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19 - The Last Of The Mohicans - James Cooper · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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Chapter nineteen. Quote Calar, why I am sure if he forfeit, that
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will not take his flesh? What's that good for shy to bait fish withal?
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If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge? Unquote
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from the Merchant of Venice. The shades of evening had come to increase the
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dreariness of the place. When the party entered the ruins of William Henry,
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the Scout and his companions immediately made their preparations to pass the night there,
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but with an earnestness and sobriety of demeanor that betrayed how much the unusual horrors
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they had just witnessed worked on even their practiced feelings. A few fragments of
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rafters were reared against the blackened wall, and when Uncas had covered them slightly
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with brush, the temporary accommodations were deemed sufficient. The young the Indian pointed
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toward this rude hut when his labor was ended, and Heyward, who understood
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the meaning of the silent gestures, gently urgement row to enter, leaving the
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bereaved old man alone with his sorrows. Duncan immediately returned into the open air,
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too much excited himself to seek the repose he had recommended to his veteran
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friend. While Hawkeye and the Indians lighted their fire and took their evenings.
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Repassed a frugal mill of dried bear's meat, the young man paid a visit
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to that curtain of the dilapidated fort, which looked out on the sheet of
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the Horican. The wind had fallen, and the waves were already rolling on
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the sandy beach beneath him. In a more regular and tempered succession, the
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clouds, as if tired of their furious chase, were breaking asunder, the
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heavier volumes gathering in black masses about the horizon, while the lighter scud still
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hurried above the water or eddied among the tops of the mountains. Broken flights
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of birds hovering around their roost. Here and there, a red and fiery
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stars struggled through the drifting vapor, furnishing a lurid gleam of brightness to the
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dull aspect of the heavens. Within the bosom of the encircling hills, an
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impenetrable darkness had already settled, and the plain lay like a vast and deserted
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charnel house. Without oment or whisper to disturb the slumbers of its numerous and
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hapless tenants. On this scene, so chillingly in accordance with the past,
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Duncan stood for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes wandered from the bosom
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of the mound, where the foresters were seated around their glimmering fire, to
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the fainter light which still lingered in the skies, and then rested long and
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anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary void on that side
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of him where the dead reposed. He soon fancied that inexplicable sounds arose from
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the place, though so indistinct and stolen as to render not only their nature
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but even their existence uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehensions, the young man turned
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toward the water and strove to divert his attention to the mimic stars that dimly
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glimmered on its moving surface. Still, his two conscious ears performed their ungrateful
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duty, as if to warn him of some lurking danger. At length,
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a swift trampling seemed quite audibly to rush athwart the darkness. Unable any longer
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to quiet his uneasiness. Duncan spoke in a low voice to the scout,
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requesting him to ascend the mound to the place where he stood. Hawkeye threw
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his rifle, crossed his arm, and complied, but with an air so
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unmoved and calm as to prove how much he counted on the security of their
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position. Listen, said Duncan, when the other placed himself deliberately at his
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elbow. There are suppressed noises on the plain, which may show Montcalm has
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not yet entirely deserted his conquest. Then ears are better than eyes, said
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the undisturbed scout, who, having just deposited a portion of bear between his
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grinders, spoke thick and slow, like one whose mouth was doubly occupied.
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I myself saw him caged in tie with all his host. For your frenchers,
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when they have done a clever thing, like to get back and have
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a dance or a merry making with the women over their success, I know
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not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and Plunder may keep a huron
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here after his tribe has departed. It would be well to extinguish the fire
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and have a watch. Listen, you hear the noise, I mean an
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Indian more rarely lurks about the graves, though ready to slay and not over
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regardful of the means, he is commonly content with the scalp, unless when
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blood is hot and temper up. But after spirit is once fairly gone,
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he forgets his enmity and is willing to let the dead find their natural rest.
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Speaking of spirit's major, are you of opinion that the heaven of a
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redskin and us whites will be of one and the same, no doubt,
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no doubt, I thought I heard it again? Or was it the rustling
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of the leaves in the top of the beach? For my own part,
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continued Hawkeye, turning his face for a moment in the direction indicated by Hayward,
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but with a vacant and careless manner. I believe that paradised is ordained
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for happiness, and that men will be indulged in it according to their dispositions
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and gifts. I therefore judge that a red skin is not far from the
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truth when he believes he is to find them glorious hunting grounds of which his
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traditions tell. Nor for that matter, do I think it would be any
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disparagement to a man without a cross to pass his time. You hear it
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again, interrupted Duncan. Aye. Aye. When food is scarce, and
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when food is plenty, a wolf grows bold, said the unmoved scout.
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There would be picking too among the skins of the devils, if there was
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light and time for the sport. But concerning the life that is to come,
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major, I have heard preachers say in the settlements that heaven was a
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place of rest. Now men's minds differ as to their ideas of enjoyment.
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For myself, and I say it with reverence to the ordering of Providence,
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it would be no great indulgence to be kept shut up in those mansions of
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which they preach, having a natural longing for motion and the chase. Duncan,
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who was now made to understand the nature of the noise he had heard,
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answered with more attention to the subject which the humor of the scout had
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chosen for discussion, by saying, it is difficult to account for the feelings
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that may attend the last great change. It would be a change indeed for
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a man who has passed his days in the open air, returned the single
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minded scout, and who has so often broken his fast on the head waters
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of the Hudson to sleep within sound of the roaring mohawk. But it is
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a comfort to know we serve a merciful master, though we do it each
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after his fashion, and with great tracts of wilderness between us. What goes
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there? Is it? Not the rushing of the wolves you have mentioned?
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Hawkeye slowly shook his head and beckoned for Duncan to follow him to a spot
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to which the glare of the fire did not extend. When he had taken
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this precaution, the scout placed himself in an attitude of intense attention and listened
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long and keenly for a repetition of the low sound that had so unexpectedly startled
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him. His vigilance, however, seemed exercised in vain, for after a
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fruitless pause, he whispered to Duncan, we must give a call to uncas
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the boy has Indian senses, and he may hear what is hid from us.
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For being a white skin, I will not deny my nature. The
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young Mohican, who was conversing in a low voice with his father, started
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as he heard the moaning of an owl and springing to his feet. He
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looked toward the black mounds, as if seeking the place. Whence the sounds
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proceeded. The scout repeated the call, and within a few moments Duncan saw
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the figure of Uncas stealing cautiously along the rampart to the spot where they stood.
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Hawkeye explained his wishes in very few words, which were spoken in the
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Delaware tongue. As soon as Uncas was in possession of the reason why he
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was summoned, he threw himself flat on the turf, where, to the
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eyes of Duncan he appeared to lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at the immovable
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attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe the manner in which he
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employed his faculties to obtain the desired information, Heyward advanced a few steps and
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bent over the dark object on which he had kept his eye riveted. Then
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it was he discovered that the form of Uncas vanished, and that he beheld
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only the dark outline of an inequality in the embankment. What has become of
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the Mohican, he demanded of the scout, stepping back in amazement. It
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was here that I saw him fall and could have sworn that here he yet
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remained st speak lower, for we know not what ears are open. And
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the Mingoes are a quick witted breed. As for Uncas he is out on
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the plain, and the Maquists, if any cunch are about us, will
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find him their equal. You think that Montcalm has not called off all his
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Indians. Let us give the alarm to our companions that we may stand to
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our own arms. Here are five of us who are not unused to meet
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an enemy. Not a word to either. As you value your life,
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Look at the Sagamore, how like a grand Indian chief. He sits by
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the fire. If there are any skulkers out in the darkness, they will
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never discover by his countenance that we suspect danger at hand. But they may
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discover him, and it will prove his death. His person can be too
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plainly seen by the light of that fire, and he will become the first
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and most certain victim. It is undeniable that now you speak the truth returned
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the scout, betraying more anxiety than was usual. Yet what can be done?
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A single suspicious look might bring on an attack before we are ready to
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receive it. He knows by the call I gave Uncas that we have struck
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a scent. I will tell him that we are on the trail of the
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Mingoes. His Indian nature would tell him how to act. The scout applied
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his fingers to his mouth and raised a low, hissing sound that caused Duncan
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at first to start aside, believing that he had heard a serpent. The
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head of Chinchgotchkook was resting on a hand as he sat musing by himself.
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But the moment he had heard the warning of the animal whose name he bore,
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he arose to an upright position, and his dark eyes glanced swiftly and
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keenly on every side of him. With his sudden and perhaps involuntary movement,
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every appearance of surprise or alarm ended. His rifle lay untouched and apparently unnoticed,
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within reach of his hand. The tomahawk that he had loosened in his
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belt for the sake of ease, was even suffered to fall from its usual
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situation to the ground, and his form seemed to sink, like that of
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a man whose nerves and sinews were suffered to relax for the purpose of rest.
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Cunningly resuming his former position, though with a change of hands, as
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if the movement had been made merely to relieve the limb. The native awaited
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the result with a calmness and fortitude that none but an Indian warrior would have
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known how to exercise. But Heyward saw that while to a less instructed eye,
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the Mohican chief appeared to slumber, his nostrils were expanded, his head
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was turned a little to one side, as if to assist the organs of
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hearing, and that his quick and rapid glances ran incessantly over every object within
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the power of his vision. See the noble fellow, whispered Hawkeye, pressing
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the arm of Heyward. He knows that a look of motion might disconcert our
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schemes and put us at the mercy of them imps. He was interrupted by
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the flash and report of a rifle. The air was filled with spar afire
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around that spot, where the eyes of Heyward were still fastened with admiration and
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wonder. A second look told him that Chinkotchkook had disappeared in the confusion.
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In the meantime, the scout had thrown forward his rifle like one prepared for
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service, and awaited impatiently the moment when an enemy might rise to view.
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But with a solitary and fruitless attempt made on the life of Chinggotchcook, the
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attack appeared to have terminated. Once or twice, the listeners thought they could
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distinguish the distant rustling of bushes as bodies of some unknown description rushed through them.
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Nor was it long before Hawkeye pointed out the scampering of the wolves as
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they fled precipitately before the passage of some intruder on their proper domains. After
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an impatient and breathless pause, a plunge was heard in the water, and
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it was followed by the report of another rifle. There goes uncas said the
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scout. The boy bears us smart peace. I know its crack as well
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as the father knows the language of his child, For I carry the gun
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myself until I better offered. What can this mean? Demanded Duncan. We
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are watched, and as it would seem marked for destruction, yonder scattered bran
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can witness that no good was intended, and this Indian will testify that no
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harm has been done, returned the scout, dropping his rifle across his arm
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again, and following Chinchgotchcook, who just then reappeared within the circle of light
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into the bosom of the work. How is it, sagamore, are the
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mingoes upon us in earnest? Or is it only one of those reptiles who
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hang upon the skirts of a war party to scalp the dead, go in
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and make their boast among the squaws of the valiant deeds done on the pale
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faces. Chinch Gootchcook very quietly resumed his seat, nor did he make any
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reply until after he had examined the firebrand which had been struck by the bullet
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that had nearly proved fatal to himself, after which he was content to reply.
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After which he was content to reply, holding a single finger up to
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view with the English monosyllable one. I thought as much, returned Hawkeye,
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seating himself, and as he had got the cover of the lake, afore
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uncas pulled upon him. I thought as much, returned Hawkeye, seating himself,
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and as he had got the cover of the lake, afore uncas pulled
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upon him. It is more than probable the knave will sing his lies about
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some great ambushment in which he was out lying on the trail of two Mohicans
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and a white hunter. For the officers can be considered as little better than
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idlers in such a scrimmage. Well let him, let him. There are
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always some honest men in every nation, though Heaven knows two that they are
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scarce among the Makuas to look down an upstart when he brags again the face
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of reason, the varlet sent his lead within whistle of your ear, Sagamore
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Chinkotchkook turned a calm and incurious eye toward the place where the ball had struck,
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and then resumed his former attitude with a composure that could not be disturbed
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by so trifling an incident. Just then, Uncas glided into the circle and
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seated himself at the fire, with the same appearance of indifference as was maintained
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by his father. Of these several moments, Heyward was a deeply interested and
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wondering observer. It appeared to him as though the foresters had some secret means
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of intelligence which had escaped the vigilance of his own faculties. In place of
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that eager and garrulous narration which a white youth would have endeavored to communicate and
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perhaps exaggerate that which had passed out in the darkness of the plain. The
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young warrior was seemingly content to let his deeds speak for themselves. It was
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in fact neither the moment nor the occasion for an Indian to boast of his
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exploits. And it is probably that had Heyward neglected to inquire, not another
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syllable just then had been uttered on the subject what has become of our enemy?
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Uncas demanded, duncan we heard your rifle and hoped that you had not
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fired in vain. The young chief removed a fold of his hunting skirt and
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quietly exposed the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore as the symbol of
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victory. Chinkokschkook laid his hand on the scalp and considered it for a moment
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with deep attention, then dropping it with disgust. Depicted in his strong features,
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he ejaculated. Oneida Oneida, repeated the scout, who was fast losing
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his interest in the scene in an apathy nearly assimilated to that of his red
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associates, but who now now advance in uncommon earnestness to regard the bloody badge
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by the lord. If Theonidas are outlying on the trail, we shall by
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flank by devils on every side of us. Now to white eyes, there
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is no difference between this bit of skin and that of any other Indian.
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And yet the Sagamore declares it came from the pole of a Mingo. Nay,
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he even names the tribe of the poor devil with as much ease as
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if the scalp was a leaf of a book, and each here a letter.
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What right have Christian whites to boast of their learning when a savage can
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read a language that would prove too much for the wisest man of them all?
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What say you, lad, of what people? Was? The knave
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Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout and answered, in his
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soft voice, Oneida, Oneida. Again. When one Indian speaks a declaration,
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it is commonly true, but when he is supported by his people,
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set it down as gospel. The poor fellow has mistaken us. For French,
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said Heyward, or he would not have tempted the life of a friend.
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He mistake a Mohican in his paint for Auron, you would be as
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likely to mistake the white coated grenadiers of montcalm, for the scarlet jackets of
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the Royal Americans returned the scout. No, no, the serpent knew his
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errand nor was there any great mistake in the matter, for there is but
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little love between a Delaware and a Minko. Let their tribes go out to
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fight for whom they may in a white quarrel. For that matter, though
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the Ania is due serve his sacred Majesty, who is my sovereign Lord and
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Master, I should not have deliberated long about letting off kill Derec to imp
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myself. Had luck thrown him in my way, that would have been an
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abuse of our treaties and unworthy of you character. When a man can sort
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much with a people, continued Hawkeye, if they are honest and he no
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knave, love will grow up betwixt them. It is true that white cunning
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has managed to throw the tribes into great confusion as respects friends and enemies,
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so that the Hurons and the Oneidas, who speak the same tongue or what
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may be called the same, take each other's scalps, and the Delawares are
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divided among themselves. A few hanging about their great council fire on their own
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river and fighting on the same side with the Mingoes, while the greater part
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are in the Canadas out of natural enmity to the Maquas, thus throwing everything
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into disorder and destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet a red nature is
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not likely to alter with every shift of policy, so that the love of
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TwixT a Mohican and a Mingo is much like the regard between a white man
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and a serpent. I regret to hear it, for I had believed that
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those natives who dwelt within our boundaries found us too just and liberal not to
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identify themselves fully with our quarrels. Why, I believe it is nature to
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give a preference to one's own quarrels before those of strangers. Now, for
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myself, I do love justice, and therefore I will not say I hate
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a Mingo, for that may be unsuitable to my color and my religion.
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Though I will just repeat it may have been owing to the Knight that Kildeer
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had no hand in the death of this sulking Oneida. Then, as if
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satisfied with the force of his own reasons, whatever may be their effect on
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the opinions of the other disputant, the honest but implacable Woodsman, turned from
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the fire, content to let the controversy slumber. Heyward withdrew to the rampart,
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too uneasy and too little accustomed to the warfare of the woods to remain
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at ease under the possibility of such insidious attacks. Not so, however,
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with the Scout and the Mohicans, those acute and practiced senses whose power so
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often exceeded the limits of all ordinary credulity. After having detected the danger had
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enabled them to ascertain its magnitude and duration, not one of the three appeared
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in the least to doubt their perfect security, as was indicated by the preparations
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that were soon made to sit in council over their future proceedings. The confusion
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of nations and even of tribes to which Hawkeye alluded existed at that period in
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the fullest force. The great tie of language and of course, of a
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common origin was severed in many places, and it was one of its consequences
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that the Delaware and the Mingo, as the people of the six nations were
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called, were found fighting in the same ranks, while the latter sought the
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scalp of the Huron, though believed to be the root of his own stock,
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the Delawares were even divided among themselves, though love for the soil which
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had belonged to his ancestors kept the sagamore of the Mohicans with a small band
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of followers who were serving at Edward under the banners of the English king.
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By far the largest portion of his nation were known to be in the field
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as allies of montcalmb The reader probably knows, if enough has not already been
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gleaned from this narrative, that the Delaware or Lenape claimed to be the progenitors
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of that numerous people who once were masters of most of the eastern and northern
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states of America, of whom the community of the Mohicans was an ancient and
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highly honored member. It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of
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the minute and the intricate interest which had armed friend against friend and brought natural
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enemies to combat by each other's side, that the Scout and his companions now
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disposed themselves to deliberate on the measures that were to govern their future movements.
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Amid so many jarring in savage races of men, duncan knew enough of Indian
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customs to understand the reason that the fire was replenished, and why the warriors,
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not excepting Hawkeye, took their seats within the curl of its smoke with
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so much gravity and decorum. Placing himself at an angle of the works where
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he might be a spectator of the scene without he awaited the result with as
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much patience as he could summon. After a short and impressive pause, Chinskotchkok
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lighted a pipe, whose bull was curiously carved in one of the soft stones
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of the country, and whose stem was a tube of wood, commenced smoking.
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When he had inhaled enough of the fragrance of the soothing weed, he
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passed the instrument into the hands of the scout. In this manner, the
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pipe had made its round three several times amid the most profound silence, before
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either of the party opened his lips. Then the sagamore As, the oldest
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and highest in rank, in a few calm and dignified words, proposed the
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subject for deliberation. He was answered by the scout, and Chinskotchkook rejoined when
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the other objected to his opinions, But the youthful Uncas continued a silent and
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respectful listener, until Hawkeye, in complaisance, demanded his opinion. Hayward gathered
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from the manners of the different speakers that the father and son espoused one side
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of a disputed question, while the white man maintained the other. The contest
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gradually grew warmer, until it was quite evident the feelings of the speakers began
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to be somewhat enlisted in the debate. Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the amicable
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contest, the most decorous Christian assembly, not even accepting those in which its
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reverend ministers are collected, might have learned a wholesome lesson of moderation from the
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forbearance and courtesy of the disputants. The words of Uncas were received with the
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same deep attention as those which fell from the mature wisdom of his father,
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and so far from manifesting any impatience, neither spoke in reply until a few
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moments of silent meditation were seemingly bestowed in deliberating on what had already been said.
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The language of the Mohicans was accompanied by gestures so direct and natural that
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Heyward had but little difficulty in following the thread of their argument. On the
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other hand, the scout was obscure, because from the lingering pride of color,
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he rather affected the cold and artificial manner which characterizes all classes of Anglo
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Americans. When unexcited by the frequency with which the Indians described the marks of
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a forest trail, it was evident they urged pursuit by land. While the
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repeated sweep of Hawkeye's arm toward the Horican denoted that he was for a passage
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across its waters. The latter was, to every appearance, fast losing ground,
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and the point was about to be decided against him when he rose to
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his feet, and, shaking off his apathy, he suddenly assumed the manner
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of an Indian and adopted all the arts of native eloquence. Elevating an arm,
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he pointed out the track of the sun, repeating the gesture for every
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day that was necessary to accomplish their objects. Then he delineated a long and
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painful path amid rocks and water courses. The age and weakness of the slumbering
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and unconscious Moreau were indicated by signs too palpable to be mistaken. Duncan perceived
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that even his own powers were spoken lightly of, as the scout extended his
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palm and mentioned him by the appellation of open hand, a name his liberality
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had purchased of all the friendly tribes. Then came a representation of the light
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and graceful movements of a canoe set in forcible contrast to the tottering steps of
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one enfeebled and tired. He concluded by pointing to the scalp of the Oneida,
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and apparently urging the necessity of their departing speedily and in a manner that
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should leave no trail. The Mohicans listened gravely and with countenances that reflected the
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sentiments of the speaker. Conviction gradually wrought its influence, and toward the close
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of Hawkeye's speech, his sentences were accompanied by the customary exclamation of commendation.
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In short, Uncas and his father became converts to his way of thinking,
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abandoning their own previously expressed opinions with the liberality and candor that, had they
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been the representatives of some great and civilized people, would have infallibly worked their
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political ruin by destroying forever their reputation for consistency. The instant the matter in
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discussion was decided the debate and everything connected with it, except the result appeared
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to be forgotten. Hawkeye, without looking round to read his triumph in applauding
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eyes, very composedly stretched his tall frame before the dying embers and closed his
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own organs in sleep. Left now in a measure to themselves. The Mohicans,
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whose time had been so much devoted to the interest of others, seized
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the moment to devote some attention to themselves. Casting off at once the grave
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and austere demeanor of an Indian chief, Chinskotchkok commenced, speaking to his son
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in the soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met the familiar air
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of his father, and before the hard breathing of the scout, announced that
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he slept. A complete change was effected in the manner of his two associates.
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It is impossible to describe the music of their language, while thus engaged
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in laughter and endearments in such a way as to render it intelligible to those
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whose ears have never listened to its melody. The compass of their voices,
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particularly that of the youth, was wonderful, extending from the deepest bass to
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tones that were even feminine in softness, The eyes of the father followed the
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plastic and ingenious movements of the sun with open delight, and he never failed
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to smile in reply to the other's contagious but low laughter. While under the
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influence of these gentle and natural feelings, no trace of ferocity was to be
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seen in the softened features of the sagamore. His figured panope of death looked
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more like a disguise assumed in mockery than a fierce nunciation of a desire to
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carry destruction in his footsteps. After an hour had passed, in the indulgence
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of their better feelings, chinggotch Cook abruptly announced his desire to sleep, by
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wrapping his head in his blanket and stretching his form on the naked earth.
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The merriment of Uncas instantly ceased, and carefully raking the coals in such a
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manner that they should impart their warmth to his father's feet, the youth sought
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his own pillow among the ruins of the place. Imbibing renewed confidence from the
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security of these experienced foresters, Heyward soon imitated their example, and long before
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the night had turned, they who lay in the bosom of the ruin worked,
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seemed to slumber as heavily as the unconscious multitude, whose bones were already
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beginning to bleach on the surrounding plain. End of Chapter nineteen,