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21 - The Last Of The Mohicans - James Cooper · Adventure Books Library

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Chapter twenty one. Quote if you find a man there, he shall die
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a fleas death. Unquote from the merryland wives of Windsor. The party had
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landed on the border of a region that is even to this day less known
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to the inhabitants of the States than the deserts of Arabia or the steps of
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Tartary. It was the sterile and rugged district which separates the tributaries of Champlain
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from those of the Hudson, the Mohawk, and the Saint Lawrence. Since
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the period of our tale, the active spirit of the country has surrounded it
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with a belt of rich and thriving settlements, though none but the Hunter or
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the Savage is ever known even now to penetrate its wild recesses. As Hawkeye
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and the Mohicans had, however, often traversed the mountains and valleys of this
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vast wilderness, they did not hesitate to plunge into its depth with the freedom
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of men, accustomed to its privations and defaceiculties. For many hours, the
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travelers toiled on their laborious way, guided by a star or following the direction
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of some watercourse, until the scout called a halt, and holding a short
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consultation with the Indians, they lighted their fire and made the usual preparations to
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pass the remainder of night, where they then were imitating the example and emulating
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the confidence of their more experienced associates, Monroe and Duncan slept without fear,
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if not without uneasiness. The dews were suffered to exhale, and the sun
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had dispersed the mist and was shedding a strong and clear light in the forest
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when the travelers resumed their journey. After proceeding a few miles, the progress
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of Hawkeye, who led the advance, became more deliberate and watchful. He
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often stopped to examine the trees, nor did he cross a rivulet without attentively
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considering the quantity, the velocity, and the color of its waters. Distrusting
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his own judgment, his appeals to the opinion of Chinegotchkok were frequent and earnest.
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During one of these conferences, Heyward observed that Uncas stood a patient,
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silent, though as he imagined an interested listener. He was strongly tempted to
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address the young chief and demand his opinion of their progress. But the calm
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and dignified demeanor of the native induced him to believe that, like himself,
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the other was wholly dependent on the sagacity and intelligence of the seniors of the
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party. At last, the scout spoke in English and at once explained the
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embarrassment of their situation. When I found that the home path of the Hurons
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run north, he said, it did not need the judgment of many long
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years to tell that they would follow the valleys and keep between the waters the
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Hudson and the Horican, until they might strike the springs of the Canadian streams,
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which would lead them into the heart of the country of the Frenchers.
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Yet here are we within a short range of the Sakkaroons, and not a
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sign of a trail have we crossed. Human nature is weak, and it
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is possible we may have not taken the proper scent. Heaven protect us from
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such an air, exclaimed Duncan. Let us retrace our steps and examine as
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we go with keener eyes. Has Uncas no counsel to offer in such a
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strait. The young Mohican cast a glance at his father, but maintaining his
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quiet and reserved mien, he continued silent. Chinchkotchkok had caught the look,
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and motioning with his hand, he bade him speak. The moment this permission
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was accorded, the countenance of Uncas changed from its grave composure to a gleam
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of intelligence and joy. Bounding forward like a deer, he sprang up the
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side of a little ecclivat a few rods in advance, and stood exultingly over
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a spot of fresh earth that looked as though it had been recently upturned by
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the passage of some heavy animal. The eyes of the whole party followed the
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unexpected movement and read their success in the air of triumph that the youth assumed
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tis the trail, exclaimed the scout, advancing to the spot. The lad
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is quick of sight and keen of wit for his years. Tis extraordinary that
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he should have withheld his knowledge for so long, muttered Duncan at his elbow.
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It would have been more wonderful had he spoken without a bidding. No.
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No, your young white, who gathers his learning from books and can
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measure what he knows by the page, may conceit that his knowledge, like
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his legs, outruns that of his father's. But where experience is the master,
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the scholar is made to know the value of years, and respects them
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accordingly. See said uncas, pointing north and south at the evident marks of
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the broad trail on either side of him. The dark hair has gone toward
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the forest. How never ran on a more beautiful scent, responded the scout,
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dashing forward at once on the indicated route. We are favored, greatly
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favored, and can follow with high noses. I here are both your waddling
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beast. This huron travels like a white general. The fellow is stricken with
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a judgment and is mad. Look sharp for wheels, sagamore, he continued,
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looking back and laughing in his newly awakened satisfaction. We shall soon have
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the full journeying in a coach, and that with three of the best pair
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of eyes on the borders in his rear. The spirits of the scout and
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the astonishing success of the chase, in which a circuitous distance of more than
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forty miles had been passed, did not fail to impart a portion of hope
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to the whole party. Their advance was rapid and made with as much confidence
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as a traveler would proceed along a wide highway if a rock or a rivulet
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or a bit of earth harder than common severed the links of the clue they
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followed. The true eye of the scout recovered them at a distance, and
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seldom rendered the delay of a single moment necessary. Their progress was much facilitated
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by the certainty that Magua had found it necessary to journey through the valleys,
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a circumstance which rendered the general direction of the route shore. Nor had the
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Huron entirely neglected the arch uniformly practiced by the natives when retiring in front of
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an enemy. False trails and sudden turnings were frequent wherever a brook or the
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formation of the ground rendered them feasible, But his pursuers were rarely deceived,
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and never failed to detect their air before they had lost either time or distance
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on them the deceptive track. By the middle of the afternoon, they had
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passed the sakaroons and were following the route of the declining sun. After descending
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an eminence to a low bottom through which a swift stream glided, they suddenly
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came to a place where the party of le Renaud had made a halt.
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Extinguished brands were laying around a spring. The offals of a deer were scattered
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about the place, and the trees bore evident marks of having been browsed by
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the horses. At a little distance, Hayward discovered and contemplated with tender emotion
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the small bower under which he was fain to believe that Cora and Alice had
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reposed. But while the earth was trodden, and the footsteps of both men
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and beast were so plainly visible around the place, the trail appeared to have
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suddenly ended. It was easy to follow the tracks of the Narragansetts, but
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they seemed only to have wandered without guides or any other object than the pursuit
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of food. At length, Uncas, who with his father had endeavored to
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trace the route of the horses, came upon a sign of their presence that
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was quite recent before following the cue, he communicated his success to his companions,
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and while the latter were consulting on the circumstances, the youth reappeared,
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leading the two fillies, with their saddles broken and the housing soiled, as
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if they had been permitted to run at will for several days. What would
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this prove? Said Duncan, turning pale and glancing his eyes around him as
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if he feared the brush and leaves were about to give him some horrid secret,
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that our march is come to a quick end, and that we are
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in an enemy's country, returned the scout. Had the knave been pressed and
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the gentle ones wanted horses to keep up with the party, he might have
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taken their scalps. But without an enemy at his heels, and with such
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rugged beast as these, he would not hurt a hair on their heads.
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I know your thoughts, and shame be it to our color that you have
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reason for them. But he who thinks that even a Mingo would ill treat
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a woman unless it be to tomahawk her knows nothing of Indian nature or the
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laws of the woods. No, No, I have heard that the French
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Indians had come into these hills to hunt the moose, and we are getting
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with incent of their camp. Why should they not. The morning and evening
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guns of tie may be heard any day among these mountains, for the Frenchers
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are running a new line between the provinces of the King and the Canadas.
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It is true that the horses are here, but the hurons are gone.
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Let us then hunt for the path by which they parted. Hawkeye and the
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Mohicans now applied themselves to their task. In good earnest, a circle of
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a few hundred feet in circumference was drawn, and each of the party took
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a segment for his portion. The examination, however, resulted in no discovery.
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The impressions of footsteps were numerous, but they all appeared like those of
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men who had wondered about the spout. Without any design to quit it again,
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the scout and his companions made the circuit of the halting place, each
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slowly following the other, until they assembled in the center once more, no
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wiser than when they had started. Such cunning is not without its deviltry,
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exclaimed Hawkeye when he met the disappointed looks of his assistance. We must get
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down to it, sagamore, beginning at the spring and going over the ground
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by inches. The Huron shall never brag in his tribe that he has a
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foot which leaves no print. Setting the example himself, the scout engaged in
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the scrutiny with renewed zeal. Not a leaf was left unturned, The sticks
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were removed, and the stones lifted. For Indian cunning was known frequently to
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adopt these objects as cuts, laving with the utmost patience and industry to conceal
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such footstep as they proceed. Still no discovery was made at length Uncas,
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whose activity had enabled him to achieve his portion of the task. The soonest
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raked the earth across the turbid little riel, which ran from the spring,
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and diverted its course into another channel. As soon as its narrow bed below
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the dam was dry, he stooped over it with a keen and curious eye.
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A cry of exultation immediately announced the success of the young warrior. The
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whole party crowded to the spot where Uncas pointed out the impression of a moccasin
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in the moist of Luvian. This lad will be an honor to his people,
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said Hawkeye, regarding the trail with as much admiration as a naturalist would
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expend on the tusk of a mammoth, or the rib of a mastodon eye,
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and a thorn in the side of the hurons. Yet that is not
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the footstep of an inn. The weight is too much on the heel,
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and the toes are squared, as though one of the French dancers had been
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in pigeon winging his tribe. Run back, Uncas, and bring me the
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size of the singer's foot. You will find a beautiful print of it,
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just opposite Yon Rock again the hillside. While the youth was engaged in this
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commission, the scout and chinchotchcook were attentively considering the impressions. The measurements agreed,
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and the former unhesitatingly pronounced that the footstep was that of David, who
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had once more been made to exchange his shoes for moccasin. I can now
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read the whole of it as plainly as if I had seen the arts of
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lips of teel. He added. The singer, being a man whose gifts
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lay chiefly in his throat and feet, was made to go first, and
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the others have trod in his steps, imitating their formation. But cried,
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duncan I see no signs of the gentle ones, interrupted the scout out.
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The varlet has found a way to carry them, until he supposed he had
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thrown any followers off. The scent my life on it. We see their
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pretty little feet again before many rods go by. The whole party now proceeded
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following the course of the ril, keeping anxious eyes on the regular impressions.
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The water soon flowed into its bed again, But watching the ground on either
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side, the foresters pursued their way, content in knowing that the trail lay
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beneath. More than half a mile was passed before the real rippled close around
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the base of an extensive and dry rock. Here they paused to make sure
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that the Hurons had not quitted the water. It was fortunate they did so,
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for the quickened act of uncas soon found the impression of a foot on
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a bunch of moss where it would seem an Indian had inadvertently trodden. Pursuing
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the direction given by this discovery, he entered the neighboring thicket and struck the
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trail as fresh and obvious as it had been before they reached the spring.
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Another shout announced the good fortune of the youth to his companions, and at
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once terminated the search. Aye it has been planned with Indian judgments, said
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the scout, when the party was assembled around the place, and would have
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blinded white eyes. Shall we proceed, demanded Heyward. Softly, softly,
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We know our path, but it is good to examine the formation of things.
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This is my schooling major, and if one neglects the book, there
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is little chance of learning from the open land of Providence. All is plain
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but one thing, which is the manner that the knave contrived to get the
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gentle ones along the blind trail. Even a huron would be too proud to
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let their tender feet touch the water. Will this is this? In explaining
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the difficulty, said Heyward, pointing toward the fragments of a sort of handbarrow
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that had been rudely constructed of bowels and bound together with wives, and which
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now seem carelessly cast aside as useless tis explained, cried the delighted Hawkeye.
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If them varlets have passed a minute, they have spent hours in striving to
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fabricating a lying end to their trail. Well, I've known them to waste
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the day in the same manner. To his little purpose. Here we have
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three pair of moccasins, and two of little feet. It is amazing that
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any mortal beings can journey on limbs so small. Pass me the thong of
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buckskin, uncas, and let me take the length of this foot. By
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the Lord, it is no longer than a child's. And yet the maidens
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are tall and comely, that Providence is partial in its gifts for its own
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wise reasons. The best and most contented of us must allow. The tender
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limbs of my daughters are unequal to these hardships, said Monroe, looking at
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the light footsteps of his children with a parent's love. We shall behind their
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fainting forms in this desert. Of that there is little cause for fear,
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returned the scout, slowly shaking his head. This is a firm and straight,
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though a light step, and not over long. See the heel has
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hardly touched the ground, and there the dark hairt has made a little jump
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from rout root. No, no, my knowledge of it. Neither of
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them was nigh fainting here away. Now the singer was beginning to be footstore
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and leg weary, as is plain by his trail. There you see he
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slipped. Here, he has traveled wide and tottered. And there again it
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looks as though he journeyed on snowshoes. Aye. Aye. A man who
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uses his throat altogether can hardly give his legs a proper training. From such
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undeniable testimony, did the practiced woodsman arrive at the truth with nearly as much
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certainty and precision as if he had been a witness of all those events which
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his ingenuity so easy, elucidated, Cheered by these assurances, and satisfied by
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a reasoning that was so obvious while it was so simple, the party resumed
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its course, after making a short halt to take a hurried repast. When
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the meal was ended, the scout cast a glance upward at the setting sun
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and pushed forward with a rapidity which compelled Heyward and the still vigorous Monroe to
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exert all of their muscles to equal Their route now lay along the bottom which
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has already been mentioned. As the Hurons had made no further efforts to conceal
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their footsteps, the progress of the pursuers was no longer delaid by uncertainty.
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Before an hour had elapsed, however, the speed of Hawkeye sensibly abated,
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and his head, instead of maintaining its former direct and forward look, began
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to turn suspiciously from side to side, as if he were conscious of approaching
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danger. He soon stopped again and waited for the whole party to come up.
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I sent the Hurons, he said, speaking to the Mohicans. Yonder
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is open sky through the tree tops, and we are getting too nigh their
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encampment. Sagamore, you will take the hillside to the right, Uncas will
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bend along the brook to the left, while I will try the trail.
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If anything should happen, the call will be three croaks of a crow.
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I saw one of the birds fanning himself in the air just beyond the dead
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oak, another sign that we are approaching an encampment. The Indians departed their
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several ways without reply, while Hawkeye cautiously proceeded with the two gentlemen. Heyward
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soon pressed to the side of their guide, eager to catch any glimpse of
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those enemies he had pursued with so much toil and anxiety. His companion told
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him to steal to the edge of the wood, which as usual was fringed
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with a thicket, and waited his coming, for he wished to examine certain
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suspicious signs a little on one side. Duncan obeyed, and soon found himself
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in a situation to command a view which he found as extraordinary as it was
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novel. The trees of many acres have been felled, and the glow of
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a mild summer's evening had fallen on the clearing in beautiful contrast to the gray
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light of the forest. A short distance from the place where Duncan stood,
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the stream had seemingly expanded into a little lake, covering most of the lowland
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from mountain to mountain. The water fell out of this wide basin in a
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cataract so regular and gentle that it appeared rather to be the work of human
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hands than fashioned by nature. A hundred earthen dwellings stood on the margin of
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the lake and even in its waters, as though the latter had overflowed its
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usual banks. Their rounded roofs, admirably wolded for defense against the weather,
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denoted more of industry and foresight than natives were wont to bestow on their regular
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habitations, much less on those occupied for the temporary purposes of hunting and war.
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In short, the whole village or town, whichever it might be termed,
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possessed more of method and needless of execution than the white men had been
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accustomed to believe belonged ordinarily to the Indian habits. It appeared, however,
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to be deserted, at least, so thought Duncan for many minutes. But
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at length he fancied he discovered several human forms advancing toward him on all fours
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and apparently dragging in the train some heavy and he was quick to apprehend some
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formidable engine. Just then, a few dark looking heads gleamed out of the
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dwellings, and the place seemed suddenly alive with beings, which, however,
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glided from cover to cover so swiftly as to allow no opportunity for examining their
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humors or pursuits. Alarmed at these suspicious and inexplicable movements, he was about
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to attempt the signal of the crows when the rustling of leaves at hand drew
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his eyes in another direction. The young man started and recoiled a few paces
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instinctively when he found himself within a hundred yards of a stranger Indian, recovering
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his recollection of the instant. Instead of sounding alarm, which might prove fatal
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to himself, he remained stationary, an attentive observer of the other's motions,
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an instant of calm observation served to assure Duncan that he was undiscovered. The
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native, like himself, seemed occupied in considering the low dwellings of the village
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and the stolen movements of its inhabitants. It was impossible to discover the expression
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of his features through the grotesque mask of paint under which they were concealed,
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though Duncan fancied it was rather melancholy than savage. His head was shaved,
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as usual, with the exception of the crown, from whose tough three or
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four faded feathers from a hawk's wing were loosely dangling. A ragged calico mantle
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half encircled his body, while his nether garment was composed of an ordinary shirt,
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the sleeves of which were made to perform the office that is usually expected
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by a much more commodious arrangement. His legs were, however, covered with
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a pair of good deerskin moccasins. Altogether, the appearance of the individual was
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forlorn and miserable. Duncan was still curiously observing the person of his neighbor when
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the scout stole silently and cautiously to his side. You see we have reached
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their settlement or encampment, whispered the young man. Here is one of the
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savages himself, in a very embarrassing position for our further movements. Hawkeye started
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and dropped his rifle when directed by the finger of his companion, the stranger
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came under his view. Then, lowering the dangerous muzzle, he stretched forward
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his long neck as if to assist a scrutiny that was already intensely keen.
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The imp is not Uran, he said, nor of any of the Canada
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tribes. And yet you see by his clothes the knave has been plundering the
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White i Montcalm has raked the woods for his inroad, and a whooping,
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murdering set of varrets has he gathered together. Can you see where he has
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put his rifle or his bow? He appears to have no arms, nor
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does he seem to be viciously inclined. Unless he communicate the alarm to his
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fellows, who, as you see, or dodge about the water, we
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have but little to fear from him. The scout turned to Hayward and regarded
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him a moment with unconcealed amazement. Then opening his mouth, he indulged in
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unrestrained and heartfelt laughter, though in that silent and peculiar manner which Danger had
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so long taught him to practice. Repeating the words fellows who are deluging about
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the water, he added, so much for schooling and passing a boyhood in
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the settlements. The knave has long legs, though, and shall not be
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trusted. Do you keep him under your rifle while I creep in behind through
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the bush and take him alive? Fire on no account. Hayward had already
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permitted his companion to bury part of his person in the thicket. When stretching
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forth his arm, he arrested him in order to ask, if I see
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you in danger, may I not risk a shot? Hawkeye regarded him a
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moment like one who knew not how to take the question. Then, nodding
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his head, he answered, still laughing, though inaudibly, fire Old Platoon
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Major. In the next moment, he was concealed by the leaves. Duncan
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waited several minutes in feverish impatience before he caught another glimpse of the scalp.
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Then he reappeared, creeping along the earth, from which his dress was hardly
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distinguishable, directly in the rear of his intended captive. Having reached within a
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few yards of the latter, he arose to his feet silently and slowly.
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At that instant, several loud blows were struck on the water and Duncan turned
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his eyes just in time to perceive that a hundred dark forms were plunging in
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a body into the troubled little sheet. Grasping his rifle, his looks were
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again bent on the Indian near him. Instead of taking the alarm, the
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unconscious Savage stretched forward his neck as if he also watched the movements about the
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gloomy lake with a sort of silly curiosity. In the meantime, the uplifted
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hand of Hawkeye was above him, but without any apparent reason, it was
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withdrawn, and its owner indulged another long the silent fit of merriment. When
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the peculiar and hearty laughter of Hawkeye was ended, instead of grasping his victim
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by the throat, he tapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed, aloud,
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how now, friend, have you mind to teach the beavers to sing?
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Being so was the ready answer, it would seem that the being that gave
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them the power to improve his gifts so well would not deny them voices to
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proclaim his praise. End of Chapter twenty one