The Pioneers (Cooper)/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII.
Where savage tribes pursue their game,
His blanket tied with yellow strings,
The shepherd of the forest came.
Freneau.
Before the Europeans, or, to use a more significant term, the Christians, dispossessed the original owners of the soil, all that section of country, which contains the New-England States, and those of the Middle, which lie east of the mountains, was occupied by two great nations of Indians, from whom numberless tribes had descended. But, as the original distinctions between these nations, were marked by a difference in language, as well as by repeated and bloody wars, they never were known to amalgamate, until after the power and inroads of the whites had reduced some of the tribes to a state of dependence, that rendered not only their political, but, considering the wants and habits of a savage, their animal existence also, extremely precarious.
These two great divisions consisted, on the one side, of the Five, or, as they were afterwards called, the Six Nations, and their allies; and, on the other, of the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, with the numerous and powerful tribes, that owned that nation as their Grandfather. The former were generally called, by the Anglo-Americans, Iroquois, or the Six Nations, and sometimes Mingoes. Their appellation, among their rivals, seems generally to have been the Mengwe, or Maqua. They consisted of the tribes, or, as their allies were fond of asserting, in order to raise their consequence, of the several nations, of the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; who ranked, in the confederation, in the order with which they are named. The Tuscaroras were admitted to this union, near a century after its formation, and thus completed the number to six.
Of the Lenni Lenape, or, as they wore called by the whites, from the circumstance of their holding their great council-fire on the hanks of that river, the Delaware nation, the principal tribes, besides that which bore the generic name, were, the Mahicanni, Mohicans or Mohegans, and the Nanticokes, or Nentigoes. Of those, the latter held the country along the waters of the Chesapeake, and the seashore; while the Mohegans occupied the district between, the Hudson and the ocean, including most of New-England. Of course, these two tribes were the first who were dispossessed of their lands by the Europeans.
The wars of a portion of the latter, are celebrated among us, as the wars of Kin Philip; but the peaceful policy of William Penn. or Miquon, as he was termed by the natives, effected its object, with less difficulty, though not with less certainty. As the natives gradually disappeared from the country of the Mohegans, some scattering families sought a refuge around the council-fire of the mother tribe, or the Delawares.
This people. had been induced to suffer themselves to be called women, by their old enemies, the Mingoes, or Iroquois, after the latter, having in vain tried the effects of hostility, had recourse to artifice, in order to circumvent their rivals.—According to this declaration, the Delawares were to cultivate the arts of peace, and to intrust their defence, entirely, to the men, or warlike tribes of the Six nations.
This state of things continued until the war of the revolution, when the Lenni Lenape formally asserted their independence, and fearlessly declared, that they were again men. But, in a government, so peculiarly republican as the Indian polity, it was not, at all times, an easy task, to restrain their members within the rules of their nation. Several fierce and renowned warriors, of the Mohegans, finding the conflict with the whites to be in vain, sought a refuge with their Grandfather, and brought with them the feelings and principles, that had so long distinguished them in their own tribe. These chieftains kept alive, in some measure, the martial spirit of the Delawares; and would, at times, lead small parties against their ancient enemies, or such other foes as incurred their resentment.
Among these warriors, was one rare, particularly famous for their prowess, and for those qualities that render an Indian hero celebrated. But time, disease, and want, had conspired to thin their number; and the sole representative of this once renowned family, now stood in the hall of Marmaduke Temple. He had, for a long time been an associate of the white-men, particularly in their wars; and, having been, at a season when his services were of importance, much noticed and flattered, he had turned Christian, and was baptized by the name of John. He had suffered severely in his family, during the recent war, having had every soul to whom he was allied, cut off by an inroad of the enemy; and when the last, lingering remnant of his nation, extinguished their fires, amongst the hills of the Delaware, he alone had remained, with a determination of laying his bones in that country, where his fathers had so long lived and governed.
It was only, however, within a few months, that he had appeared among the mountains that surrounded Templeton. To the hut of the old hunter, he seemed peculiarly welcome; and, as the habits of the "Leather Stocking," were so nearly assimilated to those of the savages, the conjunction of their interests excited no surprise. They resided in the same cabin, ate of the same food and were chiefly occupied in the same pursuits.
We have already mentioned the baptismal name of this ancient chief; but in his conversations with Natty, held in the language of the Delawares, he was heard uniformly to call himself Chingachgook, which, interpreted, means the "Great Snake." This was a name that he had attained in his youth, by his skill and prowess in the art of war; but when his brows began to wrinkle with time, and he stood alone, the last of his family, and his particular tribe, the few Delawares, who yet continued about the head-waters of their river, gave him the expressive appellation of Mohegan. Perhaps there was something of deep feeling, excited in the bosom of this inhabitant of the forest, by the sound of a name, that recalled the idea of his nation in ruins, for he seldom used it himself—never, indeed, excepting on the most solemn occasions; but the settlers had united, according to the Christian custom, his baptismal with his national name, and to them, he was generally known as John Mohegan, or, more familiarly as Indian John.
From his long association with the white men, the habits of Mohegan, were a mixture of the civilized and savage states, though there was certainly a strong preponderance in favour of the latter. In common with all his people, who dwelt within the influence of the Anglo-Americans, he had acquired new wants, and his dress was a mixture of his native fashions with European manufactures. Notwithstanding the intense cold of the atmosphere without, his head was uncovered; but a profusion of long, black, coarse hair, concealed his forehead, his crown, and even hung about his cheeks, so as to convey the idea, to one who knew his present and former conditions, that he encouraged its abundance, as a willing veil, to hide the shame of a noble soul, mourning for a glory that it had once known. His forehead, when it could be seen, appeared lofty, broad, and noble. His nose was high, and of the kind called Roman, with nostrils, that expanded, in his seventieth year, with the air of freedom that had distinguished them when a youth. His mouth was large, but compressed, and possessing a great share of expression and character, and, when opened, discovered a perfect set of short, strong, and regular teeth. His chin was full, though not prominent; and his face bore the infallible mark of his people, in its square, high cheek bones. The eyes were not large, but their black orbs glittered in the rays of the candles, as he gazed intently down the hall, like two balls of fire.
The instant that Mohegan observed himself to be noticed by the group around the young stranger, he dropped the blanket, which covered the upper part of his frame, from his shoulders, suffering it to fall over his leggins, of untanned deer-skin, where it was retained by a belt of bark, that confined it to his waist, and moved forward.
As he walked slowly down the long hall, the unusually dignified and deliberate tread of the Indian, surprised the spectators. His shoulders, and body to his waist, were entirely bare, with the exception of a silver medallion of Washington, that was suspended from his neck by a thong of buck-skin, and rested on his high chest, amidst the scars of many wounds. His shoulders were rather broad and full; but the arms, though straight and graceful, wanted the muscular appearance that labour alone can give to a race of men. The medallion was the only ornament he wore, although enormous slits in the rim of either ear, which suffered the cartilages to fall for two inches below the members, were evidently used for the purposes of decoration, in other days. In his hand he held a small basket, of the ash-wood slips, coloured in divers fantastical conceits, with red and black paints mingled with the white of the wood.
As this child of the forest approached them, the whole party stood aside, and allowed him to confront the evident object of his visit. He did not speak, however, but stood, fixing his glowing eyes on the shoulder of the young hunter, and then turning them intently on the countenance of the Judge. The latter was a good deal astonished at this unusual departure from the ordinarily subdued and quiet manner of the Indian; but soon recovering himself, he extended his hand, and said—
"Thou art welcome, John. This youth entertains a high opinion of thy skill, it seems, for he prefers thee, to dress his wound, even to our good friend Dr. Todd."
Mohegan now spoke, in tolerable English, but in a low, monotonous, guttural tone:—
"The children of Miquon do not love the sight of blood; and yet, the young eagle has struck by the hand that should do no evil!"
"Mohegan! old John!" exclaimed the Judge, in horror, and turning his fine, manly, open countenance to the other; "thinkest thou, that my hand has ever drawn human blood willingly? For shame! for shame, old John! thy religion should have taught thee better."
"The evil spirit sometimes lives in the best heart," returned John, impressively, as he tried to study the countenance of the Judge; "but, my brother speaks the truth; his hand has never taken life, when awake; no! not even when the children of the great English Father, were making the waters red with the blood of his people."
"Surely, John," said Mr. Grant, with much earnestness, "you remember the divine command of our Saviour, 'judge not, lest ye be judged.' What motive could Judge Temple have, for injuring a youth like this; one to whom he is unknown, and from whom he can receive neither injury nor favour?"
John listened respectfully to the divine, and when he had concluded, the Indian stretched out his arm, and said with energy—
"He is innocent my brother has not done this wrong."
Marmaduke received the offered hand of the other, with a benevolent smile, that showed, however he might be astonished at his suspicion, he had ceased to resent it; while the wounded youth stood, gazing from his red friend to his host, with an expression of scornful pity, powerfully delineated in his countenance. No sooner was this act of pacification exchanged, than John proceeded to discharge the duty, to perform which he had come. Dr. Todd was far from manifesting any displeasure at this invasion of his rights, but made way for the new leech, with an air that expressed a willingness to gratify the humours of his patient, now that the all-important part of the business was so successfully performed, and nothing remained to be done, but what any child might effect. Indeed, he whispered as much to Monsieur Le Quoi, when he said—
"It was fortunate that the ball was extracted before this Indian came in; but any old woman can dress the wound now. The young man, I hear, lives with John and Natty Bumppo, and it's always best to humour a patient, when it can be done discreetly—I say, discreetly, Mounsheer."
"Certainement," returned the Frenchman; "you seem ver happy, Mister Toad, in your practeece. I should link de elderly lady might ver well finish, vat you so skeelfully begin."
But Richard had, at the bottom, a great deal of veneration for the knowledge of Mohegan, especially in external wounds; and retaining all his desire for a participation in glory, he advanced nigh to the Indian, and said—
"Sago, sago, Mohegan! sago, my good fellow! I am right glad you have come; give me a regular physician, like Doctor Todd, to cut into flesh, and a native to heal the wound. Do you remember, John, the time when I and you set the bone of Natty Bumppo's little finger, after he broke it by falling from the rock, when he was trying to get the partridge down, that fell on the cliffs—I never could tell yet, whether it was I or Natty, who killed that bird: he fired first, and the bird stooped, but then it was rising again, just as I pulled trigger. I should have claimed it, for a certainty, but Natty said the hole was too big for shot, and he fired a single ball from his rifle; but the piece I carried then, didn't scatter, and I have known it to bore a hole through a board, when I've been shooting at the mark, very much like rifle-bullets. Shall I help you, John? You know that I have a knack at these things."
Mohegan heard this disquisition quite patiently, and when Richard concluded, he held out the basket, which contained his specifics, indicating, by a gesture, that he might hold it. Mr. Jones was quite satisfied with this commission; and, ever after, in speaking of the event, was used to say, that "Doctor Todd and I cut out the bullet and I and Indian John dressed the wound."
The patient was much more deserving of that epithet, while under the hands of Mohegan, than while suffering under the practice of the true physician. Indeed, the Indian gave him but little opportunity for the exercise of a forbearing temper, as he had come prepared for the occasion. His dressings were soon applied, and consisted only of some pounded bark, moistened with a fluid that he had expressed from some of the simples of the woods.
Among the native tribes of the forest, there were always two kinds of leeches to be met with. The one placed its whole dependence on the exercise of a supernatural power, and was held in greater veneration than their practice could at all justify; but the other was really endowed with great skill, in the ordinary complaints of the human body, and were, more particularly, as Natty had intimated, "curous in cuts and bruises."
While John and Richard were placing the dressings on the wound, Elnathan was acutely eyeing the contents of Mohegan's basket, which Mr. Jones, in his physical ardour, had transferred to the Doctor, in order to hold, himself, one end of the bandages. Here he was soon enabled to detect sundry fragments of wood and bark, of which he, quite coolly, took possession, very possibly without any intention of speaking at all upon the subject; but when he beheld the full, blue eye of Marmaduke, .watching his movements, he whispered to the Judge—
"It is not to be denied, Judge Temple, but what the savages are knowing, in small matters of physic. They hand these things down in their traditions. Now, in cancers, and hydrophoby, they are quite ingenious. I will just take this bark home, and analyze it; for, though it can't be worth sixpence to the young man's shoulder, it may be good for the toothach, or rheumatis, or some of them complaints. A man should never be above laming, even if it be from an Indian."
It was fortunate for Dr. Todd, that his principles were so liberal, as, coupled with his practice, they were the means by which he acquired all his knowledge, and by which he was gradually qualifying himself for the duties of his profession. The process to which he subjected the specific, differed, however, greatly from the ordinary rules of chemistry; for, instead of separating, he afterwards united the component parts of Mohegan's remedy, and thus was able to discover the tree whence the Indian had taken it.
Some ten years after this event, when civilization and its refinements had crept, or rather rushed, into the settlements among these wild hills, an affair of honour occurred, and Elnathan was seen to apply a salve to the wound that was received by one of the parties, which had the flavour that was peculiar to the tree, or root, that Mohegan had used. Ten years later still, when England and the United States were again engaged in war, and the hordes of the western parts of the state of New-York, were rushing to the field, Elnathan, presuming on the reputation obtained by these two operations, followed in the rear of a brigade of militia, as its surgeon!
When Mohegan had applied the bark, he freely relinquished to Richard the needle and thread, that were used in sowing the bandages, for these were implements of which the native but little understood the use; and, stepping back, with decent gravity, awaited the completion of the business by the other.
"Reach me the scissors," said Mr. Jones, when he had finished, and finished for the second time, after tying the linen in every shape and form that it could be placed; "reach me the scissors, for here is a thread that must be cut off, or it might get under the dressings, and inflame the wound. See, John, I have put the lint I scraped, between two layers of the linen; for though the bark is certainly best for the flesh, yet the lint will serve to keep the cold air from the wound. If any lint will do it good, it is this lint; for I scraped it myself, and I will not turn my back, at scraping lint, to any man on the Patent. But I ought to Know how, if any body ought, for my grandfather was a doctor, and my father had a natural turn that way."
"Here, Squire, is the scissors," said Remarkable, producing from beneath her petticoat of green moreen, a pair of dull-looking shears; "well, up on my say so, you have sewed on the rags, as well as a woman."
"As well as a woman!" echoed Richard, with indignation; "what do women know of such matters? and you are proof of the truth of what I say. Who ever saw such a pair of shears used about a wound? Dr. Todd, I will thank you for the scissors from the case. Now, young man, I think you'll do. The shot has been very neatly taken out, although, perhaps, seeing I had a hand in it, I ought not to say so; and the wound is most admirably dressed, You will soon be well again; though the jerk you gave my leaders, must have a tendency to inflame the shoulder, yet, you will do, you will do. You were rather flurried, I suppose, and not used to horses; but I forgive the accident, for the motive:—no doubt, you had the best of motives;—yes, yes, now you will do."
"Then, gentlemen," said the wounded stranger, rising, and resuming his clothes, "it will be unnecessary for me to trespass longer on your time and patience. There remains but one thing more to be settled, and that is, our respective rights to the deer, Judge Temple."
"I acknowledge it to be thine," said Marmaduke; "and much more deeply am I indebted to thee, than for this piece of venison. But in the morning thou wilt call here, and we can adjust this, as well as more important matters. Elizabeth,"—for the young lady, being apprised that the wound was dressed, had re-entered the hall,—"thou wilt order a repast, for this youth, before we proceed to the church; and Aggy will have a sleigh prepared, to convey him to his friend."
"But, sir, I cannot go without a part of the deer," returned the youth, seemingly struggling with his own feelings: "I have already told you, that I needed the venison for myself."
"Oh! we will not be particular," exclaimed Richard; "the Judge will pay you, in the morning, for the whole deer; and, Remarkable, give the lad all of the animal excepting the saddle: so, on the whole, I think, you may consider yourself as a very lucky young man;—you have been shot, without being disabled; have had the wound dressed in the best possible manner, here in the woods, as well as it would have been done in the Philadelphia hospital, if not better; have sold your deer at a high price and yet can keep most of the carcass, with the skin in the bargain. ' Marky, tell Tom to give him the skin too; and in the morning, bring the skin to me, and I will give you half-a-dollar for it, or at least, three-and-six-pence. I want just such a skin, to cover the pillion that I am making for cousin Bess."
"I thank you, sir, for your liberality, and, I trust, am also thankful for my escape," returned the stranger; "but you reserve the very part of the animal that I wish for my own use. I must have the saddle myself."
"Must!" echoed Richard; "must is harder to be swallowed than the horns of the buck."
"Yes, must," repeated the youth; when, turning his head proudly around him, as if to see who would dare to controvert his rights, he met the astonished gaze of Elizabeth, and proceeded more mildly—"that is, if a man is allowed the possession of that which his hand hath killed, and the law will protect him in the enjoyment of his own."
"The law will do so," said Judge Temple, with an air of mortification, mingled with surprise. "Benjamin, see that the whole deer is placed in the sleigh; and have this youth conveyed to the hut of Leather-stocking. But, young man, thou hast a name, and I shall see you again, in order to compensate thee for the wrong I have done thee?"
"I am called Edwards," returned the hunter, "Oliver Edwards. I am easily to be seen, sir, for I live nigh by, and am not afraid to show my face, having never injured any man."
"It is we, who have injured you sir," said Elizabeth; "and the knowledge that you decline our assistance, would give my father great pain. He would gladly see you in the morning."
The young hunter gazed at the fair speaker, until his earnest look brought the blood to her very temples; when recollecting himself, he bent his head, dropping his eyes to the carpet, and replied—
"In the morning, then, will I return, and see Judge Temple; and I will accept his offer of the sleight, in token of our amity."
"Amity!" repeated Marmaduke; "there was no malice in the in (the act that injured thee, young man; there should be none in the feelings which it may engender."
"Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass agains us," observed Mr. Grant, "is the language of prayer, used by our Divine Master him, and it should be the golden rule of us, his humble followers."
The stranger stood a moment, lost in thought, and then, glancing in his dark eyes, rather wildly, around the hall, he bowed low to the divine, and moved from the appartment, with an air that would not admit of detention.
"'Tis strange, that one so young should harbour such feelings of resentment,"said Marmaduke, when the door closed behind the stranger; "but while the pain is recent, and the sense of the injury is so fresh, he must fee more strongly than in his cooler moments. I doubt not, we shall see him, in the morning, more tractable."
Elizabeth, to whom this speech was addressed, did not reply, but moved slowly up the hall, by herself, fixing her eyes on the little figure of the English ingrained carpet, that covered the floor; while, on the other hand, Richard gave a loud crack with his whip, as the stranger disappeared, and cried—
"Well, 'duke, you are your own master, but I would have tried law for the saddle, before I would have have given it to the fellow. Do you not own the mountains, as well as the valleys? are not the woods your own: what right has this chap, or the Leather-stocking, to shoot in your woods, without your permission? Now, I have known a farmer, in Pennsylvania, order a sportsman off his farm, with as little ceremony as I would order Benjamin to put a log in the stove. By-the-by, Benjamin, see how the thermometer stands. Now, if a man has a right to do this on a farm of a hundred acres, what power must a landlord have, who owns sixty thousand—ay! for the matter of that, including the late purchases. a hundred thousand? There is Mohegan, to be-sure, he may have some right, being a native; but it's little the poor fellow can do now with his rifle. How is this managed in France, Monsieur Le Quoi? do you let every body run over your land, in that country, helter skelter, as they do here, shooting the game, so that a gentleman has but little or no chance with his gun?"
"Bah! diable, no, Meester Deeck," replied the Frenchman: "we give, in France, no liberty, except to de ladi."
"Yes, yes, to the women. I know," said Richard; "that is your Sallick law. I read, sir, all kinds of books; of France, as well as England: of Greece, as well as Rome. But if I were in 'duke's place, I would stick up advertisements tomorrow morning, forbidding all persons to shoot, or trespass, in any manner, on my woods. I could write such an advertisement myself, in an hour, as would put a stop to the thing at once."
"Richart," said Major Hartmann, very coolly knocking the ashes from his pipe into the spitting-box by his side, "now listen: I have livet seventy-five years on ter Mohawk, and in ter woods.—You hat petter mettle as mit ter deyvel, as mit ter hunters. Tey live mit ter gun, and a rifle is petter as ter law."
"A'nt Marmaduke a Judge?" said Richard, indignantly. "Where is the use of being a Judge, or having a Judge, if there is no law? Damn the fellow! I have a great mind to sue him in the morning myself, before Squire Doolittle, for meddling with my leaders. I am not afraid of his rifle. I can shoot too. I have hit a dollar, many a time, at fifty rods."
"Thou hast missed more dollars than ever thou hast hit, Dickon," exclaimed the cheerful voice of the Judge again. "But we will now take our evening's repast, which, I perceive by Remarkable's physiognomy, is in the next room. Monsieur Le Quoi, Miss Temple has a fair hand, at your service. Will you lead the way, my child?"
"Ah! ma chere Mam'selle, but too happy to do so," said the polite Frenchman, while he offered his hand; "it is de consolashong, in my baneesh to meet a smile from the fair ladi."
Mr. Grant and Mohegan, continued in the hall, while the remainder of the party withdrew to an eating parlour, if we except Benjamin, who civilly remained, to close the rear after the divine, and to open the front door, for the exit of the Indian.
"John," said the divine, when the figure of Judge Temple disappeared, the last of the group, "to-morrow is the festival of the nativity of our blessed Redeemer, when the church has appointed prayers and thanksgivings, to be offered up by her children, and when all are invited to partake of the mystical elements. As you have taken up the cross, and become a follower of good, and an eschewer of evil, John, I trust I shall see you before the altar, with a contrite heart and a meek spirit."
"John will come," said the Indian, betraying no surprise, though he did not understand all the terms used by the other.
"Yes," continued Mr. Grant, laying his hand gently on the tawny shoulder of the aged chief, "but it is not enough to be there in the body only; you must come in the spirit, and in truth. The Redeemer died for all, for the poor Indian, as well as for the white man. Heaven knows no difference in colour; nor must earth witness a separation of the church. It is good and profitable, John, to freshen the understanding, and support the wavering, by the observance of our holy festivals; but all form is but stench, in the nostrils of the Holy One, unless it be accompanied by a devout and humble spirit."
The Indian stepped back a little, and, raising his body to its utmost powers of erection, he stretched his right arm on high, and dropped his fore-finger downward, as if pointing from the heavens, and striking his other hand on his naked breast, he said, with energy—
"The eye of the Great Spirit can see from the clouds;—the bosom of Mohegan is bare!"
"It is well, John, and I hope you will receive profit and consolation from the performance of this duty. The Great Spirit overlooks none of his children; and the man of the woods is as much an object of his care, as he who dwells in a palace. I wish you a good night, and pray God to bless you."
The Indian bent his head, and they separated—the one to seek his hut, and the other to join the party at the supper-table. While Benjamin was opening the door for the passage of the chief, he cried, in a tone that was meant to be quite consoling—
"The parson says the word that is true, John. If-so-be that they took count of the colour of a skin in heaven, why, they might refuse to muster on their books a christian-born, like myself, just for the matter of a little tan, from cruising in warm latitudes; though, for the matter of that, this damned nor-wester is enough to whiten the skin of a blackamoor. Let the reefs out of your blanket, man, or your red hide will hardly weather the night, without a touch from the frost."