are, and not as we want 'em to be.”
“Listen, Deerslayer,” returned the Indian, with an emphasis
so decided, as to show how much he was in earnest.
“If Chingachgook was in the hands of the Hurons, what
would my pale-face brother do? Sneak off to the Delaware
villages, and say to the chiefs, and old men, and young
warriors—`See; here is Wah-ta!-wah; she is safe, but a
Honeysuckle, being stronger, but just as safe.' Would he
do this?”
“Well, that's oncommon ingen'ous; it's cunning enough
for a Mingo himself. The Lord only knows what put it
into your head to ask such a question. What would I do?
Why, in the first place, Hist wouldn't be likely to be in my
company at all, for she would stay as near you as possible
and therefore all that part about her couldn't be said without
talking nonsense. As for her being tired, that would fall
through, too, if she didn't go, and no part of your speech
would be likely to come from me: so, you see, Sarpent,
reason is ag'in you, and you may as well give it up, since
to hold out ag'in reason, is no way becoming a chief of your
character and repitation.”
“My brother is not himself; he forgets that he is talking
to one who has sat at the council-fires of his nation,” returned
the other, kindly. “When men speak, they should
say that which does not go in at one side of the head, and
out at the other. Their words shouldn't be feathers, so light
that a wind, which does not ruffle the water, can blow them
away. He has not answered my question; when a chief
puts a question, his friend should not talk of other things.”
“I understand you, Delaware; I understand well enough
what you mean, and truth won't allow me to say otherwise.
Still, it's not as easy to answer as you seem to think, for
this plain reason. You wish me to say what I would do, if
I had a betrothed, as you have, here, on the lake, and a
fri'nd yonder, in the Huron camp, in danger of the torments.
That's it, isn't it?”
The Indian bowed his head silently, and always with unmoved
gravity, though his eye twinkled at the sight of the
other's embarrassment.
“Well, I never had a betrothed; never had the kind of
feelin's, towards any young woman, that you have towards
Hist; though the Lord knows my feelin's are kind enough
towards 'em all! Still, my heart, as they call it, in such
matters isn't touched, and therefore I can't say what I would
do. A fri'nd pulls strong; that I know by exper'ence, Sarpent;
but, by all that I've seen and heard consarning love,
I'm led to think that a betrothed pulls stronger.”
“True; but the betrothed of Chingachgook does not pull
towards the lodges of the Delawares; she pulls towards the
camp of the Hurons.”
“She's a noble gal, for all her little feet, and hands that
an't bigger than a child's, and a voice that's as pleasant as
a mocker's; she's a noble gal, and like the stock of her sires!
Well, what is it, Sarpent? for I conclude she hasn't changed
her mind, and mean to give herself up, and turn Huron
wife. What is it you want?”
“Wah-ta!-wah will never live in the wigwam of an Iroquois,”
answered the Delaware, drily. “She has little
feet, but they can carry her to the villages of her people;
she has small hands, too, but her mind is large. My brother
will see what we can do, when the time shall come, rather
than let him die under Mingo torments.”
“Attempt nothing heedlessly, Delaware,” said the other,
earnestly;” I suppose you must and will have your way;
and, on the whole, it's right you should; for you'd neither
be happy, unless something was undertaken. But attempt
nothing heedlessly. I didn't expect you'd quit the lake,
while my matter remained in unsartainty; but remember,
Sarpent, that no torments that Mingo ingenuity can invent,
no ta'ntings, and revilings, no burnings, and roastings, and
nail-tearings, nor any other onhuman contrivance, can so
soon break down my spirit, as to find that you and Hist
have fallen into the power of the inemy, in striving to do
something for my good.”
“The Delawares are prudent. The Deerslayer will not
find them running into a strange camp with their eyes shut.”
Here the dialogue terminated. Hetty soon announced
that the breakfast was ready, and the whole party were soon
seated around the simple board, in the usual primitive manner
of borderers. Judith was the last to take her seat, pale,
silent, and betraying in her countenance that she had passed
a painful if not a sleepless night. At this meal scarce a
syllable was exchanged, all the females manifesting want of
appetite, though the two men were unchanged in this particular.
It was early when the party arose, and there still
remained several hours before it would be necessary for the
prisoner to leave his friends. The knowledge of this circumstance,
and the interest all felt in his welfare, induced
be near the expected victim, to listen to his discourse, and,
if possible, to show their interest in him by anticipating his
wishes. Deerslayer, himself, so far as human eyes could
penetrate, was wholly unmoved, conversing cheerfully and
naturally, though he avoided any direct allusion to the expected
and great event of the day. If any evidence could
be discovered of his thoughts reverting to that painful subject
at all, it was in the manner in which he spoke of death
and the last great change.
“Grieve not, Hetty,” he said; for it was while consoling
this simple-minded girl for the loss of her parents that he
thus betrayed his feelings; “since God has app'inted that
all must die. Your parents, or them you fancied your parents,
which is the same thing, have gone afore you; this
is only in the order of natur', my good gal, for the aged
go first, and the young follow. But one that had a mother
like your'n, Hetty, can be at no loss to hope the best, as
to how matters will turn out in another world. The Delaware,
here, and Hist, believe in happy hunting-grounds, and
have idees befitting their notions and gifts, as red-skins;
but we, who are of white blood, hold altogether to a different
doctrine. Still, I rather conclude, our heaven is their land
of spirits, and that the path which leads to it will be travelled
by all colours alike. 'Tis onpossible for the wicked to enter
on it, I will allow; but fri'nds can scarce be separated,
though they are not of the same race on 'arth. Keep up
your spirits, poor Hetty, and look forward to the day when
you will meet your mother ag'in, and that without pain or
sorrowing.”
“I do expect to see mother,” returned the truth-telling
and simple girl, “but what will become of father?”
“That's a non-plusser, Delaware,” said the hunter, in
the Indian dialect—“yes, that is a downright non-plusser!
The Muskrat was not a saint on 'arth, and it's fair to guess
he'll not be much of one hereafter! Howsever, Hetty,”—
dropping into the English by an easy transition—“howsever,
Hetty, we must all hope for the best. That is wisest,
and it is much the easiest to the mind, if one can only do it.
I recommend to you, trusting to God, and putting down all
misgivings and faint-hearted feelin's. It's wonderful, Judith,
futur', some fancying one change, and some fancying another.
I've known white teachers that have thought all
was spirit, hereafter; and them, ag'in, that believed the body
will be transported to another world, much as the red-skins
themselves imagine, and that we shall walk about, in the
flesh, and know each other, and talk together, and be fri'nds
there, as we've been fri'nds here.”
“Which of these opinions is most pleasing to you, Deerslayer?”
asked the girl, willing to indulge his melancholy
mood, and far from being free from its influence herself.
“Would it be disagreeable to think that you should meet
all who are now on this platform in another world? Or,
have you known enough of us here, to be glad to see us no
more?”
“The last would make death a bitter portion; yes, it
would. It's eight good years since the Sarpent and I began
to hunt together, and the thought that we were never to
meet ag'in, would be a hard thought to me. He looks forward
to the time when we shall chase a sort of spirit-deer,
in company, on plains where there's no thorns, or brambles,
or marshes, or other hardships to overcome; whereas,
I can't fall into all these notions, seeing that they appear to
be ag'in reason. Spirits can't eat, nor have they any use
for clothes; and deer can only rightfully be chased to be
slain, or slain, unless it be for the venison, or the hides.
Now, I find it hard to suppose that blessed spirits can be
put to chasing game, without an object, tormenting the
dumb animals just for the pleasure and agreeableness of
their own amusements. I never yet pulled a trigger on
buck or doe, Judith, unless when food or clothes was wanting.”
“The recollection of which, Deerslayer, must now be a
great consolation to you.”
“It is the thought of such things, my fri'nds, that enables
a man to keep his furlough. It might be done without
it, I own; for the worst red-skins sometimes do their duty
in this matter; but it makes that which might otherwise be
hard, easy, if not altogether to our liking. Nothing truly
makes a bolder heart, than a light conscience.”
Judith turned paler than ever, but she struggled for self-command,
been severe, however, and it left her so little disposed to
speak, that Hetty pursued the subject. This was done in
the simple manner natural to the girl.
“It would be cruel to kill the poor deer,” she said, “in
this world, or any other, when you don't want their venison,
or their skins. No good white-man, and no good red-man
would do it. But it's wicked for a Christian to talk about
chasing any thing in heaven. Such things are not done
before the face of God, and the missionary that teaches
these doctrines, can't be a true missionary. He must be a
wolf in sheep's clothing. I suppose you know what a sheep
is, Deerslayer?”
“That I do, gal; and a useful creatur' it is, to such as
like cloths better than skins, for winter garments. I understand
the natur' of sheep, though I've had but little to do
with 'em; and the natur' of wolves too, and can take the
idee of a wolf in the fleece of a sheep, though I think it
would be likely to prove a hot jacket for such a beast, in
the warm months!”
“And sin, and hypocrisy are hot jackets, as they will
find, who put them on,” returned Hetty, positively; “so the
wolf would be no worse off than the sinner. Spirits don't
hunt, nor trap, nor fish, nor do any thing that vain men undertake,
since they've none of the longings of this world
to feed. Oh! mother told me all that, years ago, and I
didn't wish to hear it denied.”
“Well, my good Hetty, in that case, you'd better not
broach your doctrine to Hist, when she and you are alone,
and the young Delaware maiden is inclined to talk religion.
It's her fixed idee, I know, that the good warriors do nothing
but hunt and fish, in the other world, though I don't
believe that she fancies any of them are brought down to
trapping, which is no empl'yment for a brave. But of hunting
and fishing, accordin' to her notion, they've their fill;
and that, too, over the most agreeablest hunting-grounds,
and among game that is never out of season, and which is
just actyve and instinctyve enough to give a pleasure to
death. So I wouldn't recommend it to you to start Hist on
that idee.”
“Hist can't be so wicked as to believe any such thing,”
is dead.”
“No wicked Indian, I grant you; no wicked Indian, sartainly.
He is obliged to carry the ammunition, and to look
on without sharing in the sport, and to cook, and to light
the fires, and to do every thing that isn't manful. Now
mind; I don't tell you these are my idees, but they are
Hist's idees, and, therefore, for the sake of peace, the less
you say to her ag'in 'em the better.”
“And what are your ideas of the fate of an Indian in
the other world?” demanded Judith, who had just found her
voice.
“Ah! gal, any thing but that! I am too christianized to
expect any thing so fanciful as hunting and fishing after
death; nor do I believe there is one Manitou for the red-skin,
and another for a pale-face. You find different colours on
'arth, as any one may see, but you don't find different natur's.
Different gifts, but only one natur.”
“In what is a gift different from a nature? Is not nature
itself a gift from God?”
“Sartain; that's quick-thoughted and creditable, Judith,
though the main idee is wrong. A natur' is the creatur' itself;
its wishes, wants, idees and feelin's, as all are born in
him. This natur' never can be changed in the main, though
it may undergo some increase or lessening. Now, gifts
come of sarcumstances. Thus, if you put a man in a town,
he gets town gifts; in a settlement, settlement gifts; in a
forest, gifts of the woods. A soldier has soldierly gifts, and
a missionary preaching gifts. All these increase and
strengthen, until they get to fortify natur' as it might be,
and excuse a thousand acts and idees. Still the creatur' is
the same at the bottom; just as a man who is clad in regimentals
is the same as the man that is clad in skins. The
garments make a change to the eye, and some change in
the conduct perhaps; but none in the man. Herein lies the
apology for gifts; seein' that you expect different conduct
from one in silks and satins, from one in homespun; though
the Lord, who didn't make the dresses, but who made the
creatur's themselves, looks only at his own work. This
isn't ra'al missionary doctrine, but it's as near it as a man
of white colour need be. Ah's! me; little did I think to be
never to know what will come to pass. Step into
the ark with me, Judith, for a minute. I wish to convarse with
you.”
Judith complied with a willingness she could scarce conceal.
Following the hunter into the cabin, she took a seat
on a stool, while the young man brought Killdeer, the rifle
she had given him, out of a corner, and placed himself on
another, with the weapon laid upon his knees. After turning
the piece round and round, and examining its lock and
its breech with a sort of affectionate assiduity, he laid it
down and proceeded to the subject which had induced him
to desire the interview.
“I understood you, Judith, to say that you gave me this
rifle,” he said. “I agreed to take it because a young woman
can have no great use for fire-arms. The we'pon has
a great name, and it desarves it, and ought of right to be
carried by some known and sure hand, for the best reputation
may be lost by careless and thoughtless handling.”
“Can it be in better hands than those in which it is now,
Deerslayer? Thomas Hutter seldom missed with it: with
you, it must turn out to be—”
“Sartain death!” interrupted the hunter, laughing. “I
once know'd a beaver-man that had a piece he called by
that very name, but 'twas all boastfulness, for I've seen
Delawares that were as true with arrows at a short range.
Howsever, I'll not deny my gifts—for this is a gift, Judith,
and not natur'—but I'll not deny my gifts, and therefore
allow that the rifle couldn't well be in better hands than it
is at present. But how long will it be likely to remain
there? Atween us, the truth may be said, though I shouldn't
like to have it known to the Sarpent and Hist; but to you
the truth may be spoken, since your feelin's will not be as
likely to be tormented by it as those of them that have
known me longer and better. How long am I like to own
this rifle, or any other? That is a serious question for our
thoughts to rest on, and should that happen which is so likely
to happen, Killdeer would be without an owner.”
Judith listened with apparent composure, though the conflict
within came near overpowering her. Appreciating the
singular character of her companion, however, she succeeded
drawn exclusively to the rifle, a man of his keenness of observation
could scarce have failed to detect the agony of
mind with which the girl had hearkened to his words. Her
great self-command, notwithstanding, enabled her to pursue
the subject in a way still to deceive him.
“What would you have me do with the weapon,” she
asked, “should that which you seem to expect, take place?”
“That's just what I wanted to speak to you about, Judith
—that's just it. There's Chingachgook, now, though far
from being perfect sartainty with a rifle—for few red-skins
ever get to be that—though far from being perfect sartainty,
he is respectable, and is coming on. Nevertheless, he is my
fri'nd; and all the better fri'nd, perhaps, because there never
can be any hard feelin's atween us, touchin' our gifts; his'n
bein' red, and mine bein' altogether white. Now, I should
like to leave Killdeer to the Sarpent, should any thing happen
to keep me from doing credit and honour to your precious
gift, Judith.”
“Leave it to whom you please, Deerslayer; the rifle is
your own, to do with as you please; Chingachgook shall
have it, should you never return to claim it, if that be your
wish.”
“Has Hetty been consulted in this matter? Property
goes from the parent to the children, and not to one child in
partic'lar.”
“If you place your right on that of the law, Deerslayer,
I fear none of us can claim to be the owner. Thomas
Hutter was no more the father of Esther, than he was the
father of Judith. Judith and Esther we are, truly, having
no other name.”
“There may be law in that, but there's no great reason,
gal. Accordin' to the custom of families, the goods are
your'n, and there's no one here to gainsay it. If Hetty
would only say that she is willing, my mind would be quite
at ease in the matter. It's true, Judith, that your sister
has neither your beauty nor your wit; but we should be
the tenderest of the rights and welfare of the most weakminded.”
The girl made no answer; but placing herself at a window,
she summoned her sister to her side. When the question
nature cheerfully assented to the proposal to confer on Deerslayer
a full right of ownership to the much-coveted rifle.
The latter now seemed perfectly happy, for the time being,
at least; and after again examining and re-examining his
prize, he expressed a determination to put its merits to a
practical test before he left the spot. No boy could have
been more eager to exhibit the qualities of his trumpet, or
his cross-bow, than this simple forester was to prove those
of his rifle. Returning to the platform, he first took the
Delaware aside, and informed him that this celebrated piece
was to become his property, in the event of any thing serious
befalling himself.
“This is a new reason why you should be wary, Sarpent,
and not run into any oncalculated danger,” the hunter
added, “for it will be a victory of itself, to a tribe, to own
such a piece as this! The Mingos will turn green with
envy; and, what is more, they will not ventur' heedlessly
near a village where it is known to be kept. So look well
to it, Delaware, and remember that you've now to watch
over a thing that has all the valie of a creatur', without its
failin's. Hist may be, and should be precious to you, but
Killdeer will have the love and veneration of your whole
people.”
“One rifle like another, Deerslayer,” returned the Indian,
in English, the language used by the other, a little hurt at
his friend's lowering his betrothed to the level of a gun.
“All kill; all wood and iron. Wife dear to heart; rifle
good to shoot.”
“And what is a man in the woods, without something to
shoot with?—a miserable trapper, or a forlorn broom and
basket maker, at the best. Such a man may hoe corn, and
keep soul and body together, but he can never know the
savoury morsels of venison, or tell a bear's ham from a
hog's. Come, my fri'nd, such another occasion may never
offer ag'in, and I feel a strong craving for a trial with this
celebrated piece. You shall bring out your own rifle, and
I will just sight Killdeer in a careless way, in order that we
may know a few of its secret vartues.”
As this proposition served to relieve the thoughts of the
whole party, by giving them a new direction, while it was
to enter into it; the girls bringing forth the fire-arms
with an alacrity, bordering on cheerfulness. Hutter's armory
was well supplied, possessing several rifles, all of
which were habitually kept loaded, in readiness to meet any
sudden demand for their use. On the present occasion, it
only remained to freshen the primings, and each piece was
in a state for service. This was soon done, as all assisted
in it, the females being as expert in this part of the system
of defence, as their male companions.
“Now, Sarpent, we'll begin in an humble way, using old
Tom's commoners first, and coming to your we'pon and Killdeer
as the winding-up observations,” said Deerslayer, delighted
to be again, weapon in hand, ready to display his
skill. “Here's birds in abundance, some in, and some over
the lake, and they keep at just a good range, hovering round
the hut. Speak your mind, Delaware, and p'int out the
creatur' you wish to alarm. Here's a diver nearest in, off
to the eastward, and that's a creatur' that buries itself at
the flash, and will be like enough to try both piece and
powder.”
Chingachgook was a man of few words. No sooner was
the bird pointed out to him, than he took his aim and fired.
The duck dove at the flash, as had been expected, and the
bullet skipped harmlessly along the surface of the lake, first
striking the water within a few inches of the spot where the
bird had so lately swum. Deerslayer laughed, cordially and
naturally; but, at the same time, he threw himself into an
attitude of preparation, and stood keenly watching the sheet
of placid water. Presently a dark spot appeared, and then
the duck arose to breathe, and shook its wings. While in
this act, a bullet passed directly through its breast, actually
turning it over lifeless, on its back. At the next moment,
Deerslayer stood with the breech of his rifle on the platform,
as tranquil as if nothing had happened, though laughing in
his own peculiar manner.
“There's no great trial of the pieces in that!” he said, as
if anxious to prevent a false impression of his own merit.
“No, that proof's neither for, nor ag'in the rifles, seeing it
was all quickness of hand and eye. I took the bird at a disadvantage,
or he might have got under, again, afore the bullet
tricks, having long been used to them. Do you remember
the time, chief, when you thought yourself sartain of the
wild-goose, and I took him out of your very eyes, as it
might be, with a little smoke! Howsever, such things pass
for nothing, atween fri'nds, and young folk will have their
fun, Judith. Ay, here's just the bird we want, for it's as
good for the fire, as it is for the aim, and nothing should be
lost that can be turned to just account. There, farther north,
Delaware.”
The latter looked in the required direction, and he soon
saw a large black duck, floating in stately repose on the
water. At that distant day, when so few men were present
to derange the harmony of the wilderness, all the smaller
lakes with which the interior of New York so abounds, were
places of resort for the migratory aquatic birds; and this
sheet, like the others, had once been much frequented by all
the varieties of the duck, by the goose, the gull, and the
loon. On the appearance of Hutter, the spot was comparatively
deserted for other sheets, more retired and remote,
though some of each species continued to resort thither, as
indeed they do to the present hour. At that instant, a hundred
birds were visible from the castle, sleeping on the water,
or laving their feathers in the limpid element, though no other
offered so favourable a mark as that Deerslayer had just
pointed out to his friend. Chingachgook, as usual, spared
his words, and proceeded to execution. This time his aim
was more careful than before, and his success in proportion.
The bird had a wing crippled, and fluttered along the water
screaming, materially increasing its distance from its enemies.
“That bird must be put out of pain,” exclaimed Deerslayer,
the moment the animal endeavoured to rise on the
wing; “and this is the rifle and the eye to do it.”
The duck was still floundering along, when the fatal bullet
overtook it, severing the head from the neck, as neatly as if
it had been done with an axe. Hist had indulged in a low
cry of delight, at the success of the young Indian; but now
she affected to frown and resent the greater skill of his
friend. The chief, on the contrary, uttered the usual exclamation
admired, and how little he envied.
“Never mind the gal, Sarpent; never mind Hist's feelin's,
which will neither choke, nor drown, slay nor beautify,”
said Deerslayer, laughing. “'Tis nat'ral for women to
enter into their husband's victories and defeats, and you are
as good as man and wife, so far as prejudice and fri'ndship
go. Here is a bird over head, that will put the pieces to the
proof; I challenge you to an upward aim, with a flying target.
That's a ra'al proof, and one that needs sartain rifles,
as well as sartain eyes.”
The species of eagle that frequents the water, and lives
on fish, was also present, and one was hovering at a considerable
height above the hut, greedily watching for an
opportunity to make a swoop; its hungry young elevating
their heads from a nest that was in sight, in the naked
summit of a dead pine. Chingachgook silently turned a
new piece against this bird, and after carefully watching his
time, fired. A wider circuit than common, denoted that the
messenger had passed through the air, at no great distance
from the bird, though it missed its object. Deerslayer, whose
aim was not more true than it was quick, fired as soon as
it was certain his friend had missed, and the deep swoop
that followed left it momentarily doubtful whether the eagle
was hit or not. The marksman himself, however, proclaimed
his own want of success, calling on his friend to
seize another rifle, for he saw signs on the part of the bird
of an intention to quit the spot.
“I made him wink, Sarpent; I do think his feathers were
ruffled, but no blood has yet been drawn, nor is that old
piece fit for so nice and quick a sight. Quick, Delaware;
you've now a better rifle, and, Judith, bring out Killdeer,
for this is the occasion to try his merits, if he has 'em!”
A general movement followed, each of the competitors
got ready, and the girls stood in eager expectation of the
result. The eagle had made a wide circuit after his low
swoop, and fanning his way upward, once more hovered
nearly over the hut, at a distance even greater than before.
Chingachgook gazed at him, and then expressed his opinion
of the impossibility of striking a bird at that great height,
and while he was so nearly perpendicular, as to the range.
and he fired. The result showed how well he had calculated,
the eagle not even varying his flight, sailing round
and round in his airy circle, and looking down, as if in
contempt, at his foes.
“Now, Judith,” cried Deerslayer, laughing, with glistening
and delighted eyes, “we'll see if Killdeer isn't Killeagle,
too! Give me room, Sarpent, and watch the reason of the
aim, for by reason any thing may be l'arned.”
A careful sight followed, and was repeated again and
again, the bird continuing to rise higher and higher. Then
followed the flash and the report. The swift messenger
sped upward, and, at the next instant, the bird turned on its
side, and came swooping down, now struggling with one
wing and then with another, sometimes whirling in a circuit,
next fanning desperately as if conscious of its injury, until,
having described several complete circles around the spot,
it fell heavily into the end of the ark. On examining the
body, it was found that the bullet had pierced it about half
way between one of its wings and the breast-bone.
| CHAPTER X. The deerslayer: or, The first war-path | |