Cooper_Last_of_the_Mohicans.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
INTRODUCTION
It is believed that the scene of this tale, and most of the
information necessary to understand its allusions, are rendered
sufficiently obvious to the reader in the text itself, or in the
acccompanying notes. Still, there is so much obscurity in the
Indian traditions, and so much confusion in the Indian names,
as to render some explanation useful.
Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so express it,
greater antithesis of character, than the native warrior of North
America. In war, he is daring, boastful, cunning, ruthless, self-
denying, and self-devoted ; in peace, just, generous, hospitable,
revengeful, superstitious, modest, and commonly chaste. These
are qualities, it is true, which do not distinguish all alike ; but
they are so far the predominating traits of these remarkable
people, as to be characteristic.
It is generally believed the Aborigines of the American con-
tinent have an Asiatic origin. There are many physical as well
as moral facts which corroborate this opinion, and some few
would seem to weigh against it.
The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to
himself; and while his cheek-bones have a very striking indica-
2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
tion of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate may have
had great influence on the former, but it is difficult to see how
it can have produced the substantial difference which exists in
the latter. The imagery of the Indian, both in his poetry and
his oratory, is oriental, chastened, and perhaps improved, by the
limited range of his practical knowledge. He draws his meta-
phors from the clouds, the seasons, the birds, the beasts, and
the vegetable world. In this, perhaps, he does no more than
any other energetic and imaginative race would do, being com-
pelled to set bounds to fancy by experience; but the North
American Indian clothes his ideas in dress which is different
from that of the African, and is oriental in itself. His language
has the richness and sententious fulness of the Chinese. He
will express a phrase in a word, and he will qualify the mean-
ing of an entire sentence by a syllable ; he will even convey
different significations by the simplest inflections of the voice.
Philologists have said that there are but two or three lan-
guages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes which
formerly occupied the country that now composes the United
States. They ascribe the known difficulty one people have in
understanding another to corruptions and dialects. The writer
remembers to have been present at an interview between two
chiefs of the Great Prairies west of the Mississippi, and when
an interpreter was in attendance who spoke both their languages.
The warriors appeared to be on the most friendly terms, and
seemingly conversed much together; yet, according to the
account of the interpreter, each was absolutely ignorant of what
the other said. They were of hostile tribes, brought together
by the influence of the American government ; and it is worthy
of remark, that a common policy led them both to adopt the
same subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be of use
in the event of the chances of war throwing either of the parties
into the hands of his enemies. Whatever may be the truth, as
respects the root and the genius of the Indian tongues, it is
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 3
quite certain they are now so distinct in their words as to possess
most of the disadvantages of strange languages ; hence much of
the embarrassment that has arisen in learning their histories,
and most of the uncertainty which exists in their traditions.
Like nations of higher pretensions, the American Indian gives
a very different account of his own tribe or race from that which
is given by other people. He is much addicted to overestimat-
ing his own perfections, and to undervaluing those of his rival
or his enemy ; a trait which may possibly be thought corrobora-
tive of the Mosaic account of the creation.
The whites have assisted greatly in rendering the traditions
of the Aborigines more obscure by their own manner of corrupt-
ing names. Thus, the term used in the title of this book has
undergone the changes of Mahicanni, Mohicans, and Mohegans ;
the latter being the word commonly used by the whites. When
it is remembered that the Dutch (who first settled New York),
the English, and the French, all gave appellations to the tribes
that dwelt within the country which is the scene of this story,
and that the Indians not only gave different names to their
enemies, but frequently to themselves, the cause of the con-
fusion will be understood.
In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope, Delawares, Wapan-
achki, and Mohicans, all mean the same people, or tribes of
the same stock. The Mengwe, the Maquas, the Mingoes, and
the Iroquois, though not all strictly the same, are identified
frequently by the speakers, being politically confederated and
opposed to those just named. Mingo was a term of peculiar
reproach, as were Mengwe and Maqua in a less degree.
The Mohicans were the possessors of the country first occupied
by the Europeans in this portion of the continent. They were,
consequently, the first dispossessed ; and the seemingly inevitable
fate of all these people, who disappear before the advances, or it
might be termed the inroads, of civilization, as the verdure of
their native forests falls before the nipping frost, is represented
4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
as having already befallen them. There is sufficient historical
truth in the picture to justify the use that has been made of it.
In point of fact, the* country which is the scene of the follow-
ing tale has undergone as little change, since the historical events
alluded to had place, as almost any other district of equal extent
within the whole limits of the United States. There are fashion-
able and well-attended watering-places at and near the spring
where Hawkeye halted to drink, and roads traverse the forests
where he and his friends were compelled to journey without even
a path. Glen's has a large village ; and while William Henry,
and even a fortress of later date, are only to be traced as ruins,
there is another village on the shores of the Horican. But,
beyond this, the enterprise and energy of a people who have
done so much in other places, have done little here. The whole
of that wilderness, in which the latter incidents of the legend
occurred, is nearly a wilderness still, though the red man has
entirely deserted this part of the state. Of all the tribes named
in these pages, there exist only a few half-civilized beings of the
Oneidas, on the reservations of their people in New York. The
rest have disappeared, either from the regions in which their
fathers dwelt, or altogether from the earth.
There is one point on which we would wish to say a word
before closing this preface. Hawkeye calls the Lac du Saint
Sacrement, the " Horican." As we believe this to be an appro-
priation of the name that has its origin with ourselves, the time
has arrived, perhaps, when the fact should be frankly admitted.
While writing this book, fully a quarter of a century since, it
occurred to us that the French name of this lake was too com-
plicated, the American too commonplace, and the Indian too
unpronounceable, for either to be used familiarly in a work of
fiction. Looking over an ancient map, it was ascertained that
a tribe of Indians, called " Les Horicans " by the French, existed
in the neighborhood of this beautiful sheet of water. As every
word uttered by Natty Bumppo was not to be received as rigid
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 5
truth, we took the liberty of putting the " Horican " into his
mouth, as the substitute for " Lake George." The name has
appeared to find favor, and, all things considered, it may possibly
be quite as well to let it stand, instead of going back to the
House of Hanover for the appellation of our finest sheet of
water. We relieve our conscience by the confession, at all
events, leaving it to exercise its authority as it may see fit.
CHAPTER I
" Mine ear is open, and my heart prepared :
The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold :
Say, is my kingdom lost ? " Shakespeare.
It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North Amer-
ica, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be en-
countered before the adverse hosts could meet. A wide and
apparently an impervious boundary of forests severed the
possessions of the hostile provinces of France and England. The
hardy colonist, and the trained European who fought at his side,
frequently expended months in struggling against the rapids of
the streams, or in effecting the rugged passes of the mountains,
in quest of an opportunity to exhibit their courage in a more
martial conflict. But, emulating the patience and self-denial
of the practised native warriors, they learned to overcome every
difficulty ; and it would seem that, in time, there was no recess
of the woods so dark, nor any secret place so lovely, that it
might claim exemption from the inroads of those who had
pledged their blood to satiate their vengeance, or to uphold the
cold and selfish policy of the distant monarchs of Europe.
Perhaps no district throughout the wide extent of the inter-
mediate frontiers can furnish a livelier picture of the cruelty and
fierceness of the savage warfare of those periods than the coun-
try which lies between the head waters of the Hudson and the
adjacent lakes.
6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
The facilities which nature had there offered to the march of
the combatants were too obvious to be neglected. The length-
ened sheet of the Champlain stretched from the frontiers of
Canada, deep within the borders of the neighboring province
of New York, forming a natural passage across half the distance
that the French were compelled to master in order to strike
their enemies. Near its southern termination, it received the
contributions of another lake, whose waters were so limpid as
to have been exclusively selected by the Jesuit missionaries to
perform the typical purification of baptism, and to obtain for
it the title of lake "du Saint Sacreinent." The less zealous
English thought they conferred a sufficient honor on its unsullied
fountains, when they bestowed the name of their reigning prince,
the second of the house of Hanover. The two united to rob the
untutored possessors of its wooded scenery of their native right
to perpetuate its original appellation of " Horican."
Winding its way among countless islands, and imbedded in
mountains, the "holy lake" extended a dozen leagues still
further to the south. With the high plain that there inter-
posed itself to the further passage of the water, commenced a
portage of as many miles, which conducted the adventurer to
the banks of the Hudson, at a point where, with the usual
obstructions of the rapids, or rifts, as they were then termed in
the language of the country, the river became navigable to the
tide.
While, in the pursuit of their daring plans of annoyance, the
restless enterprise of the French even attempted the distant and
difficult gorges of the Alleghany, it may easily be imagined that
their proverbial acuteness would not overlook the natural advan-
tages of the district we have just described. It became, em-
phatically, the bloody arena, in which most of the battles for
the mastery of the colonies were contested. Forts were erected
at the different points that commanded the facilities of the
route, and were taken and retaken, razed and rebuilt, as victory
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 7
alighted on the hostile banners. While the husbandman shrank
hack from the dangerous passes, within the safer boundaries of
the more ancient settlements, armies larger than those that had
often disposed of the sceptres of the mother countries, were seen
to bury themselves in these forests, whence they rarely returned
but in skeleton bands, that were haggard with care or dejected
by defeat. Though the arts of peace were unknown to this
fatal region, its forests were alive with men; its shades and
glens rang with the sounds of martial music, and the echoes of
its mountains threw back the laugh, or repeated the wanton cry,
of many a gallant and reckless youth, as he hurried by them, in
the noontide of his spirits, to slumber in a long night of forget-
fulness.
It was in this scene of strife and bloodshed that the incidents
we shall attempt to relate occurred, during the third year of the
war which England and France last waged for the possession of
a country that neither was destined to retain.
The imbecility of her military leaders abroad, and the fatal
want of energy in her councils at home, had lowered the char-
acter of Great Britain from the proud elevation on which it had
been placed, by the talents and enterprise of her former warriors
and statesmen. No longer dreaded by her enemies, her servants
were fast losing the confidence of self-respect. In this mortify-
ing abasement, the colonists, though innocent of her imbecility,
and too humble to be the agents of her blunders, were but the
natural participators. They had recently seen a chosen army
from that country, which, reverencing as a mother, they had
blindly believed invincible an army led by a chief who had
been selected from a crowd of trained warriors, for his rare
military endowments, disgracefully routed by a handful of
French and Indians, and only saved from annihilation by the
coolness and spirit of a Virginian boy, whose riper fame has
since diffused itself, with the steady influence of moral truth,
to the uttermost confines of Christendom. A wide frontier
8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
had been laid naked by this unexpected disaster, and more
substantial evils were preceded by a thousand fanciful and
imaginary dangers. The alarmed colonists believed that the
yells of the savages mingled with every fitful gust of wind that
issued from the interminable forests of the west. The terrific
character of their merciless enemies increased immeasurably the
natural horrors of warfare. Numberless recent massacres were
still vivid in their recollections ; nor was there any ear in the
provinces so deaf as not to have drunk in with avidity the narra-
tive of some fearful tale of midnight murder, in which the natives
of the forests were the principal and barbarous actors. As the
credulous and excited traveller related the hazardous chances of
the wilderness, the blood of the timid curdled with terror, and
mothers cast anxious glances even at those children which slum-
bered within the security of the largest towns. In short, the
magnifying influence of fear began to set at naught the calcula-
tions of reason, and to render those who should have remembered
their manhood, the slaves of the basest of passions. Even the
most confident and the stoutest hearts began to think the issue
of the contest was becoming doubtful ; and that abject class was
hourly increasing in numbers, who thought they foresaw all the
possessions of the English crown in America subdued by their
Christian foes, or laid waste by the inroads of their relentless
allies.
When, therefore, intelligence was received at the fort which
covered the southern termination of the portage between the
Hudson and the lakes, that Montcalm had been seen moving
up the Champlain, with an army " numerous as the leaves on
the trees," its truth was admitted with more of the craven
reluctance of fear than with the stern joy that a warrior should
feel, in finding an enemy within reach of his blow. The news
had been brought, toward the decline of a day in midsummer,
by an Indian runner, who also bore an urgent request from
Munro, the commander of a work on the shore of the " holy
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 9
lake," for a speedy and powerful reenforcement. It has already-
been mentioned that the distance between these two posts was
less than five leagues. The rude path, which originally formed
their line of communication, had been widened for the passage
of wagons ; so that the distance which had been travelled by the
son of the forest in two hours, might easily be effected by a
detachment of troops, with their necessary baggage, between
the rising and setting of a summer sun. The loyal servants of
the British crown had given to one of these forest-fastnesses the
name of William Henry, and to the other that of Fort Edward ;
calling each after a favorite prince of the reigning family. The
veteran Scotchman just named held the first, with a regiment
of regulars and a few provincials ; a force really by far too small
to make head against the formidable power that Montcalm was
leading to the foot of his earthen mounds. At the latter, how-
ever, lay General Webb, who commanded the armies of the king
in the northern provinces, with a body of more than five thou-
sand men. By uniting the several detachments of his command,
this officer might have arrayed nearly double that number of
combatants against the enterprising Frenchman, who had ven-
tured so far from his reinforcements, with an army but little
superior in numbers.
But under the influence of their degraded fortunes, both
officers and men appeared better disposed to await the approach
of their formidable antagonists, within their works, than to resist
the progress of their march, by emulating the successful exam-
ple of the French at Fort du Quesne, and striking a blow on
their advance.
After the first surprise of the intelligence had a little abated,
a rumor was spread through the intrenched camp, which
stretched along the margin of the Hudson, forming a chain
of outworks to the body of the fort itself, that a chosen detach-
ment of fifteen hundred men was to depart, with the dawn, for
William Henry, the post at the northern extremity of the port-
10 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
age. That which at first was only rumor, soon became certainty,
as orders passed from the quarters of the commander-in-chief to
the several corps he had selected for this service, to prepare for
their speedy departure. All doubt as to the intention of Webb
now vanished, and an hour or two of hurried footsteps and
anxious faces succeeded. The novice in the military art flew
from point to point, retarding his own preparations by the
excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal ; while the
more practised veteran made his arrangements with a delibera-
tion that scorned every appearance of haste ; though his sober
lineaments and anxious eye sufficiently betrayed that he had
no very strong professional relish for the, as yet, untried and
dreaded warfare of the wilderness. At length the sun set in
a flood of glory, behind the distant western hills, and as dark-
ness drew its veil around the secluded spot the sounds of prep-
aration diminished ; the last light finally disappeared from the
log cabin of some officer ; the trees cast their deeper shadows
over the mounds and the rippling stream, and a silence soon
pervaded the camp, as deep as that which reigned in the vast
forest by which it was environed.
According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy
sleep of the army was broken by the rolling of the warning
drums, whose rattling echoes were heard issuing, on the damp
morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as day began
to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of the vicinity,
on the opening brightness of a soft and cloudless eastern sky.
In an instant the whole camp was in motion; the meanest
soldier arousing from his lair to witness the departure of his
comrades, and to share in the excitement and incidents of the
hour. The simple array of the chosen band was soon completed.
While the regular and trained hirelings of the king marched
with haughtiness to the right of the line, the less pretending
colonists took their humbler position on its left, with a docility
that long practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed;
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 11
strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that
bore the baggage ; and before the gray light of the morning was
mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the comba-
tants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with a show
of high military bearing, that served to drown the slumbering
apprehensions of many a novice, who was now about to make
his first essay in arms. While in view of their admiring com-
rades, the same proud front and ordered array was observed,
until, the notes of their fifes growing fainter in distance, the
forest at length appeared to swallow up the living mass which
had slowly entered its bosom.
The deepest sounds of the retiring and invisible column had
ceased to be borne on the breeze to the listeners, and the latest
straggler had already disappeared in pursuit; but there still
remained the signs of another departure, before a log cabin of
unusual size and accommodations, in front of which those sen-
tinels paced their rounds, who were known to guard the person
of the English general. At this spot were gathered some half
dozen horses, caparisoned in a manner which showed that two,
at least, were destined to bear the persons of females, of a rank
that it was not usual to meet so far in the wilds of the country.
A third wore the trappings and arms of an officer of the staff ;
while the rest, from the plainness of the housings, and the trav-
elling mails with which they were encumbered, were evidently
fitted for the reception of as many menials, who were, seemingly,
already awaiting the pleasure of those they served. At a re-
spectful distance from this unusual show, were gathered divers
groups of curious idlers ; some admiring the blood and bone of
the high-mettled military charger, and others gazing at the
preparations, with the dull wonder of vulgar curiosity. There
was one man, however, who, by his countenance and actions,
formed a marked exception to those who composed the latter
class of spectators, being neither idle, nor seemingly very
ignorant.
12 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
The person of this individual was to the last degree ungainly,
without being in any particular manner deformed. He had
all the bones and joints of other men, without any of their
proportions. Erect, his stature surpassed that of his fellows;
seated, he appeared reduced within the ordinary limits of the
race. The same contrariety in his members seemed to exist
throughout the whole man. His head was large ; his shoulders
narrow; his arms long and dangling; while his hands were
small, if not delicate. His legs and thighs were thin, nearly to
emaciation, but of extraordinary length ; and his knees would
have been considered tremendous, had they not been outdone by
the broader foundations on which this false superstructure of
blended human orders was so profanely reared. The ill-assorted
and injudicious attire of the individual only served to render his
awkwardness more conspicuous. A sky-blue coat, with short
and broad skirts and low cape, exposed a long, thin neck, and
longer and thinner legs, to the worst animadversions of the evil-
disposed. His nether garment was a yellow nankeen, closely
fitted to the shape, and tied at his bunches of knees by large
knots of white ribbon, a good deal sullied by use. Clouded
cotton stockings, and shoes, on one of the latter of which was
a plated spur, completed the costume of the lower extremity of
this figure, no curve or angle of which was concealed, but, on
the other hand, studiously exhibited, through the vanity or sim-
plicity of its owner. From beneath the flap of an enormous
pocket of a soiled vest of embossed silk, heavily ornamented
with tarnished silver lace, projected an instrument, which, from
being seen in such martial company, might have been easily
mistaken for some mischievous and unknown implement of war.
Small as it was, this uncommon engine had excited the curiosity
of most of the Europeans in the camp, though several of the
provincials were seen to handle it, not only without fear, but
with the utmost familiarity. A large, civil cocked hat, like
those worn by clergymen within the last thirty years, sur-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 13
mounted the whole, furnishing dignity to a good-natured and
somewhat vacant countenance, that apparently needed such
artificial aid, to support, the gravity of some high and extraor-
dinary trust.
While the common herd stood aloof, in deference to the
quarters of Webb, the figure we have described stalked into
the centre of the domestics, freely expressing his censures or
commendations on the merits of the horses, as by chance they
displeased or satisfied his judgment.
" This beast,. I rather conclude, friend, is not of home raising,
but is from foreign lands, or perhaps from the little island itself
over the blue water ? " he said, in a voice as remarkable for the
softness and sweetness of its tones, as was his person for its
rare proportions: "I may speak of these things, and be no
braggart ; for I have been down at both havens ; that which
is situate at the mouth of Thames, and is named after the capi-
tal of Old England, and that which is called ' Haven,' with the
addition of the word 'New'; and have seen the snows and
brigantines collecting their droves, like the gathering to the ark,
being outward bound to the Island of Jamaica, for the purpose
of barter and traffic in four-footed animals ; but never before
have I beheld a beast which verified the true scripture war-
horse like this : ' He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his
strength : he goeth on to meet the armed men. He saith
among the trumpets, Ha, ha ; and he smelleth the battle afar
off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.' It would
seem that the stock of the horse of Israel had descended to our
own time ; would it not, friend ? "
Receiving no reply to this extraordinary appeal, which in
truth, as it was delivered with the vigor of full and sonorous
tones, merited some sort of notice, he who had thus sung forth
the language of the holy book turned to the silent figure to
whom he had unwittingly addressed himself, and found a new
and more powerful subject of admiration in the object that
14 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
encountered his gaze. His eyes fell on the still, upright, and
rigid form of the " Indian runner," who had borne to the camp
the unwelcome tidings of the preceding evening. Although in
a state of perfect repose, and apparently disregarding, with char-
acteristic stoicism, the excitement and bustle around him, there
was a sullen fierceness mingled with the quiet of the savage,
that was likely to arrest the attention of much more experi-
enced eyes than those which now scanned him, in unconcealed
amazement. The native bore both the tomahawk and knife of
his tribe ; and yet his appearance was not altogether that of a
warrior. On the contrary, there was an air of neglect about
his person, like that which might have proceeded from great
and recent exertion, which he had not yet found leisure to
repair. The colors of the war-paint had blended in dark con-
fusion about his fierce countenance, and rendered his swarthy
lineaments still more savage and repulsive than if art had at-
tempted an effect which had been thus produced by chance.
His eye, alone, which glistened like a fiery star amid lowering
clouds, was to be seen in its state of native wildness. For a
single instant, his searching and yet wary glance met the won-
dering look of the other, and then changing its direction, partly
in cunning, and partly in disdain, it remained fixed, as if pene-
trating the distant air.
It is impossible to say what unlooked-for remark this short
and silent communication, between two such singular men,
might have elicited from the white man, had not his active
curiosity been again drawn to other objects. A general move-
ment among the domestics, and a low sound of gentle voices,
announced the approach of those whose presence alone was
wanted to enable the cavalcade to move. The simple admirer
of the war-horse instantly fell back to a low, gaunt, switch-
tailed mare, that was unconsciously gleaning the faded herbage
of the camp nigh by; where, leaning with one elbow on the
blanket that concealed an apology for a saddle, he became a
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 15
spectator of the departure, while a foal was quietly making its
morning repast, on the opposite side of the same animal.
A young man, in the dress of an officer, conducted to their
steeds two females, who, as it was apparent by their dresses,
were prepared to encounter the fatigues of a journey in the
woods. One, and she was the most juvenile in her appear-
ance, though both were young, permitted glimpses of her daz-
zling complexion, fair golden hair, and bright blue eyes, to be
caught, as she artlessly suffered the morning air to blow aside
the green veil which descended low from her beaver. The flush
which still lingered above the pines in the western sky was not
more bright nor delicate than the bloom on her cheek ; nor was
the opening day more cheering than the animated smile which
she bestowed on the youth, as he assisted her into the saddle.
The other, who appeared to share equally in the attention of
the young officer, concealed her charms from the gaze of the
soldiery with a care that seemed better fitted to the experience
of four or five additional years. It could be seen, however,
that her person, though moulded with the same exquisite pro-
portions, of which none of the graces were lost by the travelling
dress she wore, was rather fuller and more mature than that of
her companion.
No sooner were these females seated, than their attendant
sprang lightly into the saddle of the war-horse, when the whole
three bowed to Webb, who in courtesy awaited their parting
on the threshold of his cabin, and turning their horses' heads,
they proceeded at a slow amble, followed by their train, toward
the northern entrance of the encampment. As they traversed
that short distance, not a voice was heard amongst them ; but a
slight exclamation proceeded from the younger of the females, as
the Indian runner glided by her, unexpectedly, and led the way
along the military road in her front. Though this sudden and
startling movement of the Indian produced no sound from the
other, in the surprise her veil also was allowed to open its folds,
16 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and betrayed an indescribable look of pity, admiration, and
horror, as her dark eye followed the easy motions of the savage.
The tresses of this lady were shining and black, like the plumage
of the raven. Her complexion was not brown, but it rather
appeared charged with the color of the rich blood, that seemed
ready to burst its bounds. And yet there was neither coarseness
nor want of shadowing in a countenance that was exquisitely
regular and dignified, and surpassingly beautiful. She smiled,
as if in pity at her own momentary forgetfulness, discovering
by the act a row of teeth that would have shamed the purest
ivory ; when, replacing the veil, she bowed her face, and rode
in silence, like one whose thoughts were abstracted from the
scene around her.
CHAPTER II
" Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola ! "
Shakespeare.
While one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily pre-
sented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other quickly
recovered from the alarm which induced the exclamation, and,
laughing at her own weakness, she inquired of the youth who
rode by her side,
" Are such spectres frequent in the woods, Hey ward ; or is
this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf ? If
the latter, gratitude must close our mouths ; but if the former,
both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on that stock
6f hereditary courage which we boast, even before we are made
to encounter the redoubtable Montcalm."
" Yon Indian is a ' runner ' of the army ; and, after the
fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero," returned
the officer. " He has volunteered to guide us to the lake, by
a path but little known, sooner than if we followed the tardy
movements of the column ; and, by consequence, more agreeably."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAtfS 17
" I like him not," said the lady, shuddering, partly in assumed,
yet more in real terror. "You know him, Duncan, or you
would not trust yourself so freely to his keeping ? "
" Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do
know him, or he would not have my confidence, and least of all
at this moment. He is said to be a Canadian too ; and yet he
served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as you know, are
one of the six allied nations. He was brought among us, as I
have heard, by some strange accident in which your father was
interested, and in which the savage was rigidly dealt by but
I forget the idle tale ; it is enough that he is now our friend."
"If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less ! "
exclaimed the now really anxious girl. " Will you not speak
to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones 1 Foolish
though it may be, you have often heard me avow my faith in
the tones of the human voice ! "
" It would be in vain ; and answered, most probably, by an
ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like
most of his people, to be ignorant of the English; and least
of all will he condescend to speak it, now that war demands
the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops ; the private
path by which we are to journey is, doubtless, at hand."
The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they
reached the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the
thicket that fringed the military road, a narrow and blind
path, which might, with some little inconvenience, receive one
person at a time, became visible.
" Here, then, b'es our way," said the young man, in a low
voice. " Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger
you appear to apprehend."
" Cora, what think you ? " asked the reluctant fair one. " If
we journey with the troops, though we may find their presence
irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our safety ? "
"Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages,
18 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Alice, you mistake the place of real danger," said Heyward.
"If enemies have reached the portage at all, a thing by no
means probable, as our scouts are abroad, they will surely be
found skirting the column, where scalps abound the most. The
route of the detachment is known, while ours, having been
determined within the hour, must still be secret."
"Should we distrust the man because his manners are not
our manners, and that his skin is dark ? " coldly asked Cora.
Alice hesitated no longer; but giving her Narragansett a
smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the
slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner along
the dark and tangled pathway. The young man regarded the
last speaker in open admiration, and even permitted her fairer,
though certainly not more beautiful companion, to proceed un-
attended, while he sedulously opened the way himself for the
passage of her who has been called Cora. It would seem that
the domestics had been previously instructed; for, instead of
penetrating the thicket, they followed the route of the column ;
a measure which Heyward stated had been dictated by the
sagacity of their guide, in order to diminish the marks of their
trail, if, haply, the Canadian savages should be lurking so far
in advance of their army. For many minutes the intricacy
of the route admitted of no further dialogue; after which
they emerged from the broad border of underbrush which
grew along the line of the highway, and entered under the
high but dark arches of the forest. Here their progress
was less interrupted; and the instant the guide perceived
that the females could command their steeds, he moved on,
at a pace between a trot and a walk, and at a rate which
kept the sure-footed and peculiar animals they rode at a fast
yet easy amble. The youth had turned to speak to the dark-
eyed Cora, when the distant sound of horses' hoofs, clattering
over the roots of the broken way in his rear, caused him to
check his charger; and, as his companions drew their reins
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 19
at the same instant, the whole party came to a halt, in order
to obtain an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption.
In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow deer,
among the straight trunks of the pines ; and, in another instant,
the person of the ungainly man described in the preceding chap-
ter, came into view, with as much rapidity as he could excite
his meagre beast to endure without coming to an open rupture.
Until now this personage had escaped the observation of the
travellers. If he possessed the power to arrest any wandering
eye when exhibiting the glories of his altitude on foot, his eques-
trian graces were still more likely to attract attention. Not-
withstanding a constant application of his one armed heel to
the flanks of the mare, the most confirmed gait that he could
establish was a Canterbury gallop with the hind legs, in which
those more forward assisted for doubtful moments, though gen-
erally content to maintain a loping trot. Perhaps the rapidity
of the changes from one of these paces to the other created an
optical illusion, which might thus magnify the powers of the
beast ; for it is certain- that Hey ward, who possessed a true eye
for the merits of a horse, was unable, with his utmost ingenuity,
to decide by what sort of movement his pursuer worked his
sinuous way on his footsteps with such persevering hardihood.
The industry and movements of the rider were not less re-
markable than those of the ridden. At each change in the
evolutions of the latter, the former raised his tall person in the
stirrups ; producingin this manner, by the undue elongation of
his legs, such sudden growths and diminishings of the stature,
as baffled every conjecture that might be made as to his dimen-
sions. If to this be added the fact that, in consequence of the ex
parte application of the spur, one side of the mare appeared to
journey faster than the other; and that the aggrieved flank
was resolutely indicated by unremitted flourishes of a bushy
tail, we finish the picture of both horse and man.
The frown which had gathered around the handsome, open,
20 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and manly brow of Heyward, gradually relaxed, and his lips
curled into a slight smile, as he regarded the stranger. Alice
made no very powerful effort to control her merriment; and
even the dark, thoughtful eye of Cora lighted with a humor
that, it would seem, the habit, rather than the nature, of its
mistress repressed.
"Seek you any here?" demanded Heyward, when the other
had arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed ; " I trust you
are no messenger of evil tidings ? "
" Even so," replied the stranger, making diligent use of his
triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close air of the
woods, and leaving his hearers in doubt to which of the young
man's questions he responded; when, however, he had cooled
his face, and recovered his breath, he continued, "I hear you
are riding to William Henry ; as I am journeying thitherward
myself, I concluded good company would seem consistent to the
wishes of both parties."
" You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote," re-
turned Heyward ; " we are three, whilst you have consulted no
one but yourself."
" Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know one's
own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are concerned
it is not easy, the next is, to act up to the decision. I have
endeavored to do both, and here I am."
" If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken your route,"
said Heyward, haughtily ; "the highway thither is at least half
a mile behind you."
" Even so," returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this
cold reception ; " I have tarried at * Edward ' a week, and I
should be dumb not to have inquired the road I was to jour-
ney ; and if dumb there would be an end to my calling." After
simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty prohibited a
more open expression of his admiration of a witticism that was
perfectly unintelligible to his hearers, he continued : " It is not
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 21
prudent for any one of my profession to be too familiar with
those he has to instruct ; for which reason I follow not the line
of the army ; besides which, I conclude that a gentleman of
your character has the best judgment in matters of wayfaring ;
I have therefore decided to join company, in order that the ride
may be made agreeable, and partake of social communion."
"A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision ! " exclaimed Hey-
ward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing anger, or
to laugh in the others face. " But you speak of instruction,
and of a profession ; are you an adjunct to the provincial corps,
as a master of the noble science of defence and offence ; or, per-
haps, you are one who draws lines and angles, under the pre-
tence of expounding the mathematics ? "
The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment in wonder ;
and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an expression
of solemn humility, he answered :
" Of offence, I hope there is none, to either party : of defence,
I make none by God's good mercy, having committed no pal-
pable sin since last entreating his pardoning grace. I under-
stand not your allusions about lines and angles ; and I leave
expounding to those who have been called and set apart for
that holy office. I lay claim to no higher gift than a small
insight into the glorious art of petitioning and thanksgiving, as
practised in psalmody."
" The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo," cried the
amused Alice, " and I take him under my own especial protec-
tion. Nay, throw aside that frown, Heyward, and in pity to
my longing ears, suffer him to journey in our train. Besides,"
she adtled, in a low and hurried voice, casting a glance at the
distant Cora, who slowly followed the footsteps of their silent
but sullen guide, " it may be a friend added to our strength, in
time of need."
" Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by this
secret path, did I imagine such need could happen ? "
22 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Nay, nay, I think not of it now ; but this strange man
amuses me; and if he 'hath music in his soul/ let us not
churlishly reject his company." She pointed persuasively along
the path with her riding-whip, while their eyes met in a look
which the young man lingered a moment to prolong; then,
yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs into his
charger, and in a few bounds was again at the side of Cora.
" I am glad to encounter thee, friend," continued the maiden,
waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she urged her
Narragansett to renew its amble. " Partial relatives have
almost persuaded me that I am not entirely worthless in a duet
myself ; and we may enliven our wayfaring by indulging in our
favorite pursuit. It might be of signal advantage to one, igno-
rant as I, to hear the opinions and experience of a master in the
art."
"It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to
indulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons," returned the master
of song, unhesitatingly complying with her intimation to fol-
low ; " and nothing would relieve the mind 'more than such a
consoling communion. But four parts are altogether necessary
to the perfection of melody. You have all the manifestations
of a soft and rich treble ; I can, by especial aid, carry a full
tenor to the highest letter ; but we lack counter and bass !
Yon officer of the king, who hesitated to admit me to his com-
pany, might fill the latter, if one may judge from the intonations
of his voice in common dialogue."
" Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive appearances,"
said the lady, smiling; "though Major Heyward can assume
such deep notes on occasion, believe me, his natural tones are
better fitted for a mellow tenor than the bass you heard."
"Is he, then, much practised in the art of psalmody?"
demanded her simple companion.
Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in suppress-
ing her merriment, ere she answered,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 23
"I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song.
The chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for the en-
couragement of more sober inclinations."
" Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to be
used, and not to be abused. None can say they have ever
known me neglect my gifts ! I am thankful that, though my
boyhood may be said to have been set apart, like the youth of
the royal David, for the purposes of music, no syllable of rude
verse has ever profaned my lips."
" You have/ then, limited your efforts to sacred song ? "
" Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other language,
so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by the divines
and sages of the land, surpass all vain poetry. Happily, I may
say that I utter nothing but the thoughts and the wishes of
the King of Israel himself; for though the times may call for
some slight changes, yet does this version which we use in the
colonies of New England so much exceed all other versions,
that, by its richness, its exactness, and its spiritual simplicity,
it approacheth, as near as may be, to the great work of the
inspired writer. I never abide in any place, sleeping or waking,
without an example of this gifted work. 'Tis the six-and-
twentieth edition, promulgated at Boston, Anno Domini 1744;
and is entitled, ' The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of
the Old and New Testaments ; faithfully translated into English
Metre, for the Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints, in
Public and Private, especially in New England.' "
During this eulogium on the rare production of his native
poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and
fitting a pair of iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened the
volume with a care and veneration suited to its sacred purposes.
Then, without circumlocution or apology, first pronouncing the
word " Standish," and placing the unknown engine, already de-
scribed, to his mouth, from which he drew a high, shrill sound,
that was followed by an octave below, from his own voice,
24 THE LAST OF. THE MOHICANS
he commenced singing the following words, in full, sweet, and
melodious tones, that set the music, the poetry, and even the
uneasy motion of his ill-trained beast at defiance,
" How good it is, O see,
And how it pleaseth well,
Together e'en in unity,
For brethren so to dwell.
" It's like the choice ointment,
From the head to the beard did go :
Down Aaron's beard, that downward went
His garment's skirts unto."
The delivery of these skilful rhymes was accompanied, on
the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his right
hand, which terminated at the descent, by suffering the fingers
to dwell a moment on the leaves of the little volume ; and on
the ascent, by such a flourish of the member as none but the
initiated may ever hope to imitate. It would seem that long
practice had rendered this manual accompaniment necessary ;
for it did not cease until the preposition which the poet had
selected for the close of his verse had been duly delivered like
a word of two syllables.
Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the for-
est could not fail to enlist the ears of those who journeyed at so
short a distance in advance. The Indian muttered a few words
in broken English to Heyward, who, in his turn, spoke to the
stranger; at once interrupting, and, for the time, closing his
musical efforts.
"Though we are not in danger, common prudence would
teach us to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a man-
ner as possible. You will, then, pardon me, Alice, should I
diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this gentleman to
postpone his chant until a safer opportunity."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 25
" You will diminish them, indeed," returned the arch girl ;
" for never did I hear a more unworthy conjunction of execu-
tion and language than that to which I have been listening;
and I was far gone in a learned inquiry into the causes of such
an unfitness between sound and sense, when you broke the
charm of my musings by that bass of yours, Duncan ! "
"I know not. what you call my bass," said Hey ward, piqued
at her remark, " but I know that your safety, and that of Cora
is far dearer to me than could be any orchestra of HandeFs
music." He paused and turned his head quickly towards a
thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their guide, who
continued his steady pace, in undisturbed gravity. The young
man smiled to himself, for he believed he had mistaken some
shining berry of the woods for the glistening eyeballs of a
prowling savage, and he rode forward, continuing the conversa-
tion which had been interrupted by the passing thought.
Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youthful
and generous pride to suppress his active watchfulness. The
cavalcade had not long passed, before the branches of the bushes
that formed the thicket were cautiously moved asunder, and a
human visage, as fiercely wild as savage art and unbridled pas-
sions could make it, peered out on the retiring footsteps of the
travellers. A gleam of exultation shot across the darkly painted
lineaments of the inhabitant of the forest, as he traced the
route of his intended victims, who rode unconsciously onward,
the light and graceful forms of the females waving among the
trees, in the curvatures of their path, followed at each bend by
the manly figure of Heyward, until, finally, the shapeless per-
son of the singing-master was concealed behind the numberless
trunks of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in the intermediate
space.
26 . THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER III
" Before these fields were shorn and tilled,
Full to the brim our rivers flowed ;
The melody of waters filled
The fresh and boundless wood ;
And torrents dashed, and rivulets played,
And fountains spouted in the shade."
Bryant.
Leaving the unsuspectiug Heyward and his confiding com-
panions to penetrate still deeper into a forest that contained
such treacherous inmates, we must use an author's privilege,
and shift the scene a few miles to the westward of the place
where we have last seen them.
On that day, two men were lingering on the banks of a small
but rapid stream, within an hour's journey of the encampment
of Webb, like those who awaited the appearance of an absent
person, or the approach of some expected event. The vast
canopy of woods spread itself to the margin of the river, over-
hanging the water, and shadowing its dark current with a deeper
hue. The rays of the sun were beginning to grow less fierce,
and the intense heat of the day was lessened, as the cooler
vapors of the springs and fountains rose above their leafy beds,
and rested in the atmosphere. Still, that breathing silence,
which marks the drowsy sultriness of an American landscape
in July, pervaded the secluded spot, interrupted only by the
low voices of the men, the occasional and lazy tap of a wood-
pecker, the discordant cry of some gaudy jay, or a swelling on
the ear, from the dull roar of a distant waterfall.
These feeble and broken sounds were, however, too familiar
to the foresters to draw their attention from the more interest-
ing matter of their dialogue. While one of these loiterers
showed the red skin and wild accoutrements of a native of the
woods, the other exhibited, through the mask of his rude and
nearly savage equipments, the brighter, though sunburnt and
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 21
long-faded complexion of one who might claim descent from a
European parentage. The former was seated on the end of a
mossy log, in a posture that permitted him to heighten the
effect of his earnest language, by the calm but expressive ges-
tures of an Indian engaged in debate. His body, which was
nearly naked, presented a terrific emblem of death, drawn in
intermingled colors of black and white. His closely shaved
head, on which no other hair than the well-known and chival-
rous scalping tuft was preserved, was without ornament of any
kind, with the exception of a solitary eagle's plume that crossed
his crown, and depended over the left shoulder. A tomahawk
and scalping-knife, of English manufacture, were in his girdle ;
while a short military rifle, of that sort with which the policy
of the whites armed their savage allies, lay carelessly across his
bare and sinewy knee. The expanded chest, full-formed limbs,
and grave countenance of this warrior, would denote that he
had reached the vigor of his days, though no symptoms of decay
appeared to have yet weakened his manhood.
The frame of the white man, judging by such parts as were
not concealed by his clothes, was like that of one who had known
hardships and exertion from his earliest youth. His person,
though muscular, was rather attenuated than full; but every
nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated by unremitted
exposure and toil. He wore a hunting-shirt of forest-green,
fringed with faded yellow, and a summer cap of skins which
had been shorn of their fur. He also bore a knife in a girdle
of wampum, like that which confined the scanty garments of the
Indian, but no tomahawk. His moccasins were ornamented after
the gay fashion of the natives, while the only part of his under
dress which appeared below the hunting frock, was a pair of
buckskin leggings, that laced at the sides, and which were gar-
tered above the knees, with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and
horn completed his personal accoutrements, though a rifle of
great length, which the theory of the more ingenious whites
28 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
had taught them was the most dangerous of all firearms, leaned
against a neighboring sapling. The eye of the hunter, or scout,
whichever he might be, was small, quick, keen, and restless,
roving while he spoke, on every side of him, as if in quest of
game, or distrusting the sudden approach of some lurking
nemy. Notwithstanding the symptoms of habitual suspicion,
his countenance was not only without guile, but at the moment
at which he is introduced, it was charged with an expression of
sturdy honesty.
" Even your traditions make the case in my favor, Chingach-
gook," he said, speaking in the tongue which was known to all
the natives who formerly inhabited the country between the
Hudson and the Potomac, and of which we shall give a free
translation for the benefit of the reader; endeavoring, at
the same time, to preserve some of the peculiarities, both of the
individual and of the language. " Your fathers came from the
setting sun, crossed the big river, fought the people of the coun-
try, and took the land ; and mine came from the red sky of the
morning, over the salt lake, and did their work much after the
fashion that had been set them by yours ; then let God judge
the matter between us, and friends spare their words ! "
" My fathers fought with the naked red men ! " returned the
Indian, sternly, in the same language. " Is there no difference,
Hawkeye, between the stone-headed arrow of the warrior, and
the leaden bullet with which you kill ? "
" There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made him
with a red skin ! " said the white man, shaking his head like
one on whom such an appeal to his justice was not thrown
away. For a moment he appeared to be conscious of having
the worst of the argument, then, rallying again, he answered
the objection of his antagonist in the best manner his limited
information would allow : "I am no scholar, and I care not
who knows it ; but, judging from what I have seen, at deer
chases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below, I should think
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 29
a rifle in the hands of their grandfathers was not so dangerous
as a hickory bow and a good flint-head might be, if drawn with
Indian judgment, and sent by an Indian eye."
"You have the story told by your fathers," returned the
other, coldly, waving his hand. " What say your old men ? do
they tell the young warriors that the pale faces met the red
men, painted for war and armed with the stone hatchet and
wooden gun?"
"lam not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself on
his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have on earth,
and he is an Iroquois, daren't deny that I am genuine white,"
the scout replied, surveying, with secret satisfaction, the faded
color of his bony and sinewy hand ; " and I am willing to own
that my people have many ways, of which, as an honest man,
I can't approve. It is one of their customs to write in books
what they have done and seen, instead of telling them in their
villages, where the lie can be given to the face of a cowardly
boaster, and the brave soldier can call on his comrades to wit-
ness for the truth of his words. In consequence of this bad
fashion, a man who is too conscientious to misspend his days
among the women, in learning the names of black marks, may
never hear of the deeds of his fathers, nor feel a pride in striv-
ing to outdo them. For myself, I conclude the Bumppos could
shoot, for I have a natural turn with a rifle, which must have
been handed down from generation to generation, as, our holy
commandments tell us, all good and evil gifts are bestowed;
though I should be loath to answer for other people in such a
matter. But every story has its two sides ; so I ask you,
Ohingachgook, what passed, according to the traditions of the
red men, when our fathers first met ? "
A silence of a minute succeeded, during which the Indian sat
mute ; then, full of the dignity of his office, he commenced his
brief tale, with a solemnity that served to heighten its appear-
ance of truth.
30 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"Listen, Hawkeye, and your ear shall drink no lie. Tis
what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have done."
He hesitated a single instant, and bending a cautious glance
toward his companion, he continued, in a manner that was
divided between interrogation and assertion, "Does not this
stream at our feet run toward the summer, until its waters
grow salt, and the current flows upward?"
" It can't be denied that your traditions tell you true in both
these matters," said the white man ; " for I have been there,
and have seen them ; though, why water, which is so sweet in
the shade, should become bitter in the sun, is an alteration for
which I have never been able to account."
" And the current ! " demanded the Indian, who expected his
reply with that sort of interest that a man feels in the confirma-
tion of testimony, at which he marvels even while he respects
it ; " the fathers of Ohingachgook have not lied ! "
"The holy Bible is not more true, and that is the truest
thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide,
which is a thing soon explained, and clear enough. Six hours
the waters run in, and six hours they run out, and the reason
is this : when there is higher water in the sea than in the river,
they run in until the river gets to be highest, and then it runs
out again."
" The waters in the woods, and on the great lakes, run down-
ward until they lie like my hand," said the Indian, stretching
the limb horizontally before him, "and then they run no
more."
"No honest man will deny it," said the scout, a little nettled
at the implied distrust of his explanation of the mystery of the
tides ; " and I grant that it is true on the small scale, and
where the land is level. But everything depends on what scale
you look at things. Now, on the small scale, the 'arth is level ;
but on the large scale it is round. In this manner, pools and
ponds, and even the great fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 31
as you and I both know they are, having seen them ; but when
you come to spread water over a great tract, like the sea, where
the earth is round, how in reason can the water be quiet ? You
might as well expect the river to lie still on the brink of those
black rocks a mile above us, though your own ears tell you that
it is tumbling over them at this very moment ! "
If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his companion, the Indian
was far too dignified to betray his unbelief. He listened like
one who was convinced, and resumed his narrative in his former
solemn manner.
" We came from the place where the sun is hid at night,
over great plains where the buffaloes live, until we reached the
big river. There we fought the Alligewi, till the ground was
red with their blood. From the banks of the big river to the
shores of the salt lake, there was none to meet us. The Maquas
followed at a distance. We said the country should be ours
from the place where the water runs up no longer on this stream,
to a river twenty suns' journey toward the summer. The land
we had taken like warriors we kept like men. We drove the
Maquas into the woods with the bears. They only tasted salt
at the licks ; they drew no fish from the great lake ; we threw
them the bones."
" All this I have heard and believe," said the white man,
observing that the Indian paused ; " but it was long before the
English came into the country."
" A pine grew then where this chestnut now stands. The
first pale faces who came among us spoke no English. They
came in a large canoe, when my fathers had buried the tomahawk
with the red men around them. Then, Hawkeye," he continued,
betraying his deep emotion, only by permitting his voice to fall
to those low, guttural tones, which rendered his language, as
spoken at times, so very musical ; " then, Hawkeye, we were
one people, and we were happy. The salt lake gave us its fish,
the wood its deer, and the air its birds. We took wives who
32 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
bore us children; we worshipped the Great Spirit; and we
kept the Maquas beyond the sound of our songs of triumph ! "
"Know you anything of your own family at that time?"
demanded the white. " But you are a just man, for an Indian !
and as I suppose you hold their gifts, your fathers must have
been brave warriors, and wise men at the council-fire."
" My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an unmixed
man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it must stay
forever. The Dutch landed, and gave my people the fire-water ;
they drank until the heavens and the earth seemed to meet,
and they foolishly thought they had found the Great Spirit.
Then they parted with their land. Foot by foot, they were
driven back from the shores, until I, that am a chief and a
Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but through the trees,
and have never visited the graves of my fathers ! "
" Graves bring solemn feelings over the mind," returned the
scout, a good deal touched at the calm suffering of his compan-
ion ; " and they often aid a man in his good intentions ; though,
for myself, I expect to leave my own bones unburied, to bleach
in the woods, or to be torn asunder by the wolves. But where
are to be found those of your race who came to their kin in the
Delaware country, so many summers since ? "
" Where are the blossoms of those summers ! fallen, one
by one ; so all of my family departed, each in his turn, to the
land of spirits. I am on the hilltop and must go down into
the valley ; and when Uncas follows in my footsteps, there will
no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores, for my boy is
the last of the Mohicans."
" Uncas is here ! " said another voice, in the same soft, gut-
tural tones, near his elbow ; " who speaks to Uncas ? "
The white man loosened his knife in his leathern sheath, and
made an involuntary movement of the hand toward his rifle, at
this sudden interruption; but the Indian sat composed, and
without turning hi head at the unexpected sounds.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 33
At the next instant, a youthful warrior passed between them,
with a noiseless step, and seated himself on the bank of the
rapid stream. No exclamation of surprise escaped the father,
nor was any question asked, or reply given, for several minutes ;
each appearing to await the moment when he might speak,
without betraying womanish curiosity or childish impatience.
The white man seemed to take counsel from their customs, and,
relinquishing his grasp of the rifle, he also remained silent and
reserved. At length Chingachgook turned his eyes slowly to-
ward his son, and demanded,
" Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their moccasins in
these woods ? "
"I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian, "and
know that they number as many as the fingers of my two
hands; but they lie hid like cowards."
" The thieves are out-lying for scalps and plunder ! " said the
white man, whom we shall call Hawkeye, after the manner of
his companions. " That busy Frenchman, Montcalm, will send
his spies into our very camp, but he will know what road we
travel ! "
" 'Tis enough ! " returned the father, glancing his eye toward
the setting sun ; " they shall be driven like deer from their
bushes. Hawkeye, let us eat to-night, and show the Maquas
that we are men to-morrow."
" I am as ready to do the one as the other ; but to fight the
Iroquois 'tis necessary to find the siulkers; and to eat, 'tis
necessary to get the game talk of the devil and he will
come ; there is a pair of the biggest antlers I have seen this
season, moving the bushes below the hill ! Now, Uncas," he
continued, in a half whisper, and laughing with a kind of in-
ward sound, like one who had learned to be watchful, " I will
bet my charger three times full of powder, against a foot of
wampum, that I take him atwixt the eyes, and nearer to the
right than to the left."
34 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" It cannot be ! " said the young Indian, springing to his feet
with youthful eagerness; "all but the tips of his horns are
hid ! "
" He's a boy ! " said the white man, shaking his head while
he spoke, and addressing the father. " Does he think when a
hunter sees a part of the creator', he can't tell where the rest
of him should be ! "
Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make an exhibition of
that skill on which he so much valued himself, when the war-
rior struck up the piece with his hand, saying,
" Hawkeye ! will you fight the Maquas ? "
" These Indians know the nature of the woods, as it might
be by instinct ! " returned the scout, dropping his rifle, and turn-
ing away like a man who was convinced of his error. " I must
leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas, or we may kill a deer for
them thieves, the Iroquois, to eat."
The instant the father seconded this intimation by an expres-
sive gesture of the hand, Uncas threw himself on the ground,
and approached the animal with wary movements. When
within a few yards of the cover, he fitted an arrow to his bow
with the utmost care, while the antlers moved, as if their owner
snuffed- an enemy in the tainted air. In another moment the
twang of the cord was heard, a white streak was seen glancing
into the bushes, and the wounded buck plunged from the cover,
to the very feet of his hidden enemy. Avoiding the horns of
the infuriated animal, Uncas darted to his side, and passed his
knife across the throat, when bounding to the edge of the river
it fell, dyeing the waters with its blood.
" 'Twas done with Indian skill," said the scout, laughing in-
wardly, but with vast satisfaction ; " and 'twas a pretty sight
to behold ! Though an arrow is a near shot, and needs a knife
to finish the work."
" Hugh ! " ejaculated his companion, turning quickly, like a
hound who scented game.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 35
" By the Lord, there is a drove of them ! " exclaimed the
scout, whose eyes began to glisten with the ardor of his usual
occupation ; " if they come within range of a bullet I will drop
one, though the whole Six Nations should be lurking within
sound ! What do you hear, Ohingachgook 1 for to my ears the
woods are dumb."
" There is but one deer, and he is dead," said the Indian,
bending his body till his ear nearly touched the earth. " I
hear the sounds of feet ! "
" Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck to shelter, and
are following on his trail."
" No. The horses of .white men are coming ! " returned the
other, raising himself with dignity, and resuming his seat on
the log with his former composure. " Hawkey e, they are your
brothers; speak to them."
"That will I, and in English that the king needn't be
ashamed to answer," returned the hunter, speaking in the lan-
guage of which he boasted ; " but I see nothing, nor do I hear
the sounds of man or beast ; 'tis strange that an Indian should
understand white sounds better than a man who, his very enemies
will own, has no cross in his blood, although he may have lived
with the red skins long enough to be suspected ! Ha ! there
goes something like the cracking of a dry stick, too now I
hear the bushes move yes, yes, there is a trampling that
I mistook for the falls and but here they come themselves ;
God keep them from the Iroquois ! "
CHAPTER IV
" Well, go thy way : thou shalt not from this grove
Till I torment thee for this injury."
Midsummer Night's Dream.
The words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the
leader of the party, whose approaching footsteps had caught
the vigilant ear of the Indian, came openly into view. A beaten
36 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
path, such as those made by the periodical passage of the deer,
wound through a little glen at no great distance, and struck the
river at the point where the white man and his red companions
had posted themselves. Along this track the travellers, who
had produced a surprise so unusual in the depths of the forest,
advanced slowly toward the hunter, who was in front of his
associates, in readiness to receive them.
" Who comes ? " demanded the scout, throwing his rifle care-
lessly across his left arm, and keeping the forefinger of his right
hand on the trigger, though he avoided all appearance of menace
in the act. " Who comes hither, among the beasts and dangers
of the wilderness ? "
"Believers in religion, and friends to the law and to the
king," returned he who rode foremost. " Men who have jour-
neyed since the rising sun, in the shades of this forest, without
nourishment, and are sadly tired of their wayfaring."
"You are, then, lost," interrupted the hunter, "and have
found how helpless 'tis not to know whether to take the right
hand or the left ? "
" Even so ; sucking babes are not more dependent on those
who guide them than we who are of larger growth, and who
may now be said to possess the stature without the knowledge
of men. Know you the distance to a post of the crown called
William Henry 1 "
"Hoot!" shouted the scout, who did not spare his open
laughter, though, instantly checking the dangerous sounds, he
indulged his merriment at less risk of being overheard by any
lurking enemies. " You are as much off the scent as a hound
would be, with Horican atwixt him and the deer ! William
Henry, man ! if you are friends to the king and have business
with the army, your better way would be to follow the river
down to Edward, and lay the matter before Webb, who tarries
there, instead of pushing into the defiles, and driving this
saucy Frenchman back across Ohamplain, into his den again."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 37
Before the stranger could make any reply to this unexpected
proposition, another horseman dashed the bushes aside, and
leaped his charger into the pathway, in front of his companion.
" What, then, may be our distance from Fort Edward ? " de-
manded a new speaker ; " the place you advise us to seek we
left this morning, and our destination is the head of the lake."
"Then you must have lost your eyesight afore losing your
way, for the road across the portage is cut to a good two rods,
and is as grand a path, I calculate, as any that runs into Lon-
don, or even before the palace of the king himself."
" We will not dispute concerning the excellence of the pas-
sage," returned Hey ward, smiling; for, as the reader has antici-
pated, it was he. " It is enough, for the present, that we trusted
to* an Indian guide to take us by a nearer, though blinder path,
and that we are deceived in his knowledge. In plain words, we
know not where we are."
" An Indian lost in the woods ! " said the scout, shaking his
head doubtingly ; " when the sun is scorching the tree-tops, and
the watercourses are full ; when the moss on every beach he
sees will tell him in which quarter the north star will shine at
night ! The woods are full of deer-paths which run to the
streams and licks, places well known to everybody; nor have
the geese done their flight to the' Canada waters altogether !
'Tis strange that an Indian should be lost atwixt Horican and
the bend in the river ! Is he a Mohawk ?"
" Not by birth, though adopted in that tribe ; I think his
birthplace was farther north, and he is one of those you call a
Huron."
"Hugh !" exclaimed the two companions of the scout, who
had continued until this part of the dialogue, seated immovable,
and apparently indifferent to what passed, but who now sprang
to their feet with an activity and interest that had evidently
got the better of their reserve, by surprise.
" A Huron ! " repeated the sturdy scout, once more shaking his
38 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
head in open distrust ; " they are a thievish race, nor do I care
by whom they are adopted ; you can never make anything of
them but skulks and vagabonds. Since you trusted yourself to
the care of one of that nation, I only wonder that you have not
fallen in with more."
" Of that there is little danger, since William Henry is so
many miles in our front. You forget that I have told you our
guide is now a Mohawk, and that he serves with our forces as
a friend."
" And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo will die a
Mingo," returned the other, positively. " A Mohawk ! No,
give me a Delaware or a Mohican for honesty ; and when they
wiU fight, which they won't all do, having suffered their cunning
enemies, the Maquas, to make them women. but when they will
fight at all, look to a Delaware, or a Mohican, for a warrior ! "
"Enough of this," said Heyward, impatiently; "I wish not
to inquire into the character of a man that I know, and to whom
you must be a stranger. You have not yet answered my ques-
tion ; what is our distance from the main army at Edward ? "
"It seems that may depend on who is your guide. One
would think such a horse as that might get over a good deal of
ground atwixt sun-up and sun-down."
" I wish no contention of idle words with you, friend," said
Heyward, curbing his dissatisfied manner, and speaking in a
more gentle voice ; " if you will tell me the distance to Fort
Edward, and conduct me thither, your labor shall not go without
its reward."
" And in so doing, how know I that I don't guide an enemy
and a spy of Montcalm, to the works of the army? It is not
every man who can speak the English tongue that is an honest
subject."
" If you serve with the troops, of whom I judge you to be a
scout, you should know of such a regiment of the king as the
Sixtieth."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 39
" The Sixtieth ! you can tell me little of the Royal Americans
that I don't know, though I do wear a hunting-shirt instead of
a scarlet jacket."
" Well then, among other things, you may know the name of
its major ? "
" Its major ! " interrupted the hunter, elevating his body like
one who was proud of his trust. " If there is a man in the coun-
try who knows Major Effingham, he stands before you."
"It is a corps which has many majors; the gentleman you
name is the senior, but I speak of the junior of them all ; he
who commands the companies in garrison at William Henry."
"Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentleman of vast riches,
from one of the provinces far south, has got the place. He is
over-young, too, to hold such rank, and to be put above men
whose heads are beginning to bleach ; and yet they say he is a
soldier in his knowledge, and a gallant gentleman ! "
" Whatever he may be, or however he may be qualified for
his rank, he now speaks to you, and of course can be no enemy
to dread."
The scout regarded Heyward in surprise, and then, lifting his
cap, he answered, in a tone less confident than before though
still expressing doubt,
" I have heard a party was to leave the encampment this
morning for the lake shore."
. " You have heard the truth ; but I preferred a nearer route,
trusting to the knowledge of the Indian I mentioned. ,,
" And he deceived you, and then deserted ? "
" Neither, as I believe ; certainly not the latter, for he is to
be found in the rear."
" I should like to look at the creator' ; if it is a true Iroquois
I can tell him by his knavish look, and by his paint," said the
scout ; stepping past the charger of Heyward, and entering the
path behind the mare of the singing-master, whose foal had
taken advantage of the halt to exact the maternal contribution.
40 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
After shoving aside the bushes, and proceeding a few paces, he
encountered the females, who awaited the result of 'the confer-
ence with anxiety, and not entirely without apprehension.
Behind these, the runner leaned against a tree, where he stood
the close examination of the scout with an air unmoved, though
with a look so dark and savage, that it might in itself excite
fear. Satisfied with his scrutiny, the hunter soon left him.
As he repassed the females, he paused a moment to gaze upon
their beauty, answering to the smile and nod of Alice with a
look of open pleasure. Thence he went to the side of the
motherly animal, and spending a minute in a fruitless inquiry
into the character of her rider, he shook his head and returned
to Heyward.
" A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made him so, neither
the Mohawks nor any other tribe can alter him," he said, when
he had regained his former position. " If we were alone, and
you would leave that noble horse at the mercy of the wolves to-
night, I could show you the way to Edward myself, within an
hour, for it lies only about an hour's journey hence ; but with
such ladies in your company 'tis impossible ! "
" And why ? they are fatigued, but they are quite equal to
a ride of a few more miles."
" 'Tig a natural impossibility ! " repeated the scout ; " I
wouldn't walk a mile in these woods after night gets into them,
in company with that runner, for the best rifle in the colonies.
They are full of outlying Iroquois, and your mongrel Mohawk
knows where to find them too well, to be my companion."
" Think you so ? " said Heyward, leaning forward in the sad-
dle, and dropping his voice nearly to a whisper ; "I confess I
have not been without my own suspicions, though I have
endeavored to conceal them, and affected a confidence I have not
always felt, on account of my companions. It was because I
suspected him that I would follow no longer ; making him, as
you see, follow me."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 41
" I knew he was one of the cheats as soon as I laid eyes on
him ! " returned the scout, placing a finger on his nose, in sign
of caution. " The thief is leaning against the foot of the sugar
sapling, that you can see over them bushes ; his right leg is in
a line with the bark of the tree, and," tapping his rifle, " I can
take him from where I stand, between the ankle and the knee,
with a single shot, putting an end to his tramping through the
woods, for at least a month to come. If I should go back to
him, the cunning varmint would suspect something, and be
dodging through the trees like a frightened deer."
" It will not do. He may be innocent, and I dislike the act.
Though, if I felt confident of his treachery " \
" 'Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knavery of an Iro-
quois," said the scout, throwing his rifle forward, by a sort of
instinctive movement.
" Hold ! " interrupted Heyward, " it will not do we must
think of some other scheme ; and yet, I have much reason to
believe the rascal has deceived me."
The hunter, who had already abandoned his intention of
maiming the runner, mused a moment, and then made a gesture,
which instantly brought his two red companions to his side.
They spoke together earnestly in the Delaware language, though
in an undertone ; and by the gestures of the white man, which
were frequently directed toward the top of the sapling, it
was evident he pointed out the situation of their hidden
enemy. His companions were not long in comprehending
his wishes, and laying aside their firearms, they parted, tak-
ing opposite sides of the path, and burying themselves in the
thicket, with such cautious movements, that their steps were in-
audible.
"Now, go you back," said the hunter, speaking again to
Heyward, "and hold the imp in talk ; these Mohicans here will
take him without breaking his paint."
" Nay," said Heyward, proudly, " I will seize him myself."
42 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Hist ! what could you do mounted, against an Indian in
the bushes ? "
" I will dismount."
" And, think you, when he saw one of your feet out of the
stirrup, he would wait for the other to be free? Whoever
comes into the woods to deal with the natives, must use Indian
fashions, if he would wish to prosper in his undertakings. Go
then ; talk openly to the miscreant, and seem to believe him
the truest friend you have on 'arth."
Heyward prepared to comply, though with strong disgust at
the nature of the office he was compelled to execute. Each
moment, however, pressed upon him a conviction of the critical
situation in which he had suffered his invaluable trust to be
involved through his own confidence. The sun had already
disappeared, and the woods, suddenly deprived of his light,
were assuming a dusky hue, which keenly reminded him that
the hour the savage usually chose for his most barbarous and
remorseless acts of vengeance or hostility, was speedily drawing
near. Stimulated by apprehension, he left the scout, who im-
mediately entered into a loud conversation with the stranger
that had so unceremoniously enlisted himself in the party of
travellers that morning. In passing his gentler companions
Heyward uttered a few words of encouragement, and was
pleased to find that, though fatigued with the exercise of the
day, they appeared to entertain no suspicion that their present
embarrassment was other than the result of accident. Giving
them reason to believe he was merely employed in a consulta-
tion concerning the future route, he spurred his charger, and
drew the reins again when the animal had carried him within
a few yards of the place where the sullen runner still stood,
leaning against the tree.
" You may see, Magua," he said, endeavoring to assume an
air of freedom and confidence, " that the night is closing around
us, and yet we are no nearer to William Henry than when we
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 43
left the encampment of Webb with the rising sun. You have
missed the way, nor have I been more fortunate. But, hap-
pily, we have fallen in with a hunter, he whom you hear talk-
ing to the singer, that is acquainted with the deer-paths and
by-ways of the woods, and who promises to lead us to a place
where we may rest securely till the morning."
The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Heyward as he
asked, in his imperfect English, "Is he alone?"
" Alone ! " hesitatingly answered Heyward, to whom deception
was too new to be assumed without embarrassment. " Oh !
not alone, surely, Magua, for you know that we are with him."
"Then Le Renard Subtil will go," returned the runner,
coolly raising his little wallet from the place where it had lain
at his feet ; " and the pale faces will see none but their own
color."
" Go ! Whom call you Le Renard ? "
" 'Tis the name his Canada fathers have given to Magua,"
returned the runner, with an air that manifested his pride at
the distinction. " Night is the same as day to Le Subtil, when
Munro waits for him."
" And what account will Le Renard give the chief of Will-
iam Henry concerning his daughters ? Will he dare to tell the
hot-blooded Scotsman that his children are left without a guide,
though Magua promised to be one ? "
" Though the gray head has a loud voice, and a long arm, Le
Renard will not hear him, nor feel him, in the woods."
"But what will the Mohawks say? They will make him
petticoats, and bid him stay in the wigwam with the women,
for he is no longer to be trusted with the business of a man."
"Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes, and he can
find the bones of his fathers," was the answer of the unmoved
runner.
"Enough, Magua," said Heyward; "are we not friends?
Why should there be bitter words between us? Munro has
44 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
promised you a gift for your services when performed, and I
shall be your debtor for another. Rest your weary limbs, then,
and open your wallet to eat. We have a few moments to
spare ; let us not waste them in talk like wrangling women.
When the ladies are refreshed we will proceed."
"The pale faces make themselves dogs to their women,"
muttered the Indian, in his native language, " and when they
want to eat, their warriors must lay aside the tomahawk to
feed their laziness."
" What say you, Renard ? "
" Le Subtil says it is good."
The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly on the open counte-
nance of Heyward, but meeting his glance, he turned them
quickly away, and seating himself deliberately on the ground,
he drew forth the remnant of some former repast, and began to
eat, though not without first bending his looks slowly and cau-
tiously around him.
" This is well," continued Heyward; "and Le Renard will
have strength and sight to find the path in the morning;" he
paused, for sounds like the snapping of a dried stick, and the
rustling of leaves, rose from the adjacent bushes, but recollect-
ing himself instantly, he continued, " we must be moving be-
fore the sun is seen, or Montcalm may lie in our path, and shut
us out from the fortress."
The hand of Magua dropped from his mouth to his side, and
though his eyes were fastened on the ground, his head was
turned aside, his nostrils expanded, and his ears seemed even to
stand more erect than usual, giving to him the appearance of a
statue that was made to represent intense attention.
Heyward, who watched his movements with a vigilant eye,
carelessly extricated one of his feet from the stirrup, while he
passed a hand toward the bearskin covering of his holsters.
Every effort to detect the point most regarded by the runner
was completely frustrated by the tremulous glances of his or-
j
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 45
gans, which seemed not to rest a single instant on any particu-
lar object, and which, at the same time, could be hardly said to
move. While he hesitated how to proceed, Le Subtil cautiously
raised himself to his feet, though with a motion so slow and
guarded, that not the slightest noise was produced by the
change. Hey ward felt it had now become incumbent on him
to act. Throwing his leg over the saddle, he dismounted, with
a determination to advance and seize his treacherous companion,
trusting the result to his own manhood. In order, however, to .
prevent unnecessary alarm, he still preserved an air of calmness
and friendship.
" Le Kenard Subtil does not eat," he said, using the appel-
lation he had found most flattering to the vanity of the Indian.
" His com is not well parched, and it seems dry. Let me ex-
amine ; perhaps something may be found among my own pro-
visions that will help his appetite."
Magua held out the wallet to the proffer of the other. He
even suffered their hands to meet, without betraying the least
emotion, or varying his riveted attitude of attention. But
when he felt the fingers of Heyward moving gently along his
own naked arm, he struck up the limb of the young man, and
uttering a piercing cry he darted beneath it, and plunged, at a
single bound, into the opposite thicket. At the next instant,
the form of Chingachgook appeared from the bushes, looking
like a spectre in its paint, and glided across the path in swift
pursuit. Next followed the shout of Uncas, when the woods
were lighted by a sudden flash, that was accompanied by the
sharp report of the hunter's rifle.
46 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER V
u
In such a night
Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew ;
And saw the lion's shadow ere himself."
Merchant of Venice.
The suddenness of the flight of his guide, and the wild cries
. of the pursuers, caused Heyward to remain fixed, for a few
moments, in inactive surprise. Then recollecting the impor-
tance of securing the fugitive, he dashed aside the surrounding
bushes, and pressed eagerly forward to lend his aid in the chase.
Before he had, however, proceeded a hundred yards, he met the
three foresters already returning from their unsuccessful pur-
suit.
" Why so soon disheartened ? " he exclaimed ; " the scoundrel
must be concealed behind some of these trees, and may yet be
secured. We are not safe while he goes at large."
" Would you set a cloud to chase the wind ? " returned the
disappointed scout ; " I heard the imp brushing over the dry
leaves, like a black snake, and blinking a glimpse of him, just
over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be on the scent ;
but 'twouldn't do ! and yet for a reasoning aim, if anybody but
myself had touched the trigger, I should call it a quick sight ;
and I. may be accounted to have experience in these matters,
and one who ought to know. Look at this sumach ; its leaves
are red, though everybody knows the fruit is in the yellow blos-
som in the month of July ! "
" 'Tis the blood of Le Subtil ! he is hurt, and may yet fall ! "
"No, no," returned the scout, in decided disapprobation of
this opinion, " I rubbed the bark off a limb, perhaps, but the
creature leaped the longer for it. A rifle bullet acts on a run-
ning animal, when it barks him, much the same as one of your
spurs on a horse ; that is, it quickens motion, and puts life into
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 4X
the flesh, instead of taking it away. But when it cuts the
ragged hole, after a bound or two, there is, commonly, a stagna-
tion of further leaping, be it Indian or be it deer ! "
" We are four able bodies, to one wounded man ! "
" Is life grievous to you % " interrupted the scout. " Yonder
red devil would draw you within swing of the tomahawks of
his comrades, before you were heated in the chase. It was an
unthoughtful act in a man who has so often slept with the war-
whoop ringing in the air, to let off his piece within sound of an
ambushment ! But then it was a natural temptation ! 'twas
very natural ! Come, friends, let us move our station, and in
such fashion, too, as will throw the cunning of a Mingo on a
wrong scent, or our scalps will be drying in the wind in front
of Montcalm's marquee, agin this hour to-morrow."
This appalling declaration, which the scout uttered with the
cool assurance of a man who fully comprehended, while he did
not fear to face the danger, served to remind Heyward of the
importance of the charge with which he himself had been in-
trusted. Glancing his eyes around, with a vain effort to pierce
the gloom that was thickening beneath the leafy arches of the
forest, he felt as if, cut off from human aid, his unresisting
companions would soon lie at the entire mercy of those barbar-
ous enemies, who, like beasts of prey, only waited till the gather-
ing darkness might render their blows more fatally certain. His
awakened imagination, deluded by the deceptive light, converted
each waving bush, or the fragment of some fallen tree, into human
forms, and twenty times he fancied he could distinguish the
horrid visages of his lurking foes, peering from their hiding-
places, in never-ceasing watchfulness of the movements of
his party. Looking upward, he found that the thin fleecy
clouds, which evening had painted on the blue sky, were
already losing their faintest tints of rose-color, while the im-
bedded stream, which glided past the spot where he stood, was
to be traced only by the dark boundary of its wooded banks.
48 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" What is to be done ? " he said, feeling the utter helplessness
of doubt in such a pressing strait ; " desert me not, for God's
sake ! remain to defend those I escort, and freely name your
own reward."
His companions, who conversed apart in the language of their
tribe, heeded not this sudden and earnest appeal. Though their
dialogue was maintained in low and cautious sounds, but little
above a whisper, Heyward, who now approached, could easily
distinguish the earnest tones of the younger warrior from the
more deliberate speeches of his seniors. It was evident that
they debated on the propriety of some measure, that nearly
concerned the welfare of the travellers. Yielding to his power-
ful interest in the subject, and impatient of a delay that seemed
fraught with so much additional danger, Heyward drew still nigher
to the dusky group, with an intention of making his offers of
compensation more definite, when the white man, motioning
with his hand, as if he conceded the disputed point, turned
away, saying in a sort of soliloquy, and in the English tongue :
" Uncas is right ! it would not be the act of men to leave
such harmless things to their fate, even though it breaks up the
harboring place forever. If you would save these tender blossoms
from the fangs of the worst of sarpents, gentleman, you have
neither time to lose nor resolution to throw away ! "
"How can such a wish be doubted? have I not already
offered "
" Offer your prayers to Him who can give us wisdom to cir-
cumvent the cunning of the devils who fill these woods," calmly
interrupted the scout, "but spare your offers of money, which
neither you may live to realize, nor I to profit by. These
Mohicans and I will do what man's thoughts can invent, to
keep such flowers, which, though so sweet, were never made
for the wilderness, from harm, and that without hope of any
other recompense but such as God always gives to upright
dealings. First, you must promise two things, both in your
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 49
own name and for your friends, or without serving you we
shall only injure ourselves ! "
"Name them."
" The one is, to be still as these sleeping woods, let what will
happen ; and the other is, to keep the place where we shall take
you, forever a secret from all mortal men."
" I will do my utmost to see both these conditions fulfilled."
" Then follow, for we are losing moments that are as precious
as the heart's blood to a stricken deer ! "
Heyward could distinguish the impatient gesture of the scout,
through the increasing shadows of the evening, and he moved
in his footsteps, swiftly, toward the place where he had left the
remainder of his party. When they rejoined the expecting and
anxious females, he briefly acquainted them with the conditions
of their new guide, and with the necessity that existed for their
hushing every apprehension, in instant and serious exertions.
Although his alarming communication was not received without
much secret terror by the listeners, his earnest and impressive
manner, aided perhaps by the nature of the danger, succeeded
in bracing their nerves to undergo some unlooked-for and un-
usual trial. Silently, and without a moment's delay, they
permitted him to assist them from their saddles, when they de-
scended quickly to the water's edge, where the scout had collected
the rest of the party, more by the agency of expressive gestures
than by any use of words.
" What to do with these dumb creatures ! " muttered the
white man, on whom the sole control of their future movements
appeared to devolve ; "it would be time lost to cut their throats,
and cast them into the river ; and to leave them here would be
to tell the Mingoes that they have not far to seek to find their
owners ! "
" Then give them their bridles, and let them range the woods,"
Heyward ventured to suggest.
" No ; it would be better to mislead the imps, and make them
50 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
believe they must equal a horse's speed to run down their chase.
Ay, ay, that will blind their fire-balls of eyes ! Chingach
Hist ! what stirs the bush ? "
" The colt."
"That colt, at least, must die," muttered the scout, grasp-
ing at the mane of the nimble beast, which easily eluded his
hand ; " Uncas, your arrows ! "
" Hold ! " exclaimed the proprietor of the condemned animal,
aloud, without regard to the whispering tones used by the
others ; " spare the foal of Miriam ! it is the comely offspring
of a faithful dam, and would willingly injure naught."
" When men struggle for the single lite God has given them,"
said th scout, sternly, "even their own kind seem no more
than the beasts of the wood. If you speak again, I shall leave
you to the mercy of the Maquas ! Draw to your arrow's head,
Uncas ; we have no time for second blows."
The low, muttering sounds of his threatening voice were still
audible when the wounded foal, first rearing on its hinder legs,
plunged forward to its knees. It was met by Chingachgook,
whose knife passed across its throat quicker than thought, and
then precipitating the motions of the struggling victim, he dashed
it into the river, down whose stream it glided away, gasping
audibly for breath with its ebbing life. This deed of apparent
cruelty, but of real necessity, fell upon the spirits of the travellers
like a terrific warning of the peril in which they stood, height-
ened as it was by the calm though steady resolution of the actors
in the scene. The sisters shuddered and clung closer to each
other, while Heyward instinctively laid his hand on one of the
pistols he had just drawn from their holsters, as he placed him-
self between his charge and those dense shadows that seemed
to draw an impenetrable veil before the bosom of the forest.
The Indians, however, hesitated not a moment, but taking
the bridles, they led the frightened and reluctant horses into
the bed of the river.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 51
At a short distance from the shore they turned, and were
soon concealed by the projection of the bank, under the brow
of which they moved, in a direction opposite to the course of
the waters. In the meantime, the scout drew a canoe of bark
from its place of concealment beneath some low bushes, whose
branches were waving with the eddies of the current, into which
he silently motioned for the females to enter. They complied
without hesitation, though many a fearful and anxious glance
was thrown behind them, toward the thickening gloom, which
now lay like a dark barrier along the margin of the stream.
So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, the scout, without
regarding the element, directed Hey ward to support one side of
the frail vessel, and posting himself at the other, they bore it
up against the stream, followed by the dejected owner of the
dead foal. In this manner they proceeded, for many rods, in a
silence that was only interrupted by the rippling of the water,
as its eddies played around them, or the low dash made by their
own cautious footsteps. Heyward yielded the guidance of the
canoe implicitly to the scout, who approached or receded from
the shore, to avoid the fragments of rocks, or deeper parts of the
river, with a readiness that showed his knowledge of the route
they held. Occasionally he would stop ; and in the midst of a
breathing stillness, that the dull but increasing roar of the
waterfall only served to render more impressive, he would listen
with painful intenseness, to catch any sounds that might arise
from the slumbering forest. When assured that all was still,
and unable to detect, even by the aid of his practised senses,
any sign of his approaching foes, he would deliberately resume
his slow and guarded progress. At length they reached a point
in the river where the roving eye of Heyward became riveted
on a cluster of black objects, collected at a spot where the high
bank threw a deeper shadow than usual on the dark waters.
Hesitating to advance, he pointed out the place to the attention
of his companion.
52 THE LAST OF THE 'MOHICANS
i
"Ay/' returned the composed scout, "the Indians have hid
the beasts with the judgment of natives ! - Water leaves no
trail, and an owPs eyes would be blinded by the darkness of
such a hole."
The whole party was soon reunited, and another consultation
was held between the scout and his new comrades, during which,
they, whose fates depended on the faith and ingenuity of these
unknown foresters, had a little leisure to observe their situation
more minutely.
The river was confined between high and cragged rocks, one
of which impended above the spot where the canoe rested. As
these, again, were surmounted by tall trees, which appeared to
totter on the brows of the precipice, it gave the stream the
appearance of running through a deep and narrow dell. All
beneath the fantastic limbs and ragged tree-tops, which were,
here and there, dimly painted against the starry zenith, lay alike
in shadowed obscurity. Behind them, the curvature of the
banks soon bounded the view by the same dark and wooded
outline ; but in front, and apparently at no great distance, the
water seemed piled against the heavens, whence it tumbled into
caverns, out of which issued those sullen sounds that had loaded
the evening atmosphere. It seemed, in truth, to be a spot
devoted to seclusion, and the sisters imbibed a soothing impres-
sion of security, as they gazed upon its romantic though not
unappalling beauties. A general movement among their con-
ductors, however, soon recalled them from a contemplation of
the wild charms that night had assisted to lend the place, to a
painful sense of their real peril.
The horses had been secured to some scattering shrubs that
grew in the fissures of the rocks, where, standing in the water,
they were left to pass the night. The scout directed Heyward
and his disconsolate fellow-travellers to seat themselves in the
forward end of the canoe, and took possession of the other
himself, as erect and steady as if he floated in a vessel of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 53
much firmer materials. The Indians warily retraced their steps
toward the place they had left, when the scout, placing his pole
against a rock, bjr a powerful shove, sent his frail bark directly
into the centre of the turbulent stream. For many minutes the
struggle between the light bubble in which they floated and
the swift current was severe and doubtful. Forbidden to stir
even a hand, and almost afraid to breathe, lest they should
expose the frail fabric to the fury of the stream, the passengers
watched the glancing waters in feverish suspense. Twenty
times they thought the whirling eddies were sweeping them
to destruction, when the master-hand of their pilot would bring
the bows of the canoe to stem the rapid. A long, a vigorous,
and, as it appeared to the females, a desperate effort, closed the
struggle. Just as Alice veiled her eyes in horror, under the
impression that they were about to be swept within the vortex
at the foot of the cataract, the canoe floated, stationary, at the
side of a flat rock, that lay on a level with the water.
" Where are we ? and what is next to be done ? " demanded
Heyward, perceiving that the exertions of the scout had ceased.
" You are at the foot of Glenn's," returned the other, speak-
ing aloud, without fear of consequences within the roar of the
cataract ; " and the next thing is to make a steady landing, lest
the canoe upset, and you should go down again the hard road
we have travelled faster than you came up ; 'tis a hard rift to
stem, when the river is- a little swelled ; and five is an unnatural
number to keep dry, in the hurry-skurry, with a little birchen
bark and gum. There, go you all on the rock, and I will bring
up the Mohicans with the venison. A man had better sleep
without his scalp, than famish in the midst of plenty."
His passengers gladly complied with these directions. As
the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its sta-
tion, when the tall form of the scout was seen, for an instant,
gliding above the waters, before it disappeared in the Impene-
trable darkness that rested on the bed of the river. Left by their
54 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S
guide, the travellers remained a few minutes in helpless ignorance,
afraid even to move along the broken rocks, lest a false step
should precipitate them down some one of tjie many deep and
roaring caverns, into which the water seemed to tumble, on
every side of them. Their suspense, however, was soon re-
lieved ; for, aided by the skill of the natives, the canoe shot
back into the eddy, and floated again at the side of the low
rock, before they thought the scout had even time to rejoin his
companions.
" We are now fortified, garrisoned, and provisioned," cried
Heyward, cheerfully, " and may set Montcalm and his allies at
defiance. How, now, my vigilant sentinel, can you see any-
thing of those you call the Iroquois, on the main land ? "
"I call them Iroquois, because to me every native, who
speaks a foreign tongue, is accounted an enemy, though he may
pretend to serve the king ! If Webb wants faith and honesty
in an Indian, let him bring out the tribes of the Delawares,
and send these greedy and lying Mohawks and Oneidas, with
their six nations of varlets, where in nature they belong, among
the French ! "
" We should then exchange a warlike for a useless friend !
I have heard that the Delawares have laid aside the hatchet,
and are content to be called women ! "
"Ay, shame on the Hollanders and Iroquois, who circum-
vented them by their deviltries, into such a treaty ! But I
have known them for twenty years, and I call him liar, that
says cowardly blood runs in the veins of a Delaware. You
have driven their tribes from the seashore, and would now
believe what their enemies say, that you may sleep at night
upon an easy pillow. No, no ; to me, every Indian who speaks
a foreign tongue is an Irpquois, whether the castle of his tribe
be in Canada, or be in York."
Heyward, perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the
scout to the cause of his friends the Delawares, or Mohicans, for
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 55
they were branches of the same numerous people, was likely to
prolong a useless discussion, changed the subject.
" Treaty or no treaty, I know full well that your two com-
panions are brave and cautious warriors ! have they heard or,
seen anything of our enemies ? "
" An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen," returned
the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing the deer carelessly
down. " I trust to other signs than such as come in at the eye,
when I am outlying on the trail of the Mingoes."
" Do your ears tell you that they have traced our retreat ? "
" I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a spot
that stout courage might hold for a smart scrimmage. I will
not deny, however, but the horses cowered when I passed them,
as though they scented the wolves ; and a wolf is a beast that
is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment, craving the offals
of the deer the savages kill."
" You forget the buck at your feet ! or, may we not owe their
visit to the dead colt ? Ha ! what noise is that ? "
" Poor Miriam ! " murmured the stranger ; " thy foal was
foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts ! " Then,
suddenly lifting up his voice, amid the eternal din of the waters,
he sang aloud :
" First born of Egypt, smite did He,
Of mankind, and of beast also ;
O Egypt ! wonders sent 'midst thee,
On Pharaoh and his servants too! "
" The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its owner,"
said the scout ; " but it's a good sign to see a man account upon
his dumb friends. He has the religion of the matter, in be-
lieving what is to happen will happen ; and with such a conso-
lation, it won't be long afore he submits to the rationality of
killing a four-footed beast, to save the lives of human men. It
may be as you say," he continued, reverting to the purport of
Hey ward's last remark; "and the greater the reason why we
56 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
should cut our steaks, and let the carcass drive down the stream,
or we shall have the pack howling along the cliffs, begrudging
every mouthful we swallow. Besides, though the Delaware
tongue is the same as a book to the Iroquois, the cunning var-
lets are quick enough at understanding the reason of a wolf's
howl."
The scout, while making his remarks, was busied in collecting
certain necessary implements; as he concluded, he moved
silently by the group of travellers, accompanied by the Mohi-
cans, who seemed to comprehend his intentions with instinctive
readiness, when the whole three disappeared in succession, seem-
ing to vanish against the dark face of a perpendicular rock,
that rose to the height of a few yards, within as many feet of
the water's edge.
CHAPTER VI
M Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide ;
He wales a portion with judicious care ;
And ' let us worship God,' he says, with solemn air."
Burns.
Heyward and his female companions witnessed this mys-
terious movement. with secret uneasiness; for, though the con-
duct of the white man had hitherto been above reproach, his
rude equipments, blunt address, and strong antipathies, together
with the character of his silent associates, were all causes for
exciting distrust in minds that had been so recently alarmed by
Indian treachery.
The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents. He
seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he gave no
other signs of consciousness than by the struggles of his spirit,
as manifested in frequent and heavy sighs. Smothered voices
were next heard, as though men called to each other in the bowels
of the earth, when a sudden light flashed upon those without,
and laid bare the much-prized secret of the place.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 57
At the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the
rock, whose length appeared much extended by the perspective
and the nature of the light by which it was seen, was seated
the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine. The strong glare of
the fire fell full upon his sturdy, weather-beaten countenance
and forest attire, lending an air of romantic wildness to the
aspect of an individual, who, seen by the sober light of day,
would have exhibited the peculiarities of a man remarkable for
the strangeness of his dress, the iron-like inflexibility of his frame,
and the singular compound of quick, vigilant sagacity, and of
exquisite simplicity, that by turns usurped the possession of his
muscular features. At a little distance in advance stood Uncas,
his whole person thrown powerfully into view. The travellers
anxiously regarded the upright, flexible figure of the young
Mohican, graceful and unrestrained in the attitudes and move-
ments of nature. Though his person was more than usually
screened by a green and fringed hunting-shirt, like that of the
white man, there was no concealment to his dark, glancing,
fearless eye, alike terrible and calm; the bold outline of his
high, haughty features, pure in their native red ; or to the dig-
nified elevation of his receding forehead, together with all the
finest proportions of a noble head, bared to the generous scalp-
ing tuft. It was the first opportunity possessed by Duncan
and his companions to view the marked lineaments of either of
their Indian attendants, and each individual of the party felt
relieved from a burden of doubt, as the proud and determined,
though wild expression of the features of the young warrior
forced itself on their notice. They felt it might be a being
partially benighted in the vale of ignorance, but it could not be
one who would willingly devote his rich natural gifts to the
purposes of wanton treachery. The ingenuous Alice gazed at
his free air and proud carriage, as she would have looked upon
some precious relic of the Grecian chisel, to which life had been
imparted by the intervention of a miracle; while Heyward,
58 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
though accustomed to see the perfection of form which abounds
among the uncorrupted natives, openly expressed his admiration
at such an unblemished specimen of the noblest proportions of
man.
" I could sleep in peace," whispered Alice, in reply, " with
such a fearless and generous-looking youth for my sentinel.
Surely, Duncan, those cruel murders, those terrific scenes of
torture, of which we read and hear so much, are never acted in
the presence of such as he ! "
" This certainly is a rare and brilliant instance of those
natural qualities in which these peculiar people are said to ex-
cel," he answered. " I agree with you Alice, in thinking that
such a front and eye were formed rather to intimidate than to
deceive ; but let us not practise a deception upon ourselves, by
expecting any other exhibition of what we esteem virtue than
according to the fashion of a savage. As bright examples of
great qualities are but too uncommon among Christians, so are
they singular and solitary with the Indians; though, for the
honor of our common nature, neither are incapable of producing
them. Let us then hope that this Mohican may not disappoint
our wishes, but prove what his looks assert him to be, a brave
and constant friend."
" Now Major Hey ward speaks as Major Heyward should,"
said Cora ; " who that looks at this creature of nature, remem-
bers the shade of his skin 1 "
A short and apparently an embarrassed silence succeeded this
remark, which was interrupted by the scout calling to them,
aloud, to enter.
" This fire begins to show too bright a flame," he continued,
as they complied, "and might light the Mingoes to our undo-
ing. Uncas, drop the blanket, and show the knaves its dark
side. This is not such a supper as a major of the Royal Amer-
icans has a right to expect, but I've known stout detachments
of the corps glad to eat their venison raw, and without a relish,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 59
too. Here, you see, we have plenty of salt, and can make a
quick broil. There's fresh sassafras boughs for the ladies to sit
on, which may not be as proud as their my-hog-guinea chairs,
but which sends up a sweeter flavor, than the skin of any hog
can do, be it of Guinea, or be it of any other land. Come,
friend, don't be mournful for the colt ; 'twas an innocent thing,
and had not seen much hardship. Its death will save the
creature many a sore back and w T eary foot ! "
Uncas did as the other had directed, and when the voice of
Hawkeye ceased, the roar of the cataract sounded like the rum-
bling of distant thunder.
"Are we quite safe in this cavern?" demanded Hey ward.
"Is there no danger of surprise? A single armed man, at its
entrance, would hold us at his mercy."
A spectral-looking figure stalked from out of the darkness be-
hind the scout, and seizing a blazing brand, held it toward the
further extremity of their place of retreat. Alice uttered a
faint shriek, and even Cora rose to her feet, as this appalling
object moved into the light ; but a single word from Hey ward
calmed them, with the assurance it was only their attendant,
Chingachgook, who, lifting another blanket, discovered that the
cavern had two outlets. Then, holding the brand, he crossed a
deep, narrow chasm in the rocks, which ran at right angles with
the passage they were in, but which, unlike that, was open to
the heavens, and entered another cave, answering to the descrip-
tion of the first, in every essential particular.
" Such old foxes as Chingachgook and myself are not often
caught in a burrow with one hole," said Hawkeye, laughing ;
"you can easily see the cunning of the place the rock is
black limestone, which everybody knows is soft ; it makes no
uncomfortable pillow, where brush and pine wood is scarce ;
well, the fall was once a few yards below us, and I dare to say
was, in its time, as regular and as handsome a sheet of water as
any along the Hudson. But old age is a great injury to good
60 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
looks, as these sweet young ladies have yet to Tarn ! The place
is sadly changed ! These rocks are full of cracks, and in some
places they are softer than at othersome, and the water has
worked out deep hollows for itself, until it has fallen back, ay,
some hundred feet, breaking here and wearing there, until the
falls have neither shape nor consistency."
" In what part of them are we 1 " asked Hey ward.
"Why, we are nigh the spot that Providence first placed
them at, but where, it seems, they were too rebellious to stay.
The rock proved softer on each side of us, and so they left the
centre of the river bare and dry, first working out these two
little holes for us to hide in."
" We are then on an island ? "
" Ay ! there are the falls on two sides of us, and the river
above and below. If you had daylight, it would be worth the
trouble to step up on the height of this rock, and look at the
perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at all ; sometimes
it leaps, sometimes it tumbles ; there it skips ; here it shoots ;
in one place 'tis white as snow, and in another 'tis green as
grass ; hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, that rumble and
quake the 'arth ; and thereaway, it ripples and sings like a
brook, fashioning whirlpools and gullies in the old stone, as if
'twas no harder than trodden clay. The whole design of the
river seems disconcerted. First it runs smoothly, as if meaning
to go down the descent as things were ordered ; then it angles
about and faces the shores ; nor are there places wanting where
it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave the wilderness, to
mingle with the salt ! Ay, lady, the fine cobweb-looking cloth
you wear at your throat, is coarse, and like a fish-net, to little
spots I can show you, where the river fabricates all sorts of
images, as if, having broke loose from order, it would try its
hand at everything. And yet what does it amount to ! After
the water has been suffered to have its will, for a time, like a
headstrong man, it is gathered together by the hand that made
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 61
it, and a few rods below you may see it all, flowing on steadily
toward the sea, as was foreordained from the first foundation
of the 'arth ! "
While his auditors received a cheering assurance of the se-
curity of their place of concealment from this untutored descrip-
tion of Glenn's, they were much inclined to judge differently
from Hawkeye, of its wild beauties. But they were not in a
situation to suffer their thoughts to dwell on the charms of
natural objects ; and, as the scout had not found it necessary to
cease his culinary labors while he spoke, unless to point out,
with a broken fork, the direction of some particularly obnox-
ious point in the rebellious stream, they now suffered their
attention to be drawn to the necessary though more vulgar con-
sideration of their supper.
The repast, which was greatly aided by the addition of a few
delicacies that Heyward had the precaution to bring with him
when they left their horses, was exceedingly refreshing to the
weary party. Uncas acted as attendant to the females, per-
forming all the little offices within his power, with a mixture
of dignity and anxious grace, that served to amuse Heyward,
who well knew that it was an utter innovation on the Indian
customs, which forbid their warriors to descend to any menial
employment, especially in favor of their women. As the rights
of hospitality were, however, considered sacred among them,
this little departure from the dignity of manhood excited no
audible comment. Had there been one there sufficiently disen-
gaged to become a close observer, he might have fancied that the
services of the young chief were not entirely impartial. That while
he tendered to Alice the gourd of sweet water, and the venison
in a trencher, neatly carved from the knot of the pepperidge,
with sufficient courtesy, in performing the same offices, to her
sister his dark eye lingered on her rich, speaking countenance.
Once or twice he was compelled to speak, to command the
attention of those he served. In such cases he made use of
62 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
English, broken and imperfect, but sufficiently intelligible, and
which he rendered so mild and musical, by his deep, guttural
voice, that it never failed to cause both ladies to look up in ad-
miration and astonishment. In the course of these civilities, a
few sentences were exchanged, that served to establish the ap-
pearance of an amicable intercourse between the parties.
In the meanwhile, the gravity of Chingachgook remained
immovable. He had seated himself more within the circle of
light, where the frequent, uneasy glances of his guests were bet-
ter enabled to separate the natural expression of his face from
the artificial terrors of the war. paint. They found a strong re-
semblance between father and son, with the difference that
might be expected from age and hardships. The fierceness of
his countenance now seemed to slumber, and in its place was to
be seen the quiet, vacant composure which distinguishes an
Indian warrior, when his faculties are not required for any of
the greater purposes of his existence. It was, however, easy
to be seen, by the occasional gleams that shot across his swar-
thy visage, that it was only necessary to arouse his passions, in
order to give full effect to the terrific device which he had
adopted to intimidate his enemies. On the other hand, the
quick, roving eye of the scout seldom rested. He ate and
drank with an appetite that no sense of danger could disturb,
but his vigilance seemed never to desert him. Twenty times
the gourd or the venison was suspended before his lips, while
his head was turned aside, as though he listened to some distant
and distrusted sounds a movement that never failed to recall
his guests from regarding the novelties of their situation, to a
recollection of the alarming reasons that had driven them to
seek it. As these frequent pauses were never followed by any
remark, the momentary uneasiness they created quickly passed
away, and for a time was forgotten.
" Come, friend," said Hawkeye, drawing out a keg from be-
neath a cover of leaves, toward the close of the repast, and
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 63
addressing the stranger who sat at his elbow, doing great jus-
tice to his culinary skill, " try a little spruce ; 'twill wash away
all thoughts of the colt, and quicken the life in your bosom. I
drink to our better friendship, hoping that a little horseflesh
may leave no heart-burnings atween us. How do you name
yourself?"
"Gamut David Gamut," returned the singing-master, pre-
paring to wash down his sorrows in a powerful draught of the
woodman's high-flavored and well-laced compound.
" A very good name, and, I dare say, handed down from hon-
est forefathers. I'm an admirator of names, though the Chris-
tian fashions fall far below savage customs in this particular.
The biggest coward I ever knew was called Lyon ; and his wife,
Patience, would scold you out of hearing in less time than a
hunted deer would run a rod. With an Indian 'tis a matter of
conscience; what he calls himself, he generally is not that
Chingachgook, which signifies Big Sarpent, is really a snake,
big or little ; but that he understands the windings and turn-
ings of human natur', and is silent, and strikes his enemies when
they least expect him. What may be your calling ? "
" I am an unworthy instructor in the art of psalmody."
" Anan ! "
" I teach singing to the youths of the Connecticut levy."
"You might be better employed. The young hounds go
laughing and singing too much already through the woods,
when they ought not to breathe louder than a fox in his cover.
Can you use the smooth bore, or handle the rifle 1 "
" Praised be God, I have never had occasion to meddle with
murderous implements ! "
"Perhaps you understand the compass, and lay down the
watercourses and mountains of the wilderness on paper, in order
that they who follow may find places by their given names ? "
" I practise no such employment."
" You have a pair of legs that might make a long path seem
64 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
short ! you journey sometimes, I fancy, with tidings for the
general."
"Never; I follow no other than my own high vocation,
which is instruction in sacred music ! "
"'Tis a strange calling!" muttered Hawkeye, with an in-
ward laugh, "to go through life, like a cat-bird, mocking all
the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other men's
throats. Well, friend, I suppose it is your gift, and mustn't
be denied any more than if 'twas shooting, or some other better
inclination. Let us hear what you can do in that way ; 'twill
be a friendly manner of saying good night, for 'tis time that
these ladies should be getting strength for a hard and a long
push, in the pride of the morning, afore the Maquas are
stirring."
" With joyful pleasure do I consent," said David, adjusting
his iron-rimmed spectacles, and producing his beloved little
volume, which he immediately tendered to Alice. " What can
be more fitting and consolatory, than to offer up evening praise,
after a day of such exceeding jeopardy ! "
Alice smiled; but regarding Heyward, she blushed and
hesitated.
" Indulge yourself," he whispered ; " ought not the sugges-
tion of the worthy namesake of the Psalmist to have its weight
at such a moment 1 "
Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did what her pious inclina-
tions and her keen relish for gentle sounds, had before so
strongly urged. The book was open at a hymn not ill-adapted
to their situation, and in which the poet, no longer goaded by
his desire to excel the inspired King of Israel, had discovered
some chastened and respectable powers. Cora betrayed a dis-
position to support her sister, and the sacred song proceeded,
after the indispensable preliminaries of the pitch-pipe and the
tune had been duly attended to by the methodical David.
The air was solemn and slow. At times it rose to the full-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 65
est compass of the rich voices of the females, who hung over
their little book in holy excitement, and again it sank so low,
that the rushing of the waters ran through their melody, like a
hollow accompaniment. The natural taste and true ear of
David governed and modified the sounds to suit the confined
cavern, every crevice and cranny of which was filled with the
thrilling notes of their flexible voices. The Indians riveted
their eyes on the rocks, and listened with an attention that
soemed to turn them into stone. But the scout, who had
placed his chin in his hand, with an expression of cold indif-
ference, gradually suffered his rigid features to relax, until, as
verse succeeded verse, he felt his iron nature subdued, while his
recollection was carried back to boyhood, when his ears had
been accustomed to listen to similar sounds of praise, in the
settlements of the colony. His roving eyes began to moisten,
and before the hymn was ended, scalding tears rolled out of
fountains that had long seemed dry, and followed each other
down those cheeks, that had oftener felt the storms of heaven
than any testimonials of weakness. The singers were dwelling
on one of those low, dying chords, which the ear devours with
such greedy rapture, as if conscious that it is about to lose
them, when a cry, that seemed neither human nor earthly, rose
in the. outward air, penetrating not only the recesses of the
cavern, but to the inmost hearts of all who heard it. It was
followed by a 3tillness apparently as deep as if the waters had
been checked in their furious progress, at such a horrid and
unusual interruption.
"What is it?" murmured Alice, after a few momenvs of
terrible suspense.
" What is it ? " repeated Hey ward aloud.
Neither Hawkeye nor the Indians made any reply. They
listened, as if expecting the sound would be repeated, with a
manner that expressed their own astonishment. At length
they spoke together, earnestly, in the Delaware language, when
66 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Uncas, passing by the inner and most concealed aperture, cau-
tiously left the cavern. When he had gone, the scout first
spoke in English.
"What it is, or what it is not, none here can tell, though
two of us have ranged the woods for more than thirty years. I
did believe there was no cry that Indian or beast could make,
that my ears had not heard; but this has proved that I was
only a vain and conceited mortal."
"Was it not, then, the shout the warriors make when they
wish to intimidate their enemies ? " asked Cora, who stood draw-
ing her veil about her person, with a calmness to which her
agitated sister was a stranger.
"No, no; this was bad, and shockiug, and had a sort of
unhuman sound ; but when you once hear the war-whoop, you
will never mistake it for anything else. Well, Uncas ! " speak-
ing in Delaware to the young chief as he reentered, " what see
you ? do our lights shine through the blankets 1 "
The answer was short, and apparently decided, being given
in the same tongue.
" There is nothing to be seen without," continued Hawkeye,
shaking his head in discontent ; " and our hiding-place is still
in darkness. Pass into the other cave, you that need it, and
seek for sleep ; we must be afoot long before the sun, and make
the most of our time to get to Edward, while the Mingoes are
taking their morning nap."
Cora set the example of compliance, with a steadiness that
taught the more timid Alice the necessity of obedience. Before
leaving the place, however, she whispered a request to Duncan,
that he would follow. Uncas raised the blanket for their pas-
sage, and as the sisters turned to thank him for this act of atten-
tion, they saw the scout seated again before the dying embers,
with his face resting on his hands, in a manner which showed
how deeply he brooded on the unaccountable interruption which
had broken up their evening devotions.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 67
Heyward took with him a blazing knot, which threw a dim
light through the narrow vista of their new apartment. Plac-
ing it in a favorable position, he joined the females, who now
found themselves alone with him for the first time since they
had left the friendly ramparts of Fort Edward.
" Leave us not, Duncan," said Alice : "we cannot sleep in
such a place as this, with that horrid cry still ringing in our ears."
" First let us examine into the security of your fortress," he
answered, " and then we will speak of rest."
He approached the farther end of the cavern, to an outlet
. which, like the others, was concealed by blankets, and removing
the thick screen, breathed the fresh and reviving air from the
cataract. One arm of the river flowed through a deep narrow
ravine, which its current, had worn in the soft rock, directly
beneath his feet, forming an effectual defence, as he believed,
against any danger from that quarter; the water, a few rods
above them, plunging, glancing, and sweeping along, in its most
violent and broken manner.
"Nature has made an impenetrable barrier on this side," he
continued, pointing down the perpendicular declivity into the dark
current, before he dropped the blanket ; " and as you know that
good men and true are on guard in front, I see no reason why the
advice of our honest host should be disregarded. I am certain
Cora will join me in saying that sleep is necessary to you both."
" Cora may submit to the justice of your opinion, though she
cannot put it in practice," returned the elder sister, who had
placed herself by the side of Alice, on a couch of sassafras;
" there would be other causes to chase away sleep, though we
had been spared the shock of this mysterious noise. Ask your-
self, Heyward, can daughters forget the anxiety a father must
endure, whose children lodge he knows not where or how, in
such a wilderness, and in the midst of so many perils 1 "
"He is a soldier, and knows how to estimate the chances of
the woods."
68 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" He is a father, and cannot deny his nature."
" How kind has he ever been to all my follies, how tender
and indulgent to all my wishes ! " sobbed Ab'ce. " We have
been selfish, sister, in urging our visit at such hazard."
" I may have been rash in pressing his consent in a moment
of much embarrassment, but I would have proved to him, that
however others might neglect him in his strait, his children at
least were faithful."
"When he heard of your arrival at Edward," said Hey ward,
kindly, " there was a powerful struggle in his bosom between
fear and love ; though the latter, heightened, if possible, by so
long a separation, quickly prevailed. ' It is the spirit of my
noble minded Cora that leads them, Duncan/ he said, 'and I
will not balk it.' Would to God, that he who holds the honor
of our royal master in his guardianship, would show but half
her firmness ! "
" And did he not speak of me, Hey ward ? " demanded Alice,
with jealous affection.* "Surely, he forgot not altogether his
little Elsie ? "
" That were impossible," returned the young man ; " he
called you by a thousand endearing epithets, that I may not
presume to use, but to the justice of which I can warmly
testify. Once, indeed, he said "
Duncan ceased speaking ; for while his eyes were riveted on
those of Alice, who had turned toward him with the eagerness
of filial affection, to catch his words, the same strong, horrid cry,
as before, filled the air, and rendered him mute. A long,
breathless silence succeeded, during which each looked at the
others in fearful expectation of hearing the sound repeated. At
length, the blanket was slowly raised, and the scout stood in
the aperture with a countenance whose firmness evidently began
to give way before a mysteiy that seemed to threaten some
danger, against which all his cunning and experience might
prove of no avail.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 69
CHAPTER VII
" They do not sleep.
On yonder cliffs, a grizzly band,
I see them sit."
Gray.
'Twould be neglecting a .warning that is given for our
good to lie hid any longer," said Hawkeye, " when such sounds
are raised in the forest. These gentle ones may keep close,
but the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock, where I
suppose a major of the Sixtieth would wish to keep us company."
" Is, then, our danger so pressing 1 " asked Cora.
"He who makes strange sounds, and gives them out for
man's information, alone knows our danger. I should think
myself wicked, unto rebellion against His will, was I to burrow
with such warnings in the air ! Even the weak soul who passes
his days in singing is stirred by the cry, and, as he says, is
' ready to go forth to the battle.' If 'twere only a battle, it
would be a thing understood by us all, and easily managed;
but I have heard that when such shrieks are atween heaven
and 'arth, it betokens another sort of warfare ! "
" If all our reasons for fear, my friend, are confined to such
as proceed from supernatural causes, we have but little occasion
to be alarmed," continued the undisturbed Cora; "are you cer-
tain that our enemies have not invented some new and ingen-
ious method to strike us with terror, that their conquest may
become more easy ? "
"Lady," returned the scout solemnly, "I have listened to all
the sounds of the woods for thirty years, as a man will listen
whose life and death depend on the quickness of his ears. There
is no whine of the panther, no whistle of the cat-bird, nor any
invention of the devilish Mingoes, that can cheat me ! I have
heard the forest moan like mortal men in their affliction ; often,
70 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and again, have I listened to the wind playing its music in the
branches of the girdled trees; and I have heard the lightning
cracking in the air like the snapping of blazing brush as it
spitted forth sparks and forked flames ; but never have I
thought that I heard more than the pleasure of Him who
sported with the things of His hand. But neither the Mohi-
cans, nor I, who am a white man without a cross, can explain
the cry just heard. We, therefore, believe it a sign given for
our good."
" It is extraordinary- ! " said Heyward, taking his pistols from
the place where he had laid them on entering ; " be it a sign of
peace or a signal of war, it must be looked to. Lead the way,
my friend ; I follow."
On issuing from their place of confinement, the whole party
instantly experienced a grateful renovation of spirits, by ex-
changing the pent air of the hiding-place for the cool and invig-
orating atmosphere which played around the whirlpools and
pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening breeze swept along
the surface of the river, and seemed to drive the roar of the
falls into the recesses of their own caverns, whence it issued
heavily and constant, like thunder rumbling beyond the distant
hills. The moon had risen, and its light was already glancing
here and there on the waters above them ; but the extremity of
the rock where they stood still lay in shadow. With the excep-
tion of the sounds produced by the rushing waters, and an occa-
sional breathing of the air, as it murmured past them in fitful
currents, the scene was as still as night and solitude could
make it. In vain were the eyes of each individual bent along
the opposite shores, in quest of some signs of life, that might
explain the nature of the interruption they had heard. Their
anxious and eager looks were baffled by the deceptive light, or
rested only on naked rocks, and straight and immovable trees.
" Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of a
lovely evening," whispered Duncan; "how much should we
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 71
prize such a scene, and all this breathing solitude, at any other
moment, Cora ! Fancy yourselves in security, and what now,
perhaps, increases your terror, may be made conducive to enjoy-
ment "
" Listen ! " interrupted Alice.
The caution was unnecessary. Once more the same sound
arose, as if from the bed of the river, and having broken out of
the narrow bounds of the cliffs, was heard undulating through
the forest, in distant and dying cadences.
" Can any here give a name to such a cry ? " demanded Hawk-
eye, when the last echo was lost in the woods ; " if so, let him
speak ; for myself, I judge it not to belong to 'arth ! "
" Here, then, is one who can undeceive you," said Duncan ;
" I know the sound full well, for often have I heard it on the
field of battle, and in situations which are frequent in a sol-
dier's life. 'Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will give in his
agony ; oftener drawn from him in pain, though sometimes in
terror. My charger is either a prey to the beasts of the forest,
or he sees his danger, without the power to avoid it. The
sound might deceive me in the cavern, but in the open air I
know it too well to be wrong."
The scout and his companions listened to this simple expla-
nation with the interest of men who imbibe new ideas, at the
same time that they get rid of old ones, which had proved dis-
agreeable inmates. The two latter uttered their usual expres-
sive exclamation, " hugh ! " as the truth first glanced upon their
minds, while the former, after a short, musing pause, took upon
himself to reply.
" I cannot deny your words," he said, " for I am little skilled
in horses, though born where they abound. The wolves must
be hovering above their heads on the bank, and the timorsome
creatures are calling on man for help, in the best manner they
are able. Uncas " he spoke in Delaware " Uncas, drop
down in the canoe, and whirl a brand among the pack ; or fear
72 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
may do what the wolves can't get at to perform, and leave us
without horses in the morning, when we shall have so much
need to journey swiftly ! "
The young native had already descended to the water to com-
ply, when a long howl was raised on the edge of the river, and
was borne swiftly off into the depths of the forest, as though
the beasts, of their own accord, were abandoning their prey in
sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive quickness, receded, and
the three foresters held another of their low, earnest' con-
ferences.
" We have been like hunters who have lost the points of the
heavens, and from whom the sun has been hid for days," said
Hawkeye, turning away from his companions ; " now we begin
again to know the signs of our course, and the paths are
cleared from briers ! Seat yourselves in the shade which the
moon throws from yonder beech 'tis thicker than that of the
pines and let us wait for that which the Lord may choose to
send next. Let all your conversation be in whispers ; though it
would be better, and, perhaps, in the end, wiser, if each one
held discourse with his own thoughts, for a time."
The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though no
longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly apprehension. It
was evident that his momentary weakness had vanished with
the explanation of a mystery which his own experience had not
served to fathom ; and though he now felt all the realities of
their actual condition, that he was prepared to meet them with
the energy of his hardy nature. This feeling seemed also com-
mon to the natives, who placed themselves in positions which
commanded a full view of both shores, while their own persons
were effectually concealed from observation. In such circum-
stances, common prudence dictated that Heyward and his
companions should imitate a caution that proceeded from so in-
telligent a source. The young man drew a pile of the sassafras
from the cave, and placing it in the chasm which separated the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 73
two caverns, it was occupied by the sisters, who were thus pro-
tected by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxiety was
relieved by the assurance that no danger could approach with-
out a warning. Heyward himself was posted at hand, so near
that he might communicate with his companions without rais-
ing his voice to a dangerous elevation ; while David, in imita-
tion of the woodsmen, bestowed his person in such a manner
among the fissures of the rocks, that his ungainly limbs were no
longer offensive to the eye.
In this manner hours passed without further interruption.
The moon reached the zenith, and shed its mild light perpendic-
ularly on the lovely sight of the sisters slumbering -peacefully
in each other's arms. Duncan cast the wide shawl of Cora be-
fore a spectacle he so much loved to contemplate, and then suf-
fered his own head to seek a pillow on the rock. David began
to utter sounds that would have shocked his delicate organs in
more wakeful moments; in short, all but Hawkeye and the
Mohicans lost every idea of consciousness, in uncontrollable
drowsiness. But the watchfulness of these vigilant protectors
neither tired nor slumbered. Immovable as that rock, of which
each appeared to form a part, they lay, with their eyes roving,
without intermission, along the dark margin of trees that
bounded the adjacent shores of the narrow stream. Not a
sound escaped them; the most subtle examination could not
have told they breathed. It was evident that this excess of
caution proceeded from an experience that no subtlety on the
part of their enemies could deceive. It was, however, continued
without any apparent consequences, until the moon had set, and
a pale streak above the tree-tops, at the bend of the river a
little below, announced the approach of day.
Then, for the first time, Hawkeye was seen to stir. He
crawled along the rock and shook Duncan from his heavy
slumbers.
" Now is the time to journey," he whispered ; " awake the
74 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
gentle ones, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring it
to the landing-place."
" Have you had a quiet night ? " said Heyward ; " for myself,
I believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance."
"All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick."
By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he immedi-
ately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The motion
caused Cora to raise her hand as if to repulse him, while Alice
murmured, in her soft, gentle voice, " No, no, dear father, we
were not deserted ; Duncan was with us ! "
" Yes, sweet innocence," whispered the youth ; " Duncan is
here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will never
quit thee. Cora ! Alice ! awake ! The hour has come to
move ! "
A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the form
of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered horror,
was the unexpected answer he received.
While the words were still on the lips of Heyward, there had
arisen such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive the
swift currents Of his own blood back from its bounding course
into the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near a minute,
as if the demons of hell had possessed themselves of the air
about them, and were venting their savage humors in barbarous
sounds. The cries came from no particular direction, though it
was evident they filled the woods, and, as the appalled listeners
easily imagined, the caverns of the falls, the rocks, the bed of
the river, and the upper air. David raised his tall person in
the midst of the infernal din, with a hand on either ear,
exclaiming,
" Whence comes this discord ? Has hell broke loose, that
man should utter sounds like these ! "
The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles,
from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this incautious
exposure of his person, and left the unfortunate singing-master
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 75
senseless on that rock where he had been so long slumbering.
The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidating yell of their
enemies, who raised a shout of savage triumph at the fall of
Gamut. The flash of rifles was then quick and close between
them, but either party was too well skilled to leave even a limb
exposed to the hostile aim. Duncan listened with intense '
anxiety for the strokes of the paddle, believing that flight was
now their only refuge. The river glanced by with its ordinary
velocity, but the canoe was nowhere to be seen on its dark
waters. He had just fancied they were cruelly deserted by the
scout, as a stream of flame issued from the rock beneath him,
and a fierce yell, blended with a shriek of agony, announced
that the messenger of death, sent from the fatal weapon of
Hawkeye, had found a victim. At this slight repulse the
assailants instantly withdrew, and gradually the place became
as still as before the sudden tumult.
Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body of
Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow chasm
that protected the sisters. In another minute the whole party
was collected in this spot of comparative safety.
" The poor fellow has saved his scalp, " said Hawkeye, coolly
passing his hand over the head of David ; " but he is a proof
that a man may be born with too long a tongue ! 'Twas down-
right madness to show six feet of flesh and blood, on a naked
rock, to the raging savages. I only wonder he has escaped with
life."
" Is he not dead ? " demanded Cora, in a voice whose husky
tones showed how powerfully natural horror struggled with her
assumed firmness. " Can we do aught to assist the wretched
man ? "
" No, no ! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has slept
awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man for it, till *
the hour of his real time shall come," returned Hawkeye, cast-
ing another oblique glance at the insensible body, while he filled
76 , THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
his charger with admirable nicety. " Carry him in, Uncas, and
lay him on the sassafras. The longer his nap lasts the better it
will be for him, as I doubt whether he can find a proper cover
for such a shape on these rocks; and singing won't do any
good with the Iroquois."
"You believe, then, the attack will be renewed?" asked
Heyward.
" Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with a
mouthful ! They have lost a man, and 'tis their fashion, when
they meet a loss, and fail in the surprise, to fall back ; but we
shall have them on again, with new expedients to circum-
vent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope," he continued,
raising his rugged countenance, across which a shade of anxiety
just then passed like a darkening cloud, " will be to keep the
rock until Munro can send a party to our help ! God send it
may be soon, and under a leader that knows the Indian cus-
toms ! "
"You hear our probable fortunes, Cora," said Duncan, "and
you know we have everything to hope from the anxiety and
experience of your father. Come, then, with Alice, into this
cavern, where you, at least, will be safe from the murderous
rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow a care suited
to your gentle natures on our unfortunate comrade."
The sisters followed him into the outer cave, where David
was beginning, by his sighs, to give symptoms of returning
consciousness; and then commending the wounded man to
their attention, he immediately prepared to leave them.
" Duncan ! " said the tremulous voice of Cora, when he had
reached the mouth of the cavern. He turned and beheld the
speaker, whose color had changed to a deadly paleness, and
whose lip quivered, gazing after him, with an expression of
interest which immediately recalled him to her side. "Ke-
member, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to our own
how you bear a father's sacred trust how much depends on
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 77
your discretion and care in short," she added, while the tell-
tale blood stole over her features, crimsoning her very temples,
" how very deservedly dear you are to all of the name of
Munro."
" If anything could add to my own base love of life," said
Hey ward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wander to the youth-
ful form of the silent Alice, " it would be so kind an assurance.
As major of the Sixtieth, our honest host will tell you I must take
my share of the fray; but our task will be easy; it is merely
to keep these bloodhounds at bay for a few hours."
Without waiting for a reply, he tore himself from the pres-
ence of the sisters, and joined the scout and his companions,
who still lay within the protection of the little chasm between
the two caves.
"I tell you, Uncas," said the former, as Heyward joined
them, " you are wasteful of your powder, and the kick of the
rifle disconcerts your aim ! Little powder, light lead, and a
long arm, seldom fail of bringing the death-screech from a
Mingo ! At least, such has been my experience with the
creatures. Come, friends ; let us to our covers, for no man can
tell when or where a Maqua will strike his blow."
The Indians silently repaired to their appointed stations,
which were fissures in the rocks, whence they could command
the approaches to the foot of the falls. In the centre of the
little island, a few short and stunted pines had found root,
forming a thicket, into which Hawkeye darted with the swift-
ness of a deer, followed by the active Duncan. Here they
secured themselves, as well as circumstances would permit,
among the shrubs and fragments of stone that were scattered
about the place. Above them was a bare, rounded rock, on
each side of which the water played its gambols, and plunged
into the abysses beneath, in the manner already described. As
the day had now dawned, the opposite shores no longer pre-
sented a confused outline, but they were able to look into the
78 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
woods, and distinguish objects beneath a canopy of gloomy
pines.
A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any further
evidences of a renewed attack ; and Duncan began to hope that
their fire had proved more fatal than was supposed, and that
their enemies had been effectually repulsed. When he ventured
to utter this impression to his companion, it was met by Hawk-
eye with an incredulous shake of the head.
" You know not the nature of a Maqua, if you think he is so
easily beaten back without a scalp ! " he answered. " If there
was one of the imps yelling this morning, there were forty ! and
they know our number and quality too well to give up the
chase so soon. Hist ! look into the water above, just where
it breaks over the rocks. I am no mortal, if the risky
devils haven't swam down upon the very pitch, and, as bad
luck would have it, they have hit the head of the island. Hist !
man, keep close ! or the hair will be off your crown in the turn-
ing of a knife ! "
Heyward lifted his head from the cover, and beheld what he
justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The river had
worn away the edge of the soft rock in such a manner as to
render its first pitch less abrupt and perpendicular than is
usual at waterfalls. With no other guide than the ripple of
the stream where it met the head of the island, a party of their
insatiable foes had ventured into the current, and swam down
upon this point, knowing the ready access it would give, if suc-
cessful, to their intended victims.
As Hawkeye ceased speaking, four human heads could be
seen peering above a few logs of drift-wood that had lodged on
these naked rocks, and which had probably suggested the idea
of the practicability of the hazardous undertaking. At the. next
moment, a fifth form was seen floating over the green edge of
the fall, a little from the line of the island. The savage strug-
gled powerfully to gain the point of safety, and, favored by the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 79
glancing water, he was already stretching forth an arm to meet
the grasp of his companions, when he shot away again with
the whirling current, appeared to rise into the air, with uplifted
arms and starting eyeballs, and fell, with a sullen plunge, into
that deep and yawning abyss over which he hovered. A single,
wild, despairing shriek rose from the cavern, and all was hushed
again as the grave.
The first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the
rescue of the hapless wretch ; but he felt himself bound to the
spot by the iron grasp of the immovable scout.
"Would ye bring certain death upon us, by telling the
Mingoes where we lie ? " demanded Hawkeye, sternly ; " 'tis a
charge of powder saved, and ammunition is as precious now as
breath to a worried deer ! Freshen the priming of your pistols
the mist of the falls is apt to dampen the brimstone
and stand firm for a close struggle, while I fire on their
rush. ,,
He placed his finger in his mouth, and drew a long, shrill
whistle, which was answered from the rocks that were guarded
by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of heads above the
scattered drift-wood, as this signal rose on the air, but they dis-
appeared again as suddenly as they had glanced upon his sight.
A low, rustling sound next drew his attention behind him, and
turning his head, he beheld Uncas within a few feet, creeping to
his side. Hawkeye spoke to him in Delaware, when the young
chief took his position with singular caution and undisturbed
coolness. To Heyward this was a moment of feverish and im-
patient suspense ; though the scout saw fit to select it as a fit
occasion to read a lecture to his more youthful associates on the
art of using firearms with discretion.
"Of all wc'pons," he commenced, "the long-barrelled, true-
grooved, soft-metalled rifle is the most dangerous in skilful
hands, though it wants a strong arm, a quick eye, and great
judgment in charging, to put forth all its beauties. The gun-
80 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
smiths can have but little insight into their trade when they
make their fowling-pieces and short horsemen's-"
He was interrupted by the low but expressive "hugh" of
Uncas.
" I see them, boy, I see them ! " continued Hawkeye ; " they
are gathering for the rush, or they would keep their dingy backs
below the logs. Well, let them, he added, examining his flint ;
" the leading man certainly comes on to his death, though it
should be Montcalm himself ! "
At that moment the woods were filled with another burst of
cries, and at the signal four savages sprang from the cover of
the driftwood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rush forward
to meet them, so intense was the delirious anxiety of the
moment ; but he was restrained by the deliberate examples of
the scout and Uncas.
When their foes, who leaped over the black rocks that divided
them, with long bounds, uttering the wildest yells, were within
a few rods, the rifle of Hawkeye slowly rose among the shrubs,
and poured out its fatal contents. The foremost Indian bounded
like a stricken deer, and fell headlong among the clefts of the
island.
"Now, Uncas!" cried the scout, drawing his long knife,
while his quick eyes began to flash with ardor, "take the last
of the screeching imps ; of the other two we are sartain ! "
He was obeyed ; and but two enemies remained to be over-
come. Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawkeye, and
together they rushed down a little declivity toward their foes ;
they discharged their weapons at the same instant, and equally
without success.
" I know'd it ! and I said it ! " muttered the scout, whirling
the despised little implement over the falls with bitter disdain.
" Come on, ye bloody-minded hell-hounds ! ye meet a man with-
out a cross ! "
The words were barely uttered, when he encountered a savage
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 81 .
of gigantic stature, and of the fiercest mien. At the same
moment, Duncan found himself engaged with the other, in a
similar contest of hand to hand. With ready skill, Hawkeye
and his antagonist each grasped that uplifted arm of the other
which held the dangerous knife. For near a minute they stood
looking one another in the eye, and gradually exerting the
power of their muscles for the mastery.
At length, the toughened sinews of the white man prevailed
over the less practiced limbs of the native. The arm of the
latter slowly gave way before the increasing force of the scout,
who, suddenly wresting his armed hand from the grasp of the
foe, drove the sharp weapon through his naked bosom to the
heart. In the meantime, Heyward had been pressed in a more
deadly struggle. His slight sword was snapped in the first
encounter. As he was destitute of any other means of defence,
his safety now depended entirely on bodily strength and resolu-
tion. Though deficient in neither of these qualities, he had met
an enemy every way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in
'disarming his adversary, whose knife fell on the rock at their
feet ; and from this moment it became a fierce struggle who
should cast the other over the dizzy height into a neighboring
cavern of the falls. Every successive struggle brought them
nearer to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and con-
quering effort must be made. Each of the combatants threw
all his energies into that effort, and the result was, that both
tottered on the brink of the precipice. Heyward felt the grasp
of the other at his throat, and saw the grim smile the savage
gave, under the revengeful hope that he hurried his enemy to a
fate similar to his own, as he felt his body slowly yielding to a
resistless power, and the young man experienced the passing
agony of such a moment in all its horrors. At that instant of
extreme danger, a dark hand and glancing knife appeared before
him ; the Indian released his hold, as the blood flowed freely
from around the severed tendons of the wrist ; and while Dun-
,82 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
can was drawn backward by the saving arm of Uncas, his
charmed eyes were still riveted on the fierce and disappointed
countenance of his foe, who fell sullenly and disappointed down
the irrecoverable precipice.
" To cover ! to cover ! " cried Hawkeye, who just then had
despatched the enemy; "to cover, for your lives ! the work is
but half ended ! "
The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and followed by
Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had descended to the
combat, and sought the friendly shelter of the rocks and shrubs.
CHAPTER VIII
" They linger yet,
Avengers of their native land."
Gray.
The warning call of the scout was not uttered without occa-
sion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter just
related, the roar of the' falls was unbroken by any human
sound whatever. It would seem that interest in the result had
kept the natives on the opposite shores in breathless suspense,
while the quick evolutions and swift changes in the positions of
the combatants effectually prevented a fire that might prove
dangerous alike to friend and enemy. But the moment the
struggle was decided, a yell arose as fierce and savage as wild
and revengeful passions could throw into the air. It was fol-
lowed by the swift flashes of the rifles, which sent their leaden
messengers across the rock in volleys, as though the assailants
would pour out their impotent fury on the insensible scene of
the fatal contest.
A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle
of Ohingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout the
fray with unmoved resolution. When the triumphant shout of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 83
Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratified father raised his voice
in a single responsive cry, after which his busy piece alone
proved that he still guarded his pass with unwearied diligence.
In this manner many minutes flew by with the swiftness of
thought ; the rifles of the assailants speaking, at times, in rat-
tling volleys, and at others, in occasional, scattering shots.
Though the rock, the trees, and the shrubs, were cut and torn
in a hundred places around the besieged, their cover was so
close, and so rigidly maintained, that, as yet, David had been
the only sufferer in their little band.
"Let them burn their powder," said the deliberate scout,
while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he securely
lay ; " there will be a fine gathering of lead when it is over, and
I fancy the imps will tire of the sport afore these old stones cry
out for mercy ! Uncas, boy, you waste the kernels by over-
charging; and a kicking rifle never carries a true bullet. I told
you to take that loping miscreant under the line of white
paint ; now, if your bullet went a hair's-breadth it went two
inches above it. The life lies low in a Mingo, and humanity
teaches us to make a quick end of the sarpents."
A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young Mo-
hican, betraying his knowledge of the English language as well
as of the other's meaning ; but he suffered it to pass away with-
out vindication or reply.
" I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judgment
or of skill, " said Duncan ; " he saved my life in the coolest and
readiest manner, and he has made a friend who never will re-
quire to be reminded of the debt he owes."
Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the
grasp of Heyward. During this act of friendship, the two
young men exchanged looks of intelligence which caused Duncan
to forget the character and condition of his wild associate. In
the meanwhile, Hawkeye, who looked on this burst of youth-
ful feeling with a cool but kind regard made the following reply :
84 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Life is an obligation which friends often owe each other in
the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Uncas some such
turn myself before now ; and I very well remember that he has
stood between me and death five different times' : three times
from the Mingoes, once in crossing Horican, and "
" That bullet was better aimed than common ! " exclaimed
Duncan, involuntary shrinking from a shot which struck the
rock at his side with a smart rebound.
Hawkeye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and shook his
head, as he examined it, saying, " Falling lead is never flattened !
had it come from the clouds this might have happened."
But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised toward the
heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point, where
the mystery was immediately explained. A ragged oak grew
on the right bank of the river, nearly opposite to their position,
which, seeking the freedom of the open space, had inclined so
far forward that its upper branches overhung that arm of the
stream which flowed nearest to its own shore. Among the top-
most leaves, which scantily concealed the gnarled and stunted
limbs, a savage was nestled, partly concealed by the trunk of
the tree, and partly exposed, as though looking down upon them
to ascertain the effect produced by his treacherous aim.
" These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our ruin,"
said Hawkeye ; " keep him in play, boy, until I can bring ' Kill-
deer ' to bear, when we will try his metal on each side of the
tree at once."
Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word. The
rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of the oak flew into the air,
and were scattered by the wind, but the Indian answered their
assault by a taunting laugh, sending down upon them another
bullet in return, that struck the cap of Hawkeye from his head.
Once more the savage yells burst out of the woods, and the
leaden hail whistled above the heads of the besieged, as if to
confine them to a place where they might become easy vie-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 85
tims to the enterprize of the warrior who had mounted the
tree.
" This must be looked to," said the scout, glancing about him
with an anxious eye. "Uncas, call up your father; we have
need of all our we'pons to bring the cunning varmint from his
roost."
The signal was instantly given; and, before Hawkeye had
reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook. When
his son pointed out to the experienced warrior the situation of
their dangerous enemy, the usual exclamatory "hugh," burst
from his lips; after which, no further expression of surprise or
alarm was suffered to escape him. Hawkeye and the Mohicans
conversed earnestly together in Delaware for a few moments,
when each quietly took his post, in order to execute the plan
they had speedily devised.
The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick, though in-
effectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his aim
was interrupted by the vigilance of his enemies, whose rifles
instantaneously bore on any part of his person that was left
exposed. Still, his bullets fell in the centre of the crouching
party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered him peculiarly
conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once blood was drawn
from a slight wound in his arm.
At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchfulness
of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more fatal
aim. The quick eyes of the Mohicans caught the dark line of
his lower limbs incautiously exposed through the thin foliage,
a few inches from the trunk of the tree. Their rifles made a
common report, when, sinking on his wounded limb, part of
the body of the savage came into view. Swift as thought,
Hawkeye seized the advantage, and discharged his fatal weapon
into, the top of the oak. The leaves were unusually agitated ;
the dangerous rifle fell from its commanding elevation, and after
a few moments of vain struggling, the form of the savage was
86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
seen swinging in the wind, while he still grasped a ragged and
naked branch of the tree with hands clenched in desperation.
" Give him, in pity give him, the contents of another rifle,"
cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from the spec-
tacle of a fellow-creature in such awful jeopardy.
" Not a karnel ! " exclaimed the obdurate Hawkeye ; " his
death is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian
fights sometimes last for days ; 'tis their scalps or ours ! and
God, who made us, has put into our natures the craving to
keep the skin on the head."
Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as it
was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From that
moment the yells in the forest once more ceased, the fire was
suffered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends as well as
enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of the wretch
who was dangling between heaven and earth. The body yielded
to the currents of air, and though no murmur or groan escaped
the victim, there were instants when he grimly faced his foes,
and the anguish of cold despair might be traced, through the
intervening distance, in possession of his swarthy lineaments.
Three several times the scout raised his piece in mercy, and as
often, prudence* getting the better of his intention, it was again
silently lowered. At length one hand of the Huron lost its hold,
and dropped exhausted to his side. A desperate and fruitless
struggle to recover the branch succeeded, and then the savage
was seen for a fleeting instant, grasping wildly at the empty
air. The lightning is not quicker than was the flame from the
rifle of Hawkeye; the limbs of the victim trembled and con-
tracted, the head fell to the bosom, and the body parted the
foaming waters like lead, when the element closed above it in
its ceaseless velocity, and every vestige of the unhappy Huron
was lost forever.
No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage, but
even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror. A single
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 87
yell burst from the woods, and all was again still. Hawkeye,
who alone appeared to reason on the occasion, shook his head
at his own momentary weakness, even uttering his self-disappro-
bation aloud.
" Twas the last charge in my horn and the last bullet in my
pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy ! " he said ; " what mattered
it whether he struck the rock living or dead ! feeling would soon
be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe, and bring up the
big horn ; it is all the powder we have left, and we shall need
it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of the Mingo nature."
The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning over
the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the empty horn
with renewed discontent. From this unsatisfactory examination,
however, he was soon called by a loud and piercing exclamation
from Uncas, that sounded, even to the unpractised ears of Dun-
can, as the signal of some new and unexpected calamity. Every
thought filled with apprehension for the precious treasure he
had concealed in the cavern, the young man started to his feet,
totally regardless of the hazard he incurred by such an exposure.
As if actuated by a common impulse, his movement was imitated
by his companions, and, together they rushed down the pass to
the friendly chasm, with a rapidity that rendered the scattering
fire of their enemies perfectly harmless. The unwonted cry had
brought the sisters, together with the wounded David, from
their place of refuge ; and the whole party, at a single glance,
was made acquainted with the nature of the disaster that had
disturbed even the practiced stoicism of their youthful Indian
protector.
At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to be
seen floating across the eddy, toward the swift current of the
river, in a manner which proved that its course was directed by
some hidden agent. The instant this unwelcome sight caught
the eye of the scout, his rifle was levelled as by instinct, but the
barrel gave no answer to the bright sparks of the flint.
88 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" 'Tis too late, 'tis too late ! " Hawkeye exclaimed, dropping
the useless piece in bitter disappointment ; " the miscreant has
struck the rapid ; and had we powder, it could hardly send the
lead swifter than he now goes ! "
The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter of
the canoe, and, while it glided swiftly down the stream, he
waved his hand, and gave forth the shout which was the
known signal of success. His cry was answered by a yell and
a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if fifty
demons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of some
Christian soul.
" Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil ! " said the
scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and suffering
his gun to fall neglected at his feet, "for the three quickest and
truest rifles in these woods are no better than so many stalks
of mullein, or the last year's horns of a buck ! "
"What is to be done?" demanded Duncan, losing the first
feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for exertion ;
" what will become of us 1 "
Hawkeye made no other reply than by passing his finger
around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant, that
none who witnessed the action could mistake its meaning.
" Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate ! " exclaimed
the youth ; " the Hurons are not here ; we may make good the
caverns, we may oppose their landing."
" With what ? " coolly demanded the scout. " The arrows of
Uncas, or such tears as women shed ! No, no ; you are young,
and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I know it is hard
to die ! But," glancing his eyes at the Mohicans, "let us re-
member we are men without a cross, and let us teach these
natives of the forest that white blood can run as freely as red,
when the appointed hour is come."
Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the
other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst apprehensions
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 89
in the conduct of the Indians. Chingachgook, placing himself
in a dignified posture on another fragment of the rock, had
already laid aside his knife and tomahawk, and was in the act
of taking the eagle's plume from his head, and smoothing the
solitary tuft of hair in readiness to perform its last and revolt-
ing office. His countenance was composed, though thoughtful,
while his dark, gleaming eyes were gradually losing the fierce-
ness of the combat in an expression better suited to the change
he expected momentarily to undergo.
" Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless ! " said Duncan ;
"even at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see
no enemies ! They have sickened of a struggle in which they
risk so much with so little prospect of gain ! "
" It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the wily
sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them to be
lying within hearing at this very moment," said Hawkeye;
" but come they will, and in such a fashion as will leave us
nothing to hope! Chingachgook," he spoke in Delaware
" my brother, we have fought our last battle together, and the
Maquas will triumph in the death of the sage man of the Mohi-
cans, and of the paleface, whose eyes can make night as day,
and level the clouds to the mists of the springs ! "
" Let the Mingo women go weep over their slain ! " returned
the Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved firmness;
" the Great Snake of the Mohicans has coiled himself in their
wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph with the wailings of
children, whose fathers have not returned ! Eleven warriors lie
hid from the graves of their tribes since the snows have melted,
and none will tell where to find them when the tongue of
Chingachgook shall be silent ! Let them draw the sharpest
knife, and whirl the swiftest tomahawk, for their bitterest
enemy is in their hands. Uncas, topmost branch of a noble
trunk, call on the cowards to hasten, or their hearts will soften,
and they will change to women ! "
90 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" They, look among the fishes for their dead ! " returned the
low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain; "the Hnrons float
with the slimy eels ! They drop from the oaks like fruit that
is ready to be eaten ! and the Delawares laugh ! "
" Ay, ay," muttered the scout, who had listened to this pecul-
iar burst of the natives with deep attention ; " they have
warmed their Indian feelings, and they'll soon provoke the
Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me, who am of
the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that I should die
as becomes my color, with no words of scoffing in my mouth,
and without bitterness at the heart ! "
" Why die at all ? " said Cora, advancing from the place
where natural horror had, until this moment, held her riveted
to the rock ; " the path is open on every side ; fly, then, to the
woods, and call on God for succor. Go, brave men, we owe
you too much already; let us no longer involve you in our hap-
less fortunes ! "
"You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if you
judge they have left the path open to the woods ! " returned
Hawkeye, who, however, immediately added in his simplicity,
" the down-stream current, it is certain, might soon sweep us
beyond the reach of their rifles or the sound of their voices."
" Then try the river. Why linger to add to the number of
the victims of our merciless enemies ? "
"Why," repeated the scout, looking about him proudly,
" because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself
than to live haunted by an evil conscience ! What answer
could we give Munro, when he asked us where and how we
left his children ? "
"Go to him, and say, that you left them with a message
to hasten to their aid," returned Cora, advancing nigher to the
scout in her generous ardor ; " that the Hurons bear them into
the northern wilds, but that by vigilance and speed they may
yet be rescued ; and if, after all, it should please heaven that
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 91
his assistance come too late, bear to him," she continued, her
voice gradually lowering, until it seemed nearly choked, " the
love, the blessings, the final prayers of his daughters, and bid
him not mourn their early fate, but to look forward with
humble confidence to the Christian's goal to meet his children."
The hard, weather-beaten features of the scout began to work,
and when she had ended, he dropped his chin to his hand, like
a man musing profoundly on the nature of the proposal.
" There is reason in her words ! " at length broke from his
compressed and trembling lips ; "ay, and they bear the spirit
of Christianity ; what might be right and proper in a red-skin,
may be sinful in a man who has not even a cross in blood to
plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook ! Uncas ! hear you the
talk of the dark-eyed woman 1 "
He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his
address, though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided. The
elder Mohican heard him with deep gravity, and appeared to
ponder on his words, as though he felt the importance of their
import. After a moment of hesitation, he waved his hand in
assent, and uttered the English word " Good ! " with the peculiar
emphasis of his people. Then replacing his knife and tomahawk
in his girdle, the warrior moved silently to the edge of the rock
which was most concealed from the banks of the river. Here he
paused a moment, pointed significantly to the woods below, and
saying a few words in his own language, as if indicating his
intended route, he dropped into the water, and sank from before
the eyes of the witnesses of his movements.
The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous
girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success of
her remonstrance.
" Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to the
old," he said ; " and what you have spoken is wise, not to call
it by a better word. If you are led into the woods, that is,
such of you as may be spared for a while, break the twigs on the
92 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your trail as broad
as you can, when, if mortal eyes can see them, depend on hav-
ing a friend who will follow to the ends of the 'arth afore he
desarts you."
He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his
rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy solici-
tude, laid it carefully aside, and descended to the place where
Ohingachgook had just disappeared. For an instant he hung
suspended by the rock, and looking about him, with a . counte-
nance of peculiar care, he added, bitterly, " Had the powder held
out, this disgrace could never have befallen ! " then, loosening
his hold, the water closed above his head, and he also became
lost to view.
All eyes were now turned on Uncas, who stood leaning against
the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After waiting a short
time, Cora pointed down the river, and said :
" Your friends have not been seen, and are now, most prob-
ably, in safety. Is it not time for you to follow ? "
" Uncas will stay," the young Mohican calmly answered in
English.
" To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish the
chances of our release ! Go, generous young man," Cora con-
tinued, lowering her eyes under the gaze of the Mohican, and
perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of her power ; " go to
my father, as I have said, and be the most confidential of ray
messengers. Tell him to trust you with the means to buy the
freedom of his daughters. Go ! 'tis my wish, 'tis my prayer,
that you will go ! "
The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an
expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a
noiseless step he crossed the rock, and dropped into the troubled
stream. Hardly a breath was drawn by those he left behind,
until they caught a glimpse of his head emerging for air, far
down the current, when he again sank, and was seen no more.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 93
These sudden and apparently successful experiments had all
taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now
become so precious. After a last look at Uncas, Cora turned,
and with a quivering lip, addressed herself to Heyward,
"I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too,
Duncan," she said; "follow, then, the wise example set you
by these simple and faithful beings."
" Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from her
protector ? " said the young man, smiling mournfully, but with
bitterness.
" This is not a time for idle subtleties and false opinions,"
she answered ; " but a moment when every duty should be
equally considered. To us you can be of no further service
here, but your precious life may be saved for other and nearer
friends."
He made no reply, though his eye fell wistfully on the beauti-
ful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with the depend-
ency of an infant.
" Consider," continued Cora, after a pause, during which she
seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than any that
her fears had excited, " that the worst to us can be but death ;
a tribute that all must pay at the good time of God's appoint-
ment."
" There are evils worse than death," said Duncan, speaking
hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, u but which the
presence of one who would die in your behalf may avert."
Cora ceased her entreaties ; and veiling her face in her shawl,
drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the deepest recess
of the inner cavern.
94 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER IX
" Be gay securely ;
Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the tim'rous clouds,
That hang on thy clear brow."
Death of Agrippina.
The sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring
incidents of the combat to the stillness that now reigned around
him, acted on the heated imagination of Hey ward like some ex-
citing dream. While all the images and events he had witnessed
remained deeply impressed on his memory, he felt a difficulty
in persuading himself of their truth. Still ignorant of the fate
of those who had trusted to the aid of the swift current, he at
first listened intently to any signal or sounds of alarm, which
might announce the good or evil fortune of their hazardous
undertaking. His attention was, however, bestowed in vain;
for with the disappearance of Uncas, every sign of the adven-
turers had been lost, leaving him in total uncertainty of their
fate.
In a moment of such painful doubt, Duncan did not hesitate
to look about him, without consulting that protection from the
rocks which just before had been so necessary to his safety.
Every effort, however, to detect the least evidence of the ap-
proach of their hidden enemies was as fruitless as the inquiry
after his late companions. The wooded banks of the river
seemed again deserted by everything possessing animal life.
The uproar which had so lately echoed through the vaults of
the forests was gone, leaving the rush of the waters to swell
and sink on the currents of the air, in the unmingled sweetness
of nature. A fish-hawk, which, secure on the topmost branches
of a dead pine, had been a distant spectator of the fray, now
stooped from his high and ragged perch, and soared, in wide
sweeps, above his prey; while a jay, whose noisy voice had been
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAtfS 95
stilled by the hoarser cries of the savages, ventured again to
open his discordant throat, as though once more in undisturbed
possession of his wild domains. Duncan caught from these
natural accompaniments of the solitary scene a glimmering of
hope ; and he began to rally his faculties to renewed exertions,
with something like a reviving confidence of success.
" The Hurons are not to be seen," he said, addressing David,
who had by no means recovered from the effects of the stunning
blow he had received; "let us conceal ourselves in the cavern,
and trust the rest to Providence."
"I remember to have united with two comely maidens, in
lifting up our voices in praise and thanksgiving," returned the
bewildered singing-master; "since which time I have been
visited by a heavy judgment for my sins. I have been mocked
with the likeness of sleep, while sounds of discord have rent my
ears, such as might manifest the fulness of time, and that
nature had forgotten her harmony."
" Poor fellow ! thine own period was, in truth, near its ac-
complishment ! But arouse, and come with me ; I will lead you
where all other sounds but those of your own psalmody shall be
excluded."
" There is melody in the fall of the cataract, and the rushing
of many waters is sweet to the senses ! " said David, press-
ing his hand confusedly on his brow. " Is not the air yet filled
with shrieks and cries, as though the departed spirits of the
damned "
" Not now, not now," interrupted the impatient Hey ward,
" they have ceased, and they who raised them, I trust in God,
they are gone, too ! everything but the water is still and at
peace ; in, then, where you may create those sounds you love so
well to hear."
David smiled sadly, though not without a momentary gleam
of pleasure, at this allusion to his beloved vocation. He no
longer hesitated to be led to a spot which promised such un-
96 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
alloyed gratification to his wearied senses ; and leaning on the
arm of his companion, he entered the narrow mouth of the cave.
Duncan seized a pile of the sassafras, which he drew before the
passage, studiously concealing every appearance of an aperture.
Within this fragile barrier he arranged the blankets abandoned
by the foresters, darkening the inner extremity of the cavern,
while its outer received a chastened light from the narrow ravine,
through which one arm of the river rushed to form the junction
with its sister branch a few rods below.
" I like not that principle of the natives, which teaches them
to submit without a struggle, in emergencies that appear desper-
ate," he said, while busied in this employment ; " our own maxim,
which says, while life remains there is hope,' is more consoling,
and better suited to a soldier's temperament. To you, Cora, I
will urge no words of idle encouragement ; your own fortitude
and undisturbed reason will teach you all that may become
your sex ; but cannot we dry the tears of that trembling weeper
on your bosom t "
"Iain calmer, Duncan," said Alice, raising herself from the
arms of her sister, and forcing an appearance of composure
through her tears; "much calmer, now. Surely, in this hidden
spot we are safe, we are secret, free from injury ; we will hope
everything from those generous men who have risked so much
already in our behalf."
"Now does our gentle Alice speak like a daughter of
Munro!" said Heyward, pausing to press her hand as he
passed toward the outer entrance to the cavern. " With two
such examples of courage before him, a man would be ashamed
to prove other than a hero." He then seated himself in the
centre of the cavern, grasping his remainiug pistol with a hand
convulsively clenched, while his contracted and frowning eye
announced the sullen desperation of his purpose. " The Hurons,
if they come, may not gain our position so easily as they think,"
be lowly muttered ; and propping his head back against the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 97
rock, he seemed to await the result in patience, though his gaze
was unceasingly bent on the open avenue to their place of
retreat.
With the last sound of his voice, a deep, a long, and almost
breathless silence succeeded. The fresh air of the morning had
penetrated the recess, and its influence was gradually felt on the
spirits of its inmates. As minute after minute passed by, leav-
ing them in undisturbed security, the insinuating feeling of hope
was gradually gaining possession of every bosom, though each
one felt reluctant to. give utterance to expectations that the next
moment might so fearfully destroy.
David alone formed an exception to these varying emotions.
A gleam of light from the opening crossed his wan countenance,
and fell upon the pages of the little volume, whose leaves he
was again occupied in turning, as if searching for some song
more fitted to their condition than any that had yet met his eye.
He was, most probably, acting all this time under a confused
recollection of the promised consolation of Duncan. At length,
it would seem, his patient industry found its reward ; for, with-
out explanation or apology, he pronounced aloud the words
" Isle of Wight," drew a long, sweet sound from his pitch-pipe,
and then ran through the preliminary modulations of the air
whose name he had just mentioned, with the sweeter tones of
his own musical voice.
' " May not this prove dangerous ? " asked Cora, glancing her
dark eye at Major Hey ward.
" Poor fellow ! his voice is too feeble to be heard above the
din of the falls," was the answer; "besides, the cavern will
prove his friend. Let him indulge his passion since it may be
done without hazard."
" Isle of Wight ! " repeated David, looking about him with
that dignity with which he had long been wont to silence the
whispering echoes of his school ; " 'tis a brave tune, and set to
solemn words ! let it be sung with meet respect ! v
98 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
After allowing a moment of stillness to enforce his discipline,
the voice of the singer was heard, in low, murmuring syllables,
gradually stealing on the ear, until it filled the narrow vault
with sounds rendered trebly thrilling by the feeble and tremu-
lous utterance produced by his debility. The melody, which
no weakness could destroy, gradually wrought its sweet influence
on the senses of those who heard it. It even prevailed over
the miserable travesty of the song of David which the singer
had selected from a volume of similar effusions, and caused the
sense to be forgotten in the insinuating harmony of the sounds.
Alice unconsciously dried her tears, and bent her melting eyes
on the pallid features of Gamut, with an expression of chastened
delight that she neither affected or wished to conceal. Cora
bestowed an approving smile on the pious efforts of the name-
sake of the Jewish prince, and Hey ward soon turned his steady,
stern look from the outlet of the cavern, to fasten it, with a
milder character, on the face of David, or to meet the wander-
ing beams which at moments strayed from the humid eyes of
Alice. The open sympathy of the listeners stirred the spirit
of the votary of music, whose voice regained its richness and
volume, without losing that touching softness which proved its
secret charm. Exerting his renovated powers to their utmost,
he was yet filling the arches of the cave with long and full tones,
when a yell burst into the air without, that instantly stilled his
pious strains, choking his voice suddenly, as though his heart
had literally bounded into the passage of his throat.
" We are lost ! " exclaimed Alice, throwing herself into the
arms of Cora.
"Not yet, not yet," returned the agitated but undaunted
Hey ward; "the sound came from the centre of the island, and
it has been produced by the sight of their dead companions.
We are not yet discovered, and there is still hope."
Faint and almost despairing as was the prospect of escape,
the words of Duncan were not thrown away, for it awakened
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 99
the powers of the sisters in such a manner that they awaited
the result in silence. A second yell soon followed the first,
when a rush of voices was heard pouring down the island, from
its upper to its lower extremity, until they reached the naked
rock above the caverns, where, after a shout of savage triumph,
the air continued full of horrible cries and screams, such as man
alone can utter, and he only when in a state of the fiercest bar-
barity.
The sounds quickly spread around them in every direction.
Some called to their fellows from the water's edge, and were
answered from the heights above. Cries were heard in the
startling vicinity of the chasm between the two caves, which
mingled with hoarser yells that arose out of the abyss of the
deep ravine. In short, so rapidly had the savage sounds dif-
fused themselves over the barren rock, that it was not difficult
for the anxious listeners to imagine they could be heard beneath,
as in truth they were above and on every side of them.
In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yell was raised
within a few yards of the hidden entrance to the cave. Hey-
ward abandoned every hope, with the belief it was the signal
that they were discovered. Again the impression passed away
as he heard the voices collect near the spot wliere the white
man had so reluctantly abandoned his rifle. Amid the jargon
of Indian dialects that he now plainly heard, it was easy to dis-
tinguish not only words, but sentences, in the patois of the
Canadas. A burst of voices had shouted simultaneously, " La
Longue Carabine ! " causing the opposite woods to reecho with
a name which, Heyward well remembered, had been given by
his enemies to a celebrated hunter and scout of the English
camp, and who, he now learned for the first time, had been his
late companion.
" La Longue Carabine ! La Longue Carabine ! " passed from
mouth to mouth, until the whole band appeared to be collected
around a trophy which would seem to announce the death of its
100 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
formidable owner. After a vociferous consultation, which was,
at times, deafened by bursts of savage joy, they again separated,
filling the air with the name of a foe whose body, Heyward
could collect from their expressions, they hoped to find concealed
in some crevice of the island.
"Now," he whispered to the trembling sisters, "now is the
moment of uncertainty ! if our place of retreat escape this scru-
tiny, we are still safe ! In every event, we are assured, by
what has fallen from our enemies, that our friends have escaped,
and in two short hours we may look for succor from Webb."
There were now a few minutes of fearful stillness, during
which Heyward well knew that the savages conducted their
search with greater vigilance and method. More than once he
could distinguish their footsteps, as they brushed the sassafras,
causing the faded leaves to rustle, and the branches to snap.
At length, the pile yielded a little, a corner of a blanket fell,
and a faint ray of light gleamed into the inner part of the cave.
Cora folded Alice to her bosom in agony, and Duncan sprang
to his feet. A shout was at that moment heard, as if issuing
from the centre of the rock, announcing that the neighboring
cavern had at length been entered. In a minute, the number
and loudness of the voices indicated that the whole party was
collected in and around that secret place.
As the inner passages to the two caves were so close to each
other, Duncan, believing that escape was no longer possible,
passed David and the sisters, to place himself between the lat-
ter and the first onset of the terrible meeting. Grown desper-
ate by his situation, he drew nigh the slight barrier which
separated him only by a few feet from his relentless pursuers,
and placing his face to the casual opening, he even looked out
with a sort of desperate indifference, on their movements.
Within reach of his arm was the brawny shoulder of a gigan-
tic Indian, whose deep and authoritative voice appeared to give
directions to the proceedings of his fellows. Beyond him again,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 101
Duncan could look into the vault opposite, which was filled
with savages, upturning and rifling the humble furniture of the
scout. The wound of David had dyed the leaves of sassafras
with a color that the natives well knew was anticipating the
season. Over this sign of their success, they sent up a howl,
like an opening from so many hounds who had recovered a lost
trail. After this yell of victory, they tore up the fragrant bed
of the cavern, and bore the branches into the chasm, scattering
the boughs, as if they suspected them of concealing the person
of the man they had so long hated and feared. One fierce and
wild-looking warrior approached the chief, bearing a load of the
brush, and pointing exultingly to the deep red stains with
which it was sprinkled, uttered * his joy in Indian yells, whose
meaning Heyward was only enabled to comprehend by the fre-
quent repetition of the name of "La Longue Carabine ! "
When his triumph had ceased, he cast the brush on the slight heap
that Duncan had made before the entrance of the second cav-
ern, and closed the view. His example was followed by others,
who, as they drew the branches from the cave of the scout,
threw them into one pile, adding, unconsciously, to the security
of those they sought. The very slightness of the defence was
its chief merit, for no one thought of disturbing a mass of brush,
which all of them believed, in that moment of hurry and confu-
sion, had been accidentally raised by the hands of their own
party.
As the blankets yielded before the outward pressure, and the
branches settled in the fissure of the rock by their own weight,
forming a compact body, Duncan once more breathed freely.
With a light step and lighter heart, he returned to the centre
of the cave, and took the place he had left, where he could com-
mand a view of the opening next the river. While he was in
the act of making this movement, the Indians, as if changing
their purpose by a common impulse, broke away from the
chasm in a body, and were heard rushing up the island again,
102 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
toward the point whence they had originally descended. Here
another wailing cry betrayed that they were again collected
around the bodies of their dead comrades.
Duncan now ventured to look at his companions ; for, during
the most critical moments of their danger, he had been appre-
hensive that the anxiety of his countenance might communicate
some additional alarm to those who were so little able to sus-
tain it.
"They are gone, Cora!" he whispered; "Alice, they are
returned whence they came, and we are saved ! To Heaven,
that has alone delivered us from the grasp of so merciless an
enemy, be all the praise ! "
" Then to Heaven will I return my thanks ! " exclaimed the
younger sister, rising from the encircling arm of Cora, and cast-
ing herself with enthusiastic gratitude on the naked rock ; " to
that Heaven who has spared the tears of a gray-headed father ;
has saved the lives of those I so much love."
Both Heyward and the more tempered Cora witnessed the
act of involuntary emotion with powerful sympathy, the former
secretly believing that piety had never worn a form so lovely
as it had now assumed in the youthful person of Alice. Her
eyes were radiant with the glow of grateful feelings ; the flush
of her beauty was again seated on her cheeks, and her whole
soul seemed ready and anxious to pour out its thanksgivings
through the medium of her eloquent features. But when her
lips moved, the words they should have uttered appeared
frozen by some new and sudden chill. Her bloom gave place
to the paleness of death ; her soft and melting eyes grew hard,
and seemed contracting with horror ; while those hands, which
she had raised, clasped in each other, toward heaven, dropped
in horizontal lines before her, the fingers pointed forward in
convulsed motion. Heyward turned the instant she gave a
direction to his suspicions, and peering just above the ledge
which formed the threshold of the open outlet of the cavern, he
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 103
beheld the malignant, fierce, and savage features of Le Renard
Subtil.
In that moment of surprise, the self-possession of Hey ward
did not desert him. He observed by the vacant expression of
the Indian's countenance, that his eye, accustomed to the open
air, had not been yet able to penetrate the dusky light which
pervaded the depth of the cavern. He had even thought of
retreating beyond a curvature in the natural wall, which might
still conceal him and his companions, when by the sudden gleam
of intelligence that shot across the features of the savage, he
saw it was too late, and that they were betrayed.
The look of exultation and brutal triumph which announced
this terrible truth was irresistibly irritating. Forgetful of
everything but the impulses of his hot blood, Duncan levelled
his pistol and fired. The report of the weapon made the
cavern bellow like an eruption from a volcano ; and when the
smoke it vomited had been driven away before the current of
air which issued from the. ravine the place so lately occupied
by the features of his treacherous guide was vacant. Rushing
to the outlet, Heyward caught a glimpse of his dark figure steal-
ing around a low and narrow ledge, which soon hid him entirely
from sight.
Among the savages a frightful stillness succeeded the explo-
sion, which had just been heard bursting from the bowels of the
rock. But when Le Renard raised his voice in a long and in-
telligible whoop, it was answered by a spontaneous yell from
the mouth of every Indian within hearing of the sound. The
clamorous noises again rushed down the island; and before
Duncan had time to recover from the shock, his feeble barrier
of brush was scattered to the winds, the cavern was entered at
both its extremities, and he and his companions were dragged
from their shelter and borne into the day, where they stood
surrounded by the whole band of the triumphant Hurons.
104 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER X
" I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn
As much as we this night have overwatched! "
Midsummer Night's Dream.
The instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had abated,
Duncan began to make his observations on the appearance and
proceedings of their captors. Contrary to the usages of the
natives in the wantonness of their success they had respected,
not only the persons of the trembling sisters, but his own. The
rich ornaments of his military attire had indeed been repeatedly
handled by different individuals of the tribe with eyes express-
ing a savage longing to possess the baubles; but before the
customary violence could be resorted to, a mandate in the
authoritative voice of the large warrior already mentioned,
stayed the uplifted hand, and convinced Heyward that they
were to be reserved for some object of particular moment.
While, however, these manifestations of weakness were
exhibited by the young and vain of the party, the more experi-
enced warriors continued their search throughout both caverns,
with an activity that denoted they were far from being satisfied
with those fruits of their conquest which had already been
brought to light. Unable to discover any new victim, these
diligent workers of vengeance soon approached their male
prisoners, pronouncing the name of "La Longue Carabine,"
with a fierceness that could not easily be mistaken. Duncan
affected not to comprehend the meaning of their repeated and
violent interrogatories, while his companion was spared the
effort of a similar deception by his ignorance of French.
Wearied at length by their importunities, and apprehensive
of irritating his captors by too stubborn a silence, the former
looked about him in quest of Magua, who might interpret his
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 105
answers to questions which were at each moment becoming
more earnest and threatening.
The conduct of this savage had formed a solitary exception to
that of all his fellows. While the others were busily occupied
in seeking to gratify their childish passion for finery, by plunder-
ing even the miserable effects of the scout, or had been search-
ing with such bloodthirsty vengeance in their looks for their
absent owner, Le Renard had stood at a. little distance from
the prisoners, with a demeanor so quiet and satisfied, as to
betray that he had already effected the grand purpose of his
treachery. When the eyes of Heyward first met those of
his recent guide, he turned them away in horror at the sin-
ister though calm look he encountered. Conquering his dis-
gust, however, he was able, with an averted face, to address
his successful enemy.
"Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior," said the
reluctant Heyward, "to refuse telling an unarmed man what
his conquerors say."
" They ask for the hunter who knows the paths through the
woods," returned Magua, in his broken English, laying his hand,
at the same time, with a ferocious smile, on the bundle of leaves
with which a wound on his own shoulder was bandaged. " La
Longue Carabine ! his rifle is good, and his eye never shut ; but,
like the short gun of the white chief, it is nothing against the
life of Le Subtil."
" Le Renard is too brave to remember the hurts received in
war, or the hands that gave them."
" Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at the sugar tree
to taste his corn ? who filled the bushes with creeping enemies ?
who drew the knife ? whose tongue was peace, while his heart
was colored with blood ? Did Magua say that the hatchet was
out of the ground, and that his hand had dug it up ? "
As Duncan dared not retort upon his accuser by reminding
him of his own premeditated treachery, and disdained to depre-
106 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
cate his resentment by any words of apology, he remained
silent. Magua seemed also content to rest the controversy as
well as all further communication there, for he resumed the
leaning attitude against the rock, from which, in momentary
energy, he had arisen. But the cry of " La Longue Carabine "
was renewed the instant the impatient savages perceived that
the short dialogue was ended.
"You hear," said. Magua, with stubborn indifference; "the
red Hurons call for the life of * The Long Rifle,' or they will
have the blood of them that keep him hid ! "
"He is gone escaped ; he is far beyond their reach."
Renard smiled with cold contempt, as he answered,
" When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace ; but
the red men know how to torture even the ghosts of their
enemies. Where is his body ? Let the Hurons see his
scalp."
" He is not dead, but escaped."
Magua shook his head incredulously.
" Is he a bird, to spread his wings ; or is he a fish, to swim
without air ? The white chief reads in his books, and he be-
lieves the Hurons are fools ! "
" Though no fish, ' The Long Rifle ' can swim. He floated
down the stream when the powder was all burned, and when
the eyes of the Hurons were behind a cloud."
"And why did the white chief stay?" demanded the still
incredulous Indian. " Is he a stone that goes to the bottom,
or does the scalp burn his head ? "
" That I am not stone, your dead comrade, who fell into the
falls, might answer, were the life still in him," said the pro-
voked young man, using, in his anger, that boastful language
which was most likely to excite the admiration of an Indian.
" The white man thinks none but cowards desert their women."
Magua muttered a few words, inaudibly, between his teeth,
before he continued, aloud :
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 107
"Can the Delawares swim, too, as well as crawl in the
bushes ? Where is * Le Gros Serpent ? ' "
Duncan, who perceived by the use of these Canadian appella-
tions, that his late companions were much better known to his
enemies than to himself, answered reluctantly : "He also is
gone down with the water."
" ' Le Cerf Agile ' is not here ? "
" I know not whom you call * The Nimble Deer/ " said
Duncan, gladly profiting by any excuse to create delay.
" Uncas," returned Magua, pronouncing the Delaware name
with even greater difficulty than he spoke his English words.
" ' Bounding Elk ' is what the white man says, when he calls
to the young Mohican."
" Here is some confusion in names between us, Le Renard,"
said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion. " Daim is the
French for deer, and cerf for stag ; elan is the true term, when
one would speak of an elk."
"Yes," muttered the Indian, in his native tongue; "the
palefaces are prattling women ! they have two words for each
thing, while a red-skin will make the sound of his voice speak
for him." Then changing his language, he continued, adhering
to the imperfect nomenclature of his provincial instructors,
"The deer is swift, but weak; the elk is swift, but strong;
and the son of ' Le Serpent ' is ' Le Cerf Agile.' Has he leaped
the river to the woods ? "
" If you mean the younger Delaware, he, too, has gone down
with the water."
As there was nothing improbable to an Indian in the manner
of the escape, Magua admitted the truth of what he had heard,
with a readiness that afforded additional evidence how little
he would prize such worthless captives. With his companions,
however, the feeling was manifestly different.
The Hurons had awaited the result of this short dialogue
with characteristic patience, and with a silence that increased
108 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
until there was a general stillness in the band. When Hey-
ward ceased to speak, they turned their eyes, as one man, on
Magua, demanding, in this expressive manner, an explanation
of what had been said. Their interpreter pointed to the river,
and made them acquainted with the result, as much by the
action as by the few words he uttered. When the fact was
generally understood, the savages raised a frightful yell, which
declared the extent of their disappointment. Some ran furi-
ously to the water's edge, beating the air with frantic gestures,
while others spat upon the element, to resent the supposed
treason it had committed against their acknowledged rights as
conquerors. A few, and they not the least powerful and ter-
rific of the band, threw lowering looks, in which the fiercest
passion was only tempered by habitual self-command, at those
captives who still remained in their power, while one or two
even gave vent to their malignant feelings by the mqst menac-
ing gestures, against which neither the sex nor the beauty of
the sisters was any protection. The young soldier made a
desperate but fruitless effort to spring to the side of Alice,
when he saw the dark hand of a savage twisted in. the rich
tresses which were flowing in volumes over her shoulders,
while a knife was passed around the head from which they
fell, as if to denote the horrid manner in which it was about
to be robbed of its beautiful ornament. But his hands were
bound ; and at the first movement he made, he felt the grasp
of the powerful Indian who directed the band, pressing his
shoulder like a vice. Immediately conscious how unavailing
any struggle against such an overwhelming force must prove,
he submitted to his fate, encouraging his gentle companions by
a few low and tender assurances, that the natives seldom failed
to threaten more than they performed.
But while Duncan resorted to these words of consolation to
quiet the apprehensions of the sisters, he was not so weak as
to deceive himself. He well knew that the authority of an
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 109
Indian chief was so little conventional, that it was oftener main-
tained by physical superiority than by any moral supremacy he
might possess. The danger was, therefore, magnified exactly
in proportion to the number of the savage spirits by which
they were surrounded. The most positive mandate from him
who seemed the acknowledged leader, was liable to be violated
at each moment by any rash hand that might choose to sacri-
fice a victim to the manes of some dead friend or relative.
While, therefore, he sustained an outward appearance of calm-
ness and fortitude, his heart leaped into his throat, whenever
any of their fierce captors drew nearer than common to the
helpless sisters, or fastened one of their sullen, wandering looks
on those fragile forms which were so little able to resist the
slightest assault.
His apprehensions were, however, greatly relieved, when he
saw that the leader had summoned his warriors to himself in
counsel. Their deliberations were short, and it would seem, by
the silence of most of the party, the decision unanimous. By
the frequency with which the few speakers pointed in the direc-
tion of the encampment of Webb, it was apparent they dreaded
the approach of danger from that quarter. This consideration
probably hastened their determination, and quickened the sub-
sequent movements.
During the short conference, Hey ward, finding a respite from
his greatest fears, had leisure to admire the cautious manner in
which the Hurons had made their approaches, even after hos-
tilities had ceased.
It has already been stated that the upper half of the island
was a naked rock, and destitute of any other defences than a
few scattered logs of drift-wood. They had selected this point
to make their descent, having borne the canoe through the wood
around the cataract for that purpose. Placing their arms in
the little vessel, a dozen men clinging to its sides had trusted
themselves to the direction of the canoe, which was controlled
110 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
by two of the most skilful warriors, in attitudes that enabled
them to command a view of the dangerous passage. Favored
by this arrangement, they touched the head of the island at that
point which had proved so fatal to their first adventures, but
with the advantages of superior numbers, and the possession of
firearms. That such had been the manner of their descent was
rendered quite apparent to Duncan ; for they now bore the light
bark from the upper end of the rock, and placed it in the water,
near the mouth of the outer cavern. As soon as this change
was made, the leader made signs to the prisoners to descend
and enter.
As resistance was impossible, and remonstrance useless, Hey-
ward set the example of submission, by leading the way into
the canoe, where he was soon seated with the sisters and the still
wondering David. Notwithstanding the Hurons were necessa-
rily ignorant of the little channels among the eddies and rapids
of the stream, they knew the common signs of such a navigation
too well to commit any material blunder. When the pilot
chosen for the task of guiding the canoe had taken his station,
the whole band plunged again into the river, the vessel glided
down the current, and in a few moments the captives found
themselves on the south bank of the stream, nearly opposite to
the point where they had struck it the preceding evening.
Here was held another short but earnest consultation, during
which the horses, to whose panic their owners ascribed their
heaviest misfortune, were led from the cover of the woods, and
brought to the sheltered spot. The band now divided. The
great chief so often mentioned, mounting the charger of Hey-
ward, led the way directly across the river, followed by most of
his people, and disappeared in the woods, leaving the prisoners
in charge of six savages, at whose head was Le Renard Subtil.
Duncan witnessed all their movements with renewed uneasi-
ness.
He had been fond of believing, from the uncommon forbear-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 111
ance of the savages, that he was reserved as a prisoner to be
delivered to Montcalm. As the thoughts of those who are in
misery seldom slumber, and the invention is never more lively
than when it is stimulated by hope, however feeble and remote,
he had even imagined that the parental feelings of Munro were
to be made instrumental in seducing him from his duty to the
king. For though the French commander bore a high character
for courage and enterprise, he was also thought to be expert in
those political practices which do not always respect the nicer
obligations of morality, and which so generally disgraced the
European diplomacy of that period.
All those busy and ingenious speculations were now annihi-
lated by the conduct of his captors. That portion of the band
who had followed the huge warrior took the route toward the
foot of the Horican, and no other expectation was left for
himself and companions, than that they were to be retained as
hopeless captives by their savage conquerors. Anxious to know
the worst, and willing, in such an emergency, to try the potency
of gold, he overcame his reluctance to speak to Magua. Ad-
dressing himself to his former guide, who had now assumed the
authority and manner of one who was to direct the future move-
ments of the party, he said, in tones as friendly and confiding
as he could assume :
"I would speak to Magua, what is fit only for so great a
chief to hear."
The Indian turned his eyes on the young soldier scornfully,
as he answered :
" Speak ; trees have no ears ! "
"But the red Hurons are not deaf; and counsel that is fit
for the great men of the nation would make the young warriors
drunk. If Magua will not listen, the officer of the king knows
how to be silent."
The savage spoke carelessly to his comrades, who were busied,
after their awkward manner, in preparing the horses for the
112 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
reception of the sisters, and moved a little to one side, whither
by a cautious gesture he induced Heyward to follow.
"Now speak, " he said; "if the words- are such as Magua
should hear."
" Le Renard Subtil has proved himself worthy of the honor-
able name given to him by his Canada fathers," commenced
Heyward ; " I see his wisdom, and all that he has done for us,
and shall remember it when the hour to reward him arrives.
Yes ! Renard has proved that he is not only a great chief in
council, but one who knows how to deceive his enemies ! "
" What has Renard done ? " coldly demanded the Indian.
" What ! has he not seen that the woods were filled with
outlying parties of the enemies, and that the serpent could not
steal through them without being seen ? Then, did he not lose
his path to blind the eyes of the Hurons ? Did he not pretend
to go back to his tribe, who had treated him ill, and driven him
from their wigwams like a dog? And when we saw what he
wished to do, did we not aid him, by making a false face, that
the Hurons might think the white man believed that his friend
was his enemy ? Is not all this true ? And when Le Subtil
had shut the eyes and stopped the ears of his nation by his wis-
dom, did they not forget that they had once done him wrong,
and forced him to flee to the Mohawks? And did they not
leave him on the south side of the river, with their prisoners,
while they have gone foolishly on the north ? Does not Renard
mean to turn like a fox on his footsteps and to carry to the
rich and gray-headed Scotchman his daughters ? Yes, Magua,
I see it all, and I have already been thinking how so much wis-
dom and honesty should be repaid. First, the chief of William
Henry will give as a great chief should for such a service. The
medal of Magua will no longer be of tin, but of beaten gold ;
his horn will run over with powder; dollars will be as plenty
in his pouch as pebbles on the shore of Horican ; and the deer
will lick his hand, for they will know it to be vain to fly
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 113
from the rifle he will carry ! As for myself, I know not how
to exceed the gratitude of the Scotchman, but I yes, I
will "
" What will the young chief, who comes from toward the
sun, give ? " demanded the Huron, observing that Heyward hes-
itated in his desire to end the enumeration of benefits with that
which might form the climax of an Indian's wishes.
" He will make the fire-water from the islands in the salt
lake flow before the wigwam of Magua, until the heart of the
Indian shall be lighter than the feathers of the humming-bird,
and his breath sweeter than the wild honeysuckle."
Le Renard had listened gravely as Heyward slowly proceeded
in this subtle speech. When the young man mentioned the
artifice he supposed the Indian to have practised on his own
nation, the countenance of the listener was veiled in an expres-
sion of cautious gravity. At the allusion to the injury which
Duncan affected to believe had driven the Huron from his
native tribe, a gleam of such ungovernable ferocity flashed from
the other's eyes, as induced the adventurous speaker to believe
he had struck the proper chord. And by the time he reached
the part where he so artfully blended the thirst of vengeance
with the desire of gain, he had, at least, obtained a command
of the deepest attention of the savage. The question put by
Le Renard had been calm, and with all the dignity of an Ind-
ian ; but it was quite apparent, by the thoughtful expression
of the listener's countenance, that the answer was most cun-
ningly devised. The Huron mused a few moments, and then,
laying his hand on the rude bandages of his wounded shoulder,
he said, with some energy :
" Do friends make such marks ? "
"Would 'La Longue Carabine' cut one so light on an
enemy ? "
" Do the Delawares crawl upon those they love like snakes,
twisting themselves to strike 'I "
114 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Would * Le Gros Serpent ' have been heard by the ears of
one he wished to be deaf ? "
" Does the white chief burn his powder in the faces of his
brothers 1 "
"Does he ever miss his aim, when seriously bent to kill?"
returned Duncan, smiling with well-acted sincerity.
Another long and deliberate pause succeeded these senten-
tious questions and ready replies. Duncan saw that the Indian
hesitated. In order to complete his victory, he was in the act
of recommencing the enumeration of the rewards, when Magua
made an expressive gesture and said :
" Enough ; Le Renard is a wise chief, and what he does will
be seen. Go, and keep the mouth shut. When Magua speaks,
it will be the time to answer."
Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of his companion were
warily fastened on the rest of the band, fell back immediately,
in order to avoid the appearance of any suspicious confederacy
with their leader. Magua approached the horses, and affected
to be well pleased with the diligence and ingenuity of his com-
rades. He then signed to Heyward to assist the sisters into
the saddles, for he seldom deigned to use the English tongue,
unless urged by some motive of more than usual moment.
There was no longer any plausible pretext for delay; and
Duncan was obliged, however reluctantly, to comply. As he
performed this office, he whispered his reviving hopes in the
ears of the trembling females, who, through dread of encounter-
ing the savage countenances of their captors, seldom raised
their eyes from the ground. The mare of David had been
taken with the followers of the large chief; in consequence, its
owner, as well as Duncan, was compelled to journey on foot.
The latter did not, however, so much regret this circumstance,
as it might enable him to retard the speed of the party ; for he
still turned his longing looks in the direction of Fort Edward,
in the vain expectation of catching some sound from that
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 115
quarter of the forest, which might denote the approach of
succor.
When all were prepared, Magua made the signal to proceed,
advancing in front to lead the party in person. Next followed
David, who was gradually coming to a true sense of his condi-
tion, as the effects of the wound became less and less apparent.
The sisters rode in his rear, with Heyward at their side, while
the Indians flanked the party, and brought up the close of the
march, with a caution that seemed never to tire.
In this manner they proceeded in uninterrupted silence, ex-
cept when Heyward addressed some solitary word of comfort to
the females, or David gave vent to the moanings of his spirit,
in piteous exclamations, which he intended should express the
humility of resignation. Their direction lay toward the south,
and in a course nearly opposite to the road to William Henry.
Notwithstanding this apparent adherence in Magua to the
original determination of his conquerors, Heyward could not
believe his tempting bait was so soon forgotten ; and he knew
the windings of an Indian path too well to suppose that its
apparent course led directly to its object, when artifice was at
all necessary. Mile after mile was, however, passed through
the boundless woods, in this painful manner, without any pros-
pect of a termination to their journey. Heyward watched the
sun, as he darted his meridian rays through the branches of the
trees, and pined for the moment when the policy of Magua
should change their route to one more favorable to his hopes.
Sometimes he fancied the wary savage, despairing of passing the
army of Montcalm in safety, was holding his way toward a
well-known border settlement, where a distinguished officer of
the crown, and a favored friend of the Six Nations, held his
large possessions, as well as his usual residence. To be deliv-
ered into the hands of Sir William Johnson was far preferable
to being led into the wilds of Canada ; but in order to effect
even the former, it would be necessary to traverse the forest for
116 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
many weary leagues, each step of which was carrying him fur-
ther from the scene of the war, and, consequently, from the
post, not only of honor, but of duty.
Cora alone remembered the parting injunctions of the scout,
and whenever an opportunity offered, she stretched forth her
arm to bend aside the twigs that met her hands. But the vig-
ilance of the Indians rendered this act of precaution both diffi-
cult and dangerous. She was often defeated in her purpose, by
encountering their watchful eyes, when it became necessary to
feign an alarm she did not feel, and occupy the limb by 'some
gesture of feminine apprehension. Once, and once only, was
she completely successful ; when she broke down the bough of
a large sumach, and by a sudden thought, let her glove fall at
the same instant. This sign, intended for those that might
follow, was observed by one of her conductors, who restored the
glove, broke the remaining branches of the bush in such a man-
ner that it appeared to proceed from the struggling of some
beast in its branches, and then laid his hand on his tomahawk,
with a look so significant, that it put an effectual end to these
stolen memorials of their passage.
As there were horses, to leave the prints of their footsteps,
in both bands of the Indians, this interruption cut off any prob-
able hopes of assistance being conveyed through the means of
their trail.
Heyward would have ventured a remonstrance, had there
been anything encouraging in the gloomy reserve of Magua.
But the savage, during all this time, seldom turned to look at
his followers, and never spoke. With the sun for his only
guide, or aided by such blind marks as are only known to the
sagacity of a native, he held his way along the barrens of pine,
through occasional little fertile vales, across brooks and rivulets, '
and over undulating hills, with the accuracy of instinct, and
nearly with the directness of a bird. He never seemed to hesi-
tate. Whether the path was hardly distinguishable, whether
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 117
it disappeared, or whether it lay beaten and plain before him,
made no sensible difference in his speed or certainty. It seemed
as if fatigue could not affect him. Whenever the eyes of the
wearied travellers rose from the decayed leaves over which they
trod, his dark form was to be Been glancing among the stems of
the trees in front, his head immovably fastened in a forward
position, with the light plume on his crest fluttering in a current
of air, made solely by the swiftness of his own motion.
But all this diligence and speed were not without an object.
After crossing a low vale, through which a gushing brook
meandered, he suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and difficult
of ascent, that the sisters were compelled to alight in order to
follow. When the summit was gained, they found themselves
on a level spot, but thinly covered with trees, under one of
which Magua had thrown his dark form, as if willing and ready
to seek that rest which was so much needed by the whole
party.
CHAPTER XI
" Cursed be my tribe
If I forgive him."
Shylock.
The Indian had selected for this desirable purpose one of
those steep, pyramidal hills, which bear a strong resemblance
to artificial mounds, and which so frequently occur in the valleys
of America. The one in question was high and precipitous;
its top flattened, as usual ; but with one of its sides more than
ordinarily irregular. It possessed no other apparent advantage
for a resting-place, than in its elevation and form, which might
render defence easy, and surprise nearly impossible. As Hey-
ward, however, no longer expected that rescue which time and
distance now rendered so improbable, he regarded these little
peculiarities with an eye devoid of interest, devoting himself
118 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
entirely to the comfort and condolence of his feebler companions.
The Narragansetts were suffered to browse on the branches of
the trees and shrubs that were thinly scattered over the summit
of the hill, while the remains of their provisions were spread
under the shade of a beech, that stretched its horizontal limbs
like a canopy above them.
Notwithstanding the swiftness of their flight, one of the
Indians had found an opportunity to strike a straggling fawn
with an arrow, and had borne the more preferable fragments of
the victim, patiently on his shoulders, to the stopping-place.
Without any aid from the science of cookery, he was immedi-
ately employed, in common with his fellows, in gorging himself
witli this digestible sustenance. Magua alone sat apart, with-
out participating in the revolting meal, and apparently buried
in the deepest thought.
This abstinence, so remarkable in an Indian, when he pos-
sessed the means of satisfying hunger, at length attracted the
notice of Heyward. The young man willingly believed that
the Huron deliberated on the most eligible manner of eluding
the vigilance of his associates. With a view to assist his plans
by any suggestion of his own, and to strengthen the temptation,
he left the beech, and straggled, as if without an object, to the
spot where Le Renard was seated.
" Has not Magua kept the sun in his face long enough to
escape all danger from the Canadians?" he asked, as though no
longer doubtful of the good intelligence established between
them; "and will not the chief of William Henry be better
pleased to see his daughters before another night may have
hardened his heart to their loss, to make him less liberal in his
reward ? "
"Do the palefaces love their children less in the morning
than at night ? " asked the Indian, coldly.
"By no means," returned Heyward, anxious to recall his
error, if he had made one ; " the white man may, and does
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 119
often, forget the burial-place of his fathers; he sometimes
ceases to remember those he should love, and has promised to
cherish; but the affection of a parent for his child is never
permitted to die."
" And is the heart of the white-headed chief soft, and will he
think of the babes that his squaws have given him 1 He is
hard to his warriors, and his eyes are made of stone."
" He is severe to the idle and wicked, but to the sober and
deserving he is a leader, both just and humane. I have known
many fond and tender parents, but never have I seen a man
whose heart was softer toward his child. You have seen the
gray-head in front of his warriors, Magua ; but I have seen his
eyes swimming in water, when he spoke of those children who
are now in your power ! "
Heyward paused, for he knew not how to construe the
remarkable expression that gleamed across the swarthy features
of the attentive Indian. At first it seemed as if the remem-
brance of the promised reward grew vivid in his mind, while he
listened to the sources of parental feeling which were to assure
its possession ; but as Duncan proceeded, the expression of joy
became so fiercely malignant that it was impossible not to
apprehend it proceeded from some passion more sinister than
avarice.
" Go," said the Huron, suppressing the alarming exhibition
in an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance ; " go to
the dark-haired daughter, and say, Magua waits to speak. The
father will remember what the child promises."
Duncan, who interpreted this speech to express a wish for
some additional pledge that the promised gifts should not be
withheld, slowly and reluctantly repaired to the place where
the sisters were now resting from their fatigue, to communicate
its purport to Cora.
" You understand the nature of an Indian's wishes," he con-
cluded, as he led her toward the place where she was expected,
120 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"and must be prodigal of your offers of powder and blankets.
Ardent spirits are, however, the most prized by such as he;
nor would it be amiss to add some boon from your own hand,
with that grace you so well know how to practise. Remember,
Oora, that on your presence of mind and ingenuity, even your
life, as well as that of Alice, may in some measure depend."
" Hey ward, and yours ! "
"Mine is of little moment; it is already sold to my king,
and is a prize to be seized by any enemy who may possess the
power. I have no father to expect me, and but few friends to
lament a fate which I have courted with the insatiable longings
of youth after distinction. But hush ! we approach the Indian.
Magua, the lady with whom you wish to speak is here."
The Indian rose slowly from his seat, and stood for near a
minute silent and motionless. He then signed with his hand
for Heyward to retire, saying coldly,
" When the Huron talks to the women, his tribe shut their
ears."
Duncan, still lingering, as if refusing to comply, Cora said,
with a calm smile,
" You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at least should urge you
to retire. Go to Alice, and comfort her with our reviving
prospects."
She waited until he had departed, and then turning to the
native, with the dignity of her sex in her voice and manner,
she added: "What would Le Renard say to the daughter of
Munro ? "
" Listen," said the Indian, laying his hand firmly upon her
arm, as if willing to draw her utmost attention to his words ; a
movement that Cora as firmly but quietly repulsed, by extricat-
ing the limb from his grasp : " Magua was born a chief and a
warrior among the red Hurons of the lakes ; he saw the suns of
twenty summers make the snows of twenty winters run off in
the streams before he saw a pale face; and he was happy!
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 121
Then his Canada fathers came into the woods, and taught him
to drink the fire-water, and he became a rascal. The Hurons
drove him from the graves of his fathers, as they would chase
the hunted buffalo. He ran down the shores of the lakes, and
followed their outlet to the * city of cannon.' There he hunted
and fished, till the people chased him again through the woods
into the arms of his enemies. The chief, who was born a
Huron, was at last a warrior among the Mohawks ! "
" Something like this I had heard before," said Cora, observ-
ing that he paused to suppress those passions which began to
burn with too bright a flame, as he recalled the recollection of
his supposed injuries.
" Was it the fault of Le Renard that his head was not made
of rock ? Who gave him the fire-water ? who made him a vil-
lain ? 'Twas the pale faces, the people of your own color."
"And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled
men exist, whose shades of countenance may resemble mine ? "
Cora calmly demanded of the excited savage.
" No ; Magua is a man, and not a fool ; such as you never
open their lips to the burning stream: the Great Spirit has
given you wisdom ! "
"What, then, have I to do, or say, in the matter of your
misfortunes, not to say of your errors ? "
" Listen," repeated the Indian, resuming his earnest attitude ;
" when his English and French fathers dug up the hatchet, Le
Renard struck the war-post of the Mohawks, and went out
against his own nation. The pale faces have driven the red-
skins from their hunting-grounds, and now when they fight, a
white man leads the way. The old chief at Horican, your
father, was the great captain of our war party. He said to the
Mohawks do this, and do that, and he was minded. He made
a law, that if an Indian swallowed the fire-water, and came
into the cloth wigwams of his warriors, it should not be for-
gotten. Magna foolishly opened his mouth, and the hot liquor
122 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
led him into the cabin of Munro. What did the gray-head?
let his daughter say."
" He forgot not his words, and did justice, by punishing the
offender, " said the undaunted daughter.
" Justice ! " repeated the Indian, casting an oblique glance
of the most ferocious expression at her unyielding countenance ;
" is it justice to make evil and then punish for it ? Magua was
not himself; it was the fire-water that spoke and acted for him !
but Munro did not believe it. The Huron chief was tied up
before all the pale-faced warriors, and whipped like a dog."
Cora remained silent, for she knew not how to palliate this
imprudent severity on the part of her father, in a manner to
suit the comprehension of an Indian.
" See ! " continued Magua, tearing aside the slight calico that
very imperfectly concealed his painted breast ; " here are scars
given by knives and bullets of these a warrior may boast
before his nation; but the gray-head has left marks on the
back of the Huron chief that he must hide like a squaw, under
this painted cloth of the whites."
"I had thought," resumed Cora, "that an Indian warrior
was patient, and that his spirit felt not and knew not the pain
his body suffered."
"When the Chippewas tied Magua to the stake, and cut
this gash," said the other, laying his finger on a deep scar, " the
Huron laughed in their faces, and told them, Women struck so
light ! His spirit was then in the clouds ! But when he felt
the blows of Munro, his spirit lay under the birch. The spirit
of a Huron is never drunk ; it remembers forever ! "
" But it may be appeased. If my father has done you this
injustice, show him how an Indian can forgive an injury, and
take back his daughters. "You have heard from Major
Heyward "
Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers he
so much despised.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 123
"What would you have?" continued Cora, after a most
painful pause, while the conviction forced itself on her mind
that the too sanguine and generous Duncan had been cruelly
deceived by the cunning of the savage.
" What a Huron loves good for good ; bad for bad ! "
" You would, then, revenge the injury inflicted by Munro, on
his helpless daughters. Would it not be more like a man to go
before his face, and take the satisfaction of a warrior 1 "
" The arms of the pale faces are long, and their knives sharp ! "
returned the savage, with a malignant laugh ; " why should Le
Renard go among the muskets of his warriors, when he holds
the spirit of the gray-head in his hand ? "
" Name your intention, Magua," said Cora, struggling with
herself to speak with steady calmness. " Is it to lead us pris-
oners to the woods, or do you contemplate even some greater
evil ? Is there no reward, no means of palliating the injury,
and of softening your heart ? At least, release my gentle sis-
ter, and pour out all your malice on me. Purchase wealth by
her safety and satisfy your revenge with a single victim. The
loss of both his daughters might bring the aged man to his
grave, and where would then be the satisfaction of Le Eenard ! "
" Listen," said the Indian again. " The light eyes can go
back to the Horican, and tell the old chief what has been done,
if the dark-haired woman will swear by the Great Spirit of her
fathers to tell no lie."
" What must I promise ? " demanded Cora, still maintaining
a secret ascendancy over the fierce native by the collected and
feminine dignity of her presence*
" When Magua left his people his wife was given to another
chief; he has now made friends with the Hurons, and will go
back to the graves of his tribe, on the shores of the great lake.
Let the daughter of the English chief follow, and live in his
wigwam forever."
However revolting a proposal of such a character might prove
124 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
to Cora, she retained, notwithstanding her powerful disgust, suf-
ficient self-command to reply, without betraying the weakness :
" And what pleasure would Magua find in sharing his cabin
with a wife he did not love ; one who would be of a nation and
color different from his own 1 It would be better to take the
gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some Huron maid with his
gifts."
The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his
fierce looks on the countenance of Cora, in such wavering
glances, that her eyes sank with shame, under an impresSion
that for the first time they had encountered an expression that
no chaste females might endure. While she was shrinking
within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by some
proposal still more shocking than the last, the voice of Magua
answered, in its tones of deepest malignancy :
" When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he would
know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The daughter
of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and cook his veni-
son. The body of the gray-head would sleep among his cannon,
but his heart would lie within reach of the knife of Le Subtil."
" Monster ! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name ! "
cried Cora, in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation.
" None but a fiend could meditate such a vengeance. But thou
overratest thy power ! You shall find it is, in truth, the heart
of Munro you hold, and that it will defy your utmost malice ! "
The Indian answered this bold defiance by a ghastly smile,
that showed an unaltered purpose, while he motioned her away,
as if to close the conference forever. Cora, already regretting
her precipitation, was obliged to comply, for Magua instantly
left the spot, and approached his gluttonous comrades. Hey-
ward flew to the side of the agitated female, and demanded the
result of a dialogue that he had watched at a distance with so
much interest. But unwilling to alarm the fears of Alice, she
evaded a direct reply, betraying only by her counteuance her
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 125
utter want of success, and keeping her anxious looks fastened
on the slightest movements of their captors. To the reiterated
and earnest questions of her sister concerning their probable
destination, she made no other answer than by pointing toward
the dark group, with an agitation she could not control, and
murmuring as she folded Alice to her bosom,
" There, there; read our fortunes in their faces ; we shall see;
we shall see ! "
The action, and the choked utterance of Cora, spoke more
impressively than any words, and quickly drew the attention of
her companions on that spot where her own was riveted with
an intenseness that nothing but the importance of the stake
could create.
When Magua reached the cluster of lolling savages, who,
gorged with their disgusting meal, lay stretched on the earth in
brutal indulgence, he commenced speaking with the dignity of
an Indian chief. The first syllables he uttered had the effect
to cause his listeners to raise themselves in attitudes of respect-
ful attention. As the Huron used his native language, the pris-
oners, notwithstanding the caution of the natives had kept them
within the swing of their tomahawks, could only conjecture the
substance of his harangue from the nature of those significant
gestures with which an Indian always illustrates his eloquence.
At first, the language, as well as the action of Magua,
appeared calm and deliberative. When he had succeeded in
sufficiently awakening the attention of his comrades, Heyward
fancied, by his pointing so frequently toward the direction of
the great lakes, that he spoke of the land of their fathers, and
of their distant tribe. Frequent indications of applause escaped
the listeners, who, as they uttered the expressive " Hugh ! "
looked at each other in commendation of the speaker. Le Re-
nard was too skilful to neglect his advantage. He now spoke
of the long and painful route by which they had left those
spacious grounds and happy villages, to come and battle against
126 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the enemies of their Canadian fathers. He enumerated the
warriors of the party ; their several merits ; their frequent ser-
vices to the nation ; their wounds, and the number of the scalps
they had taken. Whenever he alluded to any present (and the
subtle Indian neglected none), the dark countenance of the
flattered individual gleamed with exultation, nor did he even
hesitate to assert the truth of the words, by gestures of applause
and confirmation. Then the voice of the speaker fell, and lost
the loud, animated tones of triumph with which he had enu-
merated their deeds of success and victory. He described the
cataract of Glenn's ; the impregnable position of its rocky island,
with its caverns and its numerous rapids and whirlpools; he
named the name of "La Longue Carabine," and paused until
the forest beneath them had sent up the last echo of a loud and
long yell, with which the hated appellation was received. He
pointed toward the youthful military captive, and described the
death of a favorite warrior, who had been precipitated into the
deep ravine by his hand. He not only mentioned the fate of
him who, hanging between heaven and earth, had presented such
a spectacle of horror to the whole band, but he acted anew
the terrors of his situation, his resolution and his death, on the
branches of a sapling; and finally, he rapidly recounted the
manner in which each of their friends had fallen, never failing
to touch upon their courage, and their most acknowledged vir-
tues. When this recital of events was ended, his voice once
more changed, and became plaintive and even musical, in its
low guttural sounds. He now spoke of the wives and children of
the slain; their destitution; their misery, both physical and
moral; their distance; and at last, of their unavenged wrongs.
Then suddenly lifting his voice to a pitch of terrific energy, he
concluded by demanding :
" Are the Hurons dogs to bear this ? Who shall say to the
wife of Menowgua that the fishes have his scalp, and that his
nation have not taken revenge! Who will dare meet the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 127
mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful woman, with his hands
clean ! What shall be said to the old men when they ask ns
for scalps, and we have not a hair from a white head to give
them ! The women will point their fingers at us. There is a dark
spot on the names of the Hurons, and it must be hid in blood ! "
His voice was no longer audible in the burst of rage which
now broke into the air, as if the wood, instead of containing so
small a band, was filled with the nation. During the foregoing
address the progress of the speaker was too plainly read by
those most interested in his success through the medium of the
countenances of the men he addressed. They had answered his
melancholy and mourning by sympathy and sorrow ; his asser-
tions, by gestures of confirmation ; and his boastings, with the
exultation of savages. When he spoke of courage, their looks
were firm and responsive ; when he alluded to their injuries,
their eyes kindled with fury ; when he mentioned the taunts of
the women, they dropped their heads in shame ; but when he
pointed out their means of vengeance, he struck a chord which
never failed to thrill in the breast of an Indian. With the first
intimation that it was within their reach, the whole band
sprang upon their feet as one man ; giving utterance to their
rage in the most frantic cries, they rushed upon their prisoners
in a body with drawn knives and uplifted tomahawks. Hey-
ward threw himself between the sisters and the foremost, whom
he grappled with a desperate strength that for a moment
checked his violence. This unexpected resistance gave Magua
time to interpose, and with rapid enunciation and animated
gesture, he drew the attention of the band again to himself.
In that language he knew so well how to assume, he diverted
his comrades from their instant purpose, and invited them to
prolong the misery of their victims. His proposal was received
with acclamation, and executed with the swiftness of thought.
Two powerful warriors cast themselves on Heyward, while
another was occupied in securing the less active singing-master.
128 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Neither of the captives, however, submitted without a desper-
ate though fruitless struggle. Even David hurled his assail-
ant to the earth ; nor was Heyward secured until the victory
over his companion enabled the Indians to direct their united
force to that object. He was then bound and fastened to the
body of the sapling, on whose branches Magua had acted the
pantomime of the falling Huron. When the young soldier re-,
gained his recollection, he had the painful certainty before his
eyes that a common fate was intended for the whole party.
On his right was Cora in a durance similar to his own, pale and
agitated, but with an eye whose steady look still read the pro-
ceedings of their enemies. On his left, the withes which bound
her to a pine, performed that office for Alice which her trem-
bling limbs refused, and alone kept her fragile form from sink-
ing. Her hands were clasped before her in prayer, but instead
of looking upward toward that power which alone could rescue
them, her unconscious looks wandered to the countenance of
Duncan with infantile dependency. David had contended, and
the novelty of the circumstance held him silent, in deliberation
on the propriety of the unusual occurrence.
The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken a new direction,
and they prepared to execute it with that barbarous ingenuity
with which they were familiarized by the practice of centuries.
Some sought knots, to raise the blazing pile ; one was riving
the splinters of pine, in order to pierce the flesh of the captives
with the burning fragments; and others bent the tops of two
saplings to the earth, in order to suspend Heyward by the arms
between the recoiling branches. But the vengeance of Magua
sought a deeper and more malignant enjoyment.
While the less refined monsters of the band prepared, before
the eyes of those who were to suffer, these well-known and vul-
gar means of torture, he approached Cora, and pointed out, with
the most malign expression of countenance, the speedy fate that
awaited her :
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 129
Ha ! " he added, " what says the daughter of Munro ? Her
head is too good to find a pillow in the wigwam of Le Renard ;
will she like it better when it rolls about this hill a plaything
for the wolves? Her bosom cannot nurse the children of a
Huron ; she will see it spit upon by Indians ! "
"What means the monster?" demanded the astonished
Heyward.
" Nothing ! " was the firm reply. " He is a savage, a bar-
barous and ignorant savage, and knows not what he does. Let
us find leisure, with our dying breath, to ask for him penitence
and pardon."
" Pardon ! " echoed the fierce Huron, mistaking in his anger,
the meaning of her words ; " the memory of an Indian is longer
than the arm of the pale faces; his mercy shorter than their
justice ! Say ; shall I send the yellow-hair to her father, and
will you follow Magua to the great lakes, to carry his water,
and feed him with corn ? "
Cora beckoned him away, with an emotion of disgust she
could not control.
" Leave me," she said, with a solemnity that for a moment
checked the barbarity of the Indian; "you mingle bitterness
in my prayers ; you stand between me and my God ! "
The slight impression produced on the savage was, however,
soon forgotten, and he continued pointing, with taunting irony,
toward Alice.
" Look ! the child weeps ! She is young to die ! Send her
to Munro, to comb his gray hairs, and keep life in the heart of
the old man."
Cora could not resist the desire to look upon her youthful
sister, in whose eyes she met an imploring glance, that betrayed
the longings of nature.
" What says he, dearest Cora ? " asked the trembling voice
of Alice. " Did he speak of sending me to our father ? "
For many moments the elder sister looked upon the younger,
130 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
with a countenance that wavered with powerful and contending
emotions. At length she spoke, though her tones had lost
their rich and calm fulness, in an expression of tenderness that
seemed maternal.
" Alice," she said, " the Huron offers us both life, nay, more
than both ; he offers to restore Duncan, our invaluable Duncan,
as well as you, to our friends to our father to our heart-
stricken, childless father, if I will bow down this rebellious,
stubborn pride of mine, and consent "
Her voice became choked, and clasping her hands, she looked
upward, as if seeking, in her agony, intelligence from a wisdom
that was infinite.
" Say on," cried Alice ; " to what, dearest Cora ? Oh ! that
the proffer were made to me ! to save you, to cheer our aged
father, to restore Duncan, how cheerfully could I die ! "
" Die ! " repeated Cora, with a calmer and firmer voice, " that
were easy ! Perhaps the alternative may not be less so. He
would have me," she continued, her accents sinking under a
deep consciousness of the degradation of the proposal, " follow
him to the wilderness ; go to the habitations of the Hurons ;
to remain there : in short, to become his wife ! Speak, then,
Alice ; child of my affections ! sister of my love ! And you,
too, Major Heyward, aid my weak reason with your counsel.
Is life to be purchased by such a sacrifice ? Will you, Alice,
receive it at my hands at such a price ? And you, Duncan,
guide me ; control me between you ; for I am wholly yours ! "
" Would I ! " echoed the indignant and astonished youth.
" Cora ! Cora ! you jest with our misery.! Name not the
horrid alternative again; the thought itself is worse than a
thousand deaths."
" That such would be your answer, I well knew ! " exclaimed
Cora, her cheeks flushing, and her dark eyes once more spar-
kling with the lingering emotions of a woman. "What says
my Alice? for her will I submit without another murmur."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 131
Although both Heyward and Cora listened with painful
suspense and the deepest attention, no sounds were heard in
reply. It appeared as if the delicate and sensitive form of
Alice would shrink into itself, as she listened to this proposal.
Her arms had fallen lengthwise before her, the fingers moving
in slight convulsions ; her head dropped upon her bosom, and
her whole person seemed suspended against the tree, looking
like some beautiful emblem of the wounded delicacy of her
sex, devoid of animation, and yet keenly conscious. In a few
moments, however, her head began to move slowly, in a sign
of deep, unconquerable disapprobation.
" No, no, no ; better that we die as we have lived, together ! "
" Then die ! " shouted Magua, hurling his tomahawk with
violence at the unresisting speaker, and gnashing his teeth
with a rage that could no longer be bridled, at this sudden
exhibition of firmness in the one he believed the weakest of
the party. The axe cleaved the air in front of Heyward, and
cutting some of the flowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in the
tree above her head. The sight maddened Duncan to despera-
tion. Collecting all his energies in one effort, he snapped the
twigs which bound him and rushed upon another savage, who
was preparing, with loud yells and a more deliberate aim, to
repeat the blow. They encountered, grappled, and fell to the
earth together. The naked body of his antagonist afforded
Heyward no means of holding his adversary, who glided from
his grasp, and rose again with one knee on his chest, pressing
him down with the weight of a giant. Duncan already saw the
knife gleaming in the air, when a whistling sound swept past
him, and was rather accompanied than followed by the sharp
crack of a rifle. He felt his breast relieved from the load it
had endured ; he saw the savage expression of his adversary's
countenance change to a look of vacant wildness, when the
Indian fell dead on the faded leaves by his side.
132 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER XII
" Clo. I am gone, sir,
And anon, sir,
I'll be with you again."
Twelfth Night.
The Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation of
death on one of their band. But as they regarded the
fatal accuracy of an aim which had dared to immolate an
enemy at so much hazard to a friend, the name of " La Longue
Carabine " burst simultaneously from every lip, and was succeeded
by a wild and a sort of plaintive howl. The cry was answered
by a loud shout from a little thicket, where the incautious party
had piled their arms ; and at the next moment, Hawkeye, too
eager to load the rifle he had regained, was seen advancing upon
them, brandishing the clubbed weapon, and cutting the air with
wide and powerful sweeps. Bold and rapid as was the progress
of the scout, it was exceeded by that of a light and vigorous
form which, bounding past him, leaped, with incredible activity
and daring, into the very centre of the Hurons, where it stood,
whirling a tomahawk, and flourishing a glittering knife, with
fearful menaces in front of Cora. Quicker than the thoughts
could follow those unexpected and audacious movements, an
image, armed in the emblematic panoply of death, glided
before their eyes, and assumed a threatening attitude at the
other's side. The savage tormentors recoiled before these *
warlike intruders, and uttered, as they appeared in such quick
succession, the often repeated and peculiar exclamation of
surprise, followed by the well-known and dreaded appellations
of:
" Le Cerf Agile ! Le Gros Serpent ! "
But the wary and vigilant leader of the Hurons was not so
easily disconcerted. Casting his keen eyes around the little
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 133
plain, he comprehended the nature of the assault at a glance,
and encouraging his followers by his voice as well as by his
example, he unsheathed his long and dangerous knife, and
rushed with a loud whoop upon the expecting Chingachgook.
It was the signal for a general combat. Neither party had
firearms, and the contest was to be decided in the deadliest
manner, hand to hand, with weapons of offence, and none of
defence.
Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping on an enemy, with
a single, well-directed blow of his tomahawk, cleft him to the
brain. Heyward tore the weapon of Magua from the sapling,
and rushed eagerly toward the fray. As the combatants were
now equal in number, each singled an opponent from the
adverse band. The rush and blows passed with the fury of
a whirlwind, and the swiftness of lightning. Hawkeye soon
got another enemy within reach of his arm, and with one sweep
of his formidable weapon he beat down the slight and inarti-
ficial defences of his antagonist, crushing him to the earth with
the blow. Heyward ventured to hurl the tomahawk he had
seized, too ardent to await the moment of closing. It struck
the Indian he had selected on the forehead, and checked for an
instant his onward rush. Encouraged by this slight advantage,
the impetuous young man continued his onset, and sprang upon
his enemy with naked hands. A single instant was enough
to assure him of the rashness of the measure, for he imme-
diately found himself fully engaged, with all his activity and
courage, in endeavoring to ward the desperate thrusts made
with the knife of the Huron. Unable longer to foil an enemy
so alert and vigilant, he threw his arms about him, and suc-
ceeded in pinning the limbs of the other to his side, with an
iron grasp, but one that was far too exhausting to himself to
continue long. In this extremity he heard a voice near him,
shouting :
"Extarminate the varlets ! no quarter to an accursed Mingo ! "
134 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
At the next moment, the breech of Hawkeye's rifle fell on the
naked head of his adversary, whose muscles appeared to wither
under the shock, as he sank from the arms of Duncan, flexible
and motionless.
When Uncas had brained his first antagonist, he turned like
a hungry lion, to seek another. The fifth and only Huron dis-
engaged at the first onset had paused a moment, and then, see-
ing that all around him were employed in the deadly strife, he
had sought, with hellish vengeance, to complete the baflled work
of revenge. Kaising a shout of triumph, he spjang toward the
defenceless Cora, sending his keen axe as the dreadful precursor
of his approach. The tomahawk grazed her shoulder, and cut-
ting the withes which bound her to the tree, left the maiden at
liberty to fly. She eluded the grasp of the savage, and reckless
of her own safety, threw herself on the bosom of Alice, striving
with convulsed and ill-directed fingers, to tear asunder the twigs
which confined the person of her sister. Any other than a mon-
ster would have relented at such an act of generous devotion to
the best and purest affection ; but the breast of the Huron was
a stranger to sympathy. Seizing Cora by the rich tresses which
fell in confusion about her form, he tore her from her frantic
hold, and bowed her down with brutal violence to her knees.
The savage drew the flowing curls through his hand, and raising
them on high with an outstretched arm, he passed the knife
around the exquisitely moulded head of his victim, with a taunt-
ing and exulting laugh. But he purchased this moment of fierce
gratification with the loss of the fatal opportunity. It was just
then the sight caught the eye of Uncas. Bounding from his
footsteps, he appeared for an instant darting through the air,
and descending in a ball he fell on the chest of his enemy, driv-
ing him many yards from the spot, headlong and prostrate.
The violence of the exertion cast the young Mohican at his side.
They arose together, fought, and bled, each in his turn. But
the conflict was soon decided ; the tomahawk of Heyward and
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 135
the rifle of Hawkeye descended on the skull of the Huron, at the
same moment that the knife of Uncas reached his heart.
The battle was now entirely terminated with the exception
of the protracted struggle between "Le Renard Subtil" and
"Le Gros Serpent." Well did these barbarous warriors prove
that they deserved those significant names which had been
bestowed for deeds in former wars. When they engaged, some
little time was lost in eluding the quick and vigorous thrusts
which had been aimed at their lives. Suddenly darting on each
other, they closed, and came to the earth, twisted together like
twining serpents, in pliant and subtle folds. At the moment
when the victors found themselves unoccupied, the spot where
these experienced and desperate combatants lay could only be
distinguished by a cloud of dust and leaves, which moved from
the centre of the little plain toward its boundary, as if raised
by the passage of a whirlwind. Urged by the different motives
of filial affection, friendship, and gratitude, Heyward and his
companions rushed with one accord to the place, encircling the
little canopy of dust which hung above the warriors. In vain
did Uncas dart around the cloud, with a wish to strike his knife
into the heart of his father's foe; the threatening rifle of Hawk-
eye was raised and suspended in vain, while Duncan endeavored
to seize the limbs of the Huron with hands that appeared to
have lost their power. Covered as they were with dust and
blood, the swift evolutions of the combatants seemed to incorpo-
rate their bodies into one. The death-like looking figure of the
Mohican, and the dark form of the Huron, gleamed before their
eyes in such quick and confused succession, that the friends of
the former knew not where to plant the succoring blow. It is
true there were short and fleeting moments, when the fiery eyes
of Magua were seen glittering, like the fabled organs of the
basilisk, through the dusty wreath by which he was enveloped,
and he read by those short and deadly glances the fate of the
combat in the presence of his enemies ; ere, however, any hostile
136 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
hand could descend on his devoted head, its place was filled by
the scowling visage of Chingachgook. In this manner the
scene of the combat was removed from the centre of the little
plain to its verge. The Mohican now found an opportunity to
make a powerful thrust with his knife ; Magua suddenly relin-
quished his grasp, and fell backward without motion, and seem-
ingly without life. His adversary leaped on his feet, making
the arches of the forest ring with the sounds of triumph.
" Well done for the Delawares ! victory to the Mohicans ! "
cried Hawkeye, once more elevating the butt of the long and
fatal rifle ; " a finishing blow from a man without a cross will
never tell against his honor, nor rob him of his right to the
scalp."
But at the very moment when the dangerous weapon was in
the act of descending, the subtle Huron rolled swiftly from
beneath the danger, over the edge of the precipice, and falling
on his feet, was seen leaping, with a single bound, into the
centre of a thicket of low bushes, which clung along its sides.
The Delawares, who had believed their enemy dead, uttered
their exclamation of surprise, and were following with speed
and clamor, like hounds in open view of the deer, when a shrill
and peculiar cry from the scout instantly changed their purpose,
and recalled them to the summit of the hill.
"'Twas like himself!" cried the inveterate forester, whose
prejudices contributed so largely to veil his natural sense of
justice in all matters which concerned the Mingoes ; " a lying
and deceitful varlet as he is. An honest Delaware now, being
fairly vanquished, would have lain still, and been knocked on
the head, but these knavish Maquas cling to life like so many
cats-o'-the-mountain. Let him go let him go; 'tis but one
man, and he without rifle or bow, many a long mile from his
French commerades; and like a rattler that has lost his fangs,
he can do no further mischief, until such time as he, and we
too, may leave the prints of our moccasins over a long reach of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 137
sandy plain. See, Uncas," he added, in Delaware, " your father
is flaying the scalps already. It may be well to go round and
feel the vagabonds that are left, or we may have another of
them loping through the woods, and screeching like a jay that
has been winged."
So saying, the honest but implacable scout made the circuit
of the dead, into whose senseless bosoms he thrust his long
knife, with as much coolness as though they had been so many
brute carcasses. He had, however, been anticipated by the
elder Mohican, who had already torn the emblems of victory
from the unresisting heads of the slain.
But Uncas, denying his habits, we had almost said his na-
ture, flew with instinctive delicacy, accompanied by Heyward,
to the assistance of the females, and quickly releasing Alice,
placed her in the arms of Cora. We shall not attempt to de-
scribe the gratitude to the Almighty Disposer of events which
glowed in the bosoms of the. sisters, who were thus unexpectedly
restored to life and to each other. Their thanksgivings were
deep and silent; the offerings of their gentle spirits, burning
brightest and purest on the secret altars of their hearts ; and
their renovated and more earthly feelings exhibiting themselves
in long and fervent though speechless caresses. As Alice rose
from her knees, where she had sunk by the side of Cora, she
threw herself on the bosom of the latter, and sobbed aloud the
name of their aged father, while her soft, dove-like eyes
sparkled with the rays of hope.
" We are saved ! we are saved ! " she murmured ; " to return
to the arms of our dear, dear father, and his heart will not be
broken with grief. And you, too, Cora, my sister, my more
than sister, my mother; you, too, are spared. And Duncan,"
she added, looking round upon the youth with a smile of inef-
fable innocence, "even our own brave and noble Duncan has
escaped without a hurt."
To these ardent and nearly incoherent words Cora made no
138 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
other answer than by straining the youthful speaker to her
heart, as she bent over her in melting tenderness. The man-
hood of Heyward felt no shame in dropping tears over this
spectacle of affectionate rapture; and Uncas stood, fresh and
blood-stained from the combat, a calm and apparently an
unmoved looker-on, it is true, but with eyes that had already
lost their fierceness, and were beaming with a sympathy that
elevated him far above the intelligence, and advanced him
probably centuries before the practices of his nation.
During this display -of emotions so natural in their situation,
Hawkeye, whose vigilant distrust had satisfied itself that the
Hurons, who disfigured the heavenly scene, no longer possessed
the power to interrupt its harmony, approached David, and
liberated him from the bonds he had, until that moment, en-
dured with the most exemplary patience.
"There," exclaimed the scout, casting the last withe behind
him, " you are once more master of your own limbs, though you
seem not to use them with much greater judgment than that in
which they were first fashioned. If advice from one who is not
older than yourself, but who, having lived most of his time in
the wilderness, may be said to have experience beyond his years,
will give no offence, you are welcome to my thoughts ; and these
are, to part with the little tooting instrument in your jacket to
the first fool you meet with, and buy some useful we'pon with
the money, if it be only the barrel of a horseman's pistol. By
industry and care, you might thus come to some prefarment ;
for by this time, I should think, your eyes would plainly tell you
that a carrion crow is a better bird than a mocking thresher.
The one will, at least, remove foul sights from before the face
of man, while the other is only good to brew disturbances in
the woods, by cheating the ears of all that hear them."
"Arms and the clarion for the battle, but the song of
thanksgiving to the victory ! " answered the liberated David.
"Friend," he added, thrusting forth his lean, delicate hand
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 139
toward Hawkeye, in kindness, while his eyes twinkled and
grew moist, "I thank thee that the hairs of my head still
grow where they were first rooted by Providence; for, though
those of other men may be more glossy and curling, I have ever
found mine own well suited to the brain they shelter. That I
did not join myself to the battle, was less owing to disinclina-
tion, than to the bonds of the heathen. Valiant and skilful
hast thou proved thyself in the conflict, and I hereby thank
thee, before proceeding to discharge other and more important
duties, because thou hast proved thyself well worthy of a Chris-
tian's praise."
" The thing is but a trifle, and what you may often see if
you tarry long among us," returned the scout, a good deal
softened toward the man of song, by this unequivocal expres-
sion of gratitude. " I have got back my old companion, ' Kill-
deer/" he added, striking his hand on the breech of his rifle; '
" and that in itself is a victory. These Iroquois are cunning,
but they outwitted themselves when they placed their firearms
out of reach ; and had Uncas or his father been gifted with only
their common Indian patience, we should have come in upon
the knaves with three bullets instead of one, and that would
have made a finish of the whole pack ; yon loping varlet, as
well as his commerades. But 'twas all fore-ordered, and for
the best."
" Thou sayest well," returned David, "and hast caught the
true spirit of Christianity. He that is to be saved will be
saved, and he that is predestined to be damned will be damned.
This is the doctrine of truth, and most consoling and refreshing
it is to the true believer."
The scout, who by this time was seated, examining into the
state of his rifle with a species of parental assiduity, now looked
up at the other in a displeasure that he did not affect to conceal,
roughly interrupting further speech.
" Doctrine or no doctrine," said the sturdy woodsman, " 'tis
140 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the belief of knaves, and the curse of an honest man. I can
credit that yonder Huron was to fall by my hand, for with my
own eyes I have seen it ; but nothing short of being a witness
will cause me to think he has met with any reward, or that
Chingachgook there will be condemned at the final day."
" You have no warranty for such an audacious doctrine, nor
any covenant to support it," cried David, who was deeply tinc-
tured with the subtle distinctions which, in his time, and more
especially in his province, had been drawn around the beautiful
simplicity of revelation, by endeavoring to penetrate the awful
mystery of the divine nature, supplying faith by self-sufficiency,
and, by consequence, involving those who reasoned from such
human dogmas in absurdities and doubt; "your temple is
reared on the sands, and the first tempest will wash away its
foundation. I demand your authorities for such an uncharitable
assertion (like other advocates of a system, David was not always
accurate in his use of terms). Name chapter and verse; in
which of the holy books do you find language to support you ? "
" Book ! " repeated Hawkeye, with singular and ill-concealed
disdain ; " do you take me for a whimpering boy at the apron-
string of one of your old gals ; and this good rifle on my knee
for the feather of a goose's wing, my ox's horn for a bottle of
ink, and my leathern pouch for a cross-barred handkercher to
carry my dinner ? Book ! what have such as I, who am a
warrior of the wilderness, though a man without a cross, to do
with books ? I never read but in one, and the words that are
written there are too simple and too plain to need much school-
ing ; though I may boast that of forty long and hard-working
years."
" What call you the volume ? " said David, misconceiving the
other's meaning.
" 'Tis open before your eyes," returned the scout ; " and he
who owns it is not a niggard of its use. I have heard it said
that there are men who read in books to convince themselves
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 141
there is a God. I know not but man may so deform bis works
in the settlement, as to leave that which is so clear in the
wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and priests. If
any such there be, and he will follow me from sun to sun,
through the windings of the forest, he shall see enough to teach
him that he is a fool, and that the greatest of his folly lies in
striving to rise to the level of One he can never equal, be it in
goodness, or be it in power." '
The instant David discovered that he battled with a dispu-
tant who imbibed his faith from the lights of nature, eschewing
all subtleties of doctrine, he willingly abandoned a controversy
from which he believed neither profit nor credit was to be
derived. While the scout was speaking, he had also seated
himself, and producing the ready little volume and the iron-
rimmed spectacles, he prepared to discharge a duty which noth-
ing but the unexpected assault he had received in his orthodoxy
could have so long suspended. He was, in truth, a minstrel of
the western continent of a much later day, certainly, than
those gifted bards who formerly sang the profane renown of
baron and prince, but after the spirit of his own age and country;
and he was now prepared to exercise the cunning of his craft,
in celebration of, or rather in thanksgiving for, the recent
victory. He waited patiently for Hawkeye to cease, then, lift-
ing his eyes, together with his voice, he said, aloud :
" I invite you, friends, to join in praise for this signal deliver-
ance from the hands of barbarians and infidels, to the comfort-
able and solemn tones of the tune called 'Northampton.'"
He next named the page and verse where the rhymes selected
were to be found, and applied the pitch-pipe to his lips, with
the decent gravity that he had been wont to use in the temple.
This time he was, however, without any accompaniment, for
the sisters were just then pouring out those tender effusions of
affection which have been already alluded to. Nothing deterred
by the smallness of his audience, which, in truth, consisted only
142 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
of the discontented scout, he raised bis voice, commencing and
ending the sacred song without accident or interruption of any
kind.
Hawkeye listened while he coolly adjusted his flint and re-
loaded his rifle ; but the sounds, wanting the extraneous assist-
ance of scene and sympathy, failed to awaken his slumbering
emotions. Never minstrel, or by whatever more suitable name
David should be known, drew upon his talents in the presence
of more insensible auditors ; though considering the singleness
and sincerity of his motive, it is probable that no bard of pro-
fane song ever uttered notes that ascended so near to that
throne where all homage and praise is due. The scout shook his
head, and muttering some unintelligible words, among which
" throat " and " Iroquois," were alone audible, he walked away,
to collect and to examine into the state of the captured arsenal
of the Hurons. In this office he was now joined by Chingach-
gook, who found his own, as well as the rifle of his son, among
the arms. Even Heyward and David were furnished with weap-
ons ; nor was ammunition wanting to render them all effectual.
When the foresters had made their selection, and distributed
their prizes, the scout announced that the hour had arrived when
it was necessary to move. By this time the song of Gamut had
ceased, and the sisters had learned to still the exhibition of their
emotions. Aided by Duncan and the younger Mohican, the
two latter descended the precipitous sides of that hill which
they had so lately ascended under so very different auspices, and
whose summit had so nearly proved the scene of their massacre.
At the foot they found the Narragansetts browsing the herbage
of the bushes, and having mounted, they followed the move-
ments of a guide, who, in the most deadly straits, had so often
proved himself their friend. The journey was, however, short.
Hawkeye, leaving the blind path that the Hurons had followed,
turned short to his right, and entering the thicket, he crossed a
babbling brook, and halted in a narrow dell, under the shade of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 143
a few water elms. Their distance from the base of the fatal
hill was but a few rods, and the steeds had be$n serviceable only
in crossing the shallow stream.
The scout and the Indians appeared to be familiar with the
sequestered place where they now were, for, leaning their rifles
against the trees, they commenced throwing aside the dried
leaves, and opening the blue clay, out of which a clear and
sparkling spring of bright, glancing water, quickly bubbled.
The white man then looked about him, as though seeking for
some object, which was not to be found as readily as he ex-
pected.
"Them careless imps, the Mohawks, with their Tuscarora
and Onondaga brethren, have been here slaking their thirst,"
he muttered, " and the vagabonds have thrown away the gourd !
This is the way with benefits, when they are bestowed on such
disremembering hounds ! Here has the Lord laid his hand, in
the midst of the howling wilderness, for their good, and raised
a fountain of water from the bowels of the 'arth, that might
laugh at the richest shop of apothecary's ware in all the colo-
nies ; and see ! the knaves have trodden in the clay, and de-
formed the cleanliness of the place, as though they were brute
beasts, instead of human men."
Uncas silently extended toward him the desired gourd, which
the spleen of Hawkeye had hitherto prevented him from observ-
ing, on a branch of an elm. Filling it with water, he retired a
short distance, to a place where the ground was more firm and
dry ; here he coolly seated himself, and after taking a long, and,
apparently, a grateful draught, he commenced a very strict ex-
amination of the fragments of food left by the Hurons, which
had hung in a wallet on his arm.
" Thank you, lad ! " he continued, returning the empty
gourd to Uncas ; " now we will see how these rampaging Hu-
rons lived, when outlying in ambush men ts. Look at this !
The varlets know the better pieces of the deer ; and one would
144 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
think they might carve and roast a saddle, equal to the best
cook in the land ! But everything is raw, for the Iroquois are
thorough savages. Uncas, take my steel and kindle a fire ; a
mouthful of a tender broil will give natur' a helping hand, after
so long a trail."
Heyward, perceiving that their guides now set about their
repast in sober earnest, assisted the ladies to alight, and placed
himself at their side, not unwilling to enjoy a few moments of
grateful rest, after the bloody scene he had just gone through.
While the culinary process was in hand, curiosity induced him
to inquire into the circumstances which had led to their timely
and unexpected rescue.
" How is it that we see you so soon, my generous friend," he
asked, " and without aid from the garrison of Edward ? "
" Had we gone to the bend in the river, we might have been
in time to rake the leaves over your bodies, but too late to have
saved your scalps," coolly answered the scout. " No, no ; in-
stead of throwing away strength and opportunity by crossing
to the fort, we lay by, under the bank of the Hudson, waiting
to watch the movements of the Hurons."
" You were, then, witnesses of all that passed ? "
" Not of all ; for Indian sight is too keen to be easily cheated,
and we kept close. A difficult matter it was, too, to keep this
Mohican boy snug in the ambushment. Ah ! Uncas, Uncas,
your behavior was more like that of a curious woman than of
a warrior on his scent."
Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an instant on the sturdy
countenance of the speaker, but he neither spoke nor gave any
indication of repentance. On the contrary, Heyward thought
the manner of the young Mohican was disdainful, if not a little
fierce, and that he suppressed passions that were ready to ex-
plode, as much in compliment to the listeners, as from the defer-
ence he usually paid to his white associate.
" You saw our capture ? " Heyward next demanded.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 145
" We heard it," was the significant answer. " An Indian
yell is plain language to men who have passed their days in the
woods. But when you landed, we were driven to crawl like
sarpents, beneath the leaves ; and then we lost sight of you en-
tirely, until we placed eyes on you again trussed to the trees,
and ready bound for an Indian massacre."
" Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It was nearly a
miracle that you did not mistake the path, for the Hurons
divided, and each band had its horses."
" Ay ! there we were thrown off the scent, and might, in-
deed, have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas ; we took
the path, however, that led into the wilderness ; for we judged,
and judged rightly, that the savages would hold that course
with their prisoners. But when we had followed it for many
miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I had advised,
my mind misgave me ; especially as all the footsteps had the
prints of moccasins."
" Our captors had the precaution to see us shod like them-
selves," said Duncan, raising a foot, and exhibiting the buck-
skin he wore.
"Ay, 'twas judgmatical, and like themselves; though we
were too expart to be thrown from a trail by so common an
invention."
" To what, then, are we indebted for our safety ? "
" To what, as a white man who has no taint of Indian blood,
I should be ashamed to own ; to the judgment of the young
Mohican, in matters which I should know better than he, but
which I can now hardly believe to be true, though my own
eyes tell me it is so."
" 'Tis extraordinary ! will you not name the reason ? "
" Uncas was bold enough to say, that the beasts ridden by
the gentle ones," continued Hawkeye, glancing his eyes, not
without curious interest, on the fillies of the ladies, "planted
the legs of one side on the ground at the same time, which is
146 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
contrary to the movements of all trotting four-footed animals
of my knowledge, except the bear. And yet here are horses
that always journey in this manner, as my own eyes have seen,
and as their trail has shown for twenty long miles."
" Tis the merit of the animal ! They come from the shores
of Narragansett Bay, in the small province of Providence
Plantations, and are celebrated for their hardihood, and the
ease of this peculiar movement; though other horses are not
unfrequently trained to the same."
"It may be it may be," said Hawkeye, who had listened
with singular attention to this explanation; "though I am a
man who has the full blood of the whites, my judgment in
deer and beaver is greater than in beasts of burden. Major
Effingham has many noble chargers, but I have never seen
one travel after such a sidling gait."
"True; for he would value the animals for very different
properties. Still is this a breed highly esteemed, and as you
witness, much honored with the burdens it is often destined
to bear."
The Mohicans had suspended their operations about the
glimmering fire, to listen; and when Duncan had done, they
looked at each other significantly, the father uttering the never-
failing exclamation of surprise. The scout ruminated, like a
man digesting his newly acquired knowledge, and once more
stole a curious glance at the horses.
" I dare to say there are even stranger sights to be seen in
the settlements ! " he said, at length ; " natur' is sadly abused by
man, when he once gets the mastery. But, go sidling or go
straight, Uncas had seen the movement, and their trail led
us on to the broken bush. The outer branch, near the prints
of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a lady breaks a
flower from its stem, but all the rest were ragged and broken
down, as if the strong hand of a man had been tearing them !
So I concluded that the cunning varmints had seen the twig
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 147
bent, and had torn the rest, to make us believe a buck had
been feeling the bough with his antlers. "
" I do believe your sagacity did not deceive you ; for some
such thing occurred ! "
" That was easy to see," added the scout, in no degree con-
scious of having exhibited any extraordinary sagacity ; " and a
very different matter it was from a waddling horse ! It then
struck me the Mingoes would push for this spring, for the
knaves well know the vartue of its waters ! "
"Is it, then, so famous?" demanded Hey ward, examining,
with a more curious eye, the secluded dell, with its bubbling
fountain, surrounded, as it was, by earth of a deep, dingy
brown.
"Few red-skins, who travel south and east of the great
lakes, but have heard of its qualities. Will you taste for
yourself?"
Heyward took the gourd, and after swallowing a little of the
water, threw it aside with grimaces of discontent. The scout
laughed in his silent but heartfelt manner, and shook his head
with vast satisfaction.
"Ah ! you want the flavor that one, gets by habit; the time
was when I liked it as little as yourself; but I have come to
my taste, and I now crave it, as a deer does the licks. Your
high-spiced wines are not better liked than a red-skin relishes
this water ; especially when his natur* is ailing. But Uncas
has made his fire, and it is time we think of eating, for our
journey is long, and all before us."
Interrupting the dialogue by this abrupt transition, the scout
had instant recourse, to the fragments of food which had escaped
the voracity of the Hurons. A very summary process completed
the simple cookery when he and the Mohicans commenced their
humble meal, with the silence and characteristic diligence of
men who ate in order to enable themselves to endure great and
unremitting toil.
148 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
When this necessary, and, happily, grateful duty had been
performed, each of the foresters stooped and took a long and
parting draught at that solitary and silent spring, around
which and its sister fountains, within fifty years, the wealth,
beauty, and talents of a hemisphere were to assemble in throngs,
in pursuit of health and pleasure. Then Hawkeye announced
his determination to proceed. The sisters resumed their
saddles; Duncan and David grasped their rifles, and followed
on their footsteps, the scout leading the advance, and the
Mohicans bringing up the rear. The whole party moved
swiftly through the narrow path, toward the north, leaving
the healing waters to mingle unheeded with the adjacent brooks,
and the bodies of the dead to fester on the neighboring mount
without the rites of sepulture; a fate but too common to the
warriors of the woods to excite either commiseration or com-
ment.
CHAPTER XIII
" I'lTseek a readier path."
Parnbll.
The route taken by Hawkeye lay across those sandy plains,
relieved by occasional valleys and swells of land, which had
been traversed by their party on the morning of the same day,
with the baffled Magua for their guide. The sun had now fallen
low toward the distant mountains; and as their journey lay
through the interminable forest, the heat was no longer
oppressive. Their progress, in consequence, was proportionate ;
and long before the twilight gathered about them, they had
made good many toilsome miles on their return.
The hunter, like the savage whose place he filled, seemed to
select among the blind signs of their wild route, with a species
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 149
of instinct, seldom abating his speed, and never pausing to
deliberate. A rapid and oblique glance at the moss on the
trees, with an occasional upward gaze toward the setting sun,
or a steady but passing look at the direction of the numer-
ous water-courses through which he waded, were sufficient to
determine his path, and remove his greatest difficulties. In
the meantime, the forest began to change its hues, losing that
lively green which had embellished its arches, in the graver
light which is the usual precursor of the close of day.
While the eyes of the sisters were endeavoring to catch
glimpses, through the trees, of the flood of golden glory which
formed a glittering halo around the sun, tingeing here and there
with ruby streaks, or bordering with narrow edgings of shining
yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled at no great distance
above the western hills, Hawkeye turned suddenly, and point-
ing upward toward the gorgeous heavens, he spoke :
"Yonder is the signal given to man to seek his food and
natural rest," he said ; " better and wiser would it be, if he
could understand the signs of nature, and take a lesson from
the fowls of the air and the beasts of the fields ! Our night,
however, will soon be over ; for with the moon we must be up
and moving again. I remember to have fou't the Maquas, here-
aways, in the first war in which I ever drew blood from man ;
and we threw up a work of blocks, to keep the ravenous var-
mints from handling our scalps. If my marks do not fail me,
we shall find the place a few rods further to our left. ,,
Without waiting for an assent, or indeed, for any reply, the
sturdy hunter moved boldly into a dense thicket of young chest-
nuts, shoving aside the branches of the exuberant shoots which
nearly covered the ground, like a man who expected, at each
step, to discover some object he had formerly known. The
recollection of the scout did not deceive him. After penetrat-
ing through the brush, matted as it was with briers, for a few
hundred feet, he entered an open space, that surrounded a low,
150 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
green hillock, which was crowned by the decayed block house
in question. This rude and neglected building was one of those
deserted works, which, having been thrown up on an emer-
gency, had been abandoned with the disappearance of danger,
and was now quietly crumbling in the solitude of the forest,
neglected and nearly forgotten, like the circumstances which
had caused it to be reared. Such memorials of the passage and
struggles of man are yet frequent throughout the broad barrier
of wilderness which once separated the hostile provinces, and
form a species of ruins that are intimately associated with the
recollections of colonial history, and which are in appropriate
keeping with the gloomy character of the surrounding scenery.
The roof of bark had long since fallen, and mingled with the
soil, but the huge logs of pine, which had been hastily thrown
together, still preserved their relative positions, though one
angle of the work had given way under the pressure, and threat-
ened a speedy downfall to the remainder of the rustic edifice.
While Heyward and his companions hesitated to approach a
building so decayed, Hawkeye and the Indians entered within
the low walls, not only without fear, but with obvious interest.
While the former surveyed the ruins, both internally and ex-
teraally, with the curiosity of one whose recollections were
reviving at each moment, Ohingachgook related to his son, in
the language of the Dela wares, and with the pride of a con-
queror, the brief history of the skirmish which had been fought,
in his youth, in that secluded spot. A strain of melancholy,
however, blended with his triumph, rendering his voice, as
usual, soft and musical.
In the meantime, the sisters gladly dismounted, and prepared
to enjoy their halt in the coolness of the evening, and in a
security which they believed nothing but the beasts of the
forest could invade.
"Would not our resting-place have been more retired, my
worthy friend," demanded the more vigilant Duncan, perceiv-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 151
ing that the scout had already finished his short survey, "had
we chosen a spot less known, and one more rarely visited than
this ? "
" Few live who know the block house was ever raised," was
the slow and musing answer ; " 'tis not often that books are
made, and narratives written of such a scrimmage as was here
fou't atween the Mohicans and the Mohawks, in a war of their
own waging. I was then a younker, and went out with the
Delawares, because I know'd they were a scandalized and
wronged race. Forty days and forty nights did the imps crave
our blood around this pile of logs, which I designed and partly
reared, being, as you'll remember, no Indian myself, but a man
without a cross. The Delawares lent themselves to the work,
and we made it good, ten to twenty, until our numbers were
nearly equal, and then we sallied out upon the hounds, and not
a man of them ever got back to tell the fate of his party.
Yes, yes ; I was then young, and new to the sight of blood ;
and not relishing the thought that creatures who had. spirits
like myself should lay on the naked ground, to be torn asunder
by beasts, or to bleach in the rains, I buried the dead with
my own hands, under that very little hillock where you have
placed yourselves; and no bad seat does it make neither,
though it be raised by the bones of mortal men."
Heyward and the sisters arose, on the instant, from the
grassy sepulchre; nor could the two latter, notwithstanding
the terrific scenes they had so recently passed through, entirely
suppress an emotion of natural horror, when they found them-
selves in such familiar contact with the grave of the dead
Mohawks. The gray light, the gloomy little area of dark
grass, surrounded by its border of brush, beyond which the
pines rose, in breathing silence, apparently into the very clouds,
and the deathlike stillness of the vast forest, were all in unison
to deepen such a sensation.
" They are gone, and they are harmless," continued Hawk-
152 THE LA&T OF THE MOHICANS
eye, waving his hand, with a melancholy smile at their mani-
fest alarm ; " they'll never shout the war-whoop nor strike a
blow with the tomahawk again ! And of all those who aided
in placing them where they lie, Chingachgook and I only are
living ! The brothers and family of the Mohican formed our
war party ; and you see before you all that are now left of his
race."
The eyes of the listeners involuntarily sought the forms of
the Indians, with a compassionate interest in their desolate
fortune. Their dark persons were still to be seen within the
shadows of the block house, the son listening to the relation of
his father with that sort of intenseness which would be created
by a narrative that redounded so much to the honor of those
whose names he had long revered for their courage and savage
virtues.
" I had thought the Delawares a pacific people," said Duncan,
"and that they never waged war in person; trusting the
defence of their lands to those very Mohawks that you slew ! "
" ? Tis true in part," returned the scout, "and yet, at the
bottom, 'tis a wicked lie. Such a treaty was made in ages
gone by, through the deviltries of the Dutchers, who wished to
disarm the natives that had the best right to the country,
where they had settled themselves. The Mohicans, though a
part of the same nation, having to deal with the English, never
entered into the silly bargain, but kept to their manhood ; as
in truth did the Delawares, when their eyes were open to their
folly. You see before you a chief of the great Mohican Saga-
mores ! Once his family could chase their deer over tracts of
country wider than that which belongs to the Albany Patteroon,
without crossing brook or hill that was not their own ; but
what is left to their descendant 1 He may find his six feet of
earth when God chooses, and keep it in peace, perhaps, if he
has a friend who will take the pains to sink his head so low
that the plowshares cannot reach it ! "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 153
" Enough ! " said Heyward, apprehensive that the subject
might lead to a discussion that would interrupt the harmony
so necessary to the preservation of his fair companions ; " we
have journeyed, far, and few among us are blessed with forms
like that of yours, which seems to know neither fatigue nor
weakness. "
"The sinews and bones of a man carry me through it all,"
said the hunter, surveying his muscular limbs with a simplicity
that betrayed the honest pleasure the compliment afforded him ;
"there are larger and heavier men to be found in the settle-
ments, but you might travel many days in a city before you
could meet one able to walk fifty miles without stopping to
take breath, or who has kept the hounds within hearing during
a chase of hours. However, as flesh and blood are not always
the same, it is quite reasonable to suppose that the gentle ones
are willing to rest, after all they have seen and done this day.
Uncas, clear out the spring, while your father and I make a
cover for their tender heads of these chestnut shoots, and a bed
of grass and leaves."
The dialogue ceased, while the hunter and his companions
busied themselves in preparations for the comfort and protec-
tion of those they guided. A spring, which many long years
before had induced the natives to select the place for their
temporary fortification, was soon cleared of leaves, and a foun-
tain of crystal gushed from the bed, diffusing its waters over
the verdant hillock. A corner of the building was then roofed
in such a manner as to exclude the heavy dew of the climate,
and piles of sweet shrubs and dried leaves were laid beneath it
for the sisters to repose on.
While the diligent woodsmen were employed in this manner,
Cora and Alice partook of that refreshment which duty required,
much more than inclination prompted them to accept. They
then retired within the walls, and first offering up their thanks-
givings for past mercies, and petitioning for a continuance of
154 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
m
the Divine favor throughout the coming night, they laid their
tender forms on the fragrant couch, and in spite of recollections
and forebodings, soon sank into those slumbers which nature so
imperiously demanded, and which were sweetened by hopes
for the morrow. Duncan had prepared himself to pass the
night in watchfulness near -them, just without the ruin, but
the scout, perceiving his intention, pointed toward Chingach-
gook, as he coolly disposed his own person on the grass, and
said :
"The eyes of a white man are too heavy and too blind for
such a watch as this ! The Mohican will be our sentinel, there-
fore let us sleep."
"I proved myself a sluggard on my post during the past
night," said Hey ward, "and have less need of repose than you,
who did more credit to the character of a soldier. Let all the
party seek their rest, then, while I hold the guard."
"If we lay among the white tents of the Sixtieth, and in
front of an enemy like the French, I could not ask for a better
watchman," returned the scout; "but in the darkness and
among the signs of the wilderness your judgment would be like
the folly of a child, and your vigilance thrown away. Do then,
like Uncas and myself, sleep, and sleep in safety."
Heyward perceived, in truth, that the younger Indian had
thrown his form on the side of the hillock while they were
talking, like one who sought to make the most of the time
allotted to rest, and that his example had been followed by
David, whose voice literally "clove to his jaws," with the fever
of his wound, heightened, as it was, by their toilsome march.
Unwilling to prolong a useless discussion, the young man
affected to comply, by posting his back against the logs of
the block house, in a half-recumbent posture, though resolutely
determined, in his own mind, not to close an eye until he had
delivered his precious charge into the arms of Munro himself.
Hawkeye, believing he had prevailed, soon fell asleep, and a
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 155
silence as deep as the solitude in which they had found it,
pervaded the retired spot.
For many minutes Duncan succeeded in keeping his senses
on the alert, and alive to every moaning sound that arose from
the forest. His vision became more acute as the shades of
evening settled on the place; and even after the stars were
glimmering above his head, he was able to distinguish the
recumbent forms of his companions, as they lay stretched on
the grass, and to note the person of Chingachgook, who sat
upright and motionless as one of the trees which formed the
dark barrier on every side. He still heard the gentle breath-
ings of the sisters, who lay within a few feet of him, and not
a leaf was ruffled by the passing air of which his ear did not
detect the whispering sound. At length, however, the mourn-
ful notes of a whip-poor-will became blended with the moanings
of an owl ; his heavy eyes occasionally sought the bright rays
of the stars, and then he fancied he saw them through the
fallen lids. At instants of momentary wakefulness he mistook
a bush for his associate sentinel ; his head next sank upon his
shoulder, which, in its turn, sought the support of the ground ;
and, finally, his whole person became relaxed and pliant, and
the young man sank into a deep sleep, dreaming that he was
a knight of ancient chivalry, holding his midnight vigils before
the tent of a recaptured princess, whose favor he did not despair
of gaining, by such a proof of devotion and watchfulness.
How long the tired Duncan lay in this insensible state he
never knew himself, but his slumbering visions had been long
lost in total forgetfulness, when he was awakened by a light
tap on the shoulder. Aroused by this signal, slight as it was,
he sprang upon his feet with a confused recollection of the
self-imposed duty he had assumed with the commencement of
the night.
"Who comes?" he demanded, feeling for his sword, at the
place where it was usually suspended. " Speak ! friend or enemy 1 "
156 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"Friend," replied the low voice of Chingachgook ; who,
pointing upward at the luminary which was shedding its uiild
light through the opening in the trees, directly in their bivouac,
immediately added, in his rude English : " Moon comes and
white man's fort far far off ; time to move, when sleep shuts
both eyes of the Frenchman ! "
"You say true ! call up your friends, and bridle the horses
while I prepare my own companions for the march ! "
"We are awake, Duncan," said the soft, silvery tones of
Alice within the building, " and ready to travel very fast after
so refreshing a sleep; but you have watched through the
tedious night in our behalf, after having endured so much
fatigue the livelong day ! "
"Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous
eyes betrayed me; twice have I proved myself unfit for the
trust I bear."
"Nay, Duncan, deny it not," interrupted the smiling Alice,
issuing from the shadows of the building into the light of the
moon, in all the loveliness of her freshened beauty ; " I know
you to be a heedless one, when self is the object of your care,
and but too vigilant in favor of others. Can we not tarry
here a little longer while you find the rest you need ? Cheer-
fully, most cheerfully, will Cora and I keep the vigils, while
you and all these brave men endeavor to snatch a little sleep ! "
" If shame could cure me of my drowsiness, I should never
close an eye again," said the uneasy youth, gazing at the in-
genuous contenance of Alice, where, however, in its sweet
solicitude, he read nothing to confirm his half awakened sus-
picion. " It is but too true, that after leading you into danger
by my heedlessness, I have not even the merit of guarding
your pillows as should become a soldier."
" No one but Duncan himself should accuse Duncan of such
a weakness. Go, then, and sleep ; believe me, neither of us,
weak girls as we are, will betray our watch,"
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 157
The young man was relieved from the awkwardness of mak-
ing any further protestations of his own demerits, by an excla-
mation from Chingachgook, and the attitude of riveted attention
assumed by his son.
" The Mohicans hear an enemy ! " whispered Hawkeye,
who, by this time, in common with the whole party, was
awake and stirring. " They scent danger in the wind ! "
" God forbid ! " exclaimed Heyward. " Surely we have
had enough of bloodshed ! "
While he spoke, however, the young soldier seized his rifle,
and advancing toward the front, prepared to atone for his
venial remissness, by freely exposing his life in defense of those
he attended. " 'Tis some creature of the forest prowling around
us in quest of food," he said, in a whisper, as soon as the low,
and apparently distant sounds, which had startled the Mohicans,
reached his own ears.
"Hist!" returned the attentive scout; "'tis man; even I
can now tell his tread, poor as my senses are when compared
to an Indian's ! That scampering Huron has fallen in with
one of Montcalm's outlying parties, and they have struck upon
our trail. I shouldn't like, myself, to spill more human blood
in this spot," he added, looking around with anxiety in his
features, at the dim objects by which he was surrounded ;
" but what must be, must ! Lead the horses into the block
house, Uncas; and, friends, do you follow to the same shelter.
Poor and old as it is, it offers a cover, and has rung with the
crack of a rifle afore to-night ! "
He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans leading the Narra-
gansetts within the ruin, whither the whole party repaired
with the most guarded silence.
The sound of approaching footsteps was now too distinctly
audible to leave any doubts as to the nature of the interruption.
They were soon mingled with voices calling to each other in
an Indian dialect, which the hunter, in a whisper, affirmed to
158 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Heyward was the language of the Hurons. When the party
reached the point where the horses had entered the thicket
which surrounded the block house, they were evidently at fault,
having lost those marks which, until that moment, had directed
their pursuit.
It would seem by the voices that twenty men were soon col-
lected at that one spot, mingling their different opinions and
advice in noisy clamor.
" The knaves know our weakness," Whispered Hawkeye, who
stood by the side of Hey ward, in deep shade, looking through
an opening in the logs; " or they wouldn't indulge their idleness
in such a squaw's march. Listen to the reptiles ! each man
among them seems to have two tongues, and but a single
leg."
Duncan, brave as he was in the combat, could not, in such
a moment of painful suspense, make any reply to the cool and
characteristic remark of the scout. He only grasped his rifle
more firmly, and fastened his eyes upon the narrow opening,
through which he gazed upon the moonlight view with increas-
ing anxiety. The deeper tones of one who spoke as having
authority were next heard, amid a silence that denoted the re-
spect with which his orders, or rather advice, was received.
After which, by the rustling of leaves, and crackling of dried
twigs, it was apparent the savages were separating in pursuit
of the lost trail. Fortunately for the pursued, the light of the
moon, while it shed a flood of mild lustre upon the little area
around the ruin, was not sufficiently strong to penetrate the
deep arches of the forest, where the objects still lay in decep-
tive shadow. The search proved fruitless; for so short and
sudden had been the passage from the faint path the travellers
had journeyed into the thicket, that every trace of their foot-
steps was lost in the obscurity of the woods.
It was not long, however, before the restless savages were
heard beating the brush, and gradually approaching the inner
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS * 169
i
edge of that dense border of young chestnuts which encircled
the little area.
"They are coming," muttered Heyward, endeavoring to
thrust his rifle through the chink in the logs ; "let us fire on
their approach."
" Keep everything in the shade," returned the scout; "the
snapping of a flint, or even the smell of a single karnel of the
brimstone, would bring the hungry varlets upon us in a body.
Should it please God that we must give battle for the scalps,
trust to the experience of men who know the ways of the sav-
ages, and who are not often backward when the war-whoop is
howled."
Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw that the trem-
bling sisters were cowering in the far corner of the building, while
the Mohicans stood in the shadow, like two upright posts,
ready, and apparently willing, to strike when the blow should
be needed. Curbing his impatience, he again looked out upon
the area, and awaited the result in silence. At that instant
the thicket opened, and a tall and armed Huron advanced a
few paces into the open space. As he gazed upon the silent
block house, the moon fell upon his swarthy countenance, and
betrayed its surprise and curiosity. He made^the exclamation
which usually accompanies the former emotion in an Indian,
and, calling in a low voice, soon drew a companion to his
side.
These children of the woods stood together for several mo-
ments pointing at the crumbling edifice, and conversing in the
unintelligible language of their tribe. They then approached,
though with slow and cautious steps, pausing every instant to
look at the building, like startled deer, whose curiosity struggled
powerfully with their awakened apprehensions for the mastery.
The foot of one of them suddenly rested on the mound, and he
stooped to examine its nature. At this moment, Heyward ob-
served that the scout loosened his knife in its sheath, and low-
160 . THE LAST OF THE MOHWAITS
ered the muzzle of his rifle. Imitating these movements, the
young man prepared himself for the struggle which now seemed
inevitable.
The savages were so near, that the least motion in one of
the horses, or even a breath louder than common, would have
betrayed the fugitives. But in discovering the character of the
mound, the attention of the Hurons appeared directed to a
different object. They spoke together, and the sounds of their
voices were low and solemn, as if influenced by a reverence that
was deeply blended with awe. Then they drew warily back,
keeping their eyes riveted on the ruin, as if they expected to
see the apparitions of the dead issue from its silent walls, until,
having reached the boundary of the area, they moved slowly
into the thicket and disappeared.
Hawkeye dropped the breech of his rifle to the earth, and
drawing a long, free breath, exclaimed, in an audible whisper :
" Ay ! they respect the dead, and it has this time saved their
own lives, and, it may be, the lives of better men too."
Heyward lent his attention for a single moment to his com-
panion, but without replying, he again turned toward those
who just then interested him more. He heard the two Hurons
leave the bushes, and it was soon plain that all the pursuers
were gathered about them, in deep attention to their report.
After a few minutes of earnest and solemn dialogue, altogether
different from the noisy clamor with which they had first col-
lected about the spot, the sounds grew fainter and more distant,
and finally were lost in the depths of the forest.
Hawkeye waited until a signal from the listening Chingach-
gook assured him that every sound from the retiring party was
completely swallowed by the distance, when he motioned to
Heyward to lead forth the horses, and to assist the sisters into
their saddles. The instant this was done they issued through
the broken gateway, and stealing out by a direction opposite to
the one by which they had entered, they quitted the spot, the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 161
sisters casting furtive glances at the silent grave and crumbling
ruin, as they left the soft light of the moon, to bury themselves
in the gloom of the woods.
CHAPTER XIV
u Guard. Qui est U?
Pmc. Paisans, pauvres gens de France."
Kino Henry VI.
During the rapid movement from the block house, and un-
til the party was deeply buried in the forest, each individual
was too much interested in the escape to hazard a word even in
whispers. The scout resumed his post in the advance, though
his steps, after he had thrown a safe distance between himself
and his enemies, were more deliberate than in their previous
march, in consequence of his utter ignorance of the localities of
the surrounding woods. More than once he halted to consult
with his confederates, the Mohicans, pointing upwards at the
moon, and examining the barks of the trees with care. In
these brief pauses, Hey ward and the sisters listened, with senses
rendered doubly acute by the danger, to detect any symptoms
which might announce the proximity of their foes. At such
moments, it seemed as if a vast range of country lay buried in
eternal sleep ; not the least sound arising from the forest, unless
it was the distant and scarcely audible rippling of a water-
course. Birds, beasts, and man, appeared to slumber alike, if,
indeed, any of the latter were to be found in that wide tract of
wilderness. But the sounds of the rivulet, feeble and murmur-
ing as they were, relieved the guides at once from no trifling
embarrassment, and toward it they immediately held their way.
When the banks of the little stream were gained, Hawkeye
made another halt ; and taking the moccasins from his feet, he
invited Heyward and Gamut to follow his example. He then
162 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
entered the water, and for near an hour they travelled in the
bed of the brook, leaving no trail. The moon had already sunk
into an immense pile of black clouds, which lay impending
above the western horizon, when they issued from the low and
devious water-course to rise again to the light and level of the
sandy but wooded plain. Here the scout seemed -to be once
more at home, for he held on his way with the certainty and
diligence of a man who moved in the security of his own knowl-
edge. The path soon became more uneven, and the travellers
could plainly perceive that the mountains drew nigher to them
on each hand, and that they were, in truth, about entering one
of their gorges. Suddenly, Hawkeye made a pause, and, wait-
ing until he was joined by the whole party, he spoke, though
in tones so low and cautious, that they added to the solemnity
of his words, in the quiet and darkness of the place.
" It is easy to know the pathways, and to find the licks and
water-courses of the wilderness," he said ; " but who that saw
this spot could venture to say, that a mighty army was at rest
among yonder silent trees and barren mountains ? "
" We are, then, at no great distance from William Henry ? "
said Heyward, advancing nigher to the scout.
" It is yet a long and weary path, and when and where to
strike it is now our greatest difficulty. See," he said, pointing
through the trees toward a spot where a little basin of water
reflected the stars from its placid bosom, "here is the * bloody
pond ; ' and I am on ground that I have not only often trav-
elled, but over which I have fou't the enemy, from the rising
to the setting sun."
" Ha ! that sheet of dull and dreary water, then, is the
sepulchre of the brave men who fell in the contest. I
have heard it named, but never have I stood on its banks
before."
" Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman in
a day," continued Hawkeye, pursuing the train of his own
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 163
thoughts, rather than replyiug to the remark of Duncan. " He
met us hard by, in our outward march to ambush his advance,
and scattered us, like driven deer, through the defile, to the
shores of Horican. Then we rallied behind our fallen trees,
and made head against him, under Sir William who was
made Sir William for that very deed; and well did we pay
him for the disgrace of the morning ! Hundreds of Frenchmen
saw the sun that day for the last time ; and even their leader,
Dieskau himself, fell into our hands, so cut and torn with the
lead, that he has gone back to his own country, unfit for further
acts in war."
" Twas a noble repulse ! " exclaimed Heyward, in the heat
of his youthful ardor ; . " the fame of it reached us early, in our
southern army."
"Ay I but it did not end there. I was sent by Major
Effingham, at Sir William's own bidding, to outflank the
French, and carry the tidings of their disaster across the port-
age, to the fort on the Hudson. Just hereaway, where you
see the trees rise into a mountain swell, I met a party coming
down to our -aid, and I led them where the enemy were taking
their meal, little dreaming that they had not finished the
bloody work of the day."
" And you surprised them 1 "
" If death can be a surprise to men who are thinking only
of the cravings of their appetites. We gave them but little
breathing time, for they had borne hard upon us in the fight
of the morning, and there were few in bur party who had not
lost friend or relative by their hands. When all was over, the
dead, and some say the dying, were cast into that little pond.
These eyes have seen its waters colored with blood, as natural
water never yet flowed from the bowels of the 'arth."
"It was a convenient, and, I trust, will prove a peaceful
grave for a soldier. You have then seen much service on this
frontier ? "
164 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" I ! " said the scout, erecting his tall person with an air of
military pride ; " there are not many echoes among these hills
that haven't rung with the crack of my rifle, nor is there the
space of a square mile atwixt Horican and the river, that ' Kill-
deer ' hasn't dropped a living body on, be it an enemy or be it
a brute beast. As for the grave there being as quiet as you
mention, it is another matter. There are them in the camp
who say and think, man, to lie still, should not be buried
while the breath is in the body ; and certain it is that in the
hurry of that evening, the doctors had but little time to say
who was living and who was dead. Hist ! see you nothing
walking on the shore of the pond ? "
" Tis not probable that any are as houseless as ourselves in
this dreary forest."
"Such as he may care but little for house or shelter, and
night dew can never wet a body that passes its days in the
water," returned the scout, grasping the shoulder of Hey ward
with such convulsive strength as to make the young soldier
painfully sensible how much superstitious terror had got the
mastery of a man usually so dauntless.
" By heaven ! there is a human form, and it approaches !
Stand to your arms, my friends, for we know not whom we
encounter."
" Qui vive ? " demanded a stern, quick voice, which sounded
like a challenge from another world, issuing out of that solitary
and solemn place.
" What says it 1 " whispered the scout ; "it speaks neither
Indian nor English."
"Qui vive?" repeated the same voice, which was quickly
followed by the rattling of arms, and a menacing attitude.
" France ! " cried Hey ward, advancing from the shadow of
the trees to the shore of the pond, within a few yards of the
sentinel.
"D'ou venez-vous ou allez-vous, d'aussi bonne heure?"
THE LAST X)F THE MOHICANS 165
demanded the grenadier, in the language and with the accent
of. a man from old France.
" Je viens de la de'couverte, et je vais me coucher."
" Etes-vous officier du roi ? "
"Sans doute, mon camarade; me prends-tu pour un pro-
vincial ! Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well knew
that the other was of a regiment in the line); j'ai ici avec moi,
les filles du commandant de la fortification. Aha ! tu en as
entendu parler ! je les ai fait prisonnieres pres de l'autre fort,
et je les .conduis au ge'ne'ral."
"Ma foi! mesdames; j'en suis fache pour vous," exclaimed
the young soldier, touching his cap with grace ; " mais for-
tune de guerre ! vous trouverez notre ge'ne'ral un brave homme,
et bien poli avec les dames."
" C'est le caracte're des gens de guerre," said Cora, with ad-
mirable self-possession. "Adieu, mon ami; je vous souhai-
terais un devoir plus agreable k remplir."
The soldier made a low and humble acknowledgment for her
civility ; and Heyward adding a " Bonne nuit, mon camarade,"
they moved deliberately forward, leaving the sentinel pacing
the banks of the silent pond, little suspecting an enemy of
so much effrontery, and humming to himself those words which
were recalled to his mind by the sight of women, and perhaps,
by recollections of his own distant and beautiful France :
" Vive le vin, vive l 1 amour," etc., etc.
" 'Tis well you understood the knave ! " whispered the scout,
when they had gained a little distance from the place, and let-
ting his rifle fall into the hollow of his arm again ; "I soon
saw that he was one of them uneasy French ers ; and well for
him it was that his speech was friendly and his wishes kiud,
or a place might have been found for his bones among those
of his countrymen."
166 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
He was interrupted by a long and heavy groan which arose
from the little basin, as though, in truth, the spirits of the
departed lingered about their watery sepulchre.
"Surely it was of flesh," continued the scout; "no spirit
could handle its arms so steadily."
" It was of flesh ; but whether the poor fellow still belongs
to this world may well be doubted," said Hey ward, glancing
his eyes around him, and missing Chingachgook from their
little band. Another groan, more faint than the former, was
succeeded by a heavy and sullen plunge into the water, and
all was as still again as if the borders of the dreary pool had
never been awakened from the silence of creation. While they
yet hesitated in uncertainty, the form of the Indian was seen
gliding out of the thicket. As the chief rejoined them, with
one hand he attached the reeking scalp of the unfortunate
youug Frenchman to his girdle, and with the other he replaced
the knife and tomahawk that had drunk his blood. He then
took his wonted station, with the air of a man who believed he
had done a deed of merit.
The scout dropped one end of his rifle to the earth, and
leaning his hands on the other, he stood musing in profound
silence. Then shaking his head in a mournful manner, he
muttered :
" 'Twould have been a cruel and an inhuman act for a white-
skin ; but 'tis the gift and natur' of an Indian, and I suppose
it should not be denied. I could wish, though, it had befallen
an accursed Mingo, rather than that gay young boy from the
old countries."
" Enough ! " said Heyward, apprehensive the unconscious sis-
ters might comprehend the nature of the detention, and con-
quering his disgust by a train of reflections very much like that of
the hunter ; " 'tis done ; and though better it were left undone,
cannot be amended. You see, we are, too obviously, within the
sentinels of the enemy; what course do you propose to follow?"
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 167
"Yes," said Hawkeye, rousing himself again; "'tis as you
say, too late to harbor further thoughts about it. Ay, the
French have gathered around the fort in good earnest and we
have a delicate needle to thread in passing them."
"And but little time to do it in," added Hey ward, glancing
his eyes upward, towards the bank of vapor that concealed the
setting moon.
" And little time to do it in ! " repeated the scout. " The
thing may be done in two fashions, by the help of Providence,
without which it may not be done at all."
"Name them quickly for time presses."
"One would be to dismount the gentle ones, and let their
beasts range the plain ; by sending the Mohicans in front, we
might then cut a lane through their sentries, and enter the
fort over the dead bodies."
" It will not do it will not do ! " interrupted the generous
Hey ward; "a soldier might force his way in this manner, but
never with such a convoy."
" 'Twould be, indeed, a bloody path for such tender feet to
wade in," returned the equally reluctant scout ; " but I thought
it befitting my manhood to name it. We must, then, turn on
our trail and get without the line of their lookouts, when we
will bend short to the west, and enter the mountains ; where I
can hide you, so that all the devil's hounds in Montcalm's pay
would be thrown off the scent for months to come."
"Let it be done, and that instantly."
Further words were unnecessary ; for Hawkeye, merely utter-
ing the mandate to " follow," moved along the route by which
they had just entered their present critical and even dangerous
situation. Their progress, like their late dialogue, was guarded,
and without noise ; for none knew at what moment a passing
patrol, or a crouching picket of the enemy, might rise upon
their path. As they held their silent way along the margin of
the pond, again Heyward and the scout stole furtive glances at
168 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
its appalling dreariness. They looked in vain for the form they
had so recently seen stalking along its silent shores, while a
low and regular wash of the little waves, by announcing that
the waters were not yet subsided, furnished a frightful memo-
rial of the deed of blood they had just witnessed. Like all
that passing and gloomy scene, the low basin, however, quickly
melted in the darkness, and became blended with the mass of
black objects in the rear of the travellers.
Hawkeye soon deviated from the line of their retreat, and
striking off towards the mountains which form the western
boundary of the narrow plain, he led his followers, with swift
steps, deep within the shadows that were cast from their high
and broken summits. The route was now painful ; lying over
ground ragged with rocks, and intersected with ravines, and
their progress proportionately slow. Bleak and black hills lay
on every side of them, compensating in some degree for the
additional toil of the march by the sense of security they im-
parted. At length the party began slowly to rise a steep and
rugged ascent, by a path that curiously wound among rocks
and trees, avoiding the one and supported by the other, in a
manner that showed it had been devised by men long practised
in the arts of the wilderness. As they gradually rose from the
level of the valleys, the thick darkness which usually precedes
the approach of day began to disperse, and objects were seen in
the plain and palpable colors with which they had been gifted
by nature. When they issued from the stunted woods which
clung to the barren sides of the mountain, upon a flat and
mossy rock that formed its summit, they met the morning, as
it came blushing above the green pines of a hill that lay on
the opposite side of the valley of the Horican.
The scout now told the sisters to dismount ; and taking the
bridles from the mouths, and the saddles off the backs of the
jaded beasts, he turned them loose, to glean a scanty subsistence
among the shrubs and meagre herbage of that elevated region.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 169
"Go," he said, "and seek your food where natur' gives it
you ; and heware that you become not food to ravenous wolves
yourselves, among these hills."
" Have we no further need of them ? " demanded Heyward.
"See, and judge with your own eyes," said the scout, ad-
vancing toward the eastern brow of the mountain, whither he
beckoned for the whole party to follow ; " if it was as easy to
look into the heart of man as it is to spy out the nakedness of
Montcalm's camp from this spot, hypocrites would grow scarce,
and the cunning of a Mingo might prove a losing game, com-
pared to the honesty of a Delaware."
When the travellers reached the verge of the precipice they
saw, at a glance, the truth of the scout's declaration, and the
admirable foresight with which he had led them to their com-
manding station.
The mountain on which they stood, elevated, perhaps, a
thousand feet in the air, was a high cone that rose a little in
advance of that range which stretches for miles along the west-
ern shores of the lake, until meeting its sister piles beyond the
water, it ran off toward the Canadas, in confused and broken
masses of rock, thinly sprinkled with evergreens. Immedi-
ately at the feet of the party, the southern shore of the Hori-
can swept in a broad semicircle from mountain to mountain,
marking a wide strand, that soon rose into an uneven and
somewhat elevated plain. To the north stretched the limpid,
and, as it appeared from that dizzy height, the narrow sheet of
the "holy lake," indented with numberless bays, embellished
by fantastic headlands, and dotted with countless islands. At
the distance of a few leagues, the bed of the waters became
lost among mountains, or was wrapped in the masses of
vapor that came slowly rolling along their bosom, before a
light morning air. But a narrow opening between the crests
of the hills pointed out the passage by which they found their
way still farther north, to spread their pure and ample sheets
170 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
again, before pouring out their tribute into the distant Cham-
plain. To the south stretched the defile, or rather broken
plain, so often mentioned. For several miles in this direction,
the mountains appeared reluctant to yield their dominion, but
within reach of the eye they diverged, and finally melted into
the level and sandy lands, across which we have accompanied
our adventurers in their double journey. Along both ranges of
hills, which bounded the opposite sides of the lake and valley,
clouds of light vapor were rising in spiral wreaths from the
uninhabited woods, looking like the stnoke of hidden cottages ;
or rolled lazily down the declivities, to mingle with the fogs of
the lower land. A single, solitary, snow-white cloud floated
above the valley, and marked the spot beneath which lay the
silent pool of the " bloody pond."
Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearer to its western
than to its eastern margin, lay the extensive earthen ramparts
and low buildings of William Henry. Two of the sweeping
bastions appeared to rest on the water which washed their
bases, while a deep ditch and extensive morasses guarded its
other sides and angles. The land had been cleared of wood for
a reasonable distance around the work, but every other part of
the scene lay in the green livery of nature, except where the
limpid water mellowed the view, or the bold rocks thrust their
black and naked heads above the undulating outline of the
mountain ranges. In its front might be seen the scattered
sentinels, who held a weary watch against their numerous foes ;
and within the walls themselves, the travellers looked down
upon men still drowsy with a night of vigilance. Toward the
southeast, but in immediate contact with the fort, was an
intrenched camp, posted on a rocky eminence, that would have
been far more eligible for the work itself, in which Hawkeye
pointed out the presence of those auxiliary regiments that had
so recently left the Hudson in their company. From the
woods, a little farther to the south, rose numerous dark and
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 171
lurid smokes, that were easily to be distinguished from the
purer exhalations of the springs, and which the scout also
showed to Heyward, as evidences that the ejieniy lay in force
in that direction.
But the %pectacle which most concerned the young soldier
was on the western bank of the lake, though quite near to its
southern termination. On a strip of land, which appeared
from his stand too narrow to contain such an army, but which,
in truth, extended many hundreds of yards from the shores of
the Horican to the base of the mountain, were to be seen the
white tents and military engines of an encampment of ten
thousand men. Batteries were already thrown up in their
front, and even while the spectators above them were looking
down, with such different emotions, on a scene which lay like a
map beneath their feet, the roar of artillery rose from the valley,
and passed off in thundering echoes along the eastern hills.
" Morning is just touching them below," said the deliberate
and musing scout, " and the watchers have a mind to wake up
the sleepers by the sound of the cannon. We are a few hours
too late ! Montcalm has already filled the woods with his
accursed Iroquois."
" The place is, indeed, invested," returned Duncan ; " but is
there no expedient by which we may enter? capture in the
works would be far preferable to felling again into the hands
of roving Indians."
" See ! " exclaimed the scout, unconsciously directing the
attention of Cora to the quarters of her own father, " how that
shot has made the stones fly from the side of the commandant's
house ! Ay ! these Frenchers will pull it to pieces faster than
it was put together, solid and thick though it be ! "
"Heyward, I sicken at the sight of danger that I cannot
share," said the undaunted but anxious daughter. "Let us go
to Montcalm, and demand admission : he dare not deny a child
the boon."
172 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"You would scarce find the tent of the Frenchman with the
hair on your head ; " said the blunt scout. " If I had but one
of the thousand boats which lie empty along that shore, it
might be done ! Ha ! here will soon be an end of the firing,
for yonder comes a fog that will turn day to night, and make
an Indian arrow more dangerous than a moulded cannon. Now,
if you are equal to the work, and will follow, I will make a
push ; for I long to get down into that camp, if it be only to
scatter some Mingo dogs that I see lurking in the skirts of
yonder thicket of birch."
" We are equal," said Cora, firmly ; " on such an errand we
will follow to any danger."
The scout turned to her with a smile of honest and cordial
approbation, as he answered :
" I would I had a thousand men, of brawny limbs and quick
eyes, that feared death as little as you ! I'd send them jabber-
ing Frenchers back into their den again, afore the week was
ended, howling like so many fettered hounds or hungry wolves.
But stir," he added, turning from her to the rest of the party,
" the fog comes rolling down so fast, we shall have but just the
time to meet it on the plain, and use it as a cover. Remember,
if any accident should befall me, to keep the air blowing on
your left cheeks or, rather, follow the Mohicans; they'd
scent their way, be it in day or be it at night."
He then waved his hand for them to follow, and threw him-
self down the steep declivity, with free, but careful footsteps.
Heyward assisted the sisters to descend, and in a few minutes
they were all far down a mountain whose sides they had
climbed with so much toil and pain.
The direction taken by Hawkeye soon brought the travellers
to the level of the plain, nearly opposite to a sally-port in the
western curtain of th^fort, which lay itself at the distance of
about half a mile from the point where he halted to allow Dun-
can to come up with his charge. In their eagerness, and fa-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 173
vored by the nature of the ground, they had anticipated the fog,
which was rolling heavily down the lake, and it became neces-
sary to pause, until the mists had wrapped the camp of the
enemy in their fleecy mantle. The Mohicans profited by the
delay, to steal out of the woods, and to make a survey of sur-
rounding objects. They were followed at a little distance by
the scout, with a view to profit early by their report, and to
obtain some faint knowledge for himself of the more immediate
localities.
In a few moments he returned, his face reddened with vexa-
tion, while he muttered his disappointment in words of no very
gentle import.
"Here has the cunning Frenchman been posting a picket
directly in our path," he said; "red skins and whites; and we
shall be as likely to fall into their midst as to pass them in the
fog ! "
" Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the danger," asked Hey-
ward, " and come into our path again when it is passed 1 "
' Who that once bends from the line of his march in a fog
can tell when or how to turn to find it again ! The mists of
Horican are not like the curls from a peace-pipe, or the smoke
which settles above a mosquito fire."
He was yet speaking, when a crashing sound was heard, and
a cannon-ball entered the thicket, striking the body of a sapling,
and rebounding to the earth, its force being much expended by
previous resistance. The Indians followed instantly like busy
attendants on the terrible messenger, and Uncas commenced
speaking earnestly and with much action, in the Delaware
tongue.
" It may be so, lad," muttered the scout, when he had ended ;
"for desperate fevers are not to be treated like a toothache.
Come, then, the fog is shutting in."
" Stop ! " cried Heyward ; " first explain your expectations."
" Tis soon done, and a small hope it is ; but it is better than
174 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
nothing. This shot that you see," added the scout, kicking the
harmless iron with his foot, " has ploughed the 'arth in its road
from the fort, and we shall hunt for the furrow it has made,
when all other signs may fail. No more words, but follow, or
the fog may leave us in the middle of our path, a mark for both
armies to shoot at."
Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis had arrived, when
acts were more required than words, placed himself between the
sisters, and drew them swiftly forward, keeping the dim figure
of their leader in his eye. It was soon apparent that Hawkeye
had not magnified the power of the fog, for before they had pro-
ceeded twenty yards, it was difficult for the different individuals
of the party to distinguish each other in the vapor.
They had made their little circuit to the left, and were
already inclining again toward the right, having, as Heyward
thought, got over nearly half the distance to the friendly works,
when his ears were saluted with the fierce summons, apparently
within twenty feet of them, of :
"Quivala?"
" Push on ! " whispered the scout, once more bending to the
left.
" Push on ! " repeated Heyward ; when the summons was re-
newed by a dozen voices, each of which seemed charged with
menace.
" C'est moi," cried Duncan, dragging rather than leading those
he supported swiftly onward.
"Bete! qui? moi!"
" Un ami de la France."
" Tu m'as plus Fair d'un ennemi de la France ; arre'te ou par-
dieu je te ferai ami du diable. Non ! feu, camarades, feu ! "
The order was instantly obeyed, and the fog was stirred by
the explosion of fifty muskets. Happily, the aim was bad, and
the bullets cut the air in a direction a little different from that
taken by the fugitives ; though still so nigh them, that to the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 175
unpractised ears of David and the two females, it appeared as
if they whistled within a few inches of the* organs. The
outcry was renewed, and the order, not only to fire again, but
to pursue, was too plainly audible. When Heyward briefly
explained the meaning of the words they heard, Hawkeye halted
and spoke with quick decision and great firmness.
"Let us deliver our fire," he said; "they will believe it a
sortie, and give way, or they will wait for reinforcements. "
The scheme was well conceived, but failed in its effect. The
instant the French heard the pieces, it seemed as if the plain
was alive with men, muskets rattling along its whole extent,
from the shores of the lake to the farthest boundary of the
woods.
"We shall draw their entire army upon us, and bring on a
general assault," said Duncan : " lead on, my friend, for your
own life, and ours."
The scout seemed willing to comply; but, in the hurry of
the moment, and in the change of position, he had lost the
direction. In vain he turned either cheek toward the light air ;
they felt equally cool. In this dilemma, Uncas lighted on the
furrow of the cannon-ball, where it had cut the ground in three
adjacent ant-hills.
"Give me the range!" said Hawkeye, bending to catch a
glimpse of the direction, and then instantly moving onward.
Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, and the reports of
muskets, were now quick and incessant, and, apparently, on
every side of them. Suddenly a strong glare of light flashed
across the scene, the fog rolled upward in thick wreaths, and
several cannon belched across the plain, and the roar was thrown
heavily back from the bellowing echoes of the mountain.
" 'Tis from the fort ! " exclaimed Hawkeye, turning short on
his tracks; "and we, like stricken fools, were rushing to the
woods, under the very, knives of the Maquas."
The instant their mistake was rectified, the whole party
176 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
retraced the error with the utmost diligence. Duncan will-
ingly relinquished the support of Cora to the arm of Uncas
and Cora as readily accepted the welcome assistance. Men,
hot and angry in pursuit, were evidently on their footsteps, and
each instant threatened their capture, if not their destruction.
" Point de quartier aux coquins ! " cried an eager pursuer,
who seemed to direct the operations of the enemy.
" Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant Sixtieths ! " suddenly
exclaimed a voice above them ; " wait to see the enemy, fire
low and sweep the glacis."
" Father ! father ! " exclaimed a piercing cry from out the
mist ; " it is I ! Alice ! thy own Elsie ! Spare, oh ! save your
daughters ! "
" Hold ! " shouted the former speaker, in the awful tones of
parental agony, the sound reaching even to the woods, and
rolling back in solemn echo. " Tis she ! God has restored me
my children ! Throw open the sally-port ; to the field, Sixtieths,
to the field ; pull not a trigger, lest ye kill my lambs ! Drive
off these dogs of France with your steel. "
Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and darting to
the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line of dark red
warriors, passing swiftly toward the glacis. He knew them
for his own battalion of the Royal Americans, and flying to
their head, soon swept every trace of his pursuers from before
the works.
For an instant, Cora and Alice had stood trembling and
bewildered by this unexpected desertion ; but before either had
leisure for speech, or even thought, an officer of gigantic frame,
whose locks were bleached with years and service, but whose
air of military grandeur had been rather softened than destroyed
by time, rushed out of the body of mist, and folded them to
his bosom, while large scalding tears rolled down his pale and
wrinkled cheeks, and he exclaimed, in the peculiar accent of
Scotland :
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 177
" For this I thank thee, Lord ! Let danger come as it will,
thy servant is now prepared ! "
CHAPTER XV
" Then go we in, to know his embassy,
Which I could, with ready guess, declare,
Before the Frenchman speak a word of it."
Kino Henry V.
A pew succeeding days were passed amid the privations, the
uproar, and the dangers of the siege, which was vigorously
pressed by a power, against whose approaches Munro possessed
no competent means of resistance. It appeared as if Webb,
with his army, which lay slumbering on the banks of the
Hudson, had utterly forgotten the strait to which his country-
men were reduced. Montcalm had filled the woods of the
portage with his savages, every yell and whoop from whom
rang through the British encampment, chilling the hearts of
men who were already but too much disposed to magnify the
danger.
Not so, however, with the besieged. Animated by the words,
and stimulated by the examples, of their leaders, they had found
their courage, and maintained their ancient reputation, with a
zeal that did justice to the stern character of their commander.
As if satisfied with the toil of marching through the wilderness
to encounter his enemy, the French general, though of approved
skill, had neglected to seize the adjacent mountains; whence
the besieged might have been exterminated with impunity, and
which, in the more modern warfare of the country, would not
have been neglected for a single hour. This sort of contempt
for eminences, or rather dread of the labor of ascending them,
might have been termed the besetting weakness of the warfare
of the period. It originated in the simplicity of the Indian con-
178 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
tests, in which, from the nature of the combats, and the density
of the forests, fortresses were rare, and artillery next to useless.
The carelessness engendered by these usages descended even to
the war of the Revolution and lost the States the important
fortress of Ticonderoga, opening a way for the army of Burgoyne
into what was then the bosom of the country. We look back
at this ignorance, or infatuation, whichever it may be called,
with wonder, knowing that the neglect of an eminence, whose
difficulties, like those of Mount Defiance, have been so greatly
exaggerated, would, at the present time, prove fatal to the
reputation of the engineer who had planned the works at their
base, or to that of the general whose lot it was to defend them.
The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the amateur of the beauties
of nature, who, in the train of his four-in-hand, now rolls
through the scenes we have attempted to describe, in quest of
information, health, or pleasure, or floats steadily toward his
object on those artificial waters which have sprung up under
the administration of a statesman who has dared to stake his
political character on the hazardous issue, is not to suppose that
his ancestors traversed those hills, or struggled with the same
currents with equal facility. The transportation of a single
heavy gun was often considered equal to a victory gained ; if
happily, the difficulties of the passage had not so far separated
it from its necessary concomitant, the ammunition, as to render
it no more than a useless tube of unwieldy iron.
The evils of this state of things pressed heavily on the
fortunes of the resolute Scotsman who now defended William
Henry. Though his adversary neglected the hills, he had
planted his batteries with judgment on the plain, and caused
them to be served with vigor and skill. Against this assault,
the besieged could only oppose the imperfect and hasty prepara-
tions of a fortress in the wilderness.
It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of the siege, and the
fourth of his own service in it, that Major Heyward profited by
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 179
a parley that had just been beaten, by repairing to the ramparts
of one of the water bastions, to breathe the cool air from the
lake, and to take a survey of the progress of the siege. He
was alone, if the solitary sentinel who paced the mound be ex-
cepted ; for the artillerists had hastened also to profit by the
temporary suspension of their arduous duties. The evening
was delightfully calm, and the light air from the limpid water
fresh and soothing. It seemed as if, with the termination of
the roar of artillery and the plunging of shot, nature had also
seized the moment to assume her mildest and most captivating
form. The sun poured down his parting glory on the scene,
without the oppression of those fierce rays that belong to the
climate and the season. The mountains looked green, and
fresh, and lovely, tempered with the milder light, or softened
in shadow, as thin vapors floated between them and the sun.
The numerous islands rested on the bosom of the Horican, some
low and. sunken, as if embedded in the waters, and others ap-
pearing to hover above the element, in little hillocks of green
velvet; among which the fishermen of the beleaguering army
peacefully rowed their skiffs, or floated at rest on the glassy
mirror, in quiet pursuit of their employment.
The scene was at once animated and still. All that per-
tained to nature was sweet, or simply grand ; while those parts
which depended on the temper and movements of man were
lively and playful.
Two little spotless flags were abroad, the one on a salient
angle of the fort, and the other on the advanced battery of be-
siegers; emblems of the truce which existed, not only to the
acts, but it would seem, also, to the enmity of the combatants.
Behind these, again, swung, heavily opening and closing in
silken folds, the rival standards of England and France.
A hundred gay and thoughtless young Frenchmen were draw-
ing a net to the pebbly beach, within dangerous proximity to
/ the sullen but silent cannon of the fort, while the eastern moun-
180 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
tain was sending back the loud shouts and gay merriment that
attended their sport. Some were rushing eagerly to enjoy the
aquatic games of the lake, and others were already toiling their
way up the neighboring hills, with the restless curiosity of their
nation. To all these sports and pursuits, those of the enemy
who watched the besieged, and the besieged themselves, were,'
however, merely the idle though sympathizing spectators.
Here and there a picket had, indeed, raised a song, or mingled
in a dance, which had drawn the dusky savages around them,
from their lairs in the forest. In short, everything wore rather
the appearance of a day of pleasure, than of an hour stolen
from the dangers and toil of a bloody and vindictive warfare.
Duncan had stood in. a musing attitude, contemplating this
scene a few minutes, when his eyes were directed to the glacis
in front of the sally-port already mentioned, by the sounds of
approaching footsteps. He walked to an angle of the bastion,
and beheld the scout advancing, under the custody of a French
officer, to the body of the fort. . The countenance of Hawkeye
was haggard and careworn, and his air dejected, as though he
felt the deepest degradation at having fallen into the power of
his enemies. He was without his favorite weapon, and his
arms were even bound behind him with thongs, made of the
skin of a deer. The arrival of flags to cover the messengers of
summons, had occurred so often of late, that when Heyward
first threw his careless glance on this group, he expected to see
another of the officers of the enemy, charged with a similar
office ; but the inBtant he recognized the tall person and still
sturdy, though downcast features of his friend, the woodsman,
he started with surprise, and turned to descend from the bas-
tion into the bosom of the work.
The sounds of other voices, however, caught his attention,
and for a moment caused him to forget his purpose. At the
inner angle of the mound he met the sisters, walking along the
parapet, in search, like himself, of air and relief from confine-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 181
ment. They had not met from that painful moment when he
deserted them on the plain, only to assure their safety. He
had parted from them worn. with care, and jaded with fatigue;
he now saw them refreshed and blooming, though timid and
anxious. Under such an inducement, it will cause no surprise
that the young man lost sight, for a time, of other objects in
order to address them. He was, however, anticipated by the
voice of the ingenuous and youthful Alice.
"Ah ! thou truant ! thou recreant knight ! he who abandons
his damsels in the very lists ! " she cried ; " here have we been
days, nay, ages, expecting you at our feet, imploring mercy and
forgetfulness of your craven backsliding, or, I should rather say,
backrunning for verily you fled. in a manner that no stricken
deer, as our worthy friend the scout would say, could equal ! "
" You know that Alice means our thanks and our blessings,"
added the graver and more thoughtful Cora. "In truth, we
have a little wondered why you should so rigidly absent your-
self from a place where the gratitude of the daughters might re-
ceive the support of a parent's thanks."
"Your father himself could tell you, that though absent
from your presence, I have not been altogether forgetful of your
safety," returned the young man ; " the mastery of yonder vil-
lage of huts," pointing to the neighboring entrenched camp,
" has been keenly disputed ; and he who holds it is sure to be
possessed of this fort, and that which it contains. My days
and nights have all been passed there since we separated, be-
cause I thought that duty called me thither. But," he added,
with an air of chagrin, which he endeavored, though unsuccess-
fully, to conceal, " had I been aware that what I then believed
a soldier's conduct could be so construed, shame would have
been added to the list of reasons."
" Hey ward ! Duncan ! " exclaimed Alice, bending forward to
read his half-averted countenance, until a lock of her golden
hair rested on her flushed cheek, and nearly concealed the tear
182 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
that had started to her eye ; " did I think this idle tongue of
mine had pained you, I would silence it forever. Cora can say,
if Cora would, how justly we have prized your services, and
how deep I had almost said, how fervent is our grati-
tude."
"And will Cora attest the truth of this?" cried Duncan,
suffering the cloud to be chased from his countenance by a smile
of open pleasure. "What says our graver sister? Will she
find an excuse for the neglect of the knight in the duty of a
soldier?"
Cora made no immediate answer, but turned her face toward
the water, as if looking on the sheet of the Horican. When
she did bend her dark eyes on the young man, they were yet
filled with an expression of anguish that at once drove every
thought but that of kind solicitude from his mind.
" You are not well, dearest Miss Munro ! " he exclaimed ;
" we have trifled while you are in suffering ! "
"Tis nothing," she answered, refusing his offered support
with feminine reserve. " That I cannot see the sunny side of
the picture of life, like this artless but ardent enthusiast," she
added, laying her hand lightly, but affectionately, on the arm of
her sister, "is the penalty of experience, and, perhaps, the mis-
fortune of my nature. See," she continued, as if determined
to shake off infirmity, in a sense of duty ; " look around you,
Major Heyward, and tell me what a prospect is this for the
daughter of a soldier whose greatest happiness is his honor and
his military renown."
" Neither ought nor shall be tarnished by circumstances over
which he has had no control," Duncan warmly replied. " But
your words recall me to my own duty. I go now to your
gallant father, to hear his determination in matters of the last
moment to the defence. God bless you in every fortune, noble
Cora I may and must call you." She frankly gave him
her hand, though her lip quivered, and her cheeks gradually
THE LAST Or THE MOHICANS , 183
became of an ashy paleness. " In every fortune, I know you
will be an ornament and honor to your sex. Alice, adieu "
his tone changed from admiration to tenderness "Adieu,
Alice ; we shall soon meet again ; as conquerors, I trust, and
amid rejoicings ! "
Without waiting for an answer from either, the young man
threw himself down the grassy steps of the bastion, and mov-
ing rapidly across the parade, he was quickly in the presence
of their father. Munro was pacing his narrow apartment with
a disturbed air and gigantic strides as Duncan entered.
"You have anticipated my wishes, Major Heyward," he
said; "I was about to request this favor."
"I am sorry to see, sir, that the messenger 1 so warmly
recommended has returned in custody of the French ! I hope
there is no reason to distrust his fidelity ? "
"The fidelity of the 'Long Rifle y is well known to me,"
returned Munro, " and is above suspicion ; though his usual
good fortune seems, at last, to have failed. Montcalm has got
him, and with the accursed politeness of his nation, he has sent
him in with a doleful tale, of ' knowing how I valued the fellow,
he could not think of retaining him. 7 A Jesuitical way, that,
Major Duncan Heyward, of telling a man of his misfortunes ! "
' But the general and his succor ? "
" Did ye look to the south as ye entered, and could ye not
see them ? " said the old soldier, laughing bitterly. " Hoot !
hoot ! you're an impatient boy, sir, and cannot give the gentle-
men leisure for their march ! "
" They are coming, then 1 The scout has said as much ? "
'" When ? and by what path ? for the dunce has omitted to
tell me this. There is a letter, it would seem, too ; and that
is the only agreeable part of the matter. For the customary
attentions of your Marquis of Montcalm I warrant me,
Duncan, that he of Lothian would buy a dozen such marquis-
ates but if the news of the letter were bad, the gentility of
184 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
this French monsieur would certainly compel him to let us
know it."
" He keeps the letter, then, while he releases the messenger?"
"Ay, that does he, and all for the sake of what you
call your * bonhommie.' I would venture, if the truth was
known, the fellow's grandfather taught the noble science' of
dancing."
" But what says the scout 1 he has eyes and ears, and a
tongue. What verbal report does he make ? "
" Oh ! sir, he is not wanting in natural organs, and he is
free to tell all that he has seen and heard. The whole amount
is this: there is a fort of his majesty's on the banks of the
Hudson, called Edward, in honor of his gracious highness of
York, you'll know ; and it is well filled with armed men, as
such a work should be."
" But was there no movement, no signs of any intention to
advance to our relief? "
" There were the morning and evening parades ; and when
one of the provincial loons you'll know, Duncan, you're half
a Scotsman yourself when one of them dropped his powder
over his porretch, if it touched the coals, it just burned ! "
Then suddenly changing his bitter, ironical manner to one more
grave and thoughtful, he continued : " and yet there might,
and must be, something in that letter which it would be well
to know ! "
" Our decision should be speedy," said Duncan, gladly avail-
ing himself of this change of humor, to press the more important
objects of their interview; "I cannot conceal from you, sir,
that the camp will not be much longer tenable ; and I am sorry
to add, that things appear no better in the fort ; more than half
the guns are bursted."
" And how should it be otherwise ? Some were fished from
the bottom of the lake ; some have been rusting in woods since
the discovery of the country ; and some were never guns at alj
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 185
mere privateersmen's playthings ! Do you think, sir, you
can have Woolwich Warren in the midst of a wilderness, three
thousand miles from Great Britain ? "
"The walls are crumbling about our ears, and provisions
begin to fail us," continued Heyward, without regarding this
new burst of indignation ; " even the men show signs of dis,
content and alarm."
"Major Heyward," said Munro, turning to his youthful asso-
ciate with the dignity of his years and superior rank ; " I should
have served his majesty for half a century, and earned these
gray hairs in vain, were I ignorant of all you say, and of the
pressing nature of our circumstances ; still, there is everything
due to the honor of the king's arms, and something to ourselves.
While there is hope of succor, this fortress will I defend, though
it be to be done with pebbles gathered on the lake shore. It
is a sight of the letter, therefore, that we want, that we may
know the intentions of the man the Earl of Loudon has left
among us as his substitute."
" And can I be of service in the matter ? "
" Sir, you can ; the marquis of Montcalm has, in addition to
his other civilities, invited me to a personal interview between
the works and his own camp ; in order, as he says, to impart
some additional information. Now, I think it would not be
wise to show any undue solicitude to meet him, and I would
employ you, an officer of rank, as my substitute ; for it would
but ill comport with the honor of Scotland to let it be said one
of her gentlemen was outdone in civility by a native of any
other country on earth."
Without assuming the supererogatory task of entering into
a discussion of the comparative merits of uational courtesy,
Duncan cheerfully assented to supply the place of the veteran
in the approaching interview. A long and confidential com-
munication now succeeded, during which the young man received
some additional insight into his duty, from the experience and
186 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
native acuteness of his commander, and then the former took
his leave.
As Duncan could only act as the representative of the com-
mandant of the fort, the ceremonies which should have accom-
panied a meeting between the heads of the adverse forces were,
of course, dispensed with. The truce still existed, and with a
roll and beat of the drum, and covered by a little white. flag,
Duncan left the sally-port, within ten minutes after his instruc-
tions were ended. He was received by the French officer in
advance with the usual formalities, and immediately accom-
panied to a distant marquee of the renowned soldier who led
the forces of France.
The general of the enemy received the youthful messenger,
surrounded by his principal officers, and by a swarthy band of
the native chiefs, who had followed him to the field, with the
warriors of their several tribes. Heyward paused short, when,
in glancing his eyes rapidly over the dark group of the latter,
he beheld the malignant countenance of Magua, regarding him
with the calm but sullen attention which marked the expression
of that subtle savage. A slight exclamation of surprise even
burst from the lips of the young man ; but instantly recollect-
ing his errand, and the presence in which he stood, he sup-
pressed every appearance of emotion, and turned to the hostile
leader, who had already advanced a step to receive him.
The marquis of Montcalm was, at the period of which we
write, in the flower of his age, and, it may be added, in the
zenith of his fortunes. But even in that enviable situation, he
was affable, and distinguished as much for his attention to the
forms of courtesy, as for that chivalrous courage which, only
two short years afterward, induced him to throw away his life
on the plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turning bis eyes from
the malign expression of Magua, suffered them to rest with
pleasure on the smiling and polished features, and the noble
military air, of the French general.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 187
" Monsieur, " said the latter, "j'ai beaucoup de plaisir a
bah ! oil est cet interpret ? "
" Je crois, monsieur, qu'il ne sera pas ne'cessaire," Heyward
modestly replied ; " je parle un peu francais."
"Ah! j'en suis bien aise," said Montcalm, taking Duncan
familiarly by the arm, and leading him deep into the marquee,
a little out of ear-shot; "je de'teste ces fripons-la; on ne sait
jamais sur quel pie* on est avec eux. Eh, bien ! monsieur,"
he continued, still speaking in French ; " though I should have
been proud of receiving your commandant, I am very happy
that he has seen proper to employ an officer so distinguished,
and who, I am sure, is so amiable, as yourself."
Duncan bowed low, pleased with the compliment, in spite of
a most heroic determination to surfer no artifice to allure him
into forgetfulness of the interest of his prince ; and Montcalm,
after a pause of a moment, as if to collect his thoughts,
proceeded :
"Your commandant is a brave man, and well qualified to
repel my assault. Mais, monsieur, is it not time to begin to
take more counsel of humanity, and less of your courage 1 The
one as strongly characterizes the hero as the other."
" We consider the qualities as inseparable," returned Dun-
can, smiling ; " but while we find in the vigor of your excel-
lency every motive to stimulate the one, we can, as yet, see no
particular call for the exercise of the other."
Montcalm, in his turn, slightly bowed, but it was with the
air of a man too practised to remember the language of flattery.
After musing a moment, he added :
"It is impossible my glasses have deceived me, and that
your works resist our cannon better than I had supposed. You
know our force ? "
" Our accounts vary," said Duncan, carelessly ; " the highest,
however, has not exceeded twenty thousand men."
The Frenchman bit his lip, and fastened his eyes keenly on
188 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the other as if to read his thoughts ; then, with a readiness
peculiar to himself, he continued, as if assenting to the truth
of an enumeration which quite doubled his army :
"It is a poor compliment to the vigilance of us soldiers,
monsieur, that, do what we will, we never can conceal our
numbers. If it were to be done at all, one would believe it
might succeed in these woods. Though you think it too soon
to listen to the calls of humanity," he added, smiling archly, " I
may be permitted to believe that gallantry is not forgotten by
one so young as yourself. The daughters of the commandant,
I learn, have passed into the fort since it was invested 1 "
"It is true, monsieur; but, so far from weakening our
efforts, they set us an example of courage in their own forti-
tude. Were nothing but resolution necessary to repel so
accomplished a soldier as M. de Montcalm, I would gladly
trust the defence of William Henry to the elder of those
ladies."
" We have a wise ordinance in our Salique laws, which says,
'The crown of France shall never degrade the lance to the
distaff,' " said Montcalm, dryly, and with a little hauteur ; but
instantly adding, with his former frank and easy air: "as all
the nobler qualities are hereditary, I can easily credit you ;
though, as I said before, courage has its limits, and humanity
must not be forgotten. I trust, monsieur, you come authorized
to treat for the surrender of the place ? "
" Has your excellency found our defence so feeble as to be-
lieve the measure necessary ? "
" I should be sorry to have the defence protracted in such a
manner as to irritate my red friends there," continued Mont-
calm, glancing his eyes at the group of grave and attentive
Indians, without attending to the other's question ; " I find it
difficult, even now, to limit them to the usages of war."
Hey ward was silent ; for a painful recollection of the dangers
be bad 90 recently escaped came over his mind, and recalled
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 189
the images of those defenceless beings who had shared in all
his sufferings.
" Ces messieurs-Ik," said Montcalm, following up the advantage
which he conceived he had gained, " are most formidable when
baffled ; and it is unnecessary to tell you with what difficulty
they are restrained in their anger. Eh bien, monsieur ! shall
we speak of the terms ? "
" I fear your excellency has been deceived as to the strength
of William Henry, and the resources of its garrison ! "
" I have not sat down before Quebec, but an earthen work,
that is defended by twenty-three hundred gallant men," was
the laconic reply.
" Our mounds are earthen, certainly nor are they seated
on the rocks of Cape Diamond ; but they stand on that shore
which proved so destructive to Dieskau and his army. There
is also a powerful force within a few hours' march of us, which
we account upon as part of our means."
" Some six or eight thousand men," returned Montcalm, with
much apparent indifference, " whom their leader wisely judges
to be safer in their works than in the field."
It was now Heyward's turn to bite his lip with vexation,
as the other so coolly alluded to a force which the young man
knew to be overrated. Both mused a little while in silence
when Montcalm renewed the conversation, in a way that showed
he believed the visit of his guest was solely to propose terms
of capitulation. On the other hand, Hey ward began to throw
sundry inducements in the way of the French general, to betray
the discoveries he had made through the intercepted letter.
The artifice of neither, however, succeeded ; and after a pro-
tracted and fruitless interview, Duncan took his leave, favor-
ably impressed with an opinion of the courtesy and talents of
the enemy's captain, but as ignorant of what he came to learn
as when he arrived. Montcalm followed him as far as the
entrance of the marquee, renewing' his invitations to the com-
190 THE LAST OF THE MOHIGANS
mandant of the fort to give him an- immediate meeting in the
open ground between the two armies.
There they separated, and Duncan returned to the advanced
post of the French, accompanied as before ; whence he instantly
proceeded to the fort, and to the quarters of his own commander.
CHAPTER XVI
" Edg. Before you fight the battle ope this letter."
Lear.
Major Heywaud found Munro attended only by his daughters.
Alice sat upon his knee, parting the gray hairs on the forehead of
the old man with her delicate fingers ; and whenever he affected
to frown on her trifling, appeasing his assumed anger by pressing
her ruby lips fondly on his WTinkled brow. Cora was seated
nigh them, a calm and amused looker-on ; regarding the way-
ward movements of her more youthful sister with that species
of maternal fondness which characterized her love for Alice.
Not only the dangers through which they had passed, but those
which still impended above them, appeared to be momentarily
forgotten, in the soothing indulgence of such a family meeting.
It seemed as if they had profited by the short truce, to devote
an instant to the purest and best affections ; the daughters for-
getting their fears, and the veteran his cares, in the security of
the moment. Of this scene, Duncan, who, in his eagerness to
report his arrival, had entered unannounced, stood many mo-
ments an unobserved and a delighted spectator. But the quick
and dancing eyes of Alice soon caught a glimpse of his figure
reflected from a glass, and she sprang blushing from her father's
knee, exclaiming aloud :
" Major Heyward ! "
"What of the lad?" demanded her father; "I have sent
him to crack a little with the Frenchman. Ha, sir, you are
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 191
young, and you're nimble ! Away with you, ye baggage ; as if
there were not troubles enough for a soldier, without having his
camp filled with such prattling hussies as yourself ! "
Alice laughingly followed her sister, who instantly led the way
from an apartment where she perceived their presence was no
longer desirable. Munro, instead of demanding the result of
the young man's mission, paced the room for a few moments,
with his hands behind his back, and his head inclined toward
the floor, like a man lost in thought. At length he raised
his eyes, glistening with a father's fondness, and exclaimed :
"They are a pair of excellent girls, Hey ward, and such as
any one may boast of."
" You are not now to learn my opinion of your daughters,
Colonel Munro."
"True, lad, true," interrupted the impatient old man ; "you
were about opening your mind more fully on that matter the
day you got in ; but I did not think it becoming in an old sol-
dier to be talking of nuptial blessings and wedding jokes when
the enemies of his king were likely to be unbidden guests at
the feast. But I was wrong, Duncan, boy, I was wrong there ;
and I am now ready to hear what you have to say."
"Notwithstanding the pleasure your assurance gives me,
dear sir, I have, just now, a message from Montcalm "
" Let the Frenchman and all his host go to the devil, sir ! "
exclaimed the hasty veteran. " He is not yet master of Will-
iam Henry, nor shall he ever be, provided Webb proves him-
self the man he should. No, sir, thank Heaven we are not yet
in such a strait that it can be said Munro is too much pressed
to discharge the little domestic duties of his own family. Your
mother was the only child of my bosom friend, Duncan ; and
I'll just give you a hearing, though all the knights of St. Louis
were in a body at the sally-port, with the French saint at their
head, craving to speak a word under favor. A pretty degree of
knighthood, sir, is that which can be bought with sugar hogs-
192 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
heads ! and then your twopenny marquisates: The thistle is
the order for dignity and antiquity; the veritable 'nemo me
impune lacessit ' of chivalry. Ye had ancestors in that degree,
Duncan, and they were an ornament to the nobles of Scotland."
Heyward, who pereeived that his superior took a malicious
pleasure in exhibiting his contempt for the message of the
French general, was fain to humor a spleen that he knew
would be short-lived; he therefore replied with as much in-
difference as he could assume on such a subject :
" My request, as you know, sir, went so far as to presume to
the honor of being your son."
"Ay, boy, you found words to make yourself very plainly
comprehended. But, let me ask ye, sir, have you been as in-
telligible to the girl V'
"On my honor, no," exclaimed Duncan, warmly; "there
would have been an abuse of a confided trust, had I taken ad-
vantage of my situation for such a purpose."
"Your notions are those of a gentleman, Major Heyward,
and well enough in their place. But Cora Munro is a maiden
too discreet, and of a mind too elevated and improved, to need
the guardianship even of a father."
" Cora ! "
"Ay Cora! we are talking of your pretensions to Miss
Munro, are we not, sir ? "
"I I I was not conscious of having mentioned her
name," said Duncan, stammering.
"And to marry whotn, then, did you wish my consent,
Major Heyward?" demanded the old soldier, erecting himself
in the dignity of offended feeling.
" You have another, and not less lovely child."
" Alice ! " exclaimed the father, in an astonishment equal to
that with which Duncan had just repeated the name of her
sister.
" Such was the direction of my wishes, sir."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 193
The young man awaited in silence the result of the extraordi-
nary effect produced by a communication, which, as it now
appeared, was so unexpected. For several minutes Munro
paced the chamber with long and rapid strides, his rigid fea-
tures working convulsively, and every faculty seemingly absorbed
in the musings of his own mind. At length, he paused directly
in front of Hey ward, and riveting his eyes upon those of the
other, he said, with a lip that quivered violently :
"Duncan Hey ward, I have loved you for the sake of him
whose blood is in your veins ; I have loved you for your own
good qualities ; and I have loved you, because I thought you
would contribute to the happiness of my child. But all this
love would turn to hatred, were I assured that what I so much
apprehend is true."
" God forbid that any act or thought of mine should lead to
such a change ! " exclaimed the young man, whose eye never
quailed under the penetrating look it encountered. Without
adverting to the impossibility of the other's comprehending
those feelings which were hid in his own bosom, Munro suffered
himself to be appeased by the unaltered countenance he met,
and with a voice sensibly softened, he continued :
"You would be my son, Duncan, and you're ignorant of the
history of the man you wish to call your father. Sit ye down,
young man, and I will open to you the wounds of a seared
heart, in as few words as may be suitable."
By this time, the message of Montcalm was as much for-
gotten by him who bore it as by the man for whose ears it was
intended. Each drew a chair, and while the veteran communed
a few moments with his own thoughts, apparently in sadness,
the youth suppressed his impatience in a look and attitude of
respectful attention. At length, the former spoke :
" You'll know, already, Major Hey ward, that my family was
both ancient and honorable," commenced the Scotsman ; "though
it might not altogether be endowed with that amount of wealth
194 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
that should correspond with its degree. I was, maybe, such an
one as yourself when I plighted my faith to Alice Graham, the
only child of a neighboring laird of some estate. But the con-
nection was disagreeable to her father, on more accounts than
my poverty. I did, therefore, what an honest man should
restored the maiden her troth, and departed the country in the
service of my king. I had seen many regions, and had shed
much blood in different lands, before duty called me to the
islands of the West Indies. There it was my lot to form a con-
nection with one who in time became my wife, and the mother
of Cora. She was the daughter of a gentleman of those isles,
by a lady whose misfortune it was, if you will," said the old
man, proudly, "to be descended, remotely, from that unfortu-
nate class who are so basely enslaved to administer to the wants
of a luxurious people. Ay, sir, that is a curse entailed on
Scotland by her unnatural union with a foreign and trading
people. But could I find a man among them who would dare
to reflect on my child, he should feel the weight of a father's
anger ! Ha ! Major Hey ward, you are yourself born at the
south, where these unfortunate beings are considered of a race
inferior to your own."
"Tis most unfortunately true, sir," said Duncan, unable
any longer to prevent his eyes from sinking to the floor in
embarrassment.
" And you cast it on my child as a reproach 1 You scorn to
mingle the blood of the Heywards with one so degraded
lovely and virtuous though she be?" fiercely demanded the
jealous parent.
" Heaven protect me from a prejudice so unworthy of my
reason ! " returned Duncan, at the same time conscious of such
a feeling, and that as deeply rooted as if it had been engrafted
in his nature. "The sweetness, the beauty, the witchery of
your younger daughter, Colonel MunrOj might explain my
motives without imputing to me this injustice."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 195
"Ye are right, sir," returned the old man, again changing
his tones to those of gentleness, or rather softness ; " the girl
is the image of what her mother was at her years, and before
she had become acquainted with grief. When death deprived
me of my wife I returned to Scotland, enriched by the marriage ;
and would you think it, Duncan ! the suffering angel had
remained in the heartless state of celibacy twenty long years,
and that for the sake of a man who could forget her ! She did
more, sir ; she overlooked my want of faith, and all difficulties
being now removed, she took me for her husband."
"And became the mother of Alice?" exclaimed Duncan,
with an eagerness that might have proved dangerous at a
moment when the thoughts of Munro were less occupied than
at present.
" She did, indeed," said the old man, " and dearly did she
pay for the blessing she bestowed. But she is a saint in
heaven, sir; and it ill becomes one whose foot rests on the
grave to mourn a lot so blessed. I had her but a single year,
though ; a short term of happiness for one who had seen her
youth fade in hopeless pining."
There was something so commanding in the distress of the
old man, that Heyward did not dare to venture a syllable of
consolation. Munro sat utterly unconscious of the other's
presence, his features exposed and working with the anguish of
his regrets, while heavy tears fell from his eyes, and rolled
unheeded from his cheeks to the floor. At length he moved,
as if suddenly recovering his recollection ; when he arose, and
taking a single turn across the room, he approached his com-
panion with an air of military grandeur, and demanded :
" Have you not, Major Hey wood, some communication that
I should hear from the Marquis of Montcalm ? "
Duncan started in his turn, and immediately commenced in
an embarrassed voice, the half-forgotten message. It is un-
necessary to dwell upon the evasive though polite manner with
196 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
which the French general had eluded every attempt of Hey-
ward to worm from him the purport of the communication he
had proposed making, or on the decided, though still polished
message, by which he now gave his enemy to understand, that
unless he chose to receive it in person, he should not receive it
at all. As Munro listened to the detail of Duncan, the excited
feelings of the father gradually gave way before the obligations
of his station, and when the other was done, he saw before him
nothing but the veteran, swelling with the wounded feelings
of a soldier.
" You have said enough, Major Heywood ! " exclaimed the
angry old man ; " enough to make a volume of commentary on
French, civility. Here has this gentleman invited me to a
conference, and when I send him a capable substitute, for ye're
all that, Duncan, though your years are but few, he answers
me with a riddle."
" He may have thought less favorably of the substitute, my
dear sir ; and you will remember that the invitation, which he
now repeats, was to the commandant of the works, and not to
his second."
" Well, sir, is not a substitute clothed with all the power
and dignity of him who grants the commission ? He wishes to
confer with Munro ! Faith, sir, I have much inclination to
indulge the man, if it should only be to let him behold the
firm countenance we maintain in spite of his numbers and his
summons. There might be no bad policy in such a stroke,
young man."
Duncan, who believed it of the last importance that they
should speedily come at the contents of the letter borne by the
scout, gladly encouraged this idea.
" Without doubt, he could gather no confidence by witness-
ing our indifference," he said.
"You never said truer word. I could wish, sir, that he
would visit the works in open day, and in the form of a storm-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 197
ing party; that is the least failing method of proving the
countenance of an enemy, and would be far preferable to the
battering system he has chosen. The beauty and manliness of
warfare has been much deformed, Major Heyward, by the arts
of your Monsieur Vauban. Our ancestors were far above such
scientific cowardice ! "
" It may be very true, sir ; but we are now obliged to repel
art by art. What is your pleasure in the matter of the inter-
view ? "
" I will meet the Frenchman, and that without fear or delay ;
promptly, sir, as becomes a servant of my royal master. Go,
Major Heyward, and give them a flourish of the music; and
send out a messenger to let them know who is coming. We
will follow with a small guard, for such respect is due to one
who holds the honor of his king in keeping ; and hark'ee, Dun-
can," he added, in a half whisper, though they were alone,
"it may be prudent to have some aid at hand, in case there
should be treachery at the bottom of it all."
The young man availed himself of this order to quit the
apartment; and, as the day was fast coming to a close, he
hastened without delay, to make the necessary arrangements.
A very few minutes only were necessary to parade a few files,
and to dispatch an orderly with a flag to announce the approach
of the commandant of the fort. When Duncan had done both
these, he led the guard to the sally-port, near which he found
his superior ready, waiting his appearance. As soon as the
usual ceremonials of a military departure were observed, the
veteran and his more youthful companion left the fortress,
attended by the escort.
They had proceeded only a hundred yards from the works,
when the little array which attended the French general to the
conference was seen issuing from the hollow way which formed
the bed of a brook that ran between the batteries of the be-
siegers and the fort. From the moment that Munro left his own
198 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
works to appear in front of his enemies, his air had been grand,
and his step and countenance highly military. The instant he
caught a glimpse of the white plume that waved in the hat of
Montcalm, his eye lighted, and age no longer appeared to pos-
sess any influence over his vast and still muscular person.
"Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir," he said, in an
undertone, to Duncan ; " and to look well to their flints and
steel, for one is never safe with a servant of these Louis's ; at
the same time, we shall show them the front of men in deep
security. Ye'll understand me, Major Heyward ! "
He was interrupted by the clamor of a drum from the ap-
proaching Frenchmen, which was immediately answered, when
each party pushed an orderly in advance, bearing a white flag,
and the wary Scotsman halted with his guard close at his
back. As soon as this slight salutation had passed, Montcalm
moved toward them with a quick but graceful step, baring his
head to the veteran, and dropping his spotless plume nearly to
the earth in courtesy. If the air of Munro was more command-
ing and manly, it wanted both the ease and insinuating polish
of that of the Frenchman. Neither spoke for a few moments,
each regarding the other with curious and interested eyes.
Then, as became his superior rank and the nature of the inter-
view, Montcalm broke the silence. After uttering the usual
words of greeting, he turned to Duncan, and continued, with a
smile of recognition, speaking always in French :
" I am rejoiced, monsieur, that you have given us the pleasure
of your company on this occasion. There will be no necessity
to employ an ordinary interpreter; for, in your hands, I feel
the same security as if I spoke your language myself."
Duncan acknowledged the compliment, when Montcalm,
turning to his guard, which in imitation of that of their enemies,
pressed close upon him, continued :
u En arriere, mes enfants il fait chaud retirez-vous un
peu."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 199
Before Major Heyward would imitate this proof of confi-
dence, he glanced his eyes around the plain, and beheld with
uneasiness the numerous dusky groups of savages, who looked
out from the margin of the surrounding woods, curious spec-
tators of the interview.
" Monsieur de Montcalm will readily acknowledge the differ-
ence in our situation," he said, with some embarrassment,
pointing at the same time toward those dangerous foes, who
were to be seen in almost every direction. " Were we to dis-
miss our guard, we should stand here at the mercy of our
enemies."
" Monsieur, you have the plighted faith of * un gentilhomme
Francais,' for your safety," returned Montcalm, laying his hand
impressively on his heart ; " " it should suffice. '
" It shall. Fall back," Duncan added to the officer who led
the escort; "fall back, sir, beyond hearing, and wait for
orders."
Munro witnessed this movement with manifest uneasiness ;
nor did he fail to demand an instant explanation.
" Is- it not our interest, sir, to betray no distrust 1 " retorted
Duncan. "Monsieur de Montcalm pledges his word for our
safety, and I have ordered the men to withdraw a little, in
order to prove how much we depend on his assurance."
" It may be all right, sirs, but I have no overweening reli-
ance on the faith of these marquesses, or marquis, as they call
themselves. Their patents of nobility are too common to be
certain that they bear the seal of true honor."
"You forget, dear sir, that we confer with an officer, dis-
tinguished alike in Europe and America for his deeds. From
a soldier of his reputation we can have nothing to apprehend."
The old man made a gesture of resignation, though his rigid
features still betrayed his obstinate adherence to a distrust,
which he derived from a sort of hereditary contempt of his en-
emy, rather than from any present signs which might warrant so
200 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
uncharitable a feeling. Montcalm waited patiently until this
little dialogue in demi-voice was ended, when he drew nigher,
and opened the subject of their conference.
"I have solicited this interview from your superior,' mon-
sieur," he said, "because I believe he will allow himself to be
persuaded that he has already done everything which is neces-
sary for the honor of his prince, and will now listen to the
admonitions of humanity. I will forever bear testimony that
his resistance has been gallant, and was continued as long as
there was hope."
When this opening was translated to Munro, he answered
with dignity, but with sufficient courtesy :
"However I may prize such testimony from Monsieur
Montcalm, it will be more valuable when it shall be better
merited."
The French general smiled, as Duncan gave him the purport
of this reply, and observed :
"What is now so freely accorded to approved courage, may
be refused to useless obstinacy. Monsieur would wish to see
my camp, and witness for himself our numbers, and the impos-
sibility of his resisting them with success ? "
" I know that the king of France is well served," returned
the unmoved Scotsman, as soon as Duncan ended his transla-
tion; "but my own royal master has as many and as faithful
troops."
" Though not at hand, fortunately for us," said Montcalm,
without waiting, in his ardor, for the interpreter. "There is
a destiny in war, to which a brave man knows how to submit
with the same courage that he faces his foes."
" Had I been conscious that Monsieur Montcalm was master
of the English, I should have spared myself the trouble of so
awkward a translation," said the vexed Duncan, dryly ; remem-
bering instantly his recent by-play with Munro.
" Your pardon, monsieur," rejoined the Frenchman, suffering
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 201
a slight color to appear on his dark cheek. " There is a vast
difference between understanding and speaking a foreign tongue ;
you will, therefore, please to assist me still." Then after a
short pause, he added: "These hills afford us every oppor-
tunity of reconnoitring your works, messieurs, and I am possi-
bly as well acquainted with their weak condition as you can be
yourselves." '
"Ask the French general if his glasses can reach to the
Hudson," said Munro, proudly; "and if he knows when and
where to expect the army of Webb."
" Let General Webb be his own interpreter," returned the
politic Montcalm, suddenly extending an open letter toward
Munro as he spoke ; " you will there learn, monsieur, that his
movements are not likely to prove embarrassing to my army."
The veteran seized the offered paper, without waiting for
Duncan to translate the speech, and with an eagerness that
betrayed how important he deemed its contents. As his eye
passed hastily over the words, his countenance changed from
its look of military pride to one of deep chagrin ; his lip began
to quiver; and suffering the paper to fall from his hand, his
head dropped upon his chest, like that of a man whose hopes
were withered at a single blow. Duncan caught the letter
from the ground, and without apology for the liberty he took,
he read at a glance its cruel purport. Their common superior,
so far from encouraging them to resist, advised a speedy sur-
render, urging in the plainest language, as a reason, the utter
impossibility of his sending a single man to their rescue.
" Here is no deception ! " exclaimed Duncan, examining the
billet both inside and out ; " this is the signature of Webb, and
must be the captured letter."
" The man has betrayed me ! " Munro at length bitterly
exclaimed : " he has brought dishonor to the door of one where
disgrace was never before known to dwell, and shame has he
heaped heavily on my gray hairs."
202 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Say not so," cried Duncan ; "we are yet masters of the
fort, and of our honor. Let us, then, sell our lives at such a
rate as shall make our enemies believe the purchase too dear."
" Boy, I thank thee," exclaimed the old man, rousing him-
self from his stupor; "you have, for once, reminded Munro of
his duty. We will go back, and dig our graves behind those
ramparts."
" Messieurs," said Montcalm, advancing toward them a step,
in generous interest, "you little know Louis de St.Veran if you
believe him capable of profiting by this letter to humble brave
men, or to build up a dishonest reputation for himself. Listen
to my terms before you leave me."
" What says the Frenchman ? " demanded the veteran, sternly ;
" does he make a merit of having captured a scout, with a note
from headquarters? Sir, he had better raise this siege, to go
and sit down before Edward if he wishes to frighten his enemy
with words."
Duncan explained the other's meaning.
"Monsieur de Montcalm, we will hear you," the veteran
added, more calmly, as Duncan ended.
"To retain the fort is now impossible," said his liberal
enemy ; " it is necessary to the interests of my master that it
should be destroyed ; but as for yourselves and your brave com-
rades, there is no privilege dear to a soldier that shall be
denied."
" Our colors ? " demanded Heyward.
" Carry them to England, and show them to your king."
" Our arms ? "
" Keep them ; none can use them better."
" Our march ; the surrender of the place ? "
" Shall all be done in a way most honorable to yourselves."
Duncan now turned to explain these proposals to his com-
mander, who heard him with amazement, and a sensibility that
was deeply touched by such unusual and unexpected generosity.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 20.3
"Go you, Duncan," he said; "go with this marquess, as,
indeed, marquess he should be ; go to his marquee and arrange
it all. I have lived to see two things in my old age that never
did I expect to behold. An Englishman afraid to support a
friend, and a Frenchman too honest to profit by his advantage."
So saying, the veteran again dropped his head to his chest,
and returned slowly toward the fort, exhibiting, by the dejection
of his air, to the anxious garrison, a harbinger of evil tidings.
From the shock of this unexpected blow the haughty feelings
of Munro never recovered ; but from that moment there com-
menced a change in his determined character, which accom-
panied him to a speedy grave. Duncan remained to settle the
terms of the capitulation. He was seen to reenter the works
during the first watches of the night, and immediately after a
private conference with the commandant, to leave them again.
It was then openly announced that hostilities must cease
Munro having signed a treaty by which the place was to be
yielded to the enemy, with the morning; the garrison to re-
tain their arms, the colors and their baggage, and consequently,
according to military opinion, their honor.
CHAPTER XVII
** Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.
The web is wove. The work is done."
Gray,
The hostile armies, which lay in the wilds of the Horican,
passed the night of the ninth of August, 1757, much in the
manner they would had they encountered on the fairest field of
Europe. While the conquered were still, sullen and dejected,
the victors triumphed. But there are limits alike to grief and
joy ; and long before the watches of the morning came, the still-
204 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ness of those boundless woods was only broken by a gay call
from some exulting young Frenchman of the advanced pickets,
or a menacing challenge from the fort, which sternly forbade
the approach of any hostile footsteps before the stipulated mo-
ment. Even these occasional threatening sounds ceased to be
heard in that dull hour which precedes the day, at which period
a listener might have sought in vain any evidence of the pres-
ence of those armed powers that then slumbered on the shores
of the " holy lake."
It was during these moments of deep silence that the canvas
which concealed the entrance to a spacious marquee in the
French encampment was shoved aside, and a man issued from
beneath the drapery into the open air. He was enveloped in a
cloak that might have been intended as a protection from the
chilling damps of the woods, but which served equally well as
a mantle to conceal his person. He was permitted to pass the
grenadier, who watched over the slumbers of the French com-
mander, without interruption, the man making the usual salute
which betokens military deference, as the other passed swiftly
through the little city of tents, in the direction of William
Henry. Whenever this unknown individual encountered one of
the numberless sentinels who crossed his path, his answer was
prompt, and as it appeared, satisfactory ; for he was uniformly
allowed to proceed, without further interrogation.
With the exception of such repeated but brief interruptions,
he had moved silently from the centre of the camp to its most
advanced outposts, when he drew nigh the soldier who held his
watch nearest to the works of the enemy. As he approached
he was received with the usual challenge :
" Qui vive ? "
" France," was the reply.
" Le mot d'ordre ? "
"La victoire," said the other, drawing so nigh as to be heard
in a loud whisper.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 205
(Test bien," returned the sentinel, throwing his musket
from the charge to his shoulder; "vous vous promenez bien
matin, monsieur ! "
" II est ndcessaire d'etre vigilant, mon enfant," the other ob-
served, dropping a fold of his cloak, and looking the soldier
close in the face as he passed him, still continuing his way
toward the British fortification. The man started ; his arms
rattled heavily as he threw them forward in the lowest and
most respectful salute; and when he had again recovered his
piece, he turned to walk his post, muttering between his
teeth :
"II faut tre vigilant, en ve'rite' ! je crois que nous avons
la, un caporal qui ne dort jamais ! "
The officer proceeded, without affecting to hear the words
which escaped the sentinel in his surprise; nor did he again
pause until he had reached the low strand, and in a somewhat
dangerous vicinity to the western water bastion of the fort.
The light of an obscure moon was just sufficient to render ob-
jects, though dim, perceptible in their outlines. He, therefore,
took the precaution to place himself against the trunk of a tree,
where he leaned for many minutes, and seemed to contemplate
the dark and silent mounds of the English works in profound
attention. His gaze at the ramparts was not that of a curious
or idle spectator ; but his looks wandered from point to point,
denoting his knowledge of military usages, and betraying that
his search was not unaccompanied by distrust. At length he-
appeared satisfied; and having cast his eyes impatiently up-
ward toward the summit of the eastern mountain, as if antici-
pating the approach of the morning, he was in the act of
turning on his footsteps, when a light sound on the nearest
angle of the bastion caught his ear, and induced him to remain.
Just then a figure was seen to approach the edge of the ram-
part, where it stood, apparently contemplating in its turn the
distant tents of the French encampment. Its head was then
206 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
turned toward the east, as though equally anxious for the ap-
pearance of light, when the form leaned against the mound, and
seemed to gaze upon the glassy expanse of the waters, which,
like a submarine firmament, glittered with its thousand mimic
stars. The melancholy air, the hour, together with the vast
frame of the man who thus leaned in musing against the Eng-
lish ramparts, left no doubt as to his person in the mind of the
observant spectator. Delicacy, no less than prudence, now
urged him to retire ; and he had moved cautiously round the
body of the tree for that purpose, when another sound drew his
attention, and once more arrested his footsteps. It was a low
and almost inaudible movement of the water, and was suc-
ceeded by a grating of pebbles one against the other. In a
moment he saw a dark form rise, as it were out of the lake,
and steal without further noise to the land, within a few feet
of the place where he himself stood. A rifle next slowly rose
between his eyes and the watery mirror ; but before it could be
discharged his own hand was on the lock.
"Hugh !" exclaimed the savage, whose treacherous aim. was
so singularly and so unexpectedly interrupted.
Without making any reply, the French officer laid his hand
on the shoulder of the Indian, and led him in profound silence
to a distance from the spot, where their subsequent dialogue
might have proved dangerous, and where it seemed that one of
them, at least, sought a victim. Then, throwing open his
cloak, so as to expose his uniform and the cross of St.
Louis which was suspended at his breast, Montcalm sternly
demanded :
" What means this ! Does not my son know that the
hatchet is buried between the English and his Canadian
Father ? "
" What can the Hurons do ? " returned the savage, speaking
also, though imperfectly, in the French language. "Not a
warrior has a scalp, and the pale-faces make friends ! "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 207
" Ha, Le Renard Subtil ! Methinks this is an excess of zeal
for a friend who was so late an enemy ! How many suns have
set since Le Renard struck the war-post of the English ? "
"Where is that sun," demanded the sullen savage. "Be-
hind the hill ; and it is dark and cold. But when he comes
again, it will be bright and warm. Le Subtil is the sun of his
tribe. There have been clouds and many mountains between
him and his nation ; but now he shines and it is a clear sky ! "
" That Le Renard has power with his people, I well know,"
said Montcalm ; "for yesterday he hunted for their scalps, and
to-day they hear him at the council-fire."
" Magna is a great chief."
" Let him prove it, by teaching his nation how to conduct
itself toward our new friends."
"Why did the chief of the Canadas bring his young men
into the woods, and fire his cannon at the earthen house?"
demanded the subtle Indian.
" To subdue it. My master owns the land, and your father
was ordered to drive off these English squatters. They have
consented to go, and now he calls them enemies no longer."
" 'Tis well. Magua took the hatchet' to color it with blood.
It is now bright ; when it is red, it shall be buried."
"But Magua is pledged not to sully the lilies of France.
The enemies of the great king across the salt lake are his
enemies ; his friends, the friends of the Hurons."
"Friends!" repeated the Indian in scorn. "Let his father
give Magua a hand."
Montcalm, who felt that his influence over the warlike tribes
he had gathered was to be maintained by concession rather than
by power, complied reluctantly with the other's request. The
savage placed the fingers of the French commander on a deep
scar in his bosom, and then exultingly demanded :
" Does my father know that ? "
" What warrior does not ? 'tis where a leaden bullet has cut."
208 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"And this?" continued v the Indian, who had turned his
naked back to the other, his body being without its usual
calico mantle.
" This ! my son has been sadly injured here ; who has
done this ? "
" Magua slept hard in the English wigwams, and the sticks
have left their mark," returned the savage, with a hollow laugh,
which did not conceal the fierce temper that nearly choked him.
Then recollecting himself, with sudden and native dignity, he
added : " Go ; teach your young men it is peace. Le Renard
Subtil knows how to speak to a Huron warrior. "
Without deigning to bestow further words, or to wait for
any answer, the savage cast his rifle into the hollow of his arm,
and moved silently through the encampment toward the woods
where his own tribe was known to lie. Every few yards as he
proceeded he was challenged by the sentinels ; but he stalked
sullenly onward, utterly disregarding the summons of the sol-
diers, who only spared his life because they knew the air and
tread no less than the obstinate daring of an Indian.
Montcalm lingered long and melancholy on the strand where
he had been left by his companion, brooding deeply on the
temper which his ungovernable ally had just discovered. Al-
ready had his fair fame been tarnished by one horrid scene, and
in circumstances fearfully resembling those under which he now
found himself. As he mused he became keenly sensible of the
deep responsibility they assume who disregard the means to
attain their end, and of all the danger of setting in motion an
engine which it exceeds human power to control. Then shak-
ing off a train of reflections that he accounted a weakness in
such a moment of triumph, he retraced his steps toward his
tent, giving the order as he passed to make the signal that
should arouse the army from its slumbers.
The first tap of the French drums was echoed from the bosom
of the fort, and presently the valley was filled with the strains
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 209
of martial music, rising long, thrilling, and lively above the
rattling accompaniment. The horns of the victors sounded
merry and cheerful flourishes, until the last laggard of the
camp was at his post, but the instant the British fifes had
blown their shrill signal, they became mute. In the meantime
the day had dawned, and when the line of the French army
was ready to receive its general, the rays of a brilliant sun were
glancing along the glittering array. Then that success, which
was already so well known, was officially announced; the
favored band who were selected to guard the gates of the fort
were detailed, and defiled before their chief; the signal of their
approach was given, and all the usual preparations for a change
of masters were ordered and executed directly under the guns
of the contested works.
A very different scene presented itself within the lines of
the Anglo-American army. As soon as the warning signal was
given, it exhibited all the signs of a hurried and forced depar-
ture. The sullen soldiers shouldered their empty tubes and fell
into their places, like men whose blood had been heated by the
past contest, and who only desired the opportunity to revenge
an indignity which was still wounding to their pride, concealed
as it was under all the observances of military etiquette.
Women and children ran from place to place, some bearing the
scanty remnants of their baggage, and others searching in the
ranks for those countenances they looked up to for protection.
Munro appeared among his silent troops firm but dejected.
It was evident that the unexpected blow had struck deep into
his heart, though he struggled to sustain his misfortune with
the port of a man.
Duncan was touched at the quiet and impressive exhibition
of his grief. He had discharged his own duty, and he now
pressed to the side of the old man, to know in what particular
he might serve him.
" My daughters," was the brief but expressive reply.
210 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Good heavens ! are not arrangements already made for their
convenience ? "
"To-day I am only a soldier, Major Hey ward," said the
veteran. "All that you see here, claim alike to be my
children. ,,
Duncan had heard enough. Without losing one of those
moments which had now become so precious, he flew toward
the quarters of Munro, in quest of the sisters. He found them
on the threshold of the low edifice, already prepared to depart,
and surrounded by a clamorous and weeping assemblage of their
own sex, that had gathered about the place, with a sort of
instinctive consciousness that it was the point most likely to be
protected. Though the cheeks of Cora were pale, and her
countenance anxious, she had lost none of her firmness; but
the eyes of Alice were inflamed, and betrayed how long and
bitterly she had wept. They both, however, received the
young man with undisguised pleasure; the former, for a
novelty, being the first to speak.
"The fort is lost," she said, with a melancholy smile;
" though our good name, I trust, remains."
"'Tis brighter than ever. But, dearest Miss Munro, it is
time to think less of others, and to make some provision for
yourself. Military usage pride that pride on which you
so much value yourself, demands that your father and I should
for a little while continue with the^ troops. Then where to
seek a proper protector for you against the confusion and
chances of such a scene ? "
" None is necessary," returned Cora ; " who will dare to in-
jure or insult the daughter of such a father, at a time like this ? "
" I would not leave you alone," continued the youth, looking
about him in a hurried manner, " for the command of the best
regiment in the pay of the king. Remember, our Alice is not
gifted with all your firmness, and God only knows the terror
she might endure."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 211
"You may be right," Cora replied, smiling again, but far
more sadly than before. " Listen ! chance has already sent us
a friend when he is most needed."
Duncan did listen, and on the instant comprehended her
meaning. The low and serious sounds of the sacred music, so
well known to the eastern provinces, caught his ear, and
instantly drew him to an apartment in an adjacent building,
which had already been deserted by its customary tenants.
There he found David, pouring out his pious feelings through
the only medium in which he ever indulged. Duncan waited,
until, by the cessation of the movement of the hand, he be-
lieved the strain was ended, when, by touching his shoulder,
he drew the attention of the other to himself, and in a few
words explained his wishes.
" Even so," replied the single-minded disciple of the King of
Israel, when the young man had ended ; " I have found much
that is comely and melodious in the maidens, and it is fitting
that w^ who have consorted in so much peril, should abide
together in peace. I will attend them, when I have completed
my morning praise, to which nothing is now wanting but the
doxology. Wilt thou bear a part, friend ? The meter is com-
mon, and the tune * South well/ "
Then extending the little volume, and giving the pitch of the
air anew with considerate attention, David recommenced and
finished his strains, with a fixedness of manner that it was not
easy to interrupt. Heyward was fain to wait until the verse
was ended ; when, seeing David relieving himself from the spec-
tacles, and replacing the book he continued :
" It will be your duty to see that none dare to approach the
ladies with any rude intention, or to offer insult or taunt at the
misfortune of their brave father. In this task you will be
seconded by the domestics of their household."
14 Even so."
" It is possible that the Indians and stragglers of the enemy
212 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
may intrude, in which case you will remind them of the terms
of the capitulation, and threaten to report their conduct to
Montcalm. A word will suffice."
"If not, I have that here which shall," returned David,
exhibiting his book, with an air in which meekness and confi-
dence were singularly blended. " Here are worcjs which,
uttered, or rather thundered, with proper emphasis, and in
measured time, shall quiet the most unruly temper :
" l Why rage the heathen furiously? ' "
"Enough," said Hey ward, interrupting the burst of his
musical invocation; "we understand each other; it is time
that we should now assume our respective duties."
Gamut cheerfully assented, and together they sought the
females. Cora received her new and somewhat extraordinary
protector courteously, at least ; and even the pallid features of
Alice lighted again with some of their native archness as she
thanked Heyward for his care. Duncan took occasion to assure
them he had done the best that circumstances permitted, and,
as he believed, quite enough for the security of their feelings ;
of danger there was none. He then spoke gladly of his inten-
tion to rejoin them the moment he had led the advance a few.
miles toward the Hudson, and immediately took his leave.
By this time the signal of departure had been given, and the
head of the English column was in motion. The sisters started
at the sound, and glancing their eyes around, they saw the
white uniforms of the French grenadiers, who had already
taken possession of the gates of the fort. At that moment an
enormous cloud seemed to pass suddenly above their heads, and
looking upward, they discovered that they stood beneath the
wide folds of the standard of France.
" Let us go," said Cora ; " this is no longer a fit place for
the children of an English officer."
Alice clung to the arm of her sister, and together they left
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 213
the parade, accompanied by the moving throng that surrounded
them.
As they passed the gates, the French officers, who had
learned their rank, bowed often and low, forbearing, however,
to intrude those attentions which they saw, with peculiar tact,
might not be agreeable. As every vehicle and each beast of
burden was occupied by the sick and wounded, Cora had
decided to endure the fatigues of a foot march, rather than
interfere with their comforts. Indeed, many a maimed and
feeble soldier was compelled to drag his exhausted limbs in the
rear of the columns, for the want of the necessaiy means of con-
veyance in that wilderness. The whole, however, was in
motion; the weak and wounded, groaning and in suffering;
their comrades silent and sullen ; and the women and children
in terror, they know not of what.
As the confused and timid throng left the protecting mounds
of the fort, and issued on the open plain, the whole scene was
at once presented to their eyes. At a little distance on the
right, and somewhat in the rear, the French army stood to their
arms, Montcalm having collected his parties, so soon as his
guards had possession of the works. They were attentive but
silent observers of the proceedings of the vanquished, failing in
none of the stipulated military honors, and offering no taunt or
insult, in their success, to their less fortunate foes. Living
masses of the English, to the amount, in the whole, of near
three thousand, were moving slowly across the plain, toward
the common centre, and gradually approached each other, as
they converged to the point of their march, a vista cut through
the lofty trees, where the road to the Hudson entered the
forest. Along the sweeping borders of the woods hung a dark
cloud of savages, eyeing the passage of their enemies, and hover-
ing at a distance, like vultures who were only kept from swoop-
ing on their prey by the presence and restraint of a superior
army. A few had straggled among the conquered columns,
214 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
where they stalked in sullen discontent ; attentive, though, as
yet, passive observers of the moving multitude.
The advance, with Heyward at its head, had already reached
the defile, and was slowly disappearing, when the attention of
Cora was drawn to a collection of stragglers, by the sounds
of contention. A truant provincial was paying the forfeit
of his disobedience, by being plundered of those very effects
which had caused him to desert his place in the ranks. The
man was of powerful frame, and too avaricious to part with his
goods without a struggle. Individuals from either party inter-
fered; the one side to prevent, and the other to aid in the
robbery. Voices grew loud and angry, and a hundred savages
appeared, as it were by magic, where a dozen only had been
seen a minute before. It was then that Cora saw the form of
Magua gliding among his countrymen, and speaking with his
fatal and artful eloquence. The mass of women and children
stopped, and hovered together like alarmed and fluttering birds.
But the cupidity of the Indian was soon gratified, and the dif-
ferent bodies again moved slowly onward.
The savages now fell back, and seemed content to let their
enemies advance without further molestation. But as the
female crowd approached them, the gaudy colors of a shawl
attracted the eyes of a wild and untutored Huron. He ad-
vanced to seize it without the least hesitation. The woman,
more in terror than through love of the ornament, wrapped her
child in the coveted article, and folded both more closely to
her bosom. Cora was in the act of speaking, with an intent
to advise the woman to abandon the trifle, when the savage
relinquished his hold of the shawl, and tore the screaming
infant from her arms. Abandoning everything to the greedy
grasp of those around her, the mother darted, with distraction
in her mien, to reclaim her child. The Indian smiled grimly,
and extended one hand, in sign of a willingness to exchange,
while, with the other, he flourished the babe over his head,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 215
holding it by the feet as if to enhance the value of the
ransom.
" Here here there all any everything ! " ex-
claimed the breathless woman, tearing the lighter articles of
dress from her person with ill-directed and trembling fingers ;
" take all, but give me my babe ! "
The savage spurned the worthless rags, and perceiving that
the shawl had already become a prize to another, his bantering
but sullen smile changed to a gleam of ferocity, he dashed the
head of the infant against a rock, and cast its quivering re-
mains to her very feet. For an instant the mother stood, like a
statue of despair, looking wildly down at the unseemly object,
which had so lately nestled in her bosom and smiled in her face ;
and then she raised her eyes and countenance toward heaven,
as if calling on God to curse the perpetrator of the foul deed.
She was spared the sin of such a prayer for, maddened at his
disappointment, and excited at the sight of blood, the Huron
mercifully drove his tomahawk into her own brain. The
mother sank under the blow, and fell, grasping at her child, in
death, with the same engrossing love that had caused her to
cherish it when living.
At that dangerous moment, Magua placed his hands to his
mouth, and raised the fatal and appalling whoop. The
scattered Indians started at the well-known cry as coursers
bound at the signal to quit the goal ; and directly there arose
such a yell along the plain, and through the arches of the
wood, as seldom burst from human lips before. They who
heard it listened with a curdling horror at the heart, little
inferior to that dread which may be expected to attend the
blasts of the final summons.
More than two thousand raving savages broke from the
forest at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal
plain with instinctive alacrity. We shall not dwell on the
revolting horrors that succeeded. Death was everywhere,- and
216 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
in his most terrific and disgusting aspects. Resistance only
served to inflame the murderers, who inflicted their furious
blows long after their victims were beyond the power of their
resentment. The flow of blood might be likened to the out-
breaking of a torrent ; and as the natives became heated and
maddened by the sight, many among them even kneeled to the
earth, and drank freely, exulting, hellishly, of the crimson tide.
The trained bodies of the troops threw themselves quickly into
solid masses, endeavoring to awe their assailants by the impos-
ing appearance of a military front. The experiment in some
measure succeeded, though far too many suffered their unloaded
muskets to be torn from their hands, in the vain hope of
appeasing the savages.
In such a scene none had leisure to note the fleeting mo-
ments. It might have been ten minutes (it seemed an age)
that the sisters had stood riveted to one spot, horror-stricken
and nearly helpless. When the first blow was struck, their
screaming companions had pressed upon them in a body,
rendering flight impossible; and now that fear or death had
scattered most, if not all, from around them, they saw no
avenue open, but such as conducted to the tomahawks of their
foes. On every side arose shrieks, groans, exhortations and
curses. At this moment, Alice caught a glimpse of the vast
form of her father, moving rapidly across the plain, in the
direction of the French army. He was, in truth, proceeding
to Montcalm, fearless of every danger, to claim the tardy
escort for which he had before conditioned. Fifty glittering
axes and barbed spears were offered unheeded at his life, but
the savages respected his rank and calmness, even in their
fury. The dangerous weapons were brushed aside by the
still nervous arm of the veteran, or fell of themselves, after
menacing an act that it would seem no one had courage to
perform. Fortunately the vindictive Magua was searching for
his victim in the very band the veteran had just quitted.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 217
"Father father we are here!" shrieked Alice, as he
passed, at no great distance, without appearing to heed them.
" Come to us father, or we die ! "
The cry was repeated, and in terms and tones that might
have melted a heart of stone, but it was unanswered. Once
indeed, the old man appeared to catch the sounds, for he
paused and listened; but Alice had dropped senseless on the
earth, and Cora had sunk at her side, hovering in untiring
tenderness over her lifeless form. Munro shook his head in
disappointment, and proceeded, bent on the high duty of his
station.
" Lady," said Gamut, who, helpless and useless as he was,
had not dreamed of deserting his trust, " It is the jubilee of the
devils, and this is not a meet place for Christians to tarry in.
Let us up and fly."
"Go," said Cora, still gazing at her unconscious sister;
" save thyself. To me thou canst not be of further use."
David comprehended the unyielding character of her resolu-
tion, by the simple but expressive gesture that accompanied
her words. He gazed for a moment at the dusky forms that
were acting their hellish rites on every side of him, and his
tall person grew more erect while his chest heaved, and every
feature swelled, and seemed to speak with the power of the
feelings by which he was governed.
" If the Jewish boy might tame the evil spirit of Saul by the
sound of his harp, and the words of sacred song, it may not be
amiss," he said, "to try the potency of music here."
Then raising his voice to its highest tones, he poured out a
strain so powerful as to be heard even amid the din of that
bloody field. More than one savage rushed toward them, think-
ing to rifle the unprotected sisters of their attire, and bear
away their scalps; but when they found this strange and
unmoved figure riveted to his post, they paused to listen.
Astonishment soon changed to admiration, and they passed on
218 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
to other and less courageous victims, openly expressing their
satisfaction at the firmness with which the white warrior sang
his death song. Encouraged and deluded by his success, David
exerted all his powers to extend what he believed so holy an
influence. The unwonted sounds caught the ears of a distant
savage, who flew raging from group to group, like one who,
scorning to touch the vulgar herd, hunted for some victim
more worthy of his renown. It was Magua, who uttered a
yell of pleasure when he beheld his ancient prisoners again at
his mercy.
" Come," he said, laying his soiled hands on the dress of
Cora, "the wigwam of the Huron is still open. Is it not
better than this place?"
"Away!" cried Cora, veiling her eyes from his revolting
aspect.
The Indian laughed tauntingly, as he held up his reeking
hand, and answered: "It is red, but it comes from white
veins ! "
" Monster ! there is blood, oceans of blood, upon thy soul :
thy spirit has moved this scene."
"Magua is a great chief!" returned the exulting savage,
" will the dark-hair go to his tribe 1 "
*| Never ! strike if thou wilt, and complete thy revenge."
He hesitated a moment, and then catching the light and
senseless form of Alice in his arms, the subtle Indian moved
swiftly across the plain toward the woods.
" Hold ! " shrieked Cora, following wildly on his footsteps ;
" release the child ! wretch ! what is't you do ? "
But Magua was deaf to her voice ; or, rather, he knew his
power, and was determined to maintain it.
"Stay lady stay," called Gamut, after the unconscious
Cora. "The holy charm is beginning to be felt, and soon
shalt thou see this horrid tumult stilled."
Perceiving that, in his turn, he was unheeded, the faithful
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 219
David followed the distracted sister, raising his voice again in
sacred song, and sweeping the air to the measure, with his long
arm, in diligent accompaniment. In this manner they trav-
ersed the plain, through the flying, the wounded, and the dead.
The fierce Huron was, at any time, sufficient for himself and
the victim that he bore ; though Cora would have fallen more
than once under the blows of her savage enemies, but for the
extraordinary being who stalked in her rear, and who now
appeared to the astonished natives gifted with the protecting
spirit of madness.
Magua, who knew how to avoid the more pressing dangers,
and also to elude pursuit, entered the woods through a low
ravine, where he quickly found the Narragansetts, which the
travellers had abandoned so shortly before, awaiting his appear-
ance, in custody of a savage as fierce and malign in his expres-
sion as himself. Laying Alice on one of the horses, he made
a sign to Cora to mount the other.
Notwithstanding the horror excited by the presence of -her
captor, there was a present relief in escaping from the bloody
scene enacting on the plain, to which Cora could not be alto-
gether insensible. She took her seat, and held forth her arms
for her sister, with an air of entreaty and love that even the
Huron could not deny. Placing Alice, then, on the same
animal with Cora, he seized the bridle, and commenced his
route by plunging deeper into the forest. David, perceiving
that he was left alone, utterly disregarded as a subject too
worthless even to destroy, threw his long limb across the saddle
of the beast they had deserted, and made such progress in the
pursuit as the difficulties of the path permitted.
They soon began to ascend; but as the motion had a
tendency to revive the dormant faculties of her sister, the
attention of Cora was too much divided between the tenderest
solicitude in her behalf, and in listening to the cries which were
still too audible on the plain, to note the direction in which
220 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
they journeyed. When, however, they gained the flattened
surface of the mountain-top, and approached the eastern preci-
pice, she recognized the spot to which she had once before
been led under the more friendly auspices of the scout. Here
Magua suffered them to dismount; and notwithstanding their
own captivity, the curiosity which seems inseparable from
horror induced them to gaze at the sickening sight below.
The cruel work was still unchecked. On every side the
captured were flying before their relentless persecutors, while
the armed columns of the Christian king stood fast in an
apathy which has never been explained, and which has left an
immovable blot on the otherwise fair escutcheon of their leader.
Nor was the sword of death stayed until cupidity got the
mastery of revenge. Then, indeed, the shrieks of the wounded
and the yells of their murderers grew less frequent, until,
finally, the cries of horror were lost to their ear, or were
drowned in the loud, long, and piercing whoops of the tri-
umphant savages.
CHAPTER XVIII
" Why, anything ;
An honorable murderer, if you will ;
For naught I did in hate, but all in honor."
Othello.
The bloody and inhuman scene rather incidentally mentioned
than described in the preceding chapter, is conspicuous in the
pages of colonial history by the merited title of " The Massacre
of William Henry." It so far deepened the stain which a
previous and very similar event had left upon the reputation
of the French commander, that it was not entirely erased by
his early and glorious death. It is now becoming obscured by
time; and thousands, who know that Montcalm died like a
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 221
hero on the plains of Abraham, have yet to learn how much
he was deficient in that moral courage without which no man
can be truly great. Pages might be written to prove, from
this illustrious example, the defects of human excellence; to
show how easy it is for generous sentiments, high courtesy, and
chivalrous courage to lose their influence beneath the chilling
blight of selfishness, and to exhibit to the world a man who
was great in all the minor attributes of character, but who was
found wanting when it became necessary to prove how much
principle is superior to policy. But the task would exceed our
prerogatives ; and, as history, like love, is so apt to surround
her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness, it is
probable that Louis de Saint Veran will be viewed by posterity
only as the gallant defender of his country, while his cruel
apathy on the shores of the Oswego and of the Horican will
be forgotten. Deeply regretting this weakness on the part of
a sister muse, we shall at once retire from her sacred precincts,
within the proper limits of our own humble vocation.
The third day from the capture of the fort was drawing to a
close, but the business of the narrative must still detain the
reader on the shores of the " holy lake." When last seen, the
environs of the works were filled with violence and uproar.
They were now possessed by stillness and death. The blood-
stained conquerors had departed; and their camp, which had
so lately rung with the merry rejoicings of a victorious army,
lay a silent and deserted city of huts. The fortress was a
smouldering ruin; charred rafters, fragments of exploded ar-
tillery, and rent mason-work covering its earthen mounds in
confused disorder.
A frightful change had also occurred, in the season. The sun
had hid its warmth behind an impenetrable mass of vapor, and
hundreds of human forms, which had blackened beneath the
fierce heats of August, were stiffening in their deformity before
the blasts of a premature November, The curling and spotless
222 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
mists, which had been seen sailing above the hills toward the
north, were now returning in an interminable dusky sheet, that
was urged along by the fury of a tempest. The crowded mirror
of the Horican was gone ; and, in its place, the green and angry
-waters lashed the shores, as if indignantly casting back its im-
purities to the polluted strand. Still the clear fountain retained
a portion of its charmed influence, but it reflected only the
sombre gloom that fell from the impending heavens. That
humid and congenial atmosphere which commonly adorned the
view, veiling its harshness, and softening its asperities, had
disappeared, and the northern air poured across the waste of
water so harsh and unmingled, that nothing was left to be con-
jectured by the eye, or fashioned by the fancy.
The fiercer element had cropped the verdure of the plain,
which looked as though it were scathed by the consuming
lightning. But, here and there, a dark green tuft rose in the
midst of the desolation ; the earliest fruits of a soil that had
been fattened with human blood. The whole landscape, which,
seen by a favoring light, and in a genial temperature, had been
found so lovely, appeared now like some pictured allegory of
life, in which objects were arrayed in their harshest but truest
colors, and without the relief of any shadowing.
The solitary and arid blades of grass arose from the passing
gusts fearfully perceptible ; the bold and rocky mountains were
too distinct in their barrenness, and the eye even sought relief,
in vain, by attempting to pierce the illimitable void of heaven,
which was shut to its gaze by the dusky sheet of ragged and
driving vapor.
The wind blew unequally ; sometimes sweeping heavily along
the ground, seeming to whisper its moanings in the cold ears
of the dead, then rising in a shrill and mournful whistling, it
entered the forest with a rush that filled the air with the leaves
and branches it scattered in its path. Amid the unnatural
shower, a few hungry ravens struggled with the gale ; but no
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 223
sooner was the green ocean of woods which stretched beneath
them, passed, than they gladly stooped, at random, to their
hideous banquet.
In short, it was a scene of wildness and desolation ; and it
appeared as if all who had profanely entered it had been
stricken, at a blow, by the relentless arm of death. But the
prohibition had ceased ; and for the first time since the perpe-
trators of those foul deeds which had assisted to disfigure the
scene were gone, living human beings had now presumed to ap-
proach the place.
About an hour before the setting of the sun, on the day
already mentioned, the forms of five men might have been seen
issuing from the narrow vista of trees, where the path to the
Hudson entered the forest, and advancing in the direction of
the ruined works. At first their progress was slow and guarded,
as though they entered with reluctance amid the horrors of
the spot, or dreaded the renewal of its frightful incidents. A
light figure preceded the rest of the party, with the caution and
activity of a native; ascending every hillock to reconnoitre,
and indicating, by gestures, to his companions, the route he
deemed it most prudent to pursue. Nor were those in the rear
wanting in every caution and foresight known to forest warfare.
One among them, he also was an Indian, moved a little on one
flank, and watched the margin of the woods, with eyes long
accustomed to read the smallest sign of danger. The remaining
three were white, though clad in vestments adapted, both in
quality and color, to their present hazardous pursuit that of
hanging on the skirts of a retiring army in the wilderness.
The effects produced by the appalling sights that constantly
arose in their path to the lake shore, were as different as the
characters of the respective individuals who composed the
party. The youth in front threw serious but furtive glances
at the mangled victims, as he stepped lightly across the plain,
afraid to exhibit his feelings, and yet too inexperienced to quell
224 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
entirely their sudden and powerful influence. His red associate,
however, was superior to such a weakness. He passed the
groups of dead with a steadiness of purpose, and an eye so
calm, that nothing but long and inveterate practice could
enable him to maintain. The sensations produced in the minds
of even the white men were different, though uniformly sorrow-
ful. One, whose gray locks and furrowed lineaments, blending
with a martial air and tread, betrayed in spite of the disguise
of a woodsman's dress, a man long experienced in scenes of war,
was not ashamed to groan aloud, whenever a spectacle of more
than usual horror came under his view. The' young man at
his elbow shuddered, but seemed to suppress his feelings in
tenderness to his companion. Of them all, the straggler who
brought up the rear appeared alone to betray his real thoughts,
without fear of observation or dread of consequences. He
gazed at the most appalling sight with eyes and muscles that
knew not how to waver, but with execrations so bitter and
deep as to denote how much he denounced the crime of his
enemies.
The reader will perceive at once, in these respective charac-
ters, the Mohicans, and their white friend, the scout ; together
with Munro and Heyward. It was, in truth, the father in
quest of his children, attended by the youth who felt so deep
a stake in their happiness, and those brave and trusty foresters,
who had already proved their skill and fidelity through the
trying scenes related.
When Uncas, who moved in front, had reached the centre
of the plain, he raised a cry that drew his companions in a body
to the spot. The young warrior had halted over a group of
females who lay in a cluster, a confused mass of dead. Not-
withstanding the revolting horror of the exhibition, Munro and
Heyward flew toward the festering heap, endeavoring, with a
love that no unseemliness could extinguish, to discover whether
any vestiges of those they sought were to be seen among the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 225
tattered and many-colored garments. The father and the lover
found instant relief in the search ; though each was condemned
again to experience the misery of an uncertainty that was hardly
less insupportable than the most revolting truth. They were
standing, silent and thoughtful, around the melancholy pile,
when the scout approached. Eyeing the sad spectacle with an
angry countenance, the sturdy woodsman, for the first time
since his entering the plain, spoke intelligibly and aloud :
" I have been on many a shocking field, and have followed a
trail of blood for weary miles," he said, "but never have I
found the hand of the devil so plain as it is here to be seen !
Kevenge is an Indian feeling, and all who know me know that
there is no cross in my veins ; but this much will I say here,
in the face of heaven, and with the power of the Lord so mani-
fest in this howling wilderness that should these Frenchers
ever trust themselves again within the range of a ragged bullet,
there is one rifle shall play its part so long as flint will fire
or powder burn ! I leave the tomahawk and knife to such as
have a natural gift to use them. What say you, Chingachgook,"
he added, in Delaware; "shall the Hurons boast of this to
their women when the deep snows come ? "
A gleam of resentment flashed across the dark lineaments of
the Mohican chief; he loosened his knife in his sheath; and
then turning calmly from the sight, his countenance settled
into a repose as deep as if he never knew the instigation of
passion.
" Montcalm ! Montcalm ! " continued the deeply resentful and
less self-restrained scout ; " they say a time must come when
all the deeds done in the flesh will be seen at a single look ;
and that by eyes cleared from mortal infirmities. Woe betide
the wretch who is born to behold this plain, with the judg-
ment hanging about his soul ! Ha as I am a man of white
blood, yonder lies a red-skin, without the hair of his head
where nature rooted it ! Look to him, Delaware ; it may be
226 . THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
one of your missing people ; and he should have burial like a
stout warrior. I see it in your eye, Sagamore ; a Huron pays
for this, afore the fall winds have blown away the scent of the
blood ! "
Chingachgook approached the mutilated form, and turning it
over, he found the distinguishing marks of one of those six
allied tribes, or nations, as they were called, who, while they
fought in the English ranks, were so deadly hostile to his own
people. Spurning the loathsome object with his foot, he turned
from it with the same indifference he would have quitted a
brute carcass. The scout comprehended the action, and -very
deliberately pursued his own way, continuing, however, his de-
nunciations against the French commander in the same resent-
ful strain.
" Nothing but vast wisdom and onlimited power should dare
to sweep off men in multitudes," he added ; " for it is only the
one that can know the necessity of the judgment ; and what is
there, short of the other, that can replace the creatures of the
Lord ? I hold it a sin to kill the second- buck afore the first is
eaten, unless a march in the front, or an ambushment, be con-
templated. It is a different matter with a few warriors in open
. and rugged fight, for 'tis their gift to die with the rifle or the
tomahawk in hand ; according as their natures may happen to
be, white or red. Uncas, come this way, lad, and let the
ravens settle upon the Mingo. I know, from often seeing it,
that they have a craving for the fleslj of an Oneida ; and it is
as well to let the bird follow the gift of its natural appetite."
" Hugh ! " exclaimed the young Mohican, rising on the ex-
tremities of his feet, and gazing intently in his front, frighten-
ing the raven to some other prey, by the sound and the action.
"What is it, boy?" whispered the scout, lowering his tall
form into a crouching attitude, like a panther about to take his
leap ; " God send it be a tardy Frencher, skulking for plunder.
I do believe * Killdeer ' would take an oncommon range to-day ! "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 227
Uncas, without making any reply, bounded away from the
spot, and in the next instant he was seen tearing from a bush,
and waving in triumph, a fragment of the green riding-veil of
Cora. The movement, the exhibition, and the cry which again
burst from the lips of the young Mohican, instantly drew the
whole party about him.
" My child ! " said Munro, speaking quickly and wildly ;
" give me my child ! "
" Uncas will try," was the short and touching answer.
The simple but meaning assurance was lost on the father,
who seized the piece of gauze, and crushed it in his hand, while
his eyes roamed fearfully among the bushes, as if he equally
dreaded and hoped for the secrets they might reveal.
"Here are no dead," said Heyward; "the storm seems not
to have passed this way."
"That's manifest; and clearer than the heavens above our
heads," returned the undisturbed scout; "but either she, or
they that have robbed her, have passed the bush ; for I remem-
ber the rag she wore to hide a face that all did love to look
upon. Uncas, you are right ; the dark-hair has been here, and
she has fled like a frightened fawn, to the wood; none who
could fly would remain to be murdered. Let us search for the
marks she left ; for to Indian eyes, I sometimes think even a
humming bird leaves his trail in the air."
The young Mohican darted away at the suggestion, and the
scout had hardly done speaking, before the former raised a cry
of success from the margin of the forest. On reaching the spot,
the anxious party perceived another portion of the veil flutter-
ing on the lower branch of a beech.
" Softly, softly," said the scout, extending his long -rifle in
front of the eager Heyward ; "we now know our work, but the
beauty of the trail must not be deformed. A step too soon
may give us hours of trouble. We have them, though ; that
much is beyond denial."
228 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man ! " exclaimed Munro ;
"whither then, have they fled, and where are my babes?"
" The path they have taken depends on many chances. If
they have gone alone, they are quite as likely to move in a
circle as straight, and they may be .within a dozen miles of us ;
but if the Hurons, or any of the French Indians, have laid
hands on them, 'tis probable they are now near the borders of
the Canadas. But what matters that ? " continued the deliber-
ate scout, observing the powerful anxiety and disappointment
the listeners exhibited ; " here are the Mohicans and I on one
end of the trail, and, rely on it, we find the other, though they
should be a hundred leagues -asunder ! Gently, gently, Uncas,
you are as impatient as a man in the settlements ; you forget
that light feet leave but faint marks ! "
" Hugh ! " exclaimed Chingachgook, who had been occu-
pied in examining an opening that had been evidently made
through the low underbrush which skirted the forest; and
who now stood erect, as he pointed downward, in the atti-
tude and with the air of a man who beheld a disgusting
serpent.
" Here is the palpable impression of the footstep of a man,"
cried Hey ward, bending over the indicated spot : "he has trod
in the margin of this pool, and the mark cannot be mistaken.
They are captives."
" Better so than left to starve in the wilderness," returned
the scout ; " and they will leave a wider trail. I would wager
fifty beaver skins against as many flints, that the Mohicans and
I enter their wigwams within the month ! Stoop to it, Uncas,
and try what you can make of the moccasin ; for moccasin it
plainly is, and no shoe."
The young Mohican bent over the track, and removing the
scattered leaves from around the place, he examined it with
much of that sort of scrutiny that a money dealer, in these
days of pecuniary doubts, would bestow on a suspected due-bilL
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 229
At length he arose from his knees, satisfied with the result of
the examination.
" Well, boy," demanded the attentive scout ; " what does it
say ? Can you make anything of the tell-tale ? "
" Le Renard Subtil ! "
" Ha ! that rampaging devil again ! there never will be an
end of his loping till * Killdeer ' has said a friendly word to
him."
Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth of this intelligence,
and now expressed rather his hopes than his doubts by saying :
" One moccasin is so much like another, it is probable there
is some mistake."
" One moccasin like another ! you may as well say that one
foot is like another ; though we all know that some are long,
and others short ; some broad, and others narrow ; some with
high, and some with low insteps ; some in-toed, and some out.
One moccasin is no more like another than one book is like
another : though they who can read in one are seldom able to
tell the marks of the other. Which is all ordered for the best,
giving to every man his natural advantages. Let me get down
to it, Uncas ; neither book nor moccasin is the worse for having
two opinions, instead of one." The scout stooped to the task,
and instantly added: "You are right, b6y ; here is the patch
we saw so often in the other chase. And the fellow will drink
when he can get an opportunity ; your drinking Indian always
learns to walk with a wider toe than the natural savage, it be-
ing the gift of a drunkard to straddle, whether of white or red
skin. 'Tis just the length and breadth, too ! look at it, Saga-
more ; you measured the prints more than once, when we hunted
the varmints from Glenn's to the health springs."
Chingachgook complied; and after finishing his short ex-
amination, he arose, and with a quiet demeanor, he merely
pronounced the word :
" Magua ! "
230 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Ay, 'tis a settled thing ; here, then, have passed the dark-
hair and Magua."
" And not Alice ? " demanded Heyward.
" Of her we have not yet .seen the signs," returned the scout,
looking closely around at the trees, the bushes and the ground.
" What have we there ? Uncas, bring hither the thing you see
dangling from yonder thornbush."
When the Indian had complied, the scout received the prize,
and holding it on high, he laughed in his silent but heartfelt
manner.
" 'Tis the tooting we'pon of the singer ! now we shall have a
trail a priest might travel," he said. "Uncas, look for the
marks of a shoe that is long enough to uphold six feet two of
tottering human flesh. I begin to have some hopes of the fel-
low, since he has given up squalling to follow some better
trade."
"At least he has been faithful to his trust," said Heyward.
" And Cora and Alice are not without a friend."
"Yes," said Hawkeye, dropping his rifle, and leaning on it
with an air of visible contempt, " he will do their singing. Can
he slay a buck for their dinner ; journey by the moss on the
beeches, or cut the throat of a Huron? If not, the first cat-
bird he meets is the cleverest ef the two. Well boy, any signs
of such a foundation ? "
" Here is something like the footstep of one who has worn a
shoe ; can it be that of our friend ? "
" Touch the leaves lightly or you'll disconsart the formation.
That ! that is the print of a foot, but 'tis the dark-hair's ; and
small it is, too, for one of such a noble height and grand appear-
ance. The singer would cover it with his heel."
"Where! let me look on the footsteps of my child," said
Munro, shoving the bushes aside, and bending fondly over the
nearly obliterated impression. Though the tread which had
left the mark had been light and rapid, it was still plainly
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 231
visible. The aged soldier examined it with eyes that grew dim
as he gazed ; nor did he rise from his stooping posture until
Heyward saw that he had watered the trace of his daughter's
passage with a scalding tear. Willing to divert a distress which
threatened each moment to break through the restraint of
appearances, by giving the veteran something to do, the young
man said to the scout:
"As we no w # possess these infallible signs, let us commence
our march. A moment, at such a time, will appear an age to
the captives."
" It is not the swiftest leaping deer that gives the longest
chase," returned Hawkeye, without moving his eyes from the
different marks that had come under his view; "we know
that the rampaging Huron has passed, and the dark-hair, and
the singer, but where is the yellow locks and blue eyes?
Though little, and far from being as bold as her sister, she is
fair to the view, and pleasant in discourse. Has she no fiiend,
that none care for her ? "
" God forbid she should ever want hundreds ! Are we not
now in her pursuit ? For one, I will never cease the search
till she be found."
" In that case we may have to journey by different paths ;
for here she has not passed, light and little 'as her footsteps
would be."
Heyward drew back, all his ardor to proceed seeming to van-
ish on the instant. Without attending to this sudden change
in the other's humor, the scout after musing a moment
continued :
" There is no woman in this wilderness could leave such a
print as that, but the dark-hair or her sister. We know that
the first has been here, but where are the* signs of the other ?
Let us push deeper oh the trail, and if nothing offers, we must
go back to the plain and strike another scent. Move on,
Uncas, and keep your eyes on the dried leaves. I will watch
232 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the bushes, while jour father shall run with a low nose to the
ground. Move on, friends; the sun is getting behind the
hills."
"Is there nothing that I can do?" demanded the anxious
Heyward.
" You ? " repeated the scout, who, with his red friends, was
already advancing in the order he had prescribed ; " yes, you
can keep in our rear and be careful not to cross the trail."
Before they had proceeded many rods, the Indians stopped,
and appeared to gaze at some signs on the earth with more
than their usual keenness. Both father and son spoke quick
and loud, now looking at the object of their mutual admiration,
and now regarding each other with the most unequivocal
pleasure.
" They have found the little foot ! " exclaimed the scout,
moving forward, without attending further to his own portion
of the duty. "What have we here? An ambushment has
been planted in the spot ! No, by the truest rifle on the
frontiers, here have been them one-sided horses again ! Now
the whole secret is out, and all is plain as the north star at
midnight. Yes, here they have mounted. There the beasts
have been bound to a sapling, in waiting ; and yonder runs the
broad path away to the north, in full sweep for the Canadas."
" But still there are no signs of Alice of the younger Miss
Munro," said Duncan.
" Unless the shining bauble Uncas has just lifted from the
ground should prove one. Pass it this way, lad, that we may
look at it."
Heyward instantly knew it for a trinket that Alice was fond
of wearing, and which he recollected, with the tenacious mem-
ory of a lover, to have seen, on the fatal^morning of the massa-
cre, dangling from the fair neck of his mistress. He seized the
highly prized jewel ; and as he proclaimed the fact, it vanished
from the eyes of the wondering scout, who in vain looked for it
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 233
on the ground, long after it was warmly pressed against -the
beating heart of Duncan.
." Pshaw ! " said the disappointed Hawkeye, ceasing to rake
the leaves with the breech of his rifle ; " 'tis a certain sign of
age, when the sight begins to weaken. Such a glittering gew-
gaw, and not to be seen ! Well, well, I can squint along a
clouded barrel yet, and that is enough to settle all disputes
between me and the Mingoes. I should like to find the thing,
too, if it were only to carry it to the right owner, and that
would be bringing the two ends of what I call a long trail
together, for by this time the broad St. Lawrence, or, perhaps,
the Great Lakes themselves, are atwixt us."
"So much the more reason why we should not delay our
march," returned Hey ward ; "let us proceed."
" Young blood and hot blood, they say, are much the same
thing. We are not about to start on a squirrel hunt, or to
drive a deer into the Horican, but to outlie for days and nights,
and to stretch across a wilderness where the feet of men seldom
go, and where no bookish knowledge would carry you through
harmless. An Indian never starts on such an expedition with-
out smoking over his council fire ; and though a man of white
blood, I honor their customs in this particular, seeing that they
are deliberate and wise. We will, therefore, go back, and
light our fire to-night in the ruins of the old fort, and in the
morning we shall be fresh, and ready to undertake our work
like men, and not like babbling women or eager boys."
Heyward saw, by the manner of the scout, that altercation
would be useless. Munro had again sunk into that sort of
apathy which had beset him since his late overwhelming mis-
fortunes, and from which he was apparently to be roused only by
some new and powerful excitement. Making a merit of neces-
sity, the young man took the veteran by the arm, and followed
in the footsteps of the Indians and the scout, who had already
begun to retrace the path which conducted them to the plain.
234 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
CHAPTER XIX
"Salar, Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his
flesh ; what's that good for ?
Shy. To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will
feed my revenge."
Merchant of Venice.
The shades of evening had come to increase the dreariness of
the place, when the party entered the ruins of William Henry.
The scout and his companions immediately made their prepara-
tions to pass the night there ; but with an earnestness and
sobriety of demeanor, that betrayed how much the unusual
horrors they had just witnessed worked on even their practised
feelings. A few fragments of rafters were reared against a
blackened wall; and when Uncas had covered them slightly
with brush, the temporary accommodations were deemed suffi-
cient. The young Indian pointed toward his rude hut when
his labor was ended ; and Hey ward, who understood the mean-
ing of the silent gesture, gently urged Munro to enter. Leav-
ing the bereaved -old man alone with his sorrows, Duncan
immediately returned into the open air, too much excited him-
self to seek the repose he had recommended to his veteran
friend.
While Hawkeye and the Indians lighted their fire and took
their evening's repast, a frugal meal of dried bear's meat, the
young man paid a visit to that curtain of the dilapidated fort
which looked out on the sheet of the Horican. The wind had
fallen, and the waves were already rolling on the sandy beach
beneath him, in a more regular and tempered succession. The
clouds, as if tired of their furious chase, were breaking asunder ;
the heavier volumes, gathering in black masses about the hori-
zon, while the lighter scud still hurried above the water, or
eddied among the tops of the mountains, like broken flights of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 235
birds, hovering around their roosts. Here and there, a red and
fiery star struggled through the drifting vapor, furnishing a
lurid gleam of brightness to the dull aspect of the heavens.
Within the bosom of the encircling hills, an impenetrable dark-
ness had already settled; and the plain lay like a vast and
deserted charnel-house, without omen or whisper to disturb the
slumbers of its numerous and hapless tenants.
On this scene, so chillingly in accordance with the past,
Duncan stood for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes
wandered from the bosom of the mound, where the foresters
were seated around their glimmering fire, to the fainter light
which still lingered in the skies, and then rested long and
anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary void
on that side of him where the dead reposed. He soon fancied
that inexplicable sounds arose from the place, though so indis-
tinct and stolen, as to render not only their nature but even
their existence uncertain. Ashamed of his apprehensions, the
young man turned toward the water, and strove to divert his
attention to the mimic stars that dimly glimmered on its mov-
ing surface. Still, his too conscious ears performed their un-
grateful duty, as if to warn him of some lurking danger. At
length a swift trampling seemed, quite audibly, to rush athwart
the darkness. Unable any longer to quiet his uneasiness, Dun-
can spoke in a low voice to the scout, requesting him to ascend
the mound to the place where he stood. Hawkeye threw his
rifle across an arm and complied, but with an air so unmoved
and calm, as to prove how much he counted on the security of
their position.
"Listen !" said Duncan, when the other placed himself de-
liberately at his elbow; "there are suppressed noises on the
plain which may show that Montcalm has not yet entirely
deserted his conquest."
" Then ears are better than eyes," said the undisturbed scout,
who, having just deposited a portion of a bear between his
236 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
grinders, spoke thick and slow, like one whose mouth was
doubly occupied. " I myself saw him caged in Ty with all his
host ; for your Frenchers, when they have done a clever thing,
like to get back, and have a dance, or a merry-making, with
the women over their success."
" I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and plunder
may keep a Huron here after his tribe has departed. It would
be well to extinguish the fire, and have a watch listen ! you
hear the noise I mean ? "
" An Indian more rarely lurks about the graves. Though
ready to slay, and not over regardful of the means, he is com-
monly content with the scalp, unless when blood is hot, and
temper up ; but after the spirit is once fairly gone, he forgets
his enmity, and is willing to let the dead find their natural
rest. Speaking of spirits, major, are you of opinion that the
heaven of a red-skin and of us whites will be one and the
same ? "
" No doubt no doubt. I thought I heard it again ! or
was it the rustling of the leaves in the top of the beech ? "
"For my own part," continued Hawkeye, turning his face
for a moment in the direction indicated by Heyward, but with
a vacant and careless manner, " I believe that paradise is or-
dained for happiness ; and that men will be indulged in it ac-
cording to their dispositions and gifts. I, therefore, judge that
a red-skin is not far from the truth when he believes he is to
find them glorious hunting grounds of which his traditions tell ;
nor, for that matter, do I think it would be any disparagement
to a man without a cross to pass his time "
" You hear it again ? " interrupted Duncan.
"Ay, ay; when food is scarce, and when food is plenty, a
wolf grows bold," said the unmoved scout. " There would be
picking, too, among the skins of the devils, if there was light
and time for the sport. But, concerning the life that is to
come, major; I have heard preachers say, in the settlements,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 237
that heaven was a place of rest. Now, men's minds differ as
to their ideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I say it with
reverence to the ordering of Providence, it would be no great
indulgence to be kept shut up in those mansions of which they
preach, having a natural longing for motion and the chase."
Duncan, who was now made to understand the nature of the
noises he had heard, answered, with more attention to the sub-
ject which the humor of the scout had chosen for discussion, by
saying :
" It is difficult to account for the feelings that may attend
the last great change."
"It would be a change, indeed, for a man who has passed
his days in the open air," returned the single-minded scout;
" and who has so often broken his fast on the head waters of
the Hudson, to sleep within sound of the roaring Mohawk.
But it is a comfort to know we serve a merciful Master, though
we do it each after his fashion, and with great tracts of wilder-
ness atween us what goes there 1 "
" Is it not th$ rushing of the wolves you have mentioned 1 " .
Hawkeye slowly shook his head, and beckoned for Duncan
to follow him to a spot to which the glare from the fire did not
extend. When he had taken this precaution, the scout placed
himself in an attitude of intense attention, and listened long
and keenly for a repetition of the low sound that had so unex-
pectedly startled him. His vigilance, however, seemed exer-
cised in vain; for after a fruitless pause, he whispered to
Duncan :
" We must give a call to Uncas. The boy has Indian senses,
and may hear what is hid from us ; for being a white skin, I
will not deny my nature."
The young Mohican, who was conversing in a low voice with
his father, started as he heard the moaning of an owl, and
springing on his feet he looked toward the black mounds, as if
seeking the place whence the sounds proceeded. The scout
238 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
repeated the call, and in a few moments, Duncan saw the fig-
ure of Uncas stealing cautiously along the rampart, to the spot
where they stood.
Hawkeye explained his wishes in a very few words, which
were spoken in the Delaware tongue. So soon as Uncas was
in possession of the reason why he was summoned, he threw
himself flat on the turf; where, to the eyes of Duncan, he ap-
peared to lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at the immov-
able attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe the
manner in which he employed his faculties to obtain the desired
information, Heyward advanced a few steps, and bent over the
dark object on which he had kept his eyes riveted. Then it
was he discovered that the form of Uncas had vanished, and
that he beheld only the dark outline of an inequality in the
embankment.
" What has become of the Mohican 1 " he demanded of the
scout, stepping back in amazement ; " it was here that I saw
him fall, and could have sworn that here he yet remained."
"Hist ! speak lower; for we know not what ears are open,
and the Mingoes are a quick-witted breed. As for Uncas, he
is out on the plain, and the Maquas, if any such are about us,
will find their equal."
"You think that Montcalm has not called off all his Indians?
Let us give the alarm to our companions, that we may stand to
our arms. Here are five of us, who are not unused to meet an
enemy."
" Not a word to either, as you value life. Look at the Saga-
more, how like a grand Indian chief he sits by the fire. If
there are any skulkers out in the darkness, they will never dis-
cover, by his countenance, that we suspect danger at hand."
"But they may discover him, and it will prove his death.
His person can be too plainly seen by the light of that fire,
and he will become the first and most certain victim."
" It is undeniable that now you speak the truth," returned
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 239
the scout, betraying more anxiety than was usual ; "yet what
can be done? A single suspicious look might bring on an
attack before we are ready to receive it. He knows, by the
call I gave to Uncas, that we have struck a scent : I will tell
him that we are on the trail of the Mingoes ; his Indian nature
will teach him how to act."
The scout applied his fingers to his mouth, and raised a low,
hissing sound, that caused Duncan, at first, to start aside,
believing that he heard a serpent. The head of Chingachgook
was resting on a hand, as he sat musing by himself; but the
moment he heard the warning of the animal whose name he
bore, it arose to an upiight position, and his dark eyes glanced
swiftly and keenly on every side of him. With this sudden
and, perhaps, involuntary movement, every appearance of sur-
prise or alarm ended. His rifle lay untouched, and apparently
unnoticed, within reach of his hand. The tomahawk that he
bad loosened in his belt for the sake of ease, was even suffered
to fall from its usual situation to the ground, and his form
seemed to sink, like that of a man whose nerves and sinews
were suffered to relax for the purpose of rest. Cunningly
resuming his former position, though with a change of hands,
as if the movement had been made merely to relieve the limb,
the native awaited the result with a calmness and fortitude
that none but an Indian warrior would have known how to
exercise.
But Heywood saw that while to a less instructed eye the
Mohican chief appeared to slumber, his nostrils were expanded,
his head was turned a little to one side, as if to assist the
organs of hearing, and that his quick and rapid glances ran
incessantly over every object within the power of his vision.
" See the noble fellow ! " whispered Hawkey e, pressing the
arm of Hey ward ; "he knows that a look or a motion might
disconsart our schemes, and put us at the mercy of them
imps "
240 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
He was interrupted by the flash and report of a rifle. The
air was filled with sparks of fire, around that spot where the
eyes of Heyward were still fastened, with admiration and
wonder. A second look told him that Chingachgook had dis-
appeared in the confusion. In the meantime, the scout had
thrown forward his rifle, like one prepared for service, and
awaited impatiently the moment when an enemy might rise
to view. But with the solitary and fruitless attempt made on
the life of Chingachgook, the attack appeared to have termi-
nated. Once or twice the listeners thought they could distin-
guish the distant rustling of bushes, as bodies of some unknown
description rushed through them ; nor was it long before Hawk-
eye pointed out the "scampering of the wolves," as they fled
precipitately before the passage of some intruder on their proper
domains. After an impatient and breathless pause, a plunge
was heard in the water, and it was immediately followed by
the report of another rifle.
" There goes Uncas ! " said the scout : " the boy bears a
smart piece ! I know its crack, as well as a father knows the
language of his child, for I carried the gun myself, until a bet-
ter offered."
" What can this mean ? " demanded Duncan : " we are watched,
and, as it would seem, marked for destruction."
" Yonder scattered brand can witness that no good was in-
tended, and this Indian will testify that no harm has been
done," returned the scout, dropping his rifle across his arm
again, and following Chingachgook, who just then reappeared
within the circle of light, into the bosom of the works. " How
is it, Sagamore 1 Are the Mingoes upon us in earnest, or is it
only one of those reptyles who hang upon the skirts of a war
party, to scalp the dead, go in, and make their boast among
the squaws of the valiant deeds done on the pale faces ? "
Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat; nor did he
make any reply, until after he had examined the firebrand
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 241
which had been struck by the bullet that had nearly proved
fatal to himself. After which he was content to reply, holding
a single finger up to view, with the English monosyllable :
" One."
" I thought as much," returned Hawkeye, seating himself ;
" and as he had got the cover of the lake afore Uncas pulled
upon him, it is more than probable the knave will sing his lies
about some great ambushment, in which he was outlying on
the trail of two Mohicans and a white hunter for the officers
can be considered as little better than idlers in such a scrim-
mage. Well, let him let him. There are always some
honest men in every nation, though Heaven knows, too, that
they are scarce among the Maquas, to look down an upstart
when he brags ag'in the face of reason. The varlet sent his
lead within whistle of your ears, Sagamore."
Chingachgook turned a calm and incurious eye toward the
place where the ball had struck, and then resumed his former
attitude, with a composure that could not be disturbed by so
trifling an incident. Just then Uncas glided into the circle,
and seated himself at the fire, with the same appearance of
indifference as was maintained by his father.
Of these several movements Hey ward was a deeply interested
and wondering observer. It appeared to him as though the
foresters had some secret means of intelligence, which had
escaped the vigilance of his own faculties. In place of that
eager and garrulous narration with which a white youth would
have endeavored to communicate, and perhaps exaggerate, that
which had passed out in the darkness of the plain, the young
warrior was seemingly content to let his deeds speak for them-
selves. It was, in fact, neither the moment nor the occasion
for an Indian to boast of his exploits ; and it is probable, that
had Heyward neglected to inquire, not another syllable would,
just then, have been uttered on the subject.
" What has become of our enemy, Uncas ? " demanded Dun-
242 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
can : " we heard your rifle, and hoped you had not fired in
vain."
" The young chief removed a fold of his hunting shirt, and
quietly exposed the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore as the
symbol of victory. Ohingachgook laid his hand on the scalp,
and considered it for a moment with deep attention. Then
dropping it, with disgust depicted in his strong features, he
ejaculated :
" Oneida ! "
" Oneida ! " repeated the scout, who was fast losing his inter-
est in the scene, in an apathy nearly assimilated to that of his
red associates, but who now advanced with uncommon earnest-
ness to regard the bloody badge. " By the Lord, if the Oneidas
are outlying upon the trail, we shall be flanked by devils on
every side of us ! Now, to white eyes there is no difference
between this bit of skin and that of any other Indian, and yet
the Sagamore declares it came from the poll of a Mingo ; nay,
he even names the tribe of the poor devil with as much ease
as if the scalp was the leaf of a book, and each hair a letter.
What right have Christian whites to boast of their learning,
when a savage can read a language that would prove too much
for the wisest of them all ! What say you, lad ; of what peo-
ple was the knave ? "
Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the scout, and answered,
in his soft voice :
" Oneida."
" Oneida, again ! when one Indian makes a declaration it is *
commonly true ; but when he is supported by his people, set
it down as gospel ! "
"The poor fellow has mistaken us for French," said Hey-
ward ; " or he would not have attempted the life of a friend."
" He mistake a Mohican in his paint for a Huron ! You
would be as likely to mistake the white-coated grenadiers of
Montcalm for the scarlet jackets of the ' Royal Americans/ "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 243
returned the scout. " No, no, the sarpent knew his errand ;
nor was there any great mistake in the matter, for there is but
little love atween a Delaware and a Mingo, let their tribes go
out to fight for whom they may, in a white quarrel. For that
matter, though the Oneidas do serve his sacred majesty, who
is my own sovereign lord and master, I should not have deliber-
ated long about letting off * Killdeer ' at the imp myself, had
luck thrown him in my way."
" That would have been an abuse of our treaties, and un-
worthy of your character."
" When a man consorts much with a people," continued
Hawkeye, "if they are honest and he no knave, love will
grow up atwixt them. It is true that white cunning has
managed to throw the tribes into great confusion, as respects
friends and enemies; so that the Hurons and the Oneidas,
who speak the same tongue, or what may be called the same,
take each other's scalps, and the Delawares are divided among
k themselves ; a few hanging about their great council fire on
their own river, and fighting on the same side with the Mingoes,
while the greater part are in the Canadas, out of natural
enmity to the Maquas thus throwing everything into dis-
order, and destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet a red
natur* is not likely to alter with every shift of policy ; so that
the love atwixt a Mohican and a Mingo is much like the regard
between a white man and a sarpent."
" I regret to hear it ; for I had believed those natives who
dwelt within our boundaries had found us too just and liberal,
not to identify themselves fully with our quarrels."
" Why, I believe it is natur' to give a preference to one's
own quarrels before those of strangers. Now, for myself, I do
love justice ; and, therefore, I will not say I hate a Mingo, for
that may be unsuitable to my color and my religion, though I
will just repeat, it may have been owing to the night that
' Killdeer' had no hand in the death of this skulking Oneida."
244 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Then, as if satisfied with the force of his own reasons, what-
ever might be their effect on the opinions of the other dis-
putant, the honest but implacable woodsman turned from the
fire, content to let the controversy slumber. Heyward with-
drew to the rampart too uneasy and too little accustomed to
the warfare of the woods to remain at ease under the possibility
of such insidious attacks. Not so, however, with the scout
and the Mohicans. Those acute and long practised senses,
whose powers so often exceed the limits of all ordinary cre-
dulity after having detected the danger, had enabled them to
ascertain its magnitude and duration. Not one of the three
appeared in the least to doubt their perfect security, as was in-
dicated by the preparations that were soon made to sit in
council over their future proceedings.
The confusion of nations, and even of tribes, to which Hawk-
eye alluded, existed at that period in the fullest force. The
great tie of language, and, of course, of a common origin, was
severed in many places ; and it was one of its consequences, that
the Delaware and the Mingo (as the people of the Six Nations
were called) were found fighting in the same ranks, while the
latter sought the scalp of the Huron, though believed to be the
root of his own stock. The Delawares were even divided
among themselves. Though love for the soil which had be-
longed to his ancestors kept the Sagamore of the Mohicans
with a small band of followers who were serving at Edward,
under the banners of the English king, by far the largest
portion of his nation were known to be in the field as allies of
Montcalm. The reader probably knows, if enough has not
already been gleaned from this narrative, that the Delaware,
or Lenape, claimed to be the progenitors of that numerous
people, who once were masters of most of the eastern and
northern states of America, of whom the community of the
Mohicans was an ancient and highly honored member.
It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of the minute
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 245
and intricate interests which had armed friend against friend,
and brought natural enemies to combat by each other's side,
that the scout and his companions now disposed themselves to
deliberate on the measures that were to govern their future
movements, amid so many jarring and savage races of men.
Duncan knew enough of Indian customs to understand the
reason that the fire was replenished, and why the warriors,
not excepting Hawkeye, took their seats within the curl of its
smoke with so much gravity and decorum. Placing himself
at an angle of the works, where he might be a spectator of the
scene within, while he kept a watchful eye against any danger
from without, he awaited the result with as much patience as
he could summon.
After a short and impressive pause, Chingachgook lighted a
pipe whose bowl was curiously carved in one of the soft stones
of the country, and whose stem was a tube of wood, and
commenced smoking. When he bad inhaled enough of the
fragrance of the soothing weed, he passed the instrument into
the hands of the scout. In this manner the pipe had made its
rounds three several times, amid the most profound silence,
before either of the party opened his lips. Then the Saga-
more, as the oldest and highest in rank, in a few calm and
dignified words, proposed the subject for deliberation. He
was answered by the scout ; and Chingachgook rejoined, when
the other objected to his opinions. But the youthful Uncas con-
tinued a silent and respectful listener, until Hawkeye, in com-
plaisance, demanded his opinion. Heyward gathered from
the manners of the different speakers, that the father and son
espoused one side of a disputed question, while the white man
maintained the other. The contest gradually grew warmer,
until it was quite evident the feelings of the speakers began to
be somewhat enlisted in the debate.
Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the amicable con-
test, the most decorous Christian assembly, not even excepting
246 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
those in which its reverend ministers are collected, might have
learned a wholesome lesson of moderation from the forbearance
and courtesy of the disputants. The words of Uncas were re-
ceived with the same deep attention as those which fell from
the maturer wisdom of his father ; and so far from manifesting
any impatience, neither spoke in reply, until a few moments of
silent meditation were, seemingly, bestowed in deliberating on
what had already been said.
The language of the Mohicans was accompanied by gestures
so direct and natural, that Heyward had but little difficulty in
following the thread of their argument. On the other hand,
the scout was obscure; because from the lingering pride of
color, he rather affected the cold and artificial manner which
characterizes all classes of Anglo-Americans when unexcited.
By the frequency with which the Indians described the marks of
a forest trail, it was evident they urged a pursuit by land, while
the repeated sweep of Hawkeye's arm toward the Horican
denoted that he was for a passage across its waters.
The latter was to every appearance fast losing ground, and
the point was about to be decided against him, when he arose
to his feet, and shaking off his apathy, he suddenly assumed the
manner of an Indian, and adopted all the arts of native elo-
quence. Elevating an arm, he pointed out the track of the sun,
repeating the gesture for every day that was necessary to accom-
plish their object. Then he delineated a long and painful path,
amid rocks and watercourses. The age and weakness of the
slumbering and unconscious Munro were indicated by signs too
palpable to be mistaken. Duncan perceived that even his own
powers were spoken lightly of, as the scout extended his palm,
and mentioned him by the appellation of the " Open Hand "
a name his liberality had purchased of ail the friendly tribes.
Then came a representation of the light and graceful movements
of a canoe, set in forcible contrast to the tottering steps of one
enfeebled and tired. He concluded by pointing to the scalp of
11.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 247
the Oneida, and apparently urging the necessity of their depart-
ing speedily, and in a manner that should leave no trail.
The Mohicans listened gravely, and with countenances that
reflected the sentiments of the speaker. Conviction gradually
wrought its influence, and toward the close of Hawkey e's speech,
his sentences were accompanied by the customary exclamation
of commendation. In short, Uncas and his father became con-
verts to his way of thinking, abandoning their own previously
expressed opinions with a liberality and candor that, had they
been the representatives of some great and civilized people,
would have infallibly worked their political ruin, by destroying
forever their reputation for consistency.
The instant the matter in discussion was decided, the debate,
and everything connected with it, except the result, appeared to
be forgotten. Hawkeye, without looking round to read his
triumph in applauding eyes, very composedly stretched his tall
frame before the dying embers, and closed his own organs in
sleep.
Left now in a measure to themselves, the Mohicans, whose
time had been so much devoted to the interests of others, seized
the moment to devote some attention to themselves. Casting
off at once, the grave and austere demeanor of an Indian chief,
Chingachgook commenced speaking to his son in the soft and
playful tones of affection. Uncas gladly met the familiar air
of his father; and before the hard breathing of the scout
announced that he slept, a complete change was effected in the
manner of his two associates.
It is impossible to describe the music of their language, while
thus engaged in laughter and endearments, in such a way as to
render it intelligible to those whose ears have never listened
to its melody. The compass of their voices, particularly that
of the youth, was wonderful extending from the deepest bass
to tones that were even feminine in softness. The eyes of the
father followed the plastic and ingenious movements of the son
248 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
with open delight, and he never failed to smile in reply to the
other's contagious but low laughter. While under the influence
of these gentle and natural feelings, no trace of ferocity was to
be seen in the softened features of the Sagamore. His figured
panoply of death looked more like a disguise assumed in mock-
ery, than a fierce annunciation of a desire to carry destruction
in his footsteps.
After an hour had passed in the indulgence of their better
feelings, Chingachgook abruptly announced his desire to sleep,
by wrapping his head in his blanket, and stretching his form
on the naked earth. The merriment of Uncas instantly ceased ;
and carefully raking the coals in such a manner that they should
impart their warmth to his father's feet, the youth sought his
own pillow among the ruins of the place.
Imbibing renewed confidence from the security of these ex-
perienced foresters, Heyward soon imitated their example ; and
long before the night had turned, they who lay in the bosom of
the ruined work, seemed to slumber as heavily as the uncon-
scious multitude whose bones were already beginning to bleach
on the surrounding plain.
CHAPTER XX
" Land of Albania ! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men ! "
Childe Harold.
The heavens were still studded with stars, when Hawkeye
came to arouse the sleepers. Casting aside their cloaks, Munro
and Heyward were on their feet while the woodsman was still
making his low calls, at the entrance of the rude shelter where
they had passed the night. When they issued from beneath
its concealment, they found the scout awaiting their appearance
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 249
nigh by, and the only salutation between them was the signifi-
cant gesture for silence, made by their sagacious leader.
" Think over your prayers," he whispered, as they approached
him : "for He to whom you make them knows all tongues :
that of the heart, as well as those of the mouth. But speak
not a syllable ; it is rare for a white voice to pitch itself
properly in the woods, as we have seen by the example of that
miserable devil, the singer. Come," he continued, turning
toward a curtain of the works, " let us get into the ditch on
this side, and be regardful to step on the stones and fragments
of wood as you go."
His companions complied, though to two of them the reasons
of this extraordinary precaution were yet a mystery. When
they were in the low cavity that surrounded the earthen fort
on three sides, they found the passage nearly choked by the
ruins. With care and patience, however, they succeeded in
clambering after the scout, until they reached the sandy shore
of the Horican.
" That's a trail that nothing but a nose can follow," said the
satisfied scout, looking back along their difficult way; "grass
is a treacherous carpet for a flying party to tread on, but wood
and stone take no print from a moccasin. Had you worn your
armed boots there might, indeed, have been something to fear ;
but with the deer-skin suitably prepared, a man may trust him-
self, generally, on rocks with safety. Shove in the canoe nigher
to tfee land, Uncas; this sand will take a stamp as easily as
the butter of the Jarmans on the Mohawk. Softly, lad, softly ;
it must not touch the beach, or the knaves will know by what
road we have left the place."
The young man observed the precaution ; and the scout, lay-
ing a board from the ruins to the canoe, made a sign for the
two officers to enter. When this was done, everything was
studiously restored to its former disorder ; and then Hawkeye
succeeded in reaching his little birchen vessel, without leaving
250 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
behind him any of those marks which he appeared so much to
dread. Heyward was silent until the Indians had cautiously
paddled the canoe some distance from the fort, and within the
broad and dark shadow that fell from the eastern mountain on
the glassy surface of the lake ; then he demanded :
" What need have we for this stolen and hurried departure 1 "
" If the blood of an Oneida could stain such a sheet of pure
water as this we float on," returned the scout, "your two eyes
would answer your own question. Have you forgotten the
skulking reptile that Uncas slew 1 "
" By no means. But he was said to be alone, and dead men
give no cause for fear."
" Ay, he was alone in his deviltry ! but an Indian whose
tribe counts so many warriors need seldom fear his blood will
run, without the death-shriek coming speedily from some of his
enemies."
"But our presence the authority of Colonel Munro
would prove sufficient protection against the anger of our allies,
especially in a case where the wretch so well merited his fate.
I trust in Heaven you have not deviated a single foot from the
direct line of our course with so slight a reason ! "
" Do you think the bullet of that varlet's rifle would have
turned aside, though his sacred majesty the king had stood in
its path 1" returned the stubborn scout. "Why did not the
grand Frencher, he who is captain-general of the Canadas, bury
the tomahawks of the Hurons, if a word from a white can-work
so strongly on the natur* of an Indian ? "
The reply of Heyward was interrupted by a groan from
Munro ; but after he had paused a moment, in deference to the
sorrow of his aged friend, he resumed the subject.
" The marquis of Montcalm can only settle that error with
his God," said the young man, solemnly.
"Ay, ay, now there is reason in your words, for they are
bottomed on religion and honesty. There is a vast difference
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 251
between throwing a regiment of white coats atwixt the tribes
and the prisoners, and coaxing an angry savage to forget he
carries a knife and a rifle, with words that must begin with
calling him your son. No, no," continued the scout, looking
back at the dim shore of William Henry, which was now fast
receding, and laughing in his own silent but heartfelt manner ;
" I have put a trail of water at ween us ; and unless the imps
can make friends with the fishes, and hear who has paddled
across their basin this fine morning, we shall throw the length
of the Horican behind us before they have made up their minds
which path to take."
" With foes in front, and foes in our rear, our journey is like
to be one of danger."
" Danger ! " repeated Hawkeye, calmly ; "no, not absolutely
of danger; for, with vigilant ears and quick eyes, we can
manage to keep a few hours ahead of the knaves; or, if we
must try the rifle, there are three of us who understand its
gifts as well as any you can name on the borders. No, not of
danger; but that we shall have what you may call a brisk
push of it, is probable ; and it may happen, a brush, a scrim-
mage, or some such divarsion, but always where covers are
good, and ammunition abundant."
It is possible that Heyward's estimate of danger differed in
some degree from that of the scout, for, instead of replying, he
now sat in silence, while the canoe glided over several miles
of water. Just as the day dawned, they entered the narrows
of the lake, and stole swiftly and cautiously among their
numberless little islands. It was by this road that Montcalm
had retired with his army, and the adventurers knew not but
he had left some of his Indians in ambush, to protect the
rear of his forces, and collect the stragglers. They, therefore,
approached the passage with the customary silence of their
guarded habits.
Chingachgook laid aside his paddle; while Uncas and the
252 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
scout urged the light vessel through crooked and intricate chan-
nels, where every foot that they advanced exposed them to the
danger of some sudden rising on their progress. The eyes of
the Sagamore moved warily from islet to islet, and copse to
copse, as the canoe proceeded; and when a clearer sheet of
water permitted, his keen vision was bent along the bald rocks
and impending forests that frowned upon the narrow strait.
Heyward, who was a doubly interested spectator, as well
from the beauties of the place as from the apprehension natural
to his situation, was just believing that he had permitted the
latter to be excited without sufficient reason, when the paddle
ceased moving, in obedience to a signal from Chingachgook.
" Hugh ! " exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the moment that the
light tap his father had made on the side of the canoe notified
them of the vicinity of danger.
" What now ? " asked the scout ; " the lake is as smooth as
if the winds had never blown, and I can see along its sheet for
miles ; there is not so much as the black head of a loon dotting
the water."
The Indian gravely raised his paddle, and pointed in the di-
rection in which his own steady look was riveted. Duncan's
eyes followed the motion. A few rods in their front lay an-
other of the low wooded islets, but it appeared as calm and'
peaceful as if its solitude had never been disturbed by the foot
of man.
"I see nothing," he said, "but land and water; and a lovely
scene it is."
"Hist!" interrupted the scout. "Ay, Sagamore, there is
always a reason for what you do. 'Tis but a shade, and yet it
is not natural. You see the mist, major, that is rising above
the island ; you can't call it a fog, for it is more like a streak
of thin cloud "
" It is vapor from the water."
" That a child could tell. But what is the edging of blacker
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 253
smoke that hangs along its lower side, and which you may trace
down into the thicket of hazel? 'Tis from a fire; but one that,
in my judgment, has been suffered to burn low."
"Let us then push for the place, and relieve our doubts,"
said the impatient Duncan ; " the party must be small that can
lie on such a bit of land."
" If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you find in
books, or by white sagacity, they will lead you astray, if not
to your death," returned Hawkey e, examining the signs of the
place with that acuteness which distinguished him. "If I
may be permitted to speak in this matter, it will be to say,
that we have but two things to choose between : the one is, to
return, and give* up all thoughts of following the Hurons "
" Never ! " exclaimed Hey ward, in a voice far too loud for
their circumstances.
"Well, well," continued Hawkeye, making a hasty sign to
repress his impatience; "I am much of your mind myself;
though I thought it becoming my experience to tell the whole.
We must, then, make a push, and if the Indians or French ers
are in the narrows, run the gauntlet through these toppling
mountains. Is there reason in my words, Sagamore ? "
The Indian made no other answer than by dropping his
paddle into the water, and urging forward the canoe. As he
held the office of directing its course, his resolution was suffi-
ciently indicated by the movement. The whole party now
plied their paddles vigorously, and in a very few moments they
had reached a point whence they might command an entire
view of the northern shore of the island, the side that had
hitherto been concealed.
" There they are, by all the truth of signs," whispered the
scout, " two canoes and a smoke. The knaves haven't yet got
their eyes out of the mist, or we should hear the accursed
whoop. Together, friends ! we are leaving them, and are al-
ready nearly out of whistle of a bullet."
254 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
The well-known crack of a rifle, whose ball came skipping
along the placid surface of the strait, and a shrill yell from the
island, interrupted his speech, and announced that their passage
was discovered. In another instant several savages were seen
rushing into the canoes, which were soon dancing over the
water in pursuit. These fearful precursors of a coming struggle
produced no change in the countenances and movements of his
three guides, so far as Duncan could discover, except that the
strokes of their paddles were longer and more in unison, and
caused the little bark to spring forward like a creature possess-
ing life and volition.
" Hold them there, Sagamore," said Hawkeye, looking coolly
backward over his left shoulder, while he still -plied his paddle ;
"keep them just there. Them Hurons have never a piece in
their nation that will execute at this distance ; but ' Killdeer '
has a barrel on which a man may calculate."
The scout having ascertained that the Mohicans were suffi-
cient of themselves to maintain the requisite distance, deliber-
ately laid aside his paddle, and raised the fatal rifle. Three
several times he brought the piece to his shoidder, and when his
companions were expecting its report, he as often lowered it to
request the Indians would permit their enemies to approach a
little nigher. At length his accurate and fastidious eye seemed
satisfied, and throwing out his left arm on the barrel, he was
slowly elevating the muzzle, when an exclamation from Uncas,
who sat in the bow, once more caused him to suspend the shot.
"What now, lad?" demanded Hawkeye; "you saved a
Huron from the death-shriek by that word; have you reason
for what you do ? "
Uncas pointed toward the rocky shore a little in their front,
whence another war canoe was darting directly across their
course. It was too obvious now that their situation was im-
minently perilous, to need the aid of language to confirm it.
The scout laid aside his rifle, and resumed the paddle, whilo
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 255
Chingachgook inclined the bows of the canoe a little toward the
western shore, in order to increase the distance between them
and this new enemy. In the meantime they were reminded of
the presence of those who pressed upon their rear, by wild and
exulting shouts. The stirring scene awakened even Munro
from his apathy.
"Let us make for the rocks on the main," he said, with the
mien of a tired soldier, " and give battle to the savages. God
forbid that I, or those attached to me and mine, should ever
trust again to the faith of any servant of the Louises ! "
"He who wishes to prosper in Indian warfare," returned the
scout, "must not be too proud to learn from the wit of a native.
Lay her more along the land, Sagamore ; we are doubling on
the varlets, and perhaps they may try to strike our trail on the
long calculation."
Hawkeye was not mistaken; for when the Hurons found
their course was likely to throw them behind their chase they
rendered it less direct, until, by gradually bearing more and
more obliquely, the two canoes were, ere long, gliding on paral-
lel lines, within two hundred yards of each other. It now be-
came entirely a trial of speed. So rapid was the progress of
the light vessels, that the lake curled in their front, in minia-
ture waves, and their motion became undulating by its own
velocity. It was, perhaps, owing to this circumstance, in addi-
tion to the necessity of keeping every hand employed at the
paddles, that the Hurons had not immediate recourse to their
firearms. The exertions of the fugitives were too severe to
continue long, and the pursuers had the advantage of numbers.
Duncan observed with uneasiness, that the scout began to look
anxiously about him, as if searching for some further means of
assisting their flight.
" Edge her a little more from the sun, Sagamore," said the
stubborn woodsman ; " I see the knaves are sparing a man to
the rifle. A single broken bone might lose us our scalps.
256 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Edge more from the sun and we will put the island between
us."
The expedient was not without its use. A long, low island
lay at a little distance before them, and as they closed with it,
the chasing canoe was compelled to take a side opposite to that
on which the pursued passed. The scout and his companions
did not neglect this advantage, but the instant they were hid
from observation by the bushes, they redoubled efforts that
before had seemed prodigious. The two canoes came round the
last low point, like two coursers at the top of their speed, the
fugitives taking the lead. This change had brought them
nigher to each other, however, while it altered their relative
positions.
" You showed knowledge in the shaping of a birchen bark,
Uncas, when you chose this from among the Huron canoes,"
said the scout, smiling, apparently more in satisfaction at their
superiority in the race, than from that prospect of final escape
which now began to open a little upon them. " The imps have
put all their strength again at the paddles, and we are to strug-
gle for our scalps with bits of flattened wood, instead of clouded
barrels and true eyes. A long stroke, and together, friends."
" They are preparing for a shot," said Hey ward ; " and as
we are in a line with them, it can scarcely fail."
" Get you, then, into the bottom of the canoe," returned the
scout ; " you and the colonel ; it will be so much taken from
the size of the mark."
Hey ward smiled, as he answered :
" It would be but an ill example for the highest in rank to
dodge, wbile the warriors were under fire."
" Lord ! Lord ! That is now a white man's courage ! " ex-
claimed the scout ; " and like too many of his notions, not to
be maintained by reason. Do you think the Sagamore, or
Uncas, or even I, who am a man without a cross, would delib-
erate about finding a cover in the scrimmage, when an open
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 257
body would do no good ? For what have the Frenchers reared
up their Quebec, if fighting is always to be done in the
clearings ? "
"All that you say is very true, my friend," replied Hey-
ward ; "still, our customs must prevent us from doing as you
wish."
A volley from the Hurons interrupted the discourse, and as
the bullets whistled about them, Duncan saw the head of
Uncas turned, looking back at himself and Munro. Notwith-
standing the nearness of the enemy, and his own great personal
danger, the countenance of the young warrior expressed no
other emotion, as the former was compelled to think, than
amazement at finding men willing to encounter so useless an
exposure. Chingachgook was probably better acquainted with
the notions of white men, for he did not even cast a glance
aside from the riveted look his eye maintained on the object by
which he governed their course. A ball soon struck the light
and polished paddle from the hands of the chief, and drove it
through the air, far in the advance. A shout arose from the
Hurons, who seized the opportunity to fire another volley.
Uncas described an arc in the water with his own blade, and
as the canoe passed swiftly on, Chingachgook recovered his
paddle, and flourishing it on high, he gave the war-whoop of
the Mohicans, and then lent his strength and skill again to the
important task.
The clamorous sounds of " Le Gros Serpent ! " "La Longue
Carabine ! " " Le Cerf Agile ! " burst at once from the canoes
behind, and seemed to give new zeal to the pursuers. The
scout seized " Killdeer " in his left hand, and elevating it above
his head, he shook it in triumph at his enemies. The savages
answered the insult with a yell, and immediately another volley
succeeded. The bullets pattered along the lake, and one even
pierced the bark of their little vessel. No perceptible emotion
could be discovered in the Mohicans during this critical mo-
s
258 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ment, their rigid features expressing neither hope or alarm ;
but the scout again turned his head, and laughing in his own
silent manner, he said to Hey ward :
"The knaves love to hear the sounds of their pieces; but
the eye is not to be found among the Mingoes that can calcu-
late a true range in a dancing canoe ! You see the dumb devils
have taken off a man to charge, and by the smallest measure-
ment that can be allowed, we move three feet to their two ! "
Duncan who was not altogether as easy under this nice esti-
mate of distances as his companions, was glad to find, however,
that owing to their superior dexterity, and the diversion among
their enemies, they were very sensibly obtaining the advantage.
The Hurons soon fired again, and a bullet struck the blade of
Hawkeye's paddle without injury.
"That will do," said the scout, examining the slight indenta-
tion with a curious eye ; " it would not have cut the skin of an
infant, much less of men, who, like us, have been blown upon
by the heavens in their anger. Now, major, if you will try to
use this piece of flattened wood, 111 let ' Killdeer ' take a part
in the conversation."
Hey ward seized the paddle, and applied himself to the work
with an eagerness that supplied the place of skill, while Hawk-
eye was engaged in inspecting the priming of his . rifle. The
latter then took a swift aim and fired. The Huron in the
bows of the leading canoe had risen with a similar object, and
he now fell backward, suffering his gun to escape from his
hands into the water. In an instant, however, he recovered
his feet, though his gestures were wild and bewildered. At the
same moment his companions suspended their efforts, and the
chasing canoes clustered together, and became stationary.
Chingachgook and Uncas profited by the interval to regain
their wind, though Duncan continued to work with the most
persevering industry. The father and son now cast calm but
inquiring glances at each other, to learn if either had sustained
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 259
any injury by the fire ; for both well knew that no cry or
exclamation would, in such a moment of necessity, have been
permitted to betray the accident. A few large drops of blood
were trickling down the shoulder of the Sagamore, who, when
he perceived that the eyes of Uncas dwelt too long on the sight,
raised some water in the hollow of his hand, and washing off
the stain, was content to manifest, in his simple manner, the
slightness of the injury.
" Softly, softly, major," said the scout, who by this time had
reloaded his rifle ; " we are a little too far already for a rifle to
put forth its beauties, and you see yonder imps are holding a
council. Let them come up within striking distance my eye
may well be trusted in such a matter and I will trail the
varlets the length of the Horican, guaranteeing that not a shot
of theirs shall, at the worst, more than break the skin, while
' Killdeer ' shall touch the life twice in three times."
"We forget our errand," returned the diligent Duncan.
" For God's sake let us profit by this advantage, and increase
our distance from the enemy."
"Give me my children," said Munro, hoarsely; "trifle no
longer with a father's agony, but restore me my babes."
Long and habitual deference to the mandates of his superiors
had taught the scout the virtue of obedience. Throwing a last
and lingering glance at the distant canoes, he laid aside his rifle,
and relieving the wearied Duncan, resumed the paddle, which
he wielded with sinews that never tired. His efforts were
seconded by those of the Mohicans, and a very few minutes
served to place such a sheet of water between them and their
enemies, that Heyward once more breathed freely.
The lake now began to expand, and their route lay along a
wide reach, that was lined, as before, by high and ragged moun-
tains. But the islands were few, and easily avoided. The
strokes of the paddles grew more measured and regular, while
they who plied them continued their labor, after the close and
260 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
deadly chase from which they had just relieved themselves, with
as much coolness as though their speed had been tried in sport,
rather than under such pressing, nay, almost desperate cir-
cumstances.
Instead of following the western shore, whither their errand
led them, the wary Mohican inclined his course more toward
those hills behind which Montcalm was known to have led his
army into the formidable fortress of Ticonderoga. As the
Hurons, to every appearance, had abandoned the pursuit, there
was no apparent reason for this excess of caution. It was,
however, maintained for hours, until they had reached a bay,
nigh the northern termination of the lake. Here the canoe was
driven upon the beach, and the whole party landed. Hawkeye
and Hey ward ascended an adjacent bluff, where the former, after
considering the expanse of water beneath him, pointed out to
the latter a small black object, hovering under a headland, at
the distance of several miles.
"Do you see it?" demanded the scout. "Now, what
would you account that spot, were you left alone to white
experience to find your way through this wilderness ? "
" But for its distance and its magnitude, I should suppose it
a bird. Can it be a living object ? "
"Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and paddled by fierce
and crafty Mingoes. Though Providence has lent to those who
inhabit the woods eyes that would be needless to men in the
settlements, where there are inventions to assist the sight, yet
no human organs can see all the dangers which at this moment
circumvent us. These varlets pretend to be bent chiefly on
their sun-down meal, but the moment it is dark they will be
on our trail, as true as hounds on the scent. We must throw
them off, or our pursuit of Le Renard Subtil may be given up.
These lakes are useful at times, especially when the game takes
the water," continued the scout, gazing about him with a coun-
tenance of concern ; " but they give no cover, except it be to
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 261
the fishes. God knows what the country would be, if the set-
tlements should ever spread far from the two rivers. Both
hunting and war would lose their beauty."
" Let us not delay a moment, without some good and obvious
cause."
" I little like that smoke, which you may see worming up
along the rock above the canoe," interrupted the abstracted
scout. " My life on it, other eyes than ours see it, and know
its meaning. Well, words will not mend the matter, and it is
time that we were doing."
Hawkeye moved away from the look-out, and descended,
musing profoundly, to the shore. He communicated the result
of his observations to his companions, in Delaware, and a short
and earnest consultation succeeded. When it terminated, the
three instantly set about executing their new resolutions.
The canoe was lifted from the water, and borne on the
shoulders of the party. They proceeded into the wood, making
as broad and obvious a trail as possible. They soon reached a
water-course, which they crossed, and continued onward, until
they came to an extensive and naked rock. At this point,
where their footsteps might be expected to be no longer visible,
they retraced their route to the brook, walking backward with
the utmost care. They now followed the bed of the little
stream to the lake, into which they immediately launched their
canoe again. A low point concealed them from the headland,
and the margin of the lake was fringed for some distance with
dense and overhanging bushes. Under the cover of these
natural advantages, they toiled their way, with patient indus-
try, until the scout pronounced that he believed it would be
safe once more to land.
The halt continued until evening rendered objects indistinct
and uncertain to the eye. Then they resumed their route, and,
favored by the darkness, pushed silently and vigorously toward
the western shore. Although the rugged outline of mountain,
262 THE LAST OF THE MOHJCANS
to which they were steering, presented no distinctive marks to
the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican entered the little haven he
had selected with the confidence and accuracy of an experienced
pilot.
The boat was again lifted and borne into the woods where it
was carefully concealed under a pile of brush. The adventurers
assumed their arms and packs, and the scout announced to
Munro and Heyward that he and the Indians were at last
in readiness to proceed.
CHAPTER XXI
" If you find a man there, he shall die a flea's death."
Merry Wives of Windsor.
The party had landed on the border of a region that is, even
to this day, less known to the inhabitants of the States, than
the deserts of Arabia, or the steppes of Tartary. It was the
sterile and rugged district which separates the tributaries of
Champlain from those of the Hudson, the Mohawk, and the
St. Lawrence. Since the period of our tale the active spirit of
the country has surrounded it with a belt of rich and thriving
settlements, though none but the hunter or the savage is ever
known even now to penetrate its wild recesses.
As Hawkeye and the Mohicans had, however, often traversed
the mountains and valleys of this vast wilderness, they did not
hesitate to plunge into its depths, with the freedom of men
accustomed to its privations and difficulties. For many hours
the travellers toiled on their laborious way, guided by a star,
or following the direction of some water-course, until the scout
called a halt, and holding a short consultation with the Indians,
they lighted their fire, and made the usual preparations to pass
the remainder of the night where they then were.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 263
Imitating the example, and emulating the confidence of their
more experienced associates, Munro and Duncan slept without
fear, if not without uneasiness. The dews were suffered to
exhale, and the sun had dispersed the mists, and was shedding
a strong and clear light in the forest, when the travellers re-
sumed their journey.
After proceeding a few miles, the progress of Hawkeye, who
led the advance, became more deliberate and watchful. He
often stopped to examine the trees ; nor did he cross a rivulet,
without attentively considering the quantity, the velocity, and
the color of its waters. Distrusting his own judgment, his
appeals to the opinion of Ohingachgook were frequent and
earnest. During one of these conferences Heyward observed
that Uncas stood a patient and silent, though, as he imagined,
an interested listener. He was strongly tempted to address the
young chief, and demand his opinion of their progress ; but the
calm and dignified demeanor of the native induced him to
believe, that, like himself, the other was wholly dependent on
the sagacity and intelligence of the seniors of the party. At
last the scout spoke in English, and at once explained the
embarrassment of their situation.
"When I found that the home path of the Hurons run
north," he said, " it did not need the judgment of many long
years to tell that they would follow the valleys, and keep
atween the waters of the Hudson and the Horican, until they
might strike the springs of the Canada streams, which would
lead them into the heart of the country of the Frenchers. Yet
here are we, within a short range of the Scaroons, and not a
sign of a trail have we crossed ! Human natur' is weak, and
it is possible we may not have taken the proper scent."
" Heaven protect us from such an error ! " exclaimed Duncan.
" Let us retrace out steps, and examine as we go, with keener
eyes. Has Uncas no counsel to offer in such a strait 1 "
The young Mohican cast a glance at his father, but maintain-
264 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ing his quiet and reserved mien, he continued silent. Chingach-
gook had caught the look, and motioniug with his hand, he
bade him speak. The moment this permission was accorded,
the counteuance of Uncas changed from its grave composure to
a gleam of intelligence and joy. Bounding forward like a deer,
he sprang up the side of a little acclivity, a few rods in advance,
and stood, exultingly, over a spot of fresh earth, that looked as
though it had been recently upturned 'by the passage of some
heavy animal. The eyes of the whole party followed the unex-
pected movement, and read their success in the air of triumph
that the youth assumed.
" 'Tis the trail ! " exclaimed the scout, advancing to the spot ;
" the lad is quick of sight and keen of wit for his years."
" 'Tis extraordinary that he should have withheld his knowl-
edge so long," muttered Duncan, at his elbow.
" It would have been more wonderful had he s,poken without
a bidding. No, no ; your young white, who gathers his learn-
ing from books and can measure what he knows by the page,
may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs, outruns that of
his father ; but where experience is the master, the scholar is
made to know the value of years, and respects them accord-
ingly."
" See ! " said Uncas, pointing north and south, at the evident
marks of the broad trail on either side of him, " the dark-hair
has gone toward the frost."
" Hound never ran on a more beautiful scent," responded the
scout, dashing forward, at once, on the indicated route; "we
are favored, greatly favored, and can follow with high noses.
Ay, here are both your waddling beasts; this Huron travels
like a white general. The fellow is stricken with a judgment,
and is mad ! Look sharp for wheels, Sagamore," he continued,
looking back, and laughing in his newly awakened satisfaction ;
" we shall soon have the fool journeying in a coach, and that
with three of the best pair of eyes on the borders in his rear."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 265
The spirits of the scout, and the astonishing success of the
chase, in which a circuitous distance of more than forty miles
had been passed, did not fail to impart a portion of hope to the
whole party. Their advance was rapid; and made with as
much confidence as a traveller would proceed along a wide high-
way. If a rock, or a rivulet, or a bit of earth harder than
common, severed the links of the clew they followed, the true
eye of the scout recovered them at a distance, and seldom ren-
dered the delay of a single moment necessary. Their progress
was much facilitated by the certainty that Magua had found it
necessary to journey through the valleys ; a circumstance which
rendered the general direction of the route sure. Nor had the
Huron entirely neglected the arts uniformly practised by the
natives when retiring in front of an enemy. False trails and
sudden turnings were frequent, wherever a brook or the forma-
tion of the ground rendered them feasible; but his pursuers
were rarely deceived, and never failed to detect their error,
before they had lost either time or distance on the deceptive
track.
By the middle of the afternoon they had passed the Scaroons,
and were following the route of the declining sun. After de-
scending an eminence to a low bottom, through which a swift
stream glided, they suddenly came to a place where the party
of Le Renard had made a halt. Extinguished brands were
lying around a spring, the offals of a deer were scattered about
the place, and the trees bore evident marks of having been
browsed by the horses. At a little distance, Heyward dis-
covered, and contemplated with tender emotion, the small
bower under which he was fain to believe that Cora and Alice
had reposed. But while the earth was trodden, and the foot-
steps of both men and beasts were so plainly visible around the
place, the trail appeared to have suddenly ended.
It was easy to follow the tracks of the Narragansetts, but
they seemed only to have wandered without guides, or any
266 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
other object than the pursuit of food. At length Uncas, who,
with his father had endeavored to trace the route of the horses,
came upon a sign of their presence that was quite recent.
Before following the clew, he communicated his success to his
companions ; and while the latter were consulting on the cir-
cumstance, the youth reappeared, leading the two fillies, with
their saddles broken, and the housings soiled, as though they
had been permitted to run at will for several days.
" What should this prove ? " said Duncan, turning pale,
and glancing his eyes around him, as. if he feared the brush
and leaves were about to give up some horrid secret.
" That our march is come to a quick end, and that we are in
an enemy's country," returned the. scout. " Had the knave been
pressed, and the gentle ones wanted horses to keep up with
the party, he might have taken their scalps ; but without an
enemy at his heels, and with such rugged beasts as these, he
would not hurt a hair of their heads. I know your thoughts, .
and shame be it to our color that you have reason for them ;
but he who thinks that even a Mingo would ill-treat a woman,
unless it be to tomahawk her, knows nothing of Indian natur',
or the laws of the woods. No, no; I have heard that the
French Indians had come into these hills to hunt the moose,
and we are getting within scent of their camp. Why should
they not ? The morning and evening guns of Ty may be heard
any day among these mountains ; foj the Frenchers are running
a new line atween the provinces of the king and the Canadas.
It is true that the horses are here, but the Hurons are gone ;
let us, then, hunt for the path by which they departed."
Hawkeye and the Mohicans now applied themselves to their '
task in good earnest. A circle of a few hundred feet in cir-
cumference was drawn, and each of the party took a segment
for his portion. The examination, however, resulted in no dis-
covery. The impressions of footsteps were numerous, but they
all appeared like those of men who had wandered about the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 267
spot, without any design to quit it. Again the scout and his
companions made the circuit of the halting place, each slowly
following the other, until they assembled in the centre once
more, no wiser than when they started.
" Such cunning is not without its deviltry," exclaimed Hawk-
eye, when he met the disappointed looks of his assistants.
"We must get down to it, Sagamore, beginning at the
spring, and going over the ground by inches. The Huron shall
never brag in his tribe that he has a foot which leaves no
print."
Setting the example himself, the scout engaged in the
scrutiny with renewed zeal. Not a leaf was. left unturned.
The sticks were removed, and the stones lifted; for Indian
cunning was known frequently to adopt these objects as covers,
laboring with the utmost patience and industry, to conceal each
footstep as they proceeded. Still no discovery was made. At
length Uncas, whose activity had enabled him to achieve his
portion of the task the soonest, raked the earth across the
turbid little rill which ran from the spring, and diverted its
course into another channel. So soon as its narrow bed below
the dam was dry, he stooped over it with keen and curious
eyes. A cry of exultation immediately announced the success
of the young warrior. The whole party crowded to the spot
where Uncas pointed out the impression of a moccasin in the
moist alluvion.
" The lad will be an honor to his people," said Hawkeye, re-
garding the trail with as much admiration as a naturalist would
expend on the tusk of a mammoth or the rib of a mastodon ;
" ay, and a thorn in the sides of the Hurons. Yet that is not
the footstep of an Indian ! the weight is too much on the heel,
and the toes are squared, as though one of the French dancers
had been in, pigeon-winging his tribe ! Run back, Uncas, and
bring me the size of the singer's foot. You will find a beautiful
print of it just opposite yon rock, agin the hillside."
268 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
While the youth was engaged in this commission, the scout
and Chingachgook were attentively considering the impressions.
The measurements agreed, and the former unhesitatingly pro-
nounced that the footstep was that of David, who had once
more been made to exchange his shoes for moccasins.
" I can now read the whole of it, as plainly as if I had seen
the arts of Le Subtil," he added; "the singer being a man
whose gifts lay chiefly in his throat and feet, was made to go
first, and the others have trod in his steps, imitating their
formation."
"But," cried Duncan, "I see no signs of "
" The gentle, ones," interrupted the scout ; " the varlet has
found a way to carry them, until he supposed he had thrown
any followers off the scent. My life on it, we see their pretty
little feet again, before many rods go by."
The whole party now proceeded, following the course of the
rill, keeping anxious eyes on the regular impressions. The
water soon flowed into its bed again, but watching the ground
on either side, the foresters pursued their way content with
knowing that the trail lay beneath. More than half a mile
was passed, before the rill rippled close around the base of an
extensive and dry rock. Here they paused to make sure that
the Hurons had not quitted the water.
It was fortunate they did so. For the quick and active
Uncas soon found the impression of a foot on a bunch of moss,
where it would seem an Indian had inadvertently trodden.
Pursuing the direction given by this discovery, he entered the
neighboring thicket, and struck the trail, as fresh and obvious
as it had been before they reached the spring. Another shout
announced the good fortune of the youth to his companions, and
at once terminated the search.
" Ay, it has been planned with Indian judgment," said the
scout, when the party was assembled around the place, "and
would have blinded white eyes."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 269
" Shall we proceed ? " demanded Heyward.
" Softly, softly : we know our path ; but it is good to exam-
ine the formation of things. This is my schooling, major ; and
if one neglects the book, there is little chance of learning from
the open hand of Providence. All is plain but one thing,
which is the manner that the knave contrived to get the gentle
ones along the blind trail. Even a Huron would be too proud
to let their tender feet touch the water."
"Will this assist in explaining the difficulty?" said Hey-
ward, pointing toward the fragments of a sort of handbarrow,
that had been rudely constructed of boughs, and bound to-
gether with withes, and which now seemed carelessly cast aside
as useless.
" Tis explained ! " cried the delighted Hawkeye. " If them
varlets have passed a minute, they have spent hours in striving
to fabricate a lying end to their trail ! Well, I've known them
to waste a day in the same manner, to as little purpose. Here
we have three pair of moccasins, and two of little feet. It is
amazing that any mortal beings can journey on limbs so small !
Pass me the thong of buck-skin, Uncas, and let me take the
length of this foot. By the Lord, it is no longer than a child's
and yet the maidens are tall and comely. That Providence is
partial in its gifts, for its own wise reasons, the best and most
contented of us must allow."
" The tender limbs of my daughters are unequal to these
hardships," said Munro, looking at the light footsteps of his
children, with a parent's love; "we shall find their fainting
forms in this desert."
"Of that* there is little cause of fear," returned the scout,
slowly shaking his head; "this is a firm and straight, though
a light step, and not over long. See, the heel has hardly
touched the ground ; and there the dark-hair has made a little
jump, from root to root. No, no; my knowledge for it,
neither of them was nigh fainting, hereaway. Now, the singer
270 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
was beginning to be foot-sore and leg-weary, as is plain by his
trail. There, you see, he slipped; here he has travelled wide
and tottered ; and there again it looks as though he journeyed
on snow-shoes. Ay, ay, a man who uses his throat altogether,
can hardly give his legs a proper training."
From such undeniable testimony did the practised woodsman
arrive at the truth, with nearly as much certainty and precision
as if he had been a witness of all those events which his inge-
nuity so easily elucidated. Cheered by these assurances, and
satisfied by a reasoning that was so obvious, while it was so
simple, the party resumed its course, after making a short halt,
to take a hurried repast.
When the meal was ended, the scout cast a glance upward
at the setting sun, and pushed forward with a rapidity which
compelled Heyward and the still vigorous Munro to exert all
their muscles to equal. Their route now lay along the bottom
which has already been mentioned. As the Hurons had made
no further efforts to conceal their footsteps, the progress of the
pursuers was no longer delayed by uncertainty. Before an
hour had elapsed, however, the speed of Hawkeye sensibly
abated, and his head, instead of maintaining its former direct
and forward look, began to turn suspiciously from side to side,
as if he were conscious of approaching danger. He soon stopped
again, and waited for the whole party to come up.
" I scent the Hurons," he said, speaking to the Mohicans ;
" yonder is open sky, through the tree-tops, and we are getting
too nigh their encampment. Sagamore, you will take the
hillside, to the right ; Uncas will bend along the brook to the
left, while I will tiy the trail. If anything should happen,
the call will be three croaks of a crow. I saw one of the birds
fanning himself in the air, just beyond the dead oak another
sign that we are touching an encampment."
The Indians departed their several ways without reply, while
Hawkeye cautiously proceeded with the two gentlemen. Hey-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 271
ward soon pressed to the side of their guide, eager to catch an
early glimpse of those enemies he had pursued with so much
toil and anxiety. His companion told him to steal to the edge
of the wood, which, as usual, was fringed with a thicket, and
wait his coming, for he wished to examine certain suspicious
signs a little on one side. Duncan obeyed, and soon founjd
himself in a situation to command a view which he found as
extraordinary as it was novel.
The trees of many acres had been felled, and the glow of a
mild summer's evening had fallen on the clearing, in beautiful
contrast to the gray light of the forest. A short distance from
the place where Duncan stood, the stream had seemingly ex-
panded into a little lake, covering most of the low land, from
mountain to mountain. The water fell out of this wide basin,
in a cataract so regular and gentle, that it appeared rather to be
the work of human hands than fashioned by nature. A hundred
earthen dwellings stood on the margin of the lake, and even in
its water, as though the latter had overflowed its usual banks.
Their rounded roofs, admirably moulded for defence against the
weather, denoted more of industry and foresight than the
natives were wont to bestow on their regular habitations, much
less on those they occupied for the temporary purposes of hunt-
ing and war. In short, the whole village or town, whichever
it might be termed, possessed more of method and neatness of
execution, than the white men had been accustomed to believe
belonged, ordinarily, to the Indian habits. It appeared, how-
ever, to be deserted. At least, so thought Duncan for many
minutes ; but, at length, he fancied he discovered several human
forms advancing toward him on all fours, and apparently drag-
ging in their train some heavy, and as he was quick to appre-
hend, some formidable engine. Just then a few dark-looking
heads gleamed out of the dwellings, and the place seemed sud-
denly alive with beings, which, however, glided from cover to
cover so swiftly, as to allow no opportunity of examining their
272 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
humors or pursuits. Alarmed at these suspicious and inexpli-
cable movements, he was about to attempt the signal of the
crows, when the rustling of leaves at hand drew his eyes in
another direction.
The young man started, and recoiled a few paces instinc-
tively, when he found himself within a hundred yards of a
stranger Indian. Recovering his recollection on the instant,
instead of sounding an alarm, which might prove fatal to him-
self, he remained stationary, an attentive observer of the other's
motions.
An instant of calm observation served to assure Duncan that
he was undiscovered. The native, like himself, seemed occupied
in considering the low dwellings of the village, and the stolen
movements of its inhabitants. It was impossible to discover
the expression of his features, through the grotesque mask of
paint under which they were concealed ; though Duncan fancied
it was rather melancholy than savage. His head was shaved,
as usual, with the exception of the crown, from whose tuft
three or four faded feathers from a hawk's wing were loosely
dangling. A ragged calico mantle half encircled his body,
while his nether garment was composed of an ordinary shirt,
the sleeves of which were made to perform the office that is
usually executed by a much more commodious arrangement.
His legs were bare, and sadly cut and torn by briers. The feet
were, however, covered with a pair of good deer-skin moccasins.
Altogether, the appearance of the individual was forlorn and
miserable.
Duncan was still curiously observing the person of his neigh-
bor, when the scout stole silently and cautiously to his side.
" You see we have reached their settlement or encampment,"
whispered the young man; "and here is one of the savages
himself, in a very embarrassing position for our further
movements."
Hawkeye started, and dropped his rifle, when, directed by
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 273
the finger of his companion, the stranger came under his view.
Then lowering the dangerous muzzle he stretched forward his
long neck, as if to assist a scrutiny that was already intensely
keen.
"The imp is not a Huron," he said, "nor of any of the
Canada tribes ; and yet you see, by his clothes, the knave has
been plundering a white. Ay, Montcalm has raked the woods
for his inroad, and a whooping, murdering set of varlets has he
gathered together. Can you see where he has put his rifle or
his bow ? "
"He appears to have no arms; nor does he seem to be
viciously inclined. Unless he communicate the alarm to his
fellows, who, as you see, are dodging about the water, we have
but little to fear from him."
The scout turned to Heyward, and regarded him a moment
with unconcealed amazement. Then opening wide his mouth,
he indulged in unrestrained and heartfelt laughter, though in
that silent and peculiar manner which danger had so long
taught him to practice.
Kepeating the words, " Fellows who are dodging about the
water ! " he added, " so much for schooling and passing a boy-
hood in the settlements ! The knave has long legs, though, and
shall not be trusted. Do you keep him under your rifle while
I creep in behind, through the bush, and take him alive. Fire
on no account."
Heyward had already permitted his companion to bury part
of his person in the thicket, when, stretching forth his arm, he
arrested him, in order to ask :
" If I see you in danger, may I not risk a shot 1 "
Hawkeye regarded him a moment, like one who knew not
how to take the question ; then nodding his head, he answered,
still laughing, though inaudibly :
" Fire a whole platoon, major."
In the next moment he was concealed by the leaves. Dun-
274 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
can waited several minutes in feverish impatience, before he
caught another glimpse of the scout. Then he reappeared,
creeping along the earth, from which his dress was hardly dis-
tinguishable, directly in the rear of his intended captive. Hav-
ing reached within a few yards of the latter, he arose to his
feet, silently and slowly. At that instant, several loud blows
were struck on the water, and Duncan turned his eyes just in
time to perceive that a hundred dark forms were plunging, in a
body, into the troubled little sheet. Grasping his rifle his
looks were again bent on the Indian near him. Instead of tak-
ing the alarm, the unconscious savage stretched forward his
neck, as if he also watched the movements about the gloomy
lake, with a sort of silly curiosity. In the meantime, the up-
lifted hand of Hawkeye was above him. But, without any
apparent reason, it was withdrawn, and its owner indulged in
another long, though still silent, fit of merriment. When the
peculiar and hearty laughter of Hawkeye was ended, instead of
grasping his victim by the throat, he tapped him lightly on the
shoulder, and exclaimed aloud :
" How now, friend ! have you a mind to teach the beavers
to sing ? "
"Even so," was the ready answer. "It would seem that
the Being that gave them power to improve his gifts so well,
would not deny them voices to proclaim his praise."
CHAPTER XXII
" Bot. Are we all met ?
Qui. Pat pat ; and here's a marvellous
Convenient place for our rehearsal."
Midsummer Night's Dream.
The reader may better imagine, than we describe, the sur-
prise of Heyward. His lurking Indians were suddenly con-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 275
verted into four-footed beasts ; his lake into a beaver pond ; his
cataract into a dam, constructed by those industrious and in-
genious quadrupeds; and a suspected enemy into his tried
friend, David Gamut, the master of psalmody. The presence
of the latter created so many unexpected hopes relative to the
sisters that, without a moment's hesitation, the young man
broke out of his ambush, and sprang forward to join the two
principal actors in the scene.
The merriment of Hawkeye was not easily appeased. With-
out ceremony, and with a rough hand, he twirled the supple
Gamut around on his heel, and more than once affirmed that
the Hurons had done themselves great credit in the fashion of
his costume. Then seizing the hand of the other, he squeezed
it with a grip that brought tears into the eyes of the placid
David, and wished him joy of his new condition.
" You were about opening your throat-practisings among the
beavers, were ye ? " he said. " The cunning devils know half
the trade already, for they beat the time with their tails, as
you heard just now ; and in good time it was, too, or * Killdeer '
might have sounded the first note among them. I have known
greater fools, who could read and write, than an experienced
old beaver : but as for squalling, the animals are born dumb !
What think you of such a song as this 1 "
David shut his sensitive ears, and even Heyward, apprised
as he was of the nature of the cry, looked upward in quest of
the bird, as the cawing of a crow rang in the air about
them.
" See ! " continued the laughing scout, as he pointed toward
the remainder of the party, who, in obedience to the signal,
were already approaching ; "this is music which has its natural
virtues ; it brings two good rifles to my elbow, to say nothing
of the knives and tomahawks. But we see that you are safe ;
now tell us what has become of the maidens."
"They are captives to the heathen," said David; "and
276 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
though greatly troubled in spirit, enjoying comfort and safety
in the body."
" Both ? " demanded the breathless Hey ward.
"Even so. Though our wayfaring has been sore and our
sustenance scanty, we have had little other cause for complaint,
except the violence done our feelings, by being thus led in cap-
tivity into a far land."
" Bless ye for these very words ! " exclaimed the trembling
Munro; "I shall then receive my babes, spotless and angel-
like, as I lost them ! "
" I know not that their delivery is at hand," returned the
doubting David ; "the leader of these savages is possessed of
an evil spirit that no power short of Omnipotence can tame. I
have tried him sleeping and waking, but neither sounds nor
language seem to touch his soul."
" Where is the knave ? " bluntly interrupted the scout.
" He hunts the moose to-day, with his young men ; and to-
morrow, as I hear, they pass farther into these forests, and
nigher to the borders of Canada. The elder maiden is con-
veyed to a neighboring people, whose lodges are situate be-
yond yonder black pinnacle of rock; while the younger is
detained among the women of the Hurons, whose dwellings are
but two short miles hence, on a tableland, where the fire has
done the office of the axe, and prepared the place for their
reception."
" Alice, my gentle Alice ! " murmured Heyward ; " she has
lost the consolation of her sister's presence ! "
" Even so. But so far as praise and thanksgiving in psal-
mody can temper the spirit in affliction, she has not suffered."
" Has she then a heart for music ? "
" Of the graver and more solemn character ; though it must
be acknowledged that, in spite of all my endeavors, the maiden
weeps oftener than she smiles. At such moments I forbear to
press the holy songs ; but there are many sweet and comfort-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 277
able periods of satisfactory communication, when the ears of the
savages are astounded with the upliftings of our voices."
" And why are you permitted to go at large, un watched ? "
David composed his features into what he intended should
express an air of modest humility, before he meekly replied :
"Little be the praise to such a worm as I. But, though the
power of psalmody was suspended in the terrible business of
that field of blood through which we passed, it has recovered
its influence even over the souls of the heathen, and I am suf-
fered to go and come at will."
The scout laughed, and tapping his own forehead signifi-
cantly, he perhaps explained the singular indulgence more satis-
factorily when he said :
" The Indians never harm a non-composser. But why, when
the path lay open before your eyes, did you not strike back on
your own trail (it is not so blind as that which a squirrel would
make), and bring in the tidings to Edward ? "
The scout, remembering only his own sturdy and iron nature,
had probably exacted a task that David, under no circumstances,
could have performed. But, without entirely losing the meek-
ness of his air, the latter was content to answer :
" Though my soul would rejoice to visit the habitations of
Christendom once more, my feet would rather follow the tender
spirits intrusted to my keeping, even into the idolatrous prov-
ince of the Jesuits, than take one step backward, while they
pined in captivity and sorrow."
Though the figurative language of David was not very
intelligible, the sincere and steady expression of his eye, and
the glow of his honest countenance, were not easily mistaken.
Uncas pressed closer to his side, and regarded the speaker with
a look of commendation, while his father expressed his satisfac-
tion by the ordinary pithy exclamation of approbation. The
scout shook his head as he rejoined :
" The Lord never intended that the man should place all his
278 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
endeavors in his throat, to the neglect of other and better gifts !
But he has fallen into the hands of some silly woman, when he
should have been gathering his education under a blue sky,
among the beauties of the forest. Here, friend ; I did intend
to kindle a fire with this tooting whistle of thine ; but as you
value the thing, take it, and blow your best on it."
Gamut received his pitch-pipe with as strong an expression
of pleasure as he believed compatible with the grave functions
he exercised. After essaying its virtues repeatedly, in contrast
with his own voice, and satisfying himself that none of its
melody was lost, he made a very serious demonstration toward
achieving a few stanzas of one of the longest effusions in the
little volume so often mentioned.
Heyward, however, hastily interrupted his pious purpose by
continuing questions concerning the past and present condition
of his fellow-captives, and in a manner more methodical than
had been permitted by his feelings in the opening of their inter-
view. David, though he regarded his treasure with longing
eyes, was constrained to answer; especially as the venerable
father took a part in the interrogatories, with an interest too
imposing to be denied. Nor did the scout fail to throw in a
pertinent inquiry, whenever a fitting occasion presented. In,.
this manner, though with frequent interruptions which were
filled with certain threatening sounds from the recovered instru-
ment, the pursuers were put in possession of such leading cir-
cumstances as were likely to prove useful iu accomplishing their
great and engrossing object the recovery of the sisters. The
narrative of David was simple, and the facts but few.
Magua had waited on the mountain until a safe moment to
retire presented itself, when he had descended, and taken the
route along the western side of the Horican in direction of the
Canadas. As the subtle Huron was familiar with the paths,
and well knew there was no immediate danger of pursuit, their
progress had been moderate, and far from fatiguing. It appeared
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 279
from the unembellished statement of David, that his own pres-
ence had been rather endured than desired ; though even Magua
had not been entirely exempt from that veneration with which
the Indians regard those whom the Great Spirit had visited in
their intellects. At night, the utmost care had been taken of
the captives, both to prevent injury from the damps of the
woods and to guard against an escape. At the spring, the
horses were turned loose, as has been seen ; and notwithstand-
ing the remoteness and length of their trail, the artifices already
named were resorted to, in order to cut off every clew to their
place of retreat. On their arrival at the encampment of his
people, Magua, in obedience to a policy seldom departed from,
separated his prisoners. Cora had been sent to a tribe that
temporarily occupied an adjacent valley, though David was far
too ignorant of the customs and history of the natives, to be
able to declare anything satisfactory concerning their name or
character. He only knew that they had not engaged in the
late expedition against William Henry ; that, like the Hurons
themselves, they were allies of Montcalm ; and that they main-
tained an amicable, though a watchful intercourse with the war-
like and savage people, whom chance had, for a time, brought
in such close and disagreeable contact with themselves.
The Mohicans and the scout listened to his interrupted and
imperfect narrative, with an interest that obviously increased as
he proceeded ; and it was while attempting to explain the pur-
suits of the community in which Cora was detained, that the
latter abruptly demanded :
" Did you see the fashion of their knives ? were they of Eng-
lish or French formation V
"My thoughts were bent on no such vanities, but rather
mingled in consolation with those of the maidens."
" The time may come when you will not consider the knife
of a savage such a despisable vanity," returned the scout, with
a strong expression of contempt for the other's dulness. " Had
280 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
they held their corn feast or can you say anything of the
totems of the tribes 1"
" Of corn, we had many and plentiful feasts ; for the grain,
being in the milk is both sweet to the mouth and comfortable
to the stomach. Of totem, I know not the meaning ; but if it
appertaineth in any wise to the art of Indian music, it need not
be inquired after at their hands. They never join their voices
in praise,, and it would seem that they are among the profanest
of the idolatrous."
" Therein you belie the natur' of an Indian. Even the Mingo
adores but the true and living God. 'Tis wicked fabrication of
the whites, and I say it to the shame of my color, that would
make the warrior bow down before images of his own creation.
It is true, they endeavor to make truces with the wicked one
as who would not with an enemy he cannot conquer ! but
they look up for favor and assistance to the Great and Good
Spirit only."
" It may be so," said David ; " but I have seen strange and
fantastic images drawn in their paint, of which their admiration
and care savored of spiritual pride ; especially one, and that, too,
a foul and loathsome object."
" Was it a sarpent ? " quickly demanded the scout.
" Much the same. It was in the likeness of an abject and
creeping tortoise."
" Hugh ! " exclaimed both the attentive Mohicans in a
breath ; while the scout shook his head with the air of one who
had made an important, but by no means a pleasing discovery.
Then the father spoke, in the language of the Delawares, and
with a calmness and dignity that instantly arrested the atten-
tion even of those to whom his words were unintelligible. His
gestures were impressive, and at times energetic. Once he
lifted his arm on high ; and as it descended, the action threw
aside the folds of his light mantle, a finger resting on his breast,
as if be would enforce his meaning by the attitude. Duncan's
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 281
eyes followed the movement, and he perceived that the animal
just mentioned was beautifully, though faintly, worked in a
blue tint, on the swarthy breast of the chief. All that he had
ever heard of the violent separation of the vast tribes of the
Delawares rushed across his mind, and he awaited the proper
moment to speak, with a suspense that was rendered nearly in-
tolerable, by his interest in the stake. His wish, however,
was anticipated by the scout who turned from his red friend,
saying :
" We have found that which may be good or evil to us, as
Heaven disposes. The Sagamore is of the high blood of the
Delawares, and is the great chief of their Tortoises ! l?h&t
some of this stock are among the people of whom the singer
tells us, is plain, by his words; and had he but spent half
the breath in prudent questions, that he has blown away in
making a trumpet of his throat, we might have known how
many warriors they numbered. It is, altogether, a dangerous
path we move in; for a friend whose face is turned from
you often bears a bloodier mind than the enemy who seeks your
scalp."
" Explain," said Duncan.
" 'Tis a long and melancholy tradition, and one I little like
to thiuk of; for it is not to be denied, that the evil has been
mainly done by men with white skins. But it has ended in
turning the tomahawk of brother against brother, and brought
the Mingo and the Delaware to travel in the same path."
"You then suspect it is a portion of that people among
whom Cora resides 1 "
The scout nodded his head in assent, though he seemed anx-
ious to waive the further discussion of a subject that appeared
painful. The impatient Duncan now made several hasty and
desperate propositions to attempt the release of the sisters.
Munro seemed to shake off his apathy, and listened to the
wild schemes of the young man with a deference that his gray
282 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
hairs and reverend years should have denied. But the scout
after suffering the ardor of the lover to expend itself a little,
found means to convince him of the folly of precipitation, in a
matter that would require their coolest judgment and utmost
fortitude.
"It would be well," he added, "to let this man go in again,
as usual, and for him to tarry in the lodges, giving notice to
the gentle ones of our approach, until we call him out, by sig-
nal, to consult. You kuow the cry of a crow, friend, from the
whistle of the whip-poor-will ? "
" 'Tis a pleasing bird," returned David, " and has a soft and
melancholy note ! though the time is rather quick and ill-
measured."
" He speaks of the wish-ton-wish," said the scout : " well,
since you like his whistle, it shall be your signal. Remember,
then, when you hear the whip-poor-will's call three times
repeated, you are to come into the bushes where the bird might
be supposed "
"Stop," interrupted Heyward : "I will accompany him."
" You ! " exclaimed the astonished Hawkeye ; " are you tired
of seeing the sun rise and set ?"
"David is a Kving proof that the Hurons can be merciful."
" Ay, but David can use his throat, as no man in his senses
would pervart the gift."
" I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero ; in short,
any or everything to rescue her I love. Name your objections
no longer : I am resolved."
Hawkeye regarded the young man a moment in speechless
amazement. But Duncan, who, in deference to the other's
skill and services, had hitherto submitted somewhat implicitly
to his dictation, now assumed the superior, with a manner that
was not easily resisted. He waved his hand, in sign of his dis-
like to all remonstrance, and then, in more tempered language,
be continued :
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 283
" You have the means of disguise ; change me ; paint me,
too, if you will ; in short, alter me to anything a fool."
"It is not for one like me to say that he who is already
formed by so powerful a hand as Providence, stands in need of
a change," muttered the discontented scout. " When you send
your parties abroad in war, you find it prudent, at least, to
arrange the marks and places of encampment, in order that
they who fight on your side may know when and where to
expect a friend."
" Listen," interrupted Duncan ; " you have heard from this
faithful follower of the captives, that the Indians are of two
tribes, if not of different nations. With one, whom you think
to be a branch of the Dela wares, is she you call the 'dark-
hair ; ' the other, and younger of the ladies, is undeniably with
our declared enemies, the Hurons. It becomes my youth and
rank to attempt the latter adventure. While you, therefore,
are negotiating with your friends for the release of one of the
sisters, I will effect that of the other, or die."
The awakened spirit of the young soldier gleamed in his eyes,
and his form became imposing under its influence. Hawkeye,
though too much accustomed to Indian artifices not to foresee
the danger of the experiment, knew not well how to combat
this sudden resolution.
Perhaps there was something in the proposal that suited his
own hardy nature, and that secret love of desperate adventure,
which had increased with his experience, until hazard and dan-
ger had become, in some measure, necessary to the enjoyment
of his existence. Instead of continuing to oppose the scheme
of Duncan, his humor suddenly altered, and he lent himself to
its execution.
"Come," he said, with a good-humored smile; "the buck
^ that will take to the water must be headed, and not followed.
Chingachgook has as many different paints as the engineer
officer's wife, who takes down natur' on scraps of paper, making
284 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the mountains look like cocks of rusty 'bay, and placing the
blue sky in reach of your band. The Sagamore can use them,
too. Seat yourself on the log ; and my life on it, he can soon
make a natural fool of you, and that well to your liking."
Duncan complied ; and the Mohican, who had been an atten-
tive listener to the discourse, readily undertook the office.
Long practised in all the subtle arts of his race, be drew with
great dexterity and quickness, the fantastic shadow that the
natives were accustomed to consider as the evidence of a
friendly and jocular disposition. Every line that could possi-
bly be interpreted into a secret inclination for war, was care-
fully avoided ; while, on the other band, he studied those con-
ceits that might be construed into amity.
In short, he entirely sacrificed every appearance of the war-
rior to the masquerade of a buffoon. Such exhibitions were
not uncommon among the Indians ; and as Duncan was already
sufficiently disguised in his dress, there certainly did exist some
reason for believing that, with his knowledge of French, he
might pass for a juggler from Ticonderoga, straggling among
the allied and friendly tribes.
When he was thought to be sufficiently painted, the scout
gave him much friendly advice, concerted signals, and ap-
pointed the place where they should meet, in the event of
mutual success. The parting between Munro and his young
friend was more melancholy ; still, the former submitted to the
separation with an indifference that his warm and honest na-
ture would never have permitted in a more healthful state of
mind. The scout led Hey ward aside, and acquainted him with
his intention to leave the veteran in some safe encampment, in
charge of Chingachgook, while he and Uncas pursued their in-
quiries among the people they had reason to believe were Dela-
wares. Then renewing his cautions and advice, he concluded
by saying, with a solemnity and warmth of feeling, with which
Duncan was deeply touched ;
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 285
" And now God bless you ! You have shown a spirit that I
like ; for it is the gift of youth, more especially one of warm
blood and a stout heart. But believe the warning of a man
who has reason to know all he says to be true. You will have
occasion for your best manhood, and for a sharper wit than
what is to be gathered in books, afore you outdo the cunning,
or get the better of the courage of a Mingo. God bless you !
if the Hurons master your scalp, rely on the promise of one
who has two stout warriors to back him. They shall pay for
their victory, with a life for every hair it holds. I say, young
gentleman, may Providence bless your undertaking, which is
altogether for good ; and remember, that to outwit the knaves
it is lawful to practise things that may not be naturally the
gift of a white skin."
Duncan shook his worthy and reluctant associate warmly by
the hand, once more recommended his aged friend to his care,
and returning his good wishes, he motioned to David to pro-
ceed. Hawkeye gazed after the high-spirited and adventurous
young man for several moments, in open admiration; then
shaking his head doubtingly, he turned, and led his own divi-
sion of the party into the concealment of the forest.
The route taken by Duncan and David lay directly across
the clearing of the beavers, and along the margin of their pond.
When the former found himself alone with one so simple,
and so little qualified to render any assistance in desperate
emergencies, he first began to be sensible of the difficulties of
the task he had undertaken. The fading light increased the
gloominess of the bleak and savage wilderness that stretched so
far on every side of him, and there was even a fearful char-
acter in the stillness of those little huts, that he knew were so
abundantly peopled. It struck him, as he gazed at the admir-
able structures and the wonderful precautions of their sagacious
inmates, that even the brutes of these vast wilds were pos-
sessed of an instinct nearly commensurate with bis own reason ;
286 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and he could not reflect, without anxiety, on the unequal con-
test that he had so rashly courted. Then came the glowing
image of Alice ; her distress ; her actual danger ; and all the
peril of his situation was forgotten. Cheering David, he moved
on with the light and vigorous step of youth and enterprise.
After making nearly a semicircle around the pond, they di-
verged from the water-course, and began to ascend to the level
of a slight elevation in that bottom land, over which they
journeyed. Within half an hour they gained the margin of
another opening that bore all the signs of having been also
made by the beavers, and which those sagacious animals had
probably been induced, by some accident, to abandon, for the
more eligible position they now occupied. A very natural
sensation caused Duncan to hesitate a moment, unwilling to
leave the cover of their bushy path, as a man pauses to collect
his energies before he essays any hazardous experiment, in
which he is secretly conscious they will all be needed. He
profited by the halt, to gather such information as might be ob-
tained from his short and hasty glances.
On the opposite side of the clearing, and near the point
where the brook tumbled over some rocks, from a still higher
level, some fifty or sixty lodges, rudely fabricated of logs, brush,
and earth intermingled, were to be discovered. They were ar-
ranged without any order, and seemed to be constructed with
very little attention to neatness or beauty. Indeed, so very
inferior were they in the two latter particulars to the village
Duncan had just seen, that he began to expect a second sur-
prise, no less astonishing than the former. This expectation
was in no degree diminished, when, by the doubtful twilight,
he beheld twenty or thirty forms rising alternately from the
cover of the tall, coarse grass, in front of the lodges, and then
sinking again from the sight, as it were to burrow in the earth.
By the sudden and hasty glimpses that he caught of these fig-
ures, they seemed more like dark glancing spectres, or some
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 287
other unearthly beings, than creatures fashioned with the ordi-
nary and vulgar materials of flesh and blood. A gaunt, naked
form was seen, for a single instant, tossing its arms wildly in
the air, and then the spot it had filled was vacant ; the figure
appearing suddenly in some other and distant place, or being
succeeded by another, possessing the same mysterious character.
David, observing that his companion lingered, pursued the di-
rection of his gaze, and in some measure recalled the recollec-
tion of Hey ward, by speaking.
"There is much fruitful soil uncultivated here," he said;
" and, I may add, without the sinful leaven of self-commenda-
tion, that since my short sojourn in these heathenish abodes,
much good seed has been scattered by the wayside."
" The tribes are fonder of the chase than of the arts of men
of labor," returned the unconscious Duncan, still gazing at the
objects of his wonder.
"It is rather joy than labor to the spirit, to lift up the
voice in praise; but sadly do these boys abuse their gifts.
Rarely have I found any of their age, on whom nature has so
freely bestowed the elements of psalmody ; and surely, surely,
there are none who neglect them more. Three nights have I
now tarried here, and three several times* have I assembled the
urchins to join in sacred song; and as often have they re-
sponded to my efforts with whoopings and howlings that have
chilled my soul ! "
" Of whom speak you ? "
"Of those children of the devil, who waste the precious
moments in yonder idle antics. Ah ! the wholesome restraint
of discipline is but little kuown among this self-abandoned
people. In a country of birches, a rod is never seen, and it
ought not to appear a marvel in my eyes, that the choicest
blessings of Providence are wasted in such cries as these."
David closed his ears against the juvenile pack, whose yell
just then rang shrilly through the forest ; and Duncan, suffer-
288 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ing his lip to curl, as in mockery of his own superstition, said
firmly :
" We will proceed."
Without removing the safeguards* from his ears, the master
of song complied, and together they pursued their way toward
what David was sometimes wont to call the "tents of the
Philistines."
CHAPTER XXIII
" But though the beast of game
The privilege of chase may claim ;
Though space and law the stag we lend
Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend ;
Who ever reeked, where, how, or when
The prowling fox was trapped or slain ? "
Lady of the Lake.
It is unusual to find an encampment of the natives, like
those of the more instructed whites, guarded by the presence
of armed men. Well informed of the approach of every danger,
while it is yet at a distance, the Indian generally rests secure
under his knowledge 'of the signs of the forest, and the long
and difficult paths that separate him from those he has most
reason to dread. But the enemy who, by any lucky concur-
rence of accidents, has found means to elude the vigilance of
the scouts, will seldom meet with sentinels nearer home to
sound the alarm. In addition to this general usage, the tribes
friendly to the French knew too well the weight of the blow
that had just been struck, to apprehend any immediate danger
from the hostile nations that were tributary to the crown of
Britain.
When Duncan and David, therefore, found themselves in the
centre of the children, who played the antics already mentioned,
it was without the least previous intimation of their approach*
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 289
But so soon as they were observed the whole of the juvenile
pack raised, by commou consent, a shrill and warning whoop ;
and then sank, as it were, by magic, from before the sight of
their visitors. The naked, tawny bodies of the crouching
urchins blended so nicely at that hour, with the withered
herbage, that at first it seemed as if the earth had, in truth,
swallowed up their forms; though when surprise permitted
Duncan to bend his look more curiously about the spot, he
found it everywhere met by dark, quick, and rolling eyeballs.
Gathering no encouragement from this startling presage of
the nature of the scrutiny he was likely to undergo from the
more mature judgments of the men, there was an instant when
the young soldier would have retreated. It was, however, too
late to appear to hesitate. The cry of the children had drawn
a dozen warriors to the door of the nearest lodge, where they
stood clustered in a dark and savage group, gravely awaiting
the nearer approach of those who had unexpectedly come
among them.
David, in some measure familiarized to the scene, led the way
with a steadiness that no slight obstacle was likely to discon-
cert, into this very building. It was the principal edifice of the
village, though roughly constructed of the bark and branches of
trees ; being the lodge in which the tribe held its councils and
public meetings during their temporary residence on the borders
of the English province. Duncan found it difficult to assume
the necessary appearance of unconcern, as he brushed the dark
and powerful frames of the savages who thronged its threshold ;
but, conscious that his existence depended on his presence of
mind, he trusted to the discretion of his companion, whose foot-
steps he closely followed, endeavoring, as he proceeded, to rally
his thoughts for the occasion. His blood curdled when he found
himself in absolute contact with such fierce and implacable ene-
mies ; but he so far mastered his feelings as to pursue his way
into the centre of the lodge, with an exterior that did riot be-
290 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
tray the weakness. Imitating the example of the deliberate
Gamut, he drew a bundle of fragrant brush from beneath a
pile that filled the corner of the hut, and seated himself in
silence.
So soon as their visitor had passed, the observant warriors
fell back from the entrance, and arranging themselves about
him, they seemed patiently to await the moment when it might
comport with the dignity of the stranger to speak. By far the
greater number stood leaning, in lazy, lounging attitudes, against
the upright posts that supported the crazy building, while three
or four of the oldest and most distinguished of the chiefs placed
themselves on the earth a little more in advance.
A flaring torch was burning in the place, and sent its red
glare from face to face and figure to figure, as it waved in the
currents of air. Duncan profited by its light to read the prob-
able character of his reception, in the countenances of his hosts.
But his ingenuity availed him little, against the cold artifices of
the people he had encountered. The chiefs in front scarce cast .
a glance at his person, keeping their eyes on the ground, with
an air that might have been intended for respect, but which it
was quite easy to construe into distrust. The men in shadow
were less reserved. Duncan soon detected their searching, but
stolen looks, which, in truth, scanned his person and attire inch
by inch ; leaving no emotion of the countenance, no gesture, no .
line of the paint, nor even the fashion of a garmeut, unheeded,
and without comment.
At length one whose hair was beginning to be sprinkled with
gray, but whose sinewy limbs and firm tread announced that he
was still equal to the duties of manhood, advanced out of the
gloom of a corner, whither he had probably posted himself to
make his observations unseen, and spoke. He used the lan-
guage of the Wyandots, or Hurons; his words were, conse-
quently, unintelligible to Heyward, though they seemed, by the
gestures that accompanied them, to be uttered more in courtesy
THE LAST OF THE M0HICA2TS 291
than anger. The latter shook his head, and made a gesture
indicative of his inability to reply.
"Do none of my brothers speak the French or the English ?"
he said, in the former language, looking about him from coun-
tenance to countenance, in hopes of finding a nod of assent.
Though more than one had turned, as if to catch the mean-
ing of his words, they remained unanswered.
" I should be grieved to think," continued Duncan, speaking
slowly, and using the simplest French of which he was the
master, " to believe that none of -this wise and brave nation
understand the language that the ' Grand Monarque ' uses when
he talks to his children. His heart would be heavy did he
believe his red warriors paid him so little respect ! "
A long and grave pause succeeded, during which no move-
ment of a limb, nor any expression of an eye, betrayed the im-
pression produced by his remark. Duncan, who knew that
silence was a virtue among his hosts, gladly had recourse to
the custom, in order to arrange his ideas. At length the same
warrior who had before addressed him replied, by dryly demand-
ing in the language of the Canadas :
" When our Great Father speaks to his people, is it with the
tongue of a Huron ? "
" He knows no difference in his children, whether the color
of the skin be red, or black, or white," returned Duncan,
evasively ; " though chiefly is he satisfied with the brave
Hurons."
"In what manner will he speak," demanded the wary chief,
" when the runners count to him the scalps which five nights
ago grew on the heads of the Yengeese 1 "
"They were his enemies," said Duncan, shuddering involun-
tarily ; " and doubtless, he will say, it is good ; my Hurons are
very gallant."
" Our Canada father does not think it. Instead of looking
forward to reward his Indians, his eyes are turned backward.
292 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
He sees the dead Yengeese, but no Huron. What can this
mean ? "
" A great chief, like him, has more thoughts than tongues.
He looks to see that no enemies are on his trail."
" The canoe of a dead warrior will not float on the Horican,"
returned the savage, gloomily. "His ears are open to the
Delawares, who are not our friends, and they fill them with
lies."
" It cannot be. See ; he has bid me, who am a man that
knows the art of healing, to go to his children, the red Hurons
of the great lakes, and ask if any are sick ! "
Another silence succeeded this annunciation of the character
Duncan had assumed. Every eye was simultaneously bent on
his person, as if to inquire into the truth or falsehood of the
declaration, with an intelligence and keenness that caused the
subject of their scrutiny to tremble for the result. He was,
however, relieved again by the former speaker.
" Do the cunning men of the Canadas paint their skins ? "
the Huron coldly continued; "we have heard them boast that
their faces were pale."
"When an Indian chief comes among his white fathers,"
returned Duncan, with great steadiness, "he lays aside his
buffalo robe, to carry the shirt that is offered him. My
brothers have given me paint, and I wear it."
A low murmur of applause announced that the compliment
to the tribe was favorably received. The elderly chief made a
gesture of commendation, which was answered by most of his
companions, who each threw forth a hand and uttered a brief
exclamation of pleasure. Duncan began to breathe more
freely, believing that the weight of his examination was past ;
and as he had already prepared a simple and probable tale to
support his pretended occupation, his hopes of ultimate success
grew brighter.
After a silence of a few moments, as if adjusting his
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 293
thoughts, in order to make a suitable answer to the declaration
'their guest had just given, another warrior arose, and placed,
himself in an attitude to speak. While his lips were yet in
the act of parting, a low but fearful sound arose from the
forest, and was immediately succeeded by a high, shrill yell,
that was drawn out, until it equalled the longest and most
plaintive howl of the wolf. The sudden and terrible interrup-
tion caused Duncan to start from his seat, unconscious of
everything but the effect produced by so frightful a cry. At
the same moment, the warriors glided in a body from the lodge,
and the outer air was filled with loud shouts, that nearly
drowned those awful sounds, which were still ringing beneath
the arches of the woods. Unable to command himself any
longer, the youth broke from the place, and presently stood
in the centre of a disorderly throng, that included nearly every-
thing having life, within the limits of the encampment. Men,
women, and children ; the aged, the infirm, the active, and the
strong, were alike abroad, some exclaiming aloud, others clap-
ping their hands with a joy that seemed frantic, and all
expressing their savage pleasure in some unexpected event.
Though astounded, at first, by the uproar, Heyward was soon
enabled to find its solution by the scene that followed.
There yet lingered sufficient light in the heavens to exhibit
those bright openings among the tree-tops, where different
paths left the clearing to enter the depths of the wilderness.
Beneath one of them, a line of warriors issued from the woods,
and advanced slowly toward the dwellings. One in front bore
a short pole, on which, as it afterward appeared, was suspended
several human scalps. The startling sounds that Duncan had
heard, were what the whites have not inappropriately called
the " death halloo " ; and each repetition of the cry was intended
to announce to the tribe the fate of an enemy. Thus far the
knowledge of Heyward assisted him in the explanation; and
as he now knew that the interruption was caused by the un-
294 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
looked-for return of a successful war-party, every disagreeable
sensation was quieted in inward congratulation, for the oppor-
tune relief and insignificance it conferred on himself.
When at the distance of a few hundred feet from the lodges,
the newly arrived warriors halted. Their plaintive and terrific
cry, which was intended to represent equally the wailings of
the dead and the triumph of the victors, had entirely ceased.
One of their number now called aloud, in words that were far
from appalling, though not more intelligible to those for whose
ears they were intended, than their expressive yells. It would
be difficult to convey a suitable idea of the savage ecstasy with
which the news thus imparted was received. The whole en-
campment, in a moment became a scene of the most violent
bustle and commotion. The warriors drew their knives, and
flourishing them, they arranged themselves in two lines, form-
ing a lane that extended from the war-party to the lodges.
The squaws seized clubs, axes, or whatever weapon of offence
first offered itself to their hands, and rushed eagerly to act
their part in the cruel game that was at hand. Even the
children would not be excluded ; but boys, little able to wield
the instruments, tore the tomahawks from the belts of their
fathers, and stole into the ranks, apt imitators of the savage
traits exhibited by their parents.
Large piles of brush lay scattered about the clearing, and
a wary and aged squaw was occupied in firing as many as
might serve to light the coming exhibition. As the flame arose,
its power exceeded that of the parting day, and assisted to
render objects at the same time more distinct and more
hideous. The whole scene formed a striking picture, whose
frame was composed of the dark and tall border of pines. The
warriors just arrived were the most distant figures. A little
in advance stood two men, who were apparently selected from
the rest, as the principal actors in what was to follow. The
light was not strong enough to render their features distinct,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 295
though it was quite evident that they were governed by very
different emotions. While one stood erect and firm, prepared
to meet his fate like a hero, the other bowed his head, as if
palsied by terror or stricken with shame. The high-spirited
Duncan felt a powerful impulse of admiration and pity toward
the former, though no opportunity could offer to exhibit his
generous emotions. He watched his slightest movement, how-
ever, with eager eyes ; and as he traced the fine outline of his
admirably proportioned and active frame, he endeavored to
persuade himself that if the powers of man, seconded by such
noble resolution, could bear one harmless though so severe a
trial, the youthful captive before him might hope for success
in the hazardous race he was about to run. Insensibly the
young man drew nigher to the swarthy lines of the Hurons,
and scarcely breathed, so intense became his interest in the
spectacle. Just then the signal yell was given, and the
momentary quiet which had preceded it was broken by a burst
of cries, that far exceeded any before heard. The most abject
of the two victims continued motionless ; but the other bounded
from the place at the cry with the activity and swiftness of a
deer. Instead of rushing through the hostile lines, as had been
expected, he just entered the dangerous defile, and before time
was given for a single blow, turned short, and leaping the
heads of a row of children, he gained at once the exterior and
safer side of the formidable array. The artifice was answered
by a hundred voices raised in imprecations ; and the whole of
the excited multitude broke from their order, and spread them-
selves about the place in wild confusion.
A dozen blazing piles now shed their lurid brightness on the
place, which resembled some unhallowed and supernatural arena,
in which malicious demons had assembled to act their bloody
and lawless rites. The forms in the background looked like
unearthly beings, gliding before the eye, and cleaving the air
with frantic and unmeaning gestures; while the savage pas-
296 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
sions of such as passed the flames, were rendered fearfully dis-
tinct by the gleams that shot athwart their inflamed visages.
It will easily be understood, that amid such a concourse of
vindictive enemies, no breathing time was allowed the fugitive.
There was a single moment when it seemed as if he would have
reached the forest, but the whole body of his captors threw
themselves before him, and drove him back into the centre of
his relentless persecutors. Turning like a headed deer, he shot,
with the swiftness of an arrow, through a pillar of forked flame,
and passing the whole multitude harmless, he appeared on the
opposite side of the clearing. Here too he was met and turned
by a few of the older and more subtle of the Hurons. Once
more he tried the throng, as if seeking safety in its blindness,
and then several moments succeeded, during which Duncan
believed the active and courageous young stranger was lost.
Nothing could be distinguished but a dark mass of human forms
tossed and involved in inexplicable confusion. Arms, gleaming
knives, and formidable clubs, appeared above them, but the
blows were evidently given at random. The awful effect was
heightened by the piercing shrieks of the women and the fierce
yells of the warriors. Now and then Duncan caught a glimpse
of a light form cleaving the air in spme desperate bound, and
he rather hoped than believed that the captive yet retained the
command of his astonishing powers of activity. Suddenly the
multitude rolled backward, and approached the spot where he
himself stood. The heavy body in the rear pressed upon the
women and children in front, and bore them to the earth. The
stranger reappeared in the confusion. Human power could not
however, much longer endure so severe a trial. Of this the
captive seemed conscious. Profiting by the momentary open-
ing, he darted from among the warriors, and made a desperate,
and what seemed to Duncan a final effort to gain the wood. As
if aware that no danger was to be apprehended from the young
soldier, the fugitive nearly brushed his person in his flight. A
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 297
tall and powerful Huron, who had husbanded his forces, pressed
close upon his heels, and with an uplifted arm menaced a fatal
blow. Duncan thrust forth a foot, and the shock precipitated
the eager savage headlong, many feet in advance of his intended
victim. Thought itself is not quicker than was the motion
with which the latter profited by the advantage; he turned,
gleamed like a meteor again before the eyes of Duncan, and at
the next moment, when the latter recovered his recollection,
and gazed around in quest of the captive, he saw him quietly
leaning against a small painted post, which stood before the
door of the principal lodge.
Apprehensive that the part he had taken in the escape
might prove fatal to himself, Duncan left the place without
delay. He followed the crowd, which drew nigh the lodges,
gloomy and sullen, like any other multitude that had been dis-
appointed in an execution. Curiosity, or perhaps a better feel-
ing, induced him to approach the stranger. He found him,
standing with one arm cast about the protecting post, and
breathing thick and hard, after his exertions, but disdaining to
permit a single sign of suffering to escape. His person was now
protected by immemorial and sacred usage, until the tribe in
council had deliberated and determined on his fate. It was
not difficult, however, to foretell the result, if any presage
could be drawn from the feelings of those who crowded the
place.
There was no term of abuse known to. the Huron vocabulary
that the disappointed women did not lavishly expend on the
successful stranger. They flouted at his efforts, and told him,
with bitter scoffs, that his feet were better than his hands;
and that he merited wings, while he knew not the use of an
arrow or a knife. To all this the captive made no reply ; but
was content to preserve an attitude in which dignity was singu-
larly blended with disdain. Exasperated as much by his com-
posure as by his good-fortune, their words became unintelligible,
298 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and were succeeded by shrill, piercing yells. Just then the
crafty squaw, who had taken the necessary precaution to fire
the piles, made her way through the throng, and cleared a place
for herself in front of the captive. The squalid and withered
person of this hag might well have obtained for her the char-
acter of possessing more than human cunning. Throwing back
her light vestment, she stretched forth her long skinny arm, in
derision, and using the language of the Lenape, as more intelli-
gible to the subject of her gibes, she commenced aloud :
" Look you, Delaware," she said, snapping her fingers in his
face; "your nation is a race of women, and the hoe is better
fitted to your hands than the gun. Your squaws are the
mothers of deer ; but if a bear, or a wild-cat or a serpent were
born among you, ye would flee. The Huron girls shall make
you petticoats, and we will find you a husband."
A burst of savage laughter succeeded this attack, during
which the soft and musical merriment of the younger females
strangely chimed with the cracked voice of their older and more
malignant companion. But the stranger was superior to all
their efforts. His head was immovable ; nor did he betray the
slightest consciousness that any were present, except when his
haughty eye rolled toward the dusky forms of the warriors,
who stalked in the background, silent and sullen observers of
the scene.
Infuriated at the self-command of the captive, the woman
placed her arms akimbo ; and throwing herself into a posture
of defiance, she broke out anew, in a torrent of words that no
art of ours could commit successfully to paper. Her breath
was, however, expended in vain ; for although distinguished in
her nation as a proficient in the art of abuse, she was permitted
to work herself into such a fury as actually to foam at the
mouth, without causing a muscle to vibrate in the motionless
figure of the stranger. The effect of his indifference began to
extend itself to the other spectators ; and a youngster, who was
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 299
just quitting the condition of a boy, to enter the state of man-
hood, attempted to assist the termagant, by flourishing his
tomahawk before their victim, and adding his empty boasts to
the taunts of the woman. Then, indeed, the captive turned
his face* toward the light, and looked down on the stripling
with an expression that was superior to contempt. At the
next moment he resumed his quiet and reclining attitude against
the post. But the change of posture had permitted Duncan to
exchange glances with the firm and piercing eyes of Uncas.
Breathless with amazement, and heavily oppressed with the
critical situation of his friend, Heyward recoiled before the
look, trembling lest its meaning might, in some unknown man-
ner, hasten the prisoner's fate. There was not, however, any
instant cause for such an apprehension. Just then a warrior
forced his way into the exasperated crowd. Motioning the
woman and children aside with a stern gesture, he took Uncas
by the arm, and led him toward the door of the council lodge.
Thither all the chiefs, and most of the distinguished warriors,
followed ; among whom the anxious Heyward found means to
enter without attracting any dangerous attention to himself.
A few minutes were consumed in disposing of those present
in a manner suitable to their rank and influence in the tribe.
An order very similar to that adopted in the preceding inter-
view was observed ; the aged and superior chiefs occupying the
area of the spacious apartment, within the powerful light of a
glaring torch, while their juniors and inferiors were arranged in
the background, presenting a dark outline of swarthy and
marked visages. In the very centre of the lodge, immediately
under an opening that admitted the twinkling light of one or
two stars, stood Uncas, calm, elevated, and collected. His
high and haughty carriage was not lost on his captors, who
often bent their looks on his person, with eyes which, while
they lost none of their inflexibility of purpose, plainly betrayed
their admiration of the stranger's daring.
300 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
The case was different with the individual whom Duncan had
observed to stand forth with his friend, previously to the des-
perate trial of speed ; and who, instead of joining in the chase,
had remained, throughout its turbulent uproar, like a cringing
statue, expressive of shame and disgrace. Though not a hand
had been extended to greet him, nor yet an eye had conde-
scended to watch his movements, he had also entered the lodge,
as though impelled by a fate to whose decrees he submitted,
seemingly, without a struggle. Heyward profited by the first
opportunity to gaze in his face, secretly apprehensive he might
find the features of another acquaintance ; but they proved to
be those of a stranger, and, what was still more inexplicable, of
one who bore all the distinctive marks of a Huron warrior.
Instead of mingling with his tribe, however, he sat apart, a
solitary being in a multitude, his form shrinking into a crouch-
ing and abject attitude, as if anxious to fill as little space as
possible. When each individual had taken his proper station,
and silence reigned in the place, the gray-haired chief already
introduced to the reader spoke aloud, in the language of the
Lenni Lenape.
"Delaware," he said, "though one of a nation of women,
you have proved yourself a man. I would give you food ; but
he who eats with a Huron should become his friend. Eest in
peace till the morning sun, when our last words shall be
spoken."
"Seven nights, and as many summer days, have I fasted on
the trail of the Hurons," Uncas coldly replied; "the children
of the Lenape know how to travel the path of the just without
lingering to eat."
" Two of my young men are in pursuit of your companion,"
resumed the other, without appearing to regard the boast of his
captive ; " when they get back, then will our wise men say to
you, * live ' or ' die.' "
"Has a Huron no ears?" scornfully exclaimed Uncas;
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 301
" twice, since he has been your prisoner, has the Delaware
heard a gun that he knows. Your young men will never
come back ! "
A short and sullen pause succeeded this bold assertion.
Duncan, who understood the Mohican to allude to the fatal
rifle of the scout, bent forward in earnest observation of the
effect it might produce on the conquerors ; but the chief was
content with simply retorting :
" If the Lenape are so skilful, why is one of their bravest
warriors here ? "
" He followed in the steps of a flying coward, and fell into a
snare. The cunning beaver may be caught.' 9
As Uncas thus replied, he pointed with his finger toward the
solitary Huron, but without deigning to bestow any other notice
on so unworthy an object. The words of the answer and the air
of the speaker produced a strong sensation among his auditors.
Every eye rolled sullenly toward the individual indicated by
the simple gesture, and a low, threatening murmur passed
through the crowd. The ominous sounds reached the outer
door, and the women and children pressing into the throng, no
gap had been left, between shoulder and shoulder, that was not
now filled with the dark lineaments of some eager and curious
human countenance.
In the meantime, the more aged chiefs, in the centre, com-
muned with each other in short and broken sentences. Not a
word was uttered that did not convey the meaning of the
speaker, in the simplest and most energetic form. Again, a
long and deeply solemn pause took place. It was known, by
all present, to be the grave precursor of a weighty and impor-
tant judgment. They who composed the outer circle of faces
were on tiptoe to gaze ; and even the culprit for an instant for-
got his shame in a deeper emotion, and exposed his abject
features, in order to cast an anxious and troubled glance at the
dark assemblage of chiefs. The silence was finally broken by
302 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the aged warrior so often named. He arose from the earth,
and moving past the immovable form of Uncas, placed himself
in a dignified attitude before the offender. At that moment,
the withered squaw already mentioned moved into the circle,
in a slow, sidling sort of a dance, holding the torch, and mut-
tering the indistinct words of what might have been a species
of incantation. Though her presence was altogether an intru-
sion, it was unheeded.
Approaching Uncas, she held the blazing brand in such a
manner as to cast its red glare on his person, and to expose the
slightest emotion of his countenance. The Mohican maintained
his firm and haughty attitude ; and his eye so far from deign-
ing to meet her inquisitive look, dwelt steadily on the distance,
as though it penetrated the obstacles which impeded the view
and looked into futurity. Satisfied with her examination, she
left him, with a slight expression of pleasure, and proceeded to
practise the same trying experiment on her delinquent country-
man.
The young Huron was in his war paint, and very little of a
finely moulded form was concealed by his attire. The light
rendered every limb and joint discernible, and Duncan turned
away in horror when he saw they were writhing in irrepressible
agony. The woman was commencing a low and plaintive howl
at the sad and shameful spectacle, when the chief put forth his
hand and gently pushed her aside.
" Eeed-t hat-bends," he said, addressing the young culprit by
name, and in his proper language, "though the Great Spirit
has made you pleasant to the eyes, it would have been better
that you had not been born. Your tongue is loud in the vil-
lage, but in battle it is still. None of my young men strike
the tomahawk deeper into the war-post none of them so
lightly on the Yengeese. The enemy know the shape of your
back, but they have never seen the color of your eyes. Three
times have they called on you to come, and as often did you
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 303
forget to answer. Your name will never be mentioned again
in your tribe it is already forgotten."
As the chief slowly uttered these words, pausing impressively
between each sentence, the culprit raised his face, in deference
to the other's rank and years. Shame, horror, and pride strug-
gled in its lineaments. His eye, which was contracted with
inward anguish, gleamed on the persons of those whose breath
was his fame ; and the latter emotion for an instant predomi-
nated. He arose to his feet, and baring his bosom, looked
steadily on the keen, glittering knife, that was already upheld
by his inexorable judge. As the weapon passed slowly into his
heart he even smiled, as if in joy at having found death less
dreadful than he had anticipated, and fell heavily on his face,
at the feet of the rigid and unyielding form of Uncas.
The squaw gave a loud and plaintive yell, dashed the torch
to the earth, and buried everything in darkness. The whole
shuddering group of spectators glided from the lodge like
troubled sprites; and Duncan thought that he and the yet
throbbing body of the victim of an Indian judgment had now
become its only tenants.
CHAPTER XXIV
"Thus spoke the sage : the kings without delay
Dissolve the council, and their chief obey."
Pope's Iliad.
A single moment served to convince the youth that he was
mistaken. A hand was laid, with a powerful pressure, on his
arm, and the low voice of Uncas muttered in his ear :
" The Hurons are dogs. The sight of a coward's blood can
never make a warrior tremble. The ' Gray Head ' and the Sag-
amore are safe, and the rifle of Hawkeye is not asleep. Go
Uncas and the ' Open Hand ' are now strangers. It is enough."
304 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Heyward would gladly have heard more, but a gentle push
from his friend urged him toward the door, and admonished him
of the danger that might attend the discovery of their intercourse.
Slowly and reluctantly yielding to the necessity, he quitted the
place, and mingled with the throng that hovered nigh. The
dying fires in the clearing cast a dim and uncertain light on the
dusky figures that were silently stalking to and fro ; and occa-
sionally a brighter gleam than common glanced into the lodge,
and exhibited the figure of Uncas still maintaining its upright
attitude near the dead body of the Huron.
A knot of warriors soon entered the place again, and reissu-
ing, they bore the senseless remains into the adjacent woods.
After this termination of the scene, Duncan wandered among the
lodges, unquestioned and unnoticed, endeavoring to find some
trace of her in whose behalf he incurred the risk he ran. In the
present temper of the tribe it would have been easy to have fled
and rejoined his companions, had such a wish crossed his mind.
But, in addition to the never-ceasing anxiety on account of Alice,
a fresher though feebler interest in the fate of Uncas assisted to
chain him to the spot. He continued, therefore, to stray from hut
to hut, looking into each only to encounter additional disappoint-
ment, until he had made the entire circuit of the village. Aban-
doning a species of inquiry that proved so fruitless, he retraced his
steps to the council lodge, resolved to seek and question David,
in order to put an end to his doubts.
On reaching the building which had proved alike the seat of
judgment and the place of execution, the young man found that
the excitement had already subsided. The warriors had reas-
sembled, and were now calmly smoking, while they conversed
gravely on the chief incidents of their recent expedition to the
head of the Horican. Though the return of Duncan was likely
to remind them of his character, and the suspicious circumstances
of his visit, it produced no visible sensation. So far, the terri-
ble scene that had just occurred proved favorable to his views,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 305
and he required no other prompter than his own feelings to con-
vince him of the expediency of profiting by so unexpected an
advantage.
Without seeming to hesitate, he walked into the lodge and
took his seat with a gravity that accorded admirably with the
deportment of his hosts. A hasty but searching glance sufficed
to tell him that, though Uncas still remained where he had left
him, David had not reappeared. No other restraint was imposed
on the former than the watchful looks of a young Huron, who
had placed himself at hand ; though an armed warrior leaned
against the post that formed one side of the narrow doorway.
In every other respect, the captive seemed at liberty ; still he
was excluded from all participation in the discourse, and pos-
sessed much more of the air of some finely moulded statue than
a man having life and volition.
Heyward had too recently witnessed a frightful instance of
the prompt punishments of the people into whose hands he had
fallen, to hazard an exposure by any officious boldness. He
would greatly have preferred silence and meditation to speech,
when a discovery of his real condition might prove so instantly
fatal. Unforttfnately for this prudent resolution, his entertain-
ers appeared otherwise disposed. He had not long occupied the
seat wisely taken, a little in the shade, when another of the elder
warriors, who spoke the French language, addressed him :
"My Canada father does not forget his children," said the
chief; "I thank him. An evil spirit lives in the wife of one of
my young men. Can the cunning stranger frighten him away ? "
Heyward possessed some knowledge of the mummery prac-
tised among the Indians in the cases of such supposed visita-
tions. He saw at a glance that the circumstance might
possibly be improved to further his own ends. It would,
therefore, have been difficult, just then, to have uttered a pro-
posal that would have given him more satisfaction. Aware of
the necessity of preserving the dignity of his imaginary charac-
306 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ter, however, he repressed his feelings, and answered with suit-
able mystery:
"Spirits differ; some yield to the power of wisdom, while
others are too strong."
" My brother is a great medicine," said the cunning savage ;
" he will try 1 "
A gesture of assent was the answer. The Huron was content
with the assurance, and resuming his pipe, he awaited the
proper moment to move. The impatient Heyward, inwardly ex-
ecrating the cold customs of the savages, which required such
sacrifices to appearance, was fain to assume an air of indifference,
equal to that maintained by the chief, who was, in truth, a near
relative of the afflicted woman. The minutes lingered, and the
delay had seemed an hour to the adventurer in empiricism, when
the Huron laid aside his pipe, and drew his robe across his breast,
as. if about to lead the way to the lodge of the invalid. Just
then, a warrior of powerful frame darkened the door, and stalk-
ing silently among the attentive group, he seated himself on one
end of the pile of brush which sustained Duncan. The latter
cast an impatient look at his neighbor, and felt his flesh creep
with uncontrollable horror when he found himself in actual
contact with Magua.
The sudden return of this artful and dreaded chief caused a
delay in the departure of the Huron. Several pipes, that had
been extinguished, were lighted again; while the newcomer,
without speaking a word, drew his tomahawk from his girdle,
and filling the bowl on its head, began to inhale the vapors of the
weed through the hollow handle, with as much indifference as
if he had not been absent two weary days on a long and toilsome
hunt. Ten minutes, which appeared so many ages to Duncan,
might have passed in this manner ; and the warriors were fairly
enveloped in a cloud of smoke before any of them spoke.
" Welcome ! " one at length uttered ; " has my friend found
the moose ? "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 307
"The young men stagger under their burdens," returned
Magua. " Let ' Reed-that-bends ' go on the hunting path ; he
will meet them."
A deep and awful silence succeeded the utterance of the for-
bidden name. Each pipe, dropped from the lips of its owner as
though all had inhaled an impurity at the same instant. The
smoke wreathed above their heads in little eddies, and curling
in a spiral form it ascended swiftly through the opening in the
roof of the lodge, leaving the place beneath clear of its fumes,
and each dark visage distinctly visible. The looks of most of
the warriors were riveted on the earth ; though a few of the
younger and less gifted of the party suffered their wild and
glaring eyeballs to roll in the direction of a white-headed sav-
age, who sat between two of the most venerated chiefs of the
tribe. There was nothing in the air or attire of this Indian
that would seem to entitle him to such a distinction. The
former was rather depressed, than remarkable for the bearing
of the natives ; and the latter was such as was commonly worn
by the ordinary men of the nation. Like most around him, for
more than a moment his look too was on the ground ; but
trusting his eyes at length to steal a glance aside, he perceived
that he was becoming an object of general attention. Then he
arose and lifted his voice in the general silence.
" It was a lie," he said ; " I had no son. He who was called
by that name is forgotten ; his blood was pale, and it came not
from the veins of a Huron ; the wicked Chippewas cheated my
squaw. The Great Spirit has said, that the family of Wiss-
entush should end ; he is happy who knows that the evil of his
race dies with himself. I have done."
The speaker, who was the father of the recreant young In-
dian, looked round and about him, as if seeking commendation
of his stoicism in the eyes of the auditors. But the stern cus-
toms Of his people had made too severe an exaction of the feeble
old man. The expression of his eye contradicted his figurative
308 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
and boastful language, while every muscle in his wrinkled visage
was working with anguish. Standing a single minute to enjoy
his bitter triumph, he turned away, as if sickening at the gaze
of men, and veiling his face in his blanket, he walked from the
lodge with the noiseless step of an Indian, seeking in the pri-
vacy of his own abode, the sympathy of one like himself aged,
forlorn, and childless.
The Indians, who believe in the hereditary transmission of
virtues and defects in character, suffered him to depart in
silence. Then, with an elevation of breeding that many in a
more cultivated state of society might profitably emulate, one
of the chiefs drew the attention of the young men from the
weakness they had just witnessed, by saying, in a cheerful
voice, addressing himself in courtesy to Magua, as the newest
comer :
" The Delawares have been like bears after the honey pots,
prowling around my village. But who has ever found a Huron
asleep ? "
The darkness of the impending cloud which precedes a burst
of thunder was not blacker than the brow of Magua as he
exclaimed :
" The Delawares of the Lakes ! "
" Not so. They who wear the petticoats of squaws on their
own river. One of them has been passing the tribe."
" Did my young men take his scalp ? "
" His legs were good, though his arm is better for the hoe
than the tomahawk," returned the other, pointing to the im-
movable form of Uncas.
Instead of manifesting any womanish curiosity to feast his
eyes with the sight of a captive from a people he was known to
have so much reason to hate, Magua continued to smoke, with
the meditative air that he usually maintained when there was
no immediate call on his cunning or his eloquence. Although
secretly amazed at the facts communicated by the speech of the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 309
aged father, he permitted himself to ask no questions, reserving
his inquiries for a more suitable moment. It was only after a
sufficient interval that he shook the ashes from his pipe, replaced
the tomahawk, tightened his girdle, and arose, casting for the
first time a glance in the direction of the prisoner, who stood
a little behind him. The wary, though seemingly abstracted
Uncas, caught a glimpse of the movement, and turning suddenly
to the light, their eyes met. Near a minute these two bold and
untamed spirits stood regarding one another steadily in the eye,
neither quailing in the least before the fierce gaze he encountered.
The form of Uncas dilated, and his nostrils opened like those of
a tiger at bay ; but so rigid and unyielding was his posture, that
he might easily have been converted by the imagination into an
exquisite and faultless representation of the warlike deity of
his tribe. The lineaments of the quivering features of Magua
proved more ductile ; his countenance gradually lost its character
of defiance in an expression of ferocious joy, and heaving a breath
from the very bottom of his chest, he pronounced aloud the
formidable name of :
" Le Oerf Agile ! "
Each warrior sprang upon his feet at the utterance of the
well-known appellation, and there was a short period during
which the stoical constancy of the natives was completely con-
quered by surprise. The hated and yet respected name was
repeated as by one voice, carrying the sound even beyond the
limits of the lodge. The women and children, who lingered
around the entrance, took up the words in an echo, which was
succeeded by another shrill and plaintive howl. The latter was
not yet ended, when the sensation among the men had entirely
abated. Every one in presence seated himself, as though ashamed
of his precipitation ; but it was many minutes before their mean-
ing eyes ceased to roll toward their captive, in curious examina-
tion of a warrior who had so often proved his prowess on the
best and proudest of their nation. Uncas enjoyed his victory,
310 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
but was content with merely exhibiting his triumph by a quiet
smile an emblem of scorn which belongs to all time and every
nation.
Magua caught the expression, and raising his arm, he shook
it at the captive, the light silver ornaments attached to his
bracelet rattling with the trembling agitation of the limb, as, in
a tone of vengeance he exclaimed, in English :
" Mohican, you die ! "
" The healing waters will never bring the dead Hurons to
life," returned Uncas, in the music of the Delawares; "the
tumbling river washes their bones ; their men are squaws ; their
women owls. Go ! call together the Huron dogs, that they may
look upon a warrior. My nostrils are offended ; they scent the
blood of a coward."
The latter allusion struck deep, and the injury rankled.
Many of the Hurons understood the strange tongue in which
the captive spoke, among which number was Magua. This
cunning savage beheld, and instantly profited by his advantage.
Dropping the light robe of skin from his shoulder, he stretched
forth his arm, and commenced a burst of his daugerous and art-
ful eloquence. However much his influence among his people
had been impaired by his occasional and besetting weakness, as
well as by his desertion of the tribe, his courage and his fame
as an orator were undeniable. He never spoke without audi-
tors, and rarely without making converts to his opinions. On
the present occasion, his native powers were stimulated by the
thirst of revenge.
He again recounted the events of the attack on the island at
Glenn's, the death of his associates, and the escape of their most
formidable enemies. Then he described the nature and position
of the mount whither he had led such captives as had fallen into
their hands. Of his own bloody intentions toward the maidens,
and of his baffled malice he made no mention, but passed rap-
idly on to the surprise of the party by " La Longue Carabine,"
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 311
and its fatal termination. Here he paused, and looked about
him, in affected veneration for the departed, but, in truth, to
note the effect of his opening narrative. As usual, every eye
was riveted on his face. Each dusky figure seemed a breathing
statue, so motionless was the posture, so intense the attention
of the individual.
Then Magua dropped his voice, which had hitherto been clear,
strong, and elevated, and touched upon the merits of the dead.
No quality that was likely to command the sympathy of an In-
dian escaped his notice. One had never been known to follow
the chase in vain ; another had been indefatigable on the trail
of their enemies. This was brave, that generous. In short,
he so managed his allusions, that in a nation which was com-
posed of so few families, he Contrived to strike every chord that
might find, in its turn, some breast in which to vibrate.
" Are the bones of my young men," he concluded, " in the
burial-place of the Hurons? You know they are fiot. Their
spirits are gone toward the setting sun, and are already*crossing
the great waters, to the happy hunting-grounds. But they de-
parted without food, without guns or knives, without moccasins,
naked and poor as they were born. Shall this be ? Are their
souls to enter the land of the just like hungry Iroquois or un-
manly Delawares, or shall they meet their friends with arms in
their hands and robes on their backs ? What will our fathers
think the tribes of the Wyandots have become ? They will look
on their children with a dark eye, and say * Go ! a Chippewa
has come hither with the name of a Huron.' Brothers, we must
not forget the dead ; a red-skin never ceases to remember. We
will load the back of this Mohican until he staggers under our
bounty, and despatch him after my young men. They call to
us for aid, though our ears are not open ; they say, * Forget us
not.' When they see the spirit of this Mohican toiling after
them with his burden, they will know we are of that mind.
Then will they go on happy ; and our children will say, ' So
312 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
did our fathers to their friends, so must we do to them/ What
is a Yengee ? we have slain many, but the earth is still pale.
A stain on the name of a* Huron can only be hid by the blood
that comes from the veins of an Indian. Let this Delaware
die."
The effect of such an harangue, delivered in the nervous language
and with the emphatic manner of a Huron orator, could scarcely
be mistaken. Magua had so artfully blended the natural sympa-
thies with the religious superstition of his auditors, that their
minds, already prepared by custom to sacrifice a victim to the
manes of their countrymen, lost every vestige of humanity in a
wish for revenge. One warrior in particular, a man of wild and
ferocious mien, had been conspicuous for the attention he had
given to the words of the speaker. * His countenance had changed
with each passing emotion, until it settled into a look of deadly
malice. As Magua ended he arose, and uttering the yell of a
demon, his polished little axe was seen glancing in the torch-
light all he whirled it above his head. The motion and the cry
were too sudden for words to interrupt his bloody intention. It
appeared as if a bright gleam shot from his hand, which was
crossed at the same moment by a dark and powerful line. The
former was the tomahawk in its passage ; the latter the arm
that Magua darted forward to divert its aim. The quick and
ready motion of the chief was not entirely too late. The keen
weapon cut the war plume from the scalping tuft of Uncas, and
passed through the frail wall of the lodge as though it were
hurled from some formidable engine.
Duncan had seen the threatening action, and sprang upon
his feet, with a heart, which, while it leaped into his throat,
swelled with the most generous resolution in behalf of his friend.
A glance told him that the blow had failed, and terror changed
to admiration. Uncas stood still, looking his enemy in the eye
with features that seemed superior to emotion. Marble could
not be colder, calmer, or steadier than the countenance he put
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 313
upon this sudden and vindictive attack. Then, as if pitying a
want of skill which had proved so fortunate to himself, he
smiled, and muttered a few words of contempt in his own
tongue.
" No ! " said Magua, after satisfying himself of the safety of
the captive ; " the sun must shine on his shame ; the squaws
must see his flesh tremble, or our revenge will be like the play
of boys. Go ! take him where there is silence ; let us see if a
Delaware can sleep at night, and in the morning, die."
The young men whose duty it was to guard the prisoner
instantly passed their ligaments of bark across his arms, and
led him from the lodge, amid a profound and ominous silence.
It was only as the figure of Uncas stood in the opening of the
door that his firm step hesitated. There he turned, and, in
the sweeping and haughty glance that he threw around the
circle of his enemies, Duncan caught a look, which he was glad
to construe into an expression that he was not entirely deserted
by hope.
Magua was content with his success, or too much occupied
with his secret purposes to push his inquiries any further.
Shaking his mantle, and folding it on his bosom, he also
quitted the place, without pursuing a subject which might
have proved so fatal to the individual at his elbow. Notwith-
standing his rising resentment, his natural firmness, and his
anxiety in behalf of Uncas, Heyward felt sensibly relieved by
the absence of so dangerous and so subtle a foe. The excite-
ment produced by the speech gradually subsided. The warriors
resumed their seats, and clouds of smoke once more filled the
lodge. For near half an hour, not a syllable was uttered, or
scarcely a look cast aside ; a grave and meditative silence being
the ordinary succession to every scene of violence and commotion
among these beings, who were alike so impetuous and yet so
self-restrained.
When the chief who had solicited the aid of Duncan finished
314 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
his pipe, he made a final and successful movement toward de-
parting. A motion of a finger was the intimation he gave the
supposed physician to follow ; and passing through the clouds of
smoke, Duncan was glad, on more accounts than one, to be able,
at last, to breath the pure air of a cool and refreshing summer
evening.
Instead of pursuing his way among those lodges where Hey-
ward had already made his unsuccessful search, his companion
turned aside, and proceeded directly toward the base of an ad-
jacent mountain, which overhung the temporary village. A
thicket of brush skirted its foot, and it became necessary to
proceed through a crooked and narrow path. The boys had
resumed their sports in the clearing, and were enacting a mimic
chase to the post among themselves. In order to render their games
as like the reality as possible, one of the boldest of their number
had conveyed a few brands into some piles of tree-tops that had
hitherto escaped the burning. The blaze of one of these fires
lighted the way of the chief and Duncan, and gave a character
of additional wildness to the rude scenery. At a little distance
from a bald rock, and directly in its front, they entered a grassy
opening, which they prepared to cross. Just then fresh fuel
was added to the fire, and a powerful light penetrated even to
that distant spot. It fell upon the white surface of the moun-
tain, and was reflected downward upon a dark and mysterious-
looking being that arose, unexpectedly, in their path.
The Indian paused, as if doubtful whether to proceed, and
permitted his companion to approach his side. A large black
ball, which at first seemed stationary, now began to move in a
manner that to the latter was inexplicable. Again the fire
brightened, and its glare fell more distinctly on the object.
Then even Duncan knew it, by its restless and sidling attitudes,
which kept the upper part of its form in constant motion, while
the animal itself appeared seated, to be a bear. Though it
growled loudly and fiercely, and there were instants when its
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 315
glistening eye-balls might be seen, it gave no other indications
of hostility. The Huron, at least, seemed assured that the in-
tentions of this singular intruder were peaceable, for after giv-
ing it an attentive examination, he quietly pursued his course.
Duncan, who knew that the animal was often domesticated
among the Indians, followed the example of his companion, be-
lieving that some favorite of the tribe had found its way into the
thicket, in search of food. They passed it unmolested. Though
obliged to come nearly in contact with the monster, the Huron,
who had at first so warily determined the character of his strange
visitor, was now content with proceeding without wasting ''a
moment in further examination ; but Heyward was unable' to
prevent his eyes from looking backward, in salutary watchful-
ness against attacks in the rear. His uneasiness was in no de-
gree diminished when he perceived the beast rolling along their
path, and following their footsteps. He would have spoken,
but the Indian at that moment shoved aside a door of bark,
and entered a cavern in the bosom of the mountain.
Profiting by so easy a method of retreat, Duncan stepped
after him, and was gladly closing the slight cover to the open-
ing, when he felt it drawn from his hand by the beast, whose
shaggy form immediately darkened the passage. They were
now in a straight and long gallery, in a chasm of the rocks,
where retreat without encountering the animal was impossible.
Making the best of the circumstances, the young man pressed
forward, keeping as close as possible to his conductor. The
bear growled frequently at his heels, and once or twice its enor-
mous paws were laid on his person, as if disposed to prevent his
further passage into the den.
How long the nerves of Heyward would have sustained him
in this extraordinary situation, it might be difficult to decide ;
for, happily, he soon found relief. A glimmer of light had con-
stantly been in their front, and they now arrived at the place
whence it proceeded.
316 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
A large cavity in the rock had been rudely fitted to answei
the purposes of many apartments. The subdivisions were sim-
ple but ingenious, being composed of stone, sticks, and bark,
intermingled. Openings above admitted the light by day, and
at night fires and torches supplied the place of the sun. Hither
the Hurons had brought most of their valuables, especially those
which more particularly pertained to the nation ; and hither, as
it now appeared, the sick woman, who was believed to be the
victim .of supernatural power, had been transported also, under
an impression that her tormentor would find more difficulty in
making his assaults through walls of stone than through the
leafy coverings of the lodges. The apartment into which Dun-
can and his guide first entered, had been exclusively devoted to
her accommodation. The latter approached her bedside, which
was surrounded by females, in the centre of whom Hey ward was
surprised to find his missing friend David.
A single look was sufficient to apprise the pretended leech
thai the invalid was far beyond his powers of healing. She lay
in a sort of paralysis, indifferent to the objects which crowded
before her sight, and happily unconscious of her suffering. Hey-
ward was far from regretting that his mummeries were to be
performed on one who was much too ill to take interest in their
failure or success. The slight qualm of conscience which had
been excited by the intended deception was instantly appeased,
and he began to collect his thoughts, in order to enact his part
with suitable spirit, when he found he was about to be antici-
pated in his skill by an attempt to prove the power of music.
Gamut, who had stood prepared to pour forth his spirit in
song when the visitors entered, after delaying a monent, drew a
strain from his pipe, and commenced a hymn that might have
worked a miracle, had faith in its efficacy been of much avail
He was allowed to proceed to the close, the Indians respecting
his imaginary infirmity, and Duncan too glad of the delay to
hazard the slightest interruption. As the dying cadence of his
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 317
strains was falling on the ears of the latter, he started aside at
hearing them repeated behind him, in a voice half human and
half sepulchral. Looking around, he beheld the shaggy monster
seated on end in a shadow of the cavern, where, while his rest-
less body swung in the uneasy manner of the animal, it repeated,
in a sort of low growl, sounds, if not words, which bore some
slight resemblance to the melody of the singer.
The effect of so strange an echo on David may better be imag-
ined than described. His eyes opened as if he doubted their
truth ; and his voice became instantly mute in excess of wonder.
A deep-laid scheme, of communicating some important intelli-
gence to Hey ward, was driven from his recollection by an emotion
which very nearly resembled fear, but which he was fain to believe
was admiration. Under its influence, he exclaimed aloud : " She
expects you, and is at hand ; " and precipitately left the cavern.
CHAPTER XXV
" Snug. Have you the lion's part written ? Pray you, if it be,
give it me, for I am slow of study.
Quince. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring."
Midsummer Night's Dream.
These was a strange blending of the ridiculous with that
which was solemn in this scene. The beast still continued its
rolling, and apparently untiring movements, though its ludicrous
attempt to imitate the melody of David ceased the instant the
latter abandoned the field. The words of Gamut were, as has
been seen, in his native tongue ; and to Duncan they seemed
pregnant with some hidden meaning, though nothing present
assisted him in discovering the object of their allusion. A
speedy end was, however, put to every conjecture on the subject
by the manner of the chief, who advanced to the bedside of the
318 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
invalid, and beckoned away the whole group of female attendants
that had clustered there to witness the skill of the stranger.
He was implicitly, though reluctantly, obeyed ; and when the
echo which rang along the hollow, natural gallery, from the dis-
tant closing door, had ceased, pointing toward his insensible
daughter, he said :
" Now let my brother show his power."
Thus unequivocally called on to exercise the functions of his
assumed character, Heyward was apprehensive that the small-
est delay might prove dangerous. Endeavoring then to collect
his ideas, he prepared to perform that species of incantation,
and those uncouth rites, under which the Indian conjurers are
accustomed to conceal their ignorance and impotency. It is
more than probable that, in the disordered state of his thoughts,
he would soon have fallen into some suspicious, if not fatal error,
had not his incipient attempts been interrupted by a fierce growl
from the quadruped. Three several times did he renew his ef-
forts to proceed, and as often was he met by the same unac-
countable opposition, each interruption seeming more savage
and threatening than the preceding.
" The cunning ones are jealous," said the Huron ; " I go.
Brother, the woman is the wife of one of my bravest young men ;
deal justly by her. Peace ! " he added, beckoning to the dis-
contented beast to be quiet ; " I go."
The chief was as good as his word, and Duncan now found
himself alone in that wild and desolate abode, with the helpless
invalid, and the tierce and dangerous brute. The latter listened
to the movements of the Indian with that air of sagacity that
a bear is known to possess, until another echo announced that
he had also left the cavern, when it turned and came waddling
up to Duncan, before whom it seated itself, in its natural atti-
tude, erect like a man. The youth looked anxiously about him
for some weapon, with which he might make a resistance against
the attack he now seriously expected.
THE LAST OJ^ THE MOHICANS 319
It seemed, however, as if the humor of the animal had sud-
denly changed. Instead of continuing its discontented growls,
or manifesting any further signs of anger, the whole of its
shaggy body shook violently, as if agitated by some strange
internal convulsion. The huge and unwieldy talons pawed
stupidly about the grinning muzzle, and while Hey ward kept
his eyes riveted on its movements with jealous watchfulness,
the grim head fell on one side, and in its place appeared the
honest, sturdy countenance of the scout, who was indulging,
from the bottom of his soul, in his own peculiar expression of
merriment.
" Hist ! " said the wary woodsman, interrupting Heyward's
exclamation of surprise ; " the varlets are about the place, and
any sounds that are not natural to witchcraft would bring them
back upon us in a body."
" Tell me the meaning of this masquerade ; and why you
have attempted so desperate an adventure."
" Ah, reason and calculation are often outdone by accident,"
returned the scout. " But as a story should always commence
at the beginning, I will tell you the whole in order. After we
parted I placed the commandant and the Sagamore in an old
beaver lodge, where they are safer from the Hurons than they
would be in the garrison of Edward, for your high northwest
Indians, not having as yet got the traders among them, con-
tinue to venerate the beaver. After which Uncas and I pushed
for the other encampment, as was agreed ; have you seen the
lad ? "
"To my great grief! He is captive, and condemned to die
at the rising of the sun."
" I had misgivings that such would be his fate," resumed the
scout, in a less confident and joyous tone. But soon regaining
his naturally firm voice, he continued : " His bad fortune is the
true reason of my being here, for it would never do to abandon
such a boy to the Hurons. A rare time the knaves would have
320 THE LAST OF TH$ MOHICANS
of it, could they tie ' The Bounding Elk ' and ' The Long Cara-
bine,' as they call me, to the same stake ! Though why they
have given me such a name I never knew, there being as little
likeness between the gifts of ( Killdeer ' and the performance
of one of your real Canada carabynes, as there is between the
natur* of a pipe-stone and a flint."
"Keep to your tale," said the impatient Heyward; "we
know not at what moment the Hurons may return."
" No fear of them. A conjurer must have his time, like a
straggling priest in the settlements. We are as safe from in-
terruption as a missionary would be at the beginning of a two
hours' discourse. Well, Uncas and I fell in with a return party
of the varlets ; the lad was much too forward for a scout ; nay,
for that matter, being of hot blood, he was not so much to
blame ; and, after all, one of the Hurons proved a coward, and
in fleeing led him into an ambush men t."
" And dearly has he paid for the weakness."
The scout significantly passed his hapd across his own throat,
and nodded, as if he said, "I comprehend your meaning."
After which he continued, in a more audible though scarcely
more intelligible language:
" After the loss of the boy I turned upon the Hurons, as you
may judge. There have been scrimmages at ween one or two
of their outlyers and myself; but that is neither here nor there.
So, after I had shot the imps, I got in pretty nigh to the lodges
without further commotion. Then what should luck do in
my favor, but lead me to the very spot where one of the most
famous conjurers of the tribe was dressing himself, as I well
knew, for some great battle with Satan though why should
I call that luck, which it now seems was an especial ordering
of Providence. So a judgmatical rap over the head stiffened
the lying impostor for a time, and leaving him a bit of walnut
for his supper, to prevent an uproar, and stringing him up
atween two saplings, I made free with his finery, and took the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 321
part of the bear on myself, in order that the operations might
proceed."
"And admirably did you enact the character; the animal
itself might have been shamed by the representation."
" Lord, major," returned the flattered woodsman, " I should
be but a poor scholar for one who has studied so long in the
wilderness, did I not know how to set forth the movements
and natur' of such a beast. Had it been now a catamount,
or even a full-size panther, I would have embellished a perform-
ance for you worth regarding. But it is no marvellous feat to
exhibit the feats of so dull a beast ; though, for that matter,
too, a bear may be over-acted. Yes, yes ; it is not every imi-
tator that knows natur' may be outdone easier than she is
equalled. But all our work is yet before us. Where is the
gentle one ? "
" Heaven knows : I have examined every lodge in the village,
without discovering the slightest trace of her presence in the
tribe."
" You heard what the singer said, as he left us : ' She is at
hand, and expects you ? ' "
" I have been compelled to believe he alluded to this unhappy
woman."
" The simpleton was frightened, and blundered through his
message; but he had a deeper meaning. Here are walls
enough to separate the whole settlement. A bear ought to
climb ; therefore will I take a look above them. There may
be honey-pots hid in these rocks, and I am a beast, you know,
that has a hankering for the sweets."
The scout looked behind him, laughing at his own conceit,
while he clambered up the partition, imitating, as he went, the
clumsy motions of the beast he represented ; but the instant
the summit was gained he made a gesture for silence, and slid
down with the utmost precipitation.
"She is here," he whispered, and by that door you will find
322 THE LAST OF THE MOHICAKS
her. I would have spoken a word of comfort to the afflicted
soul ; but the sight of such a monster might upset her reason.
Though for that matter, major, you are none of the most invit-
ing yourself in your paint."
Duncan, who had already swung eagerly forward, drew in-
stantly back on hearing these discouraging words.
"Am I, then, so very revolting?" he demanded, with an
air of chagrin.
" You might not startle a wolf, or turn the Royal Americans
from a charge ; but I have seen the time when you had a better
favored look ; your streaked countenances are not ill-judged of
by the squaws, but young women of white blood give the pref-
erence to their own color. See," he added, pointing to a place
where the water trickled from a rock, forming a little crystal
spring before it found an issue through the adjacent crevices ;
" you may easily get rid of the Sagamore's daub, and when you
come back I will try my hand at a new embellishment. It's as
common for a conjurer to alter his paint as for a buck in the
settlements to change his finery."
The deliberate woodsman had little occasion to hunt for
arguments to enforce his advice. He was yet speaking when
Duncan availed himself of the water. In a moment every
frightful or offensive mark was obliterated, and the youth
appeared again in the lineaments with which he had been gifted
by nature. Thus prepared for an interview with his mistress,
he took a hasty leave of his companion, and disappeared through
the indicated passage. The scout witnessed his departure with
complacency, nodding his head after him, and muttering his
good wishes ; after which he very coolly set about an examina-
tion of the state of the larder, among the Hurons, the cavern,
among other purposes, being used as a receptacle for the fruits
of their hunts.
Duncan had no other guide than a distant glimmering light,
which served, however, the office of a polar star to the lover.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 323
By its aid he was enabled to enter the haven of his hopes,
which was merely another apartment of the cavern, that had
been solely appropriated to the safe-keeping of so important a
prisoner as a daughter of the commandant of William Henry.
It was profusely strewed with the plunder of that unlucky for-
tress. In the midst of this confusion he found her he sought,
pale, anxious, and terrified, but lovely. David had prepared
her for such a visit.
" Duncan ! " she exclaimed in a voice that seemed to tremble
at the sounds created by itself.
" Alice ! " he answered, leaping carelessly among the trunks,
boxes, arms, and furniture, until he stood at her side.
" I knew that you would never desert me," she said, looking
up with a momentary glow on her otherwise dejected counte-
nance. " But you are alone ! grateful as it is to be thus remem-
bered, I could wish to think you are not entirely alone."
Duncan, observing that she trembled in a manner which be-
trayed her inability to stand, gently induced her to be seated,
while he recounted those leading incidents which it has been
our task to record. Alice listened with breathless interest ;
and though the young man touched lightly on the sorrows of
the stricken father, taking care, however, not to wound the
self-love of his auditor, the tears ran as freely down the cheeks
of the daughter as though she had never wept before. The
soothing tenderness of Duncan, however, soon quieted the first
burst of her emotion, and she then heard him to the close with
undivided attention, if not with composure.
"And now, Alice," he added, "you will see how much is still
expected of you. By the assistance of our experienced and in-
valuable friend, the scout, we may find our way from this savage
people, but you will have to exert your utmost fortitude. Re-
member that you fly to the arms of your venerable parent, and
how much his happiness, as well as your own, depends on those
exertions."
324 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Can I do otherwise for a father who has done so much for
me?"
"And for me, too," continued the youth, gently pressing the
hand he held in both his own.
The look of innocence and surprise which he received in return
convinced Duncan of the necessity of being more explicit.
"This is neither the place nor the occasion to detain you
with selfish wishes," he added ; "but what heart loaded like
mine would not wish to cast its burden ? They say misery is
the closest of all ties ; our common suffering in your behalf left
but little to be explained between your father and myself."
" And dearest Cora, Duncan ; surely Cora was not for-
gotten ? "
" Not forgotten ! no ; regretted, as woman was seldom
mourned before. Your venerable father knew no difference be-
tween his children ; but Alice, you will not be offended when
I say, that to me her worth was in a degree obscured "
" Then you knew not the merit of my sister," said Alice,
withdrawing her hand ; "of you she ever speaks as of one who
is her dearest friend."
" I would gladly believe her such," returned Duncan, hastily ;
" I could wish her to be even more ; but with you, Alice, I have
the permission of your father to aspire to a still nearer and
dearer tie."
Alice trembled violently, and there was an instant during
which she bent her face aside, yielding to the emotions common
to her sex ; but they quickly passed away, leaving her mistress
of her deportment, if not of her aflections.
" Hey ward," she said, looking him full in the face with a
touching expression of innocence and dependency, " give me the
sacred presence and the holy sanction of that parent before you
urge me further."
" Though more I should not, less I could not say," the youth
was about to answer, when he was interrupted by a light tap
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 325
on his shoulder. Starting to his feet, he turned, and confront-
ing the intruder, his looks fell on the dark form and malignant
visage of Magua. The deep guttural laugh of the savage sounded,
at such a moment, to Duncan, like the hellish taunt of a demon.
Had he pursued the sudden and fierce impulse of the instant,
he would have cast himself on the Huron, and committed their
fortunes to the issue of a deadly struggle. But, without arms
of any description, ignorant of what succor his subtle enemy
could command, and charged with the safety of one who was
just then dearer than ever to his heart, he no sooner entertained
than he abandoned the desperate intention.
" What is your purpose ? " asked Alice, meekly folding her
arms on her bosom, and struggling to conceal an agony of ap-
prehension in behalf of Heyward, in the usual cold and distant
manner with which she received the visits of her captor.
The exulting Indian had resumed his austere countenance,
though he drew warily back before the menacing glance of the
young man's fiery eye. He regarded both his captives for a
moment with a steady look, and then stepping aside he dropped
a log of wood across a door different from that by which Duncan
had entered. The latter now comprehended the manner of his
surprise, and believing himself irretrievably lost, he drew Alice
to his bosom, and stood prepared to meet a fate which he hardly
regretted, since it was to be suffered in such company. But
Magua meditated no immediate violence. His first measures
were very evidently taken to secure his new captive ; nor did
he even bestow a second glance at the motionless forms in the
centre of the cavern, until he had completely cut off every hope
of retreat through the private outlet he had himself used. He
was watched in all his movements by Heyward, who, however,
remained firm, still folding the fragile form of Alice to his heart,
at once too proud and too hopeless to ask favor of an enemy so
often foiled. When Magua had effected his object he approached
his prisoners, and said in English :
326 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" The pale faces trap the canning beavers ; bat the red-skins
know how to take the Yengeese."
" Huron, do your worst ! " exclaimed the excited Heyward,
forgetful that a double stake was involved in his life ; " you and
your vengeance are alike despised."
" Will the white man speak these words at the stake V asked
Magua ; manifesting, at the same time, how little faith he had
in the other's resolution by the sneer that accompanied his
words.
"Here; singly to your face, or in the presence of your
nation."
"Le Renard Subtil is a great chief! " returned the Indian ;
" he will go and bring his men, to see how bravely a pale face
can laugh at the tortures."
He turned away while speaking, and was about to leave the
place through the avenue by which Duncan had approached,
when a growl caught his ear, and caused him to hesitate. The
figure of the bear appeared in the door, where it sat, rolling
from side to side in its customary restlessness. Magua, like the
father of the sick woman, eyed it keenly for a moment, as if to
ascertain its character. He was far above the more vulgar
superstitions of his tribe, and so soon as he recognized the
well-known attire of the conjurer, he prepared to pass it in cool
contempt. ' But a louder and more threatening growl caused
him again to pause. Then he seemed as if suddenly resolved
to trifle no longer, and moved resolutely forward. The mimic
animal, which had advanced a little, retired slowly in his front,
until it arrived at the pass, when rearing on its hinder legs it
beat the air with its paws, in the manner practised by its
brutal prototype.
" Fool ! " exclaimed the chief, in Huron, " go play with the
children and squaws ; leave men to their wisdom."
He once more endeavored to pass the supposed empiric,
scorning even the parade of threatening to use the knife, or
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 327
tomahawk, that was pendent from his belt. Suddenly the
beast extended its arms, or rather legs, and enclosed him in a
grasp that might have vied with the far-famed power of the
" bear's hug " itself. Hey ward had watched the whole proced-
ure, on the part of Hawkeye, with breathless interest. At first
he relinquished his hold of Alice ; then he caught up a thong of
buck-skin, which had been used around some bundle, and when
he beheld his enemy with his two arms pinned to his side by
the iron muscles of the scout, he rushed upon him, and effectu-
ally secured them there. Arms, legs, and feet were encircled in
twenty folds of the thong, in less time than we have taken to
record the circumstance. When the formidable Huron was
completely pinioned, the scout released his hold, and Duncan
.laid his enemy on his back, utterly helpless.
Throughout the whole of this sudden and extraordinary opera-
tion, Magua, though he had struggled violently, until assured
he was in the hands of one whose nerves were far better strung
than his own, had not uttered the slightest exclamation. But
when Hawkeye, by way of making a summary explanation of
his conduct, removed the shaggy jaws of the beast, and exposed
his own rugged and earnest countenance to the gaze of the
Huron, the philosophy of the latter was so far mastered as to
permit him to utter the never-failing :
" Hugh ! "
" Ay ! you've found your tongue," said his undisturbed con-
queror ; " now, in order that you shall not use it to our ruin, I
must make free to stop your mouth."
As there was no time to be lost, the scout immediately set
about effecting so necessary a precaution; and when he had
gagged the Indian, his enemy might safely have been considered
as " hors de combat."
" By what place did the imp enter ? " asked the industrious
scout, when his work was ended. " Not a soul has passed my
way since you left me."
328 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Duncan pointed out the door by which Magua had come,
and which now presented too many obstacles to a quick retreat.
" Bring on the gentle one then," continued his friend ; " we
must make a push for the woods by the other outlet."
u, Tis impossible !" said Duncan; "fear has overcome her,
and she is .helpless. Alice ! my sweet, my own Alice, arouse
yourself; now is the moment to fly. "lis in vain ! she hears,
but is unable to follow. Go, noble and worthy friend ; save
yourself and leave me to my fate ! "
" Every trail has its end and every calamity brings its les-
son ! " returned the scout. " There, wrap her in them Indian
cloths. Conceal all of her little form. Nay, that foot has no
fellow in the wilderness ; it will betray her. All, every part.
Now take her in your arms, and follow. Leave the rest ta
me."
Duncan, as may be gathered from the words of his compan-
ion, was eagerly obeying ; and as the other finished speaking,
he took the light person of Alice in his arms, and followed on
the footsteps of the scout. They found the sick woman as they
had left her, still alone, and passed swiftly on, by the natural
gallery to the place of entrance. As they approached the little
door of bark a murmur of voices without announced that the
friends and relatives of the invalid were gathered about the
place, patiently awaiting a summons to reenter.
"If I open my lips to speak," Hawkeye whispered, "my
English, which is the genuine tongue of a white skin, will tell
the varlets that an enemy is among them. You must give 'em
your jargon, major, and say that we have shut the evil spirit in
the cave, and are taking the woman to the woods in order to
find strengthening roots. Practise all your cunning, for it is a
lawful undertaking."
The door opened a little, as if one without was listening to
the proceedings within, and compelled the scout to cease his
directions* A fierce growl repelled the eavesdropper, and then
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 329
the scout boldly threw open the covering of bark and left the
place, enacting the character of a bear as he proceeded. Dun-
can kept close at his heels, and soon found himself in the centre
of a cluster of twenty anxious relatives and friends.
The crowd fell back a little and permitted the father, and
one who appeared to be the husband of the woman, to ap-
proach.
"Has my brother driven away the evil spirit ?" demanded
the former. " What has he in his arms ? "
" Thy child," returned Duncan, gravely ; " the disease has gone
out of her ; it is shut up in the rocks. I take the woman to a
distance, where I will strengthen her against any further
attacks. She shall be in the wigwam of the young man when
the sun comes again."
When the father had translated the meaning of the stranger's
words into the Huron language, a suppressed murmur announced
the satisfaction with which this intelligence was received. The
chief himself waved his hand for Duncan to proceed, saying
aloud, in a firm voice and in a lofty manner :
" Go; I am a man and I will enter the rock and fight the
wicked one."
Heyward had gladly obeyed, and was already past the little
group when these startling words arrested him.
" Is my brother mad ? " he exclaimed ; "is he cruel ? He
will meet the disease, and it will enter him; or he will drive
out the disease and it will chase his daughter into the woods.
No; let my children wait without, and if the spirit appears
beat him down with clubs. He is cunning and will bury him-
self in the mountain, when he sees how many are ready to fight
him."
This singular warning had the desired effect'. Instead of
entering the cavern, the father and husband drew their toma-
hawks and posted themselves in readiness to deal their ven-
geance on the imaginary tormentor of their sick relative, while the
330 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
women and children broke branches from the bushes, or seized
fragments of the rock, with a similar intention. At this favor-
able moment the counterfeit conjurers disappeared.
Hawkeye, at the same time that he had presumed so far on
the nature of the Indian superstitions, was not ignorant that
they were rather tolerated than relied on by the wisest of the
chiefs. He well knew the value of time in the present emer-
gency. Whatever might be the extent of the self-delusion of
his enemies, and however it had tended to assist his schemes,
the slightest cause of suspicion, acting on the subtle nature of
an Indian, would be likely to prove fatal. Taking the path,
therefore, that was most likely to avoid observation, he rather
skirted than entered the village. The warriors were still to be
seen in the distance, by the fading light of the fires, stalking
from lodge to lodge. But the children had abandoned their
sports for their beds of skins, and the quiet of night was al-
ready beginning to prevail over the turbulence and excitement
of so busy and important an evening.
Alice revived under the renovating influence of the open air,
and as her physical rather than her mental powers had been the
subject of weakness, she stood in no need of any explanation of
that which had occurred.
" Now let me make an effort to walk," she said, when they
had entered the forest, blushing, though unseen, that she had
not been sooner able to quit the arms of Duncan ; " I am indeed
restored."
" Nay, Alice, you are yet too weak."
The maiden struggled gently to release herself, and Heyward
was compelled to part with his precious burden. The repre-
sentative of the bear had certainly been an entire stranger to
the delicious emotions of the lover while his arras encircled his
mistress ; and he was, perhaps, a stranger also to the nature of
that feeling of ingenuous shame that oppressed the trembling
Alice. But when he found himself at a suitable distance from
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 331
the lodges he made a halt, and spoke on a subject of which he
was thoroughly the master.
"This path will lead you to the brook," he said ; "follow its
northern bank until you come to a fall ; mount the hill on your
right, and you will see the fires of the other people. There you
must go and demand protection ; if they are true Delawares you
will be safe. A distant flight with that gentle one, just now,
is impossible. The Hurons would follow up our trail, and mas-
ter our scalps, before we had got a dozen miles. Go, and
Providence be with you."
" And you ! " demanded Heyward, in surprise ; " surely we
part not here ? "
" The Hurons hold the pride of the Delawares ; the last of
the high blood of the Mohicans is in their power," returned the
scout ; " I go to see what can be done in his favor. Had they
mastered your scalp, major, a knave should have fallen for
every hair it held, as I promised ; but if the young Sagamore is
to be led to the stake, the Indians shall see also how a man
without a cross can die."
Not in the least offended with the decided preference that
the sturdy woodsman gave to one who might, in some degree,
be called the child of his adoption, Duncan still continued
to urge such reasons, against so desperate an effort, as pre-
sented themselves. He was aided by Alice, who mingled her
entreaties with those of Heyward that he would abandon a
resolution that promised so much danger, with so little hope
of success. Their eloquence and ingenuity were expended in
vain. The scout heard them attentively, but impatiently, and
finally closed the discussion, by answering, in a tone that in-
stantly silenced Alice, while it told Heyward how fruitless any
further remonstrances would be :
" I have heard," he said, " that there is a feeling in youth which
binds man to woman closer than the father is tied to the son. It
may be so. I have seldom been where women of my color dwell ;
332 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
but such may be the gifts of nature in the settlements. You have
risked life, and all that is dear to you, to bring off this gentle
one, and I suppose that some such disposition is at the bottom
of it all. As for me, I taught the lad the real character of
a rifle ; and well has he paid me for it. - I have fou't at
his side in many a bloody scrimmage; and so long as I
could hear the crack of his piece in one ear, and that of
Sagamore in the other, I knew no enemy was on my back.
Winters and summers, nights and days, have we roved the
wilderness in company, eating of the same dish, one sleep-
ing while the other watched ; and afore it shall be said that
Uncas was taken to the torment, and I at hand There is
but a single Ruler of us all, whatever may be the color of the
skin ; and Him I call to witness, that before the Mohican boy
shall perish for the want of a friend, good faith shall depart the
'arth, and ' Killdeer ' become as harmless as the tooting we'pon
of the singer ! "
Duncan released his hold on the arm of the scout, who
turned, and steadily retraced his steps toward the lodges.
After pausing a moment to gaze at his retiring form, the suc-
cessful and yet sorrowful Heyward and Alice took their way
together toward the distant village of the Delawares.
CHAPTER XXVI
44 Bot. Let me play the lion, too."
Midsummer Night's Dream.
Notwithstanding the high resolution of Hawkeye, he fully
comprehended all the difficulties and dangers he was about to
incur. In his return to the camp, his acute and practised in-
tellects were intently engaged in devising means to counter-
act a watchfulness and suspicion on the part of his enemies,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 333
that he knew were in no degree inferior to his own. Nothing
but the color of his skin had saved the lives of Magua and the
conjurer, who would have been the first victims sacrificed to his
own security, had not the scout believed such an act, however
congenial it might be to the nature of an Indian, utterly
unworthy of one who boasted a descent from men that knew no
cross of blood. Accordingly, he trusted to the withes and liga-
ments with which he had bound his captives, and pursued his
way directly toward the centre of the lodges.
As he approached the buildings, his steps became more delib-
erate, and his vigilant eye suffered no sign, whether friendly or
hostile, to escape him. A neglected hut was a little in advance
of the others, and appeared as if it had been deserted when half
completed most probably on account of failing in some of the
more important requisites, such as wood or water. A faint
light glimmered through it& cracks, however, and announced that
notwithstanding its imperfect structure, it was not without a
tenant. Thither, then, the scout proceeded, like a prudent
general, who was about to feel the advanced position of his
enemy, before he hazarded the main attack.
Throwing himself into a suitable posture for the beast he
represented, Hawkeye crawled to a little opening, where he
might command a view of the interior. It proved to be the
abiding place of David Gamut. Hither the faithful singing-
master had now brought himself, together with all his sorrows,
his apprehensions, and his meek dependence on the protection of
Providence. At the precise moment when his ungainly person
came under the observation of the scout, in the manner just men-
tioned, the woodsman himself, though in his assumed character,
was the subject of the solitary being's profoundest reflections.
However implicit the faith of David was in the performance
of ancient miracles, he eschewed the belief of any direct super-
natural agency in the management of modern morality. In
other words, while he had implicit faith in the ability of Ba-
334 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
laam's ass to speak, he was somewhat sceptical on the subject
of a bear's singing ; and yet he had been assured of the latter, on
the testimony of his own exquisite organs. There was some-
thing in his air and manner that betrayed to the scout the
utter confusion of the state of his mind. He was seated on a
pile of brush, a few twigs from which occasionally fed his low
fire, with his head leaning on his arm, in a posture of melan-
choly musing. The costume of the votary of music had under-
gone no other alteration from that so lately described, except
that he had covered his bald head with the triangular beaver,
which had not proved sufficiently alluring to excite the cupidity
of any of his captors.
The ingenious Hawkeye, who recalled the hasty manner in
which the other had abandoned his post at the bedside of the
sick woman, was not without his suspicions concerning the sub-
ject of so much solemn deliberation. First making the circuit
of the hut, and ascertaining that it stood quite alone, and that
the character of its inmate was likely to protect it from visitors,
he ventured through its low door, into the very presence of
Gamut. The position of the latter brought the fire between
them ; and when Hawkeye had seated himself on end, near a
minute elapsed, during which the two remained regarding each
other without speaking. The suddenness and the nature of the
surprise had nearly proved too much for we will not say the
philosophy but for the faith and resolution of David. He
fumbled for his pitch-pipe, and arose with a confused intention
of attempting a musical exorcism.
" Dark and mysterious monster ! " he exclaimed, while with
trembling hands he disposed of his auxiliary eyes, and sought
his never-failing resource in trouble, the gifted version of the
psalms ; " I know not your nature nor intents ; but if aught
you meditate against the person and rights of one of the hum-
blest servants of the temple, listen to the inspired language of
the youth of Israel, and repent."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 335
The bear shook his shaggy sides, and then a well-known
voice replied :
"Put up the tooting we'pon, and teach your throat modesty.
Five words of plain and comprehendible English are worth, just
now, an hour of squalling."
"What art thou?" demanded David, utterly disqualified
to pursue his original intention, and nearly gasping for
breath.
"A man like yourself; and one whose blood is as little
tainted by the cross of a bear, or an Indian, as your own.
Have you so soon forgotten from whom you received the fool-
ish instrument you hold in your hand ? "
"Can these things be?" returned David, breathing more
freely, as the truth began to dawn upon him. " I have found
many marvels during my sojourn with the heathen, but surely
nothing to excel this ! "
"Come, come," returned Hawkeye, uncasing his honest
countenance, the better to assure the wavering confidence of his
companion ; " you may see a skin, which, if it be not as white
as one of the gentle ones, has no tinge of red to it that the
winds of the heaven and the sun have not bestowed. Now let
us to business."
" First tell me of the maiden, and of the youth who so
bravely sought her," interrupted David.
"Ay, they are happily freed from the tomahawks of these
varlets. But can you put me on the scent of Uncas ? "
" The young man is in bondage, and much I fear his death
is decreed. I greatly mourn that one so well disposed should
die in his ignorance, and I have sought a goodly hymn "
" Can you lead me to him ? "
"The task will not be difficult," returned David, hesitating;
"though I greatly fear your presence would rather increase
than mitigate his unhappy fortunes."
"No more words, but lead on," returned Hawkeye, conceal-
336 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ing his face again, and setting the example in his own person,
by instantly quitting the lodge.
As they proceeded, the scout ascertained that his companion
found access to Uncas, under privilege of his imaginary infirm-
ity, aided by the favor he had acquired with one of the guards,
who, in consequence of speaking a little English, had been se-
lected by David as the subject of a religious conversion. How
far the Huron comprehended the intentions of his new friend,
may well be doubted ; but as exclusive attention is as flattering
to a savage as to a more civilized individual, it had produced
the effect we have mentioned. It is unnecessary to repeat the
shrewd manner with which the scout extracted these particulars
from the simple David ; neither shall we dwell in this place on
the nature of the instructions he delivered, when completely
master of all the necessary facts ; as the whole will be suffi-
ciently explained to the reader in the course of the narrative.
The lodge in which Uncas was confined was in the very
centre of the village, and in a situation, perhaps, more difficult
than any other to approach, or leave, without observation. But
it was not the policy of Hawkeye to affect the least conceal-
ment. Presuming on his disguise, and his ability to sustain
the character he had assumed, he took the most plain and
direct route to the place. The hour, however, afforded him
some little of that protection which he appeared so much to
despise. The boys were already buried in sleep, and all the
women, and most of the warriors, had retired to their lodges
for the night. Four or five of the latter only lingered about
the door of the prison of Uncas, wary but close observers of the
manner of their captive.
At the sight of Gamut, accompanied by one in the well-
known masquerade of their most distinguished conjurer, they
readily made way for them both. Still they betrayed no inten-
tion to depart. On the other hand, they were evidently dis-
posed to remain bound to the place by an additional interest in
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 337
the mysterious mummeries that they of course expected from
such a visit.
From the total inability of the scout to address the Hurons
in their own language, he was compelled to trust the conversa-
tion entirely to David. Notwithstanding the simplicity of the
latter, he did ample justice to the instructions he had received,
more than fulfilling the strongest hopes of his teacher.
" The Delawares are women ! " he exclaimed, addressing him-
self to the savage who had a slight understanding of the lan-
guage in which he spoke : " the Yengeese, my foolish countrymen,
have told them to take up the tomahawk, and strike their
fathers in the Canadaa, and they have forgotten their sex. Does
my brother wish to hear l Le Cerf Agile ' ask for his petticoats,
and see him weep before the Hurons, at the stake ? "
The exclamation " Hugh ! " delivered in a strong tone of as-
sent, announced the gratification the savage would receive in
witnessing such an exhibition of weakness in an enemy so long
hated and so much feared.
" Then let him step aside, and the cunning man will blow
upon the dog. Tell it to my brothers."
The Huron explained the meaning of David to his fellows,
who, in their turn, listened to the project with that sort of sat-
isfaction that their untamed spirits might be expected to find
in such a refinement in cruelty. They drew back a little from
the entrance and motioned to the supposed conjurer to enter.
But the bear, instead of obeying, maintained the seat it had
taken, and growled.
" The cunning man is afraid that his breath will blow upon
his brothers, and take away their courage too," continued David,
improving the hint he received ; "they must stand further off."
The Hurons, who would have deemed such a misfortune the
heaviest calamity that could befall them, fell back in a body,
taking a position where they were out of earshot, though at the
same time they could command a view of the entrance to the
338 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
lodge. Then as if satisfied of their safety, the scout left his
position, and slowly entered the place. It was silent and
gloomy, being tenanted solely by the captive, and lighted by
the dying embers of a fire, which had been used for the pur-
poses of cookery.
Uncas occupied a distant corner, in a reclining attitude, being
rigidly bound, both hands and feet, by strong and painful withes.
When the frightful object first presented itself to the young
Mohican, he did not deign to bestow a single glance on the ani-
mal. The scout, who had left David at the door, to ascertain
they were not observed, thought it prudent to preserve his dis-
guise until assured of their privacy. Instead of speaking, there-
fore, he exerted himself to enact one of the antics of the animal
he represented. The young Mohican, who at first believed his
enemies had sent in a real beast to torment him, and try his
nerves, detected in those performances that to Heyward had
appeared so accurate, certain blemishes, that at once betrayed
the counterfeit. Had Hawkeye been aware of the low estima-
tion in which the more skilful Uncas held his representations,
he would probably have prolonged the entertainment a little in
pique. But the scornful expression of the young man's eye
admitted of so many constructions, that the worthy scout was
spared the mortification of such a discovery. As soon, there-
fore, as David gave the preconcerted signal, a low hissing sound
was heard in the lodge, in place of the fierce growlings of the
bear.
Uncas had cast his body back against the wall of the hut
and closed his eyes, as if willing to exclude so contemptible and
disagreeable an object from his sight. But the moment the
noise of the serpent was heard, he arose, and cast his looks on
each side of him, bending his head low, and turning it inquir-
ingly in every direction, until his keen eye rested on the shaggy
monster, where it remained riveted, as though fixed by the power
of a charm. Again the same sounds were repeated, evidently
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 339
proceeding from the mouth of the beast. Once more the eyes
of the youth roamed over the interior of the lodge, and return-
ing to their former resting-place, he uttered, in a deep, suppressed
voice :
" Hawkeye ! "
"Cut his bands," said Hawkeye to David, who just then
approached them.
The singer did as he was ordered, and Uncas found his limbs
released. At the same moment the dried skin of the animal
rattled, and presently the scout arose to his feet, in proper per-
son. The Mohican appeared to comprehend the nature of the
attempt his friend had made, intuitively; neither tongue nor
feature betraying another symptom of surprise. When Hawk-
eye had cast his shaggy vestment, which was done by simply
loosing certain thongs of skin, he drew a long glittering knife,
and put it in the hands of Uncas.
"The red Hurons are without," he said ; "let us be ready."
At the same time he laid his finger significantly on another
similar weapon, both being the fruits of his prowess among
their enemies during the evening.
"We will go," said Uncas.
"Whither?"
"To the Tortoises; they are the children of my grand-
fathers."
"Ay, lad," said the scout in English a language he was
apt to use when a little abstracted in mind ; " the same blood
runs in your veins, I believe ; but time and distance has a little
changed its color. What shall we do with the Mingoes at the
door? They count six, and this singer is as good as nothing."
" The Hurons are boasters," said Uncas, scornfully ; " their
' totem ' is a moose, and they run like snails. The Delawares
are children of the tortoise, and they outstrip the deer."
" Ay, lad, there is truth in what you say ; and I doubt not,
on a rush, you would pass the whole nation ; and, in a straight
340 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
race of two miles, would be in, and get your breath again, afore
a knave of them all was within hearing of the other village.
But the gift of a white man lies more in his arms than in his
legs. As for myself, I can brain a Huron as well as a better
man ; but when it comes to a race the knaves would prove too
much for me."
Uncas, who had already approached the door, in readiness to
lead the way, now recoiled ; and placed himself, once more, in
the bottom of the lodge. But Hawkeye, who was too much
occupied with his own thoughts to note the movement, contin-
ued speaking more to himself than to his companion.
" After all," he said, " it is unreasonable to keep one man in
bondage to the gifts of another. So, Uncas, you had better
take the leap, while I will put on the skin again, and trust to
cunning for want of speed."
The young Mohican made no reply, but quietly folded his
arms, and leaned his body against one of the upright posts that
supported the wall of the hut.
"Well," said the scout, looking up at him, "why do you
tarry ? There will be time enough for me, as the knaves will
give chase to you at first."
" Uncas will stay," was the calm reply.
"For what?"
" To fight with his father's brother, and die with the friend
of the Delawares."
" Ay, lad," returned Hawkeye, squeezing the hand of Uncas
between his own iron fingers ; " 'twould have been more like a
Mingo than a Mohican had you left me. But I thought I
would make the offer, seeing that youth commonly loves life.
Well, what can't be done by main courage, in war, must be
done by circumvention. Put on the skin ; I doubt not you can
play the bear nearly as well as myself."
Whatever might have been the private opinion of Uncas of
their respective abilities in this particular, his grave countenance
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 341
manifested no opinion of his own superiority. He silently and
expeditiously encased himself in the covering of the beast, and
then awaited such other movements as his more aged compan-
ion saw fit to dictate.
"Now, friend," said Hawkeye, addressing David, "an ex-
change of garments will be a great convenience to you, inas-
much as you are but little accustomed to the makeshifts of the
wilderness. Here, take my hunting-shirt and cap, and give
me your blanket and hat. You must trust me with the book
and spectacles, as well as the tooter, too ; if we ever meet again,
in better times, you shall have all back again, with many
thanks into the bargain."
David parted with the several articles named with a readi-
ness that would have done great credit to his liberality, had he
not certainly profited, in many particulars, by the exchange.
Hawkeye was not long in assuming his borrowed garments ;
and when his restless eyes were hid behind the glasses, and his
head was surmounted by the triangular beaver, as their statures
were not dissimilar, he might readily have passed for the singer,
by star-light. As soon as these dispositions were made, the
scout turned to David, and gave him his parting instructions.
" Are you much given to cowardice ? " he bluntly asked, by
way of obtaining a suitable understanding of the whole case
before he ventured a prescription.
" My pursuits are peaceful, and my temper, I humbly trust,
is greatly given to mercy and love," returned David, a little
nettled at so direct an attack on his manhood ; " but there are
none who can say that I have ever forgotten my faith in the
Lord, even in the greatest straits."
" Your chiefest danger will be at the moment when the sav-
ages find out that they have been deceived. If you are not
then knocked in the head, your being a non-composser will pro-
tect you ; and you'll then have good reason to expect to die in
your bed. If you stay, it must be to sit down here in the
342 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
shadow, and take the part of Uncas, until such times as the
cunning of the Indians discover the cheat, when, as I have al-
ready said, your time of trial will come. So choose for your-
self to make a rush or tarry here."
" Even so/' said David, firmly ; " I will abide in the place
of the Delaware. Bravely and generously has he battled in my
behalf; and this, and more, will I dare in his service."
" You have spoken as a man, and like one who, under wiser
schooling, would have been brought to better things. Hold
your head down, and draw in your legs ; their formation might
tell the truth too early. Keep silent as long as may be ; and
it would be wise, when you do speak, to break out suddenly in
one of your shoutings, which will serve to remind the Indians
that you are not altogether as responsible as men should be.
If, however, they take your scalp, as I trust and believe they
will not, depend on it, Uncas and I will not forget the deed,
but revenge it as becomes true warriors and trusty friends."
" Hold ! " said David, perceiving that with this assurance
they were about to leave him ; "I am an unworthy and hum-
ble follower of One who taught not the damnable principle of
revenge. Should I fall, therefore, seek no victims to my manes,
but rather forgive my destroyers ; and if you remember them
at all, let it be in prayers for the enlightening of their minds,
and for their eternal welfare."
The scout hesitated, and appeared to muse.
"There is a principle in that," he said, "different from the
law of the woods ; and yet it is fair and noble to reflect upon."
Then, heaving a heavy sigh, probably among the last he ever
drew in pining for a condition he had so long abandoned, he
added : " It is what I would wish to practise myself, as one
without a cross of blood, though it is not always easy to deal
with an Indian as you would with a fellow Christian. God
bless you, friend ; I do believe your scent is not greatly wrong,
when the matter is duly considered, and keeping eternity before
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 343
the eyes, though much depends on the natural gifts, and the
force of temptation."
So saying, the scout returned and shook David cordially by
the hand ; after which act of friendship he immediately left the
lodge, attended by the new representative of the beast.
The instant Hawkeye found himself under the observation of
the Hurons, he drew up his tall form in the rigid manner of
David, threw out his arm in the act of keeping time, and com-
menced what he intended for. an imitation of psalmody. Hap-
pily for the success of this delicate adventure, he had to deal
with ears but little practised in the concord of sweet sounds, or
the miserable effort would infallibly have been detected. It
was necessary to pass within a dangerous proximity of the dark
group of the savages, and the voice of the scout grew louder as
they drew nigher. When at the nearest point, the Huron who
spoke the English thrust out an arm, and stopped the supposed
singing-master.
" The Delaware dog ! " he said, leaning forward, and peering
through the dim light to catch the expression of the other's
features; "is he afraid? will the Hurons hear his groans?"
A growl, so exceedingly fierce and natural, proceeded from
the beast, that the young Indian released his hold and started
aside, as if to assure himself that it was not a veritable bear,
and no counterfeit, that was rolling before him. Hawkeye,
who feared his voice would betray him to his subtle enemies,
gladly profited by the interruption, to break out anew in such
a burst of musical expression as would, probably, in a more
refined state of society have been termed "a grand crash."
Among his actual auditors, however, it merely gave him an
additional claim to that respect which they never withhold from
such as are believed to be the subjects of mental alienation.
The little knot of Indians drew back in a body, and suffered,
as they thought, the conjurer and his inspired assistant to
proceed.
344 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
It required no common exercise of fortitude in Uncas and the
scout, to continue the dignified and deliberate pace they had
assumed in passing the lodges ; especially as they immediately
perceived that curiosity had so far mastered fear, as to induce
the watchers to approach the hut, in order to witness the effect
of the incantations. The least injudicious or impatient move-
ment on the part of David might betray them, and time was
absolutely necessary to insure the safety of the scout. The
loud noise the latter conceived it politic to continue, drew many
curious gazers to the doors of the different huts as they passed ;
and once or twice a dark-looking warrior stepped across their
path, led to the act by superstition or watchfulness. They
were not, however, interrupted ; the darkness of the hour, and
the boldness of the attempt, proving their principal friends.
The adventurers had got clear of the village, and were now
swiftly approaching the shelter of the woods, when a loud and
long cry arose from the lodge where Uncas had been confined.
The Mohican started on his feet, and shook his shaggy cover-
ing, as though the animal he counterfeited was about to make
some desperate effort.
" Hold ! " said the scout, grasping his friend by the shoulder,
"let them yell again ! Twas nothing but wonderment."
He had no occasion to delay, for at the next instant a burst
of cries filled the outer air, and ran along the whole extent of
the village. Uncas cast his skin, and stepped forth in his own
beautiful proportions. Hawkeye tapped him lightly on the
shoulder, and glided ahead.
*' Now let the devils strike our scent ! " said the scout, tear-
ing two rifles, with all their attendant accoutrements, from be-
neath a bush, and flourishing " Kllldeer " as he handed Uncas
his weapon ; " two, at least, will find it to their deaths."
Then throwing their pieces to a low trail, like sportsmen in
readiness for their game, they dashed forward, and were soon
buried in the sombre darkness of the forest.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 345
CHAPTER XXVII
44 Ant I shall remember :
When Caesar says, Do this, it is performed."
Julius Cesah.
The impatience of the savages who lingered about the prison
of Uncas, as has been seen, had overcome their dread of the
conjurer's breath. They stole cautiously, and with beating
hearts, to a crevice, through which the faint light of the fire
was glimmering. For several minutes they mistook the form
of David for that of their prisoner; but the very accident
which Hawkeye had foreseen occurred. Tired of keeping the
extremities of his long person so near together, the singer
gradually suffered the lower limbs to extend themselves, until
one of his misshapen feet actually came in contact with and
shoved aside the embers of the fire. At first the Hurons be-
lieved the Delaware had been thus deformed by witchcraft.
But when David, unconscious of being observed, turned his
head, and exposed his simple, mild countenance, in place of the
haughty lineaments of their prisoner, it would have exceeded
the credulity of even a native to have doubted any longer.
They rushed together into the lodge, and laying their hands,
with but little ceremony, on their captive, immediately detected
the imposition. Then arose the cry first heard by the fugitives.
It was succeeded by the most frantic and angry demonstrations
of vengeance. David, however firm in his determination to
cover the retreat of his friends, was compelled to believe that his
own final hour had come. Deprived of his book and his pipe,
he was fain to trust to a memory that rarely failed him on such
subjects, and breaking forth in a loud and impassioned strain,
he endeavored to soothe his passage into the other world by
singing the opening verse of a funeral anthem. The Indians
346 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
were seasonably reminded of his infirmity, and rushing into the
open air, they aroused the village in the manner described.
A native warrior fights as he sleeps, without the protection
of anything defensive. The sounds of the alarm were, there-
fore, hardly uttered, before two hundred men were afoot, and
ready for the battle or the chase, as either might be required.
The escape was soon known ; and the whole tribe crowded, in
a body, around the council lodge, impatiently awaiting the in-
struction of their chiefs. In such a sudden demand on their
wisdom, the presence of the cunning Magua could scarcely fail
of being needed. His name was mentioned, and all looked
round in wonder that he did not appear. Messengers were
then despatched to his lodge, requiring his presence.
In the meantime, some of the swiftest and most discreet of
the young men were ordered to make the circuit of the clearing,
under cover of the woods, in order to ascertain that their sus-
pected neighbors, the Delawares, designed no mischief. Women
and children ran to and fro ; and, in short, the whole encamp-
ment exhibited another scene of wild and savage confusion.
Gradually, however, these symptoms of disorder diminished;
and in a few minutes the oldest and most distinguished chiefs
were assembled in the lodge, in grave consultation.
The clamor of many voices soon announced that a party ap-
proached, who might be expected to communicate some intelli-
gence that would explain the mystery of the novel surprise.
The crowd without gave way, and several warriors entered the
place, bringing with them the hapless conjurer, who had been
left so long by the scout in duress.
Notwithstanding this man was held in very unequal estima-
tion among the Hurons, some believing implicitly in his power
and others deeming him an impostor, he was now listened to
by all with the deepest attention. When his brief story was
ended, the father of the sick woman stepped forth, and, in a
few pithy expressions, related, in his turn, what he knew.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 347
These two narratives gave a proper direction to the subsequent
inquiries, which were now made with the characteristic cunning
of savages.
Instead of rushing in a confused and disorderly throng to the
cavern, ten of the wisest and firmest among the chiefs were
selected to prosecute the investigation. As no time was to be
lost, the instant the choice was made the individuals appointed
rose in a body, and left the place without speaking. On reach-
ing the entrance, the younger men in advance made way for their
seniors ; and the whole proceeded along the low, dark gallery,
with the firmness of warriors ready to devote themselves to the
public good, though, at the same time, secretly doubting the
nature of the power with which they were about to contend.
The outer apartment of the cavern was silent and gloomy.
The woman lay in her usual place and posture, though there
were those present who affirmed they had seen her borne to the
woods, by the supposed " medicine of the white men." Such a
direct and palpable contradiction of the tale related by the
falher, caused all eyes to be turned on him. Chafed by the
silent imputation, and inwardly troubled by so unaccountable
a circumstance, the chief advanced to the side of the bed, and
stooping, cast an incredulous look at the features, as if dis-
trusting their reality. His daughter was dead.
The unerring feeling of nature for a moment prevailed, and
the old warrior hid his eyes in sorrow. Then recovering his
self-possession, he faced his companions, and, pointing toward
the corpse, he said, in the language of his people :
" The wife of my young man has left us ! The Great Spirit
is angry with his children."
The mournful intelligence was received in solemn silence.
After a short pause, one of the elder Indians was about to
speak, when a dark-looking object was seen rolling out of an
adjoining apartment, into the very centre of the room where
they stood. Ignorant of the nature of the beings they had
348 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
to deal with, the whole party drew back a little, and gazed
in admiration, until the object confronted the light, and ris-
ing on end, exhibited the distorted, but still fierce and sullen
features of Magua. The discovery was succeeded by a gen-
eral exclamation of amazement.
As soon, however, as the true situation of the chief was
understood, several ready knives appeared, and his limbs and
tongue were quickly released. The Huron arose, and shook
himself like a lion quitting his lair. Not a word escaped
him, though his hand played convulsively with the handle
of his knife, while his lowering eyes scanned the whole party,
as if he sought an object suited to the first burst of his
vengeance.
It was happy for Uncas and the scout, and even David,
that they were all beyond the reach of his arm at such a
moment ; for, assuredly, no refinement in cruelty would then
have deferred their deaths, in opposition to the promptings
of the fierce temper that nearly choked him. Meeting every-
where faces that he knew as friends, the savage grated his
teeth together like rasps of iron, and swallowed his passion
for want Of a victim on whom to vent it. This exhibition
of anger was noted by all present; and from an apprehen-
sion of exasperating a temper that was already chafed nearly
to madness, several minutes were suffered to pass before an-
other word was uttered. When, however, suitable time had
elapsed, the oldest of the party spoke.
"My friend has found an enemy," he said. "Is he nigh,
that the Hurons might take revenge ? "
" Let the Delaware die ! " exclaimed Magua, in a voice of
thunder.
Another long and expressive silence was observed, and was
broken, as before, with due precaution, by the same individual.
" The Mohican is swift of foot, and leaps far," he said ; " but
my young men are on bis trail,"
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 349
"Is he gone ? " demanded Magua, in tones so deep and
guttural, that they seemed to proceed from his inmost chest.
"An evil spirit has been among us, and the Delaware has
blinded our eyes."
" An evil spirit ! " repeated the other, mockingly ; " 'tis the
spirit that has taken the lives of so many Hurons ; the spirit
that slew my young men at ' the tumbling river ' ; that took
their scalps at the ' healing spring ' ; and who has, now, bound
the arms of Le Renard Subtil ! "
" Of whom does my friend speak ? "
"Of the dog who carries the heart and cunning of a Huron
under a pale skin La Longue Carabine."
The pronunciation of so terrible a name produced the usual
effect among his auditors. But when time was given for
reflection, and the warriors remembered that their formidable
and daring enemy had even been in the bosom of their en-
campment, working injury, fearful rage took the place of
wonder, and all those fierce passions with which the bosom of
Magua had just been struggling were suddenly transferred to
his companions. Some among them gnashed their teeth in
anger, others vented their feelings in yells, and some, again,
beat the air as frantically as if the object of their resentment
were suffering under their blows. But this sudden outbreaking
of temper as quickly subsided in the still and sullen restraint
they most affected, in their moments of inaction.
Magua, who had in his turn found leisure for reflection, now
changed his manner, and assumed the air of one who knew how
to think and act with a dignity worthy of so grave a subject.
" Let us go to my people," he said ; " they wait for us."
His companions consented in silence, and the whole of the
savage party left the cavern and returned to the council lodge.
When they were seated, all eyes turned on Magua, who under-
stood, from such an indication, that, by common consent, they
had devolved the duty of relating what had passed, on him.
350 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
He arose, and told his tale without duplicity or reservation.
The whole deception practised by both Duncan and Hawkeye
was, of course, laid naked, and no room was found, even for
the most superstitious of the tribe, any longer to affix a doubt
on the character of the occurrences. It was but too apparent
that they had been insultingly, shamefully, disgracefully de-
ceived. When he had ended, and resumed his seat, the col-
lected tribe for his auditors, in substance, included all the
fighting men of the party sat regarding each other like men
astonished equally at the audacity and the success of their
enemies. The next consideration, however, was the means and
opportunities for revenge.
Additional pursuers were sent on the trail of the fugitives ;
and then the chiefs applied themselves, in earnest, to the busi-
ness of consultation. Many different expedients were proposed
by the elder warriors, in succession, to all of which Magua was
a silent and respectful listener. That subtle savage had recov-
ered his artifice and self-command, and now proceeded toward
his object with his customary caution and skill. It was only
when each one disposed to speak had uttered his sentiments,
that he prepared to advance his own opinions. They were
given with additional weight from the circumstance that
some of the runners had already returned, and reported that
their enemies had been traced so far as to leave no doubt
of their having sought safety in the neighboring camp of their
suspected allies, the Delawares. With the advantage of
possessing this important intelligence, the chief warily laid his
plans before his fellows, aud, as might have been anticipated,
from his eloquence and cunning, they were adopted without
a dissenting voice. They were, briefly, as follows, both in
opinions and in motives.
It has been already stated that, in obedience to a policy
rarely departed from, the sisters were separated so soon as they
reached the Huron village. Magua had early discovered that
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 351
in retaining the person of Alice, he possessed the most effectual
check on Cora. When they parted, therefore, he kept the
former within reach of his hand, consigning the one he most
valued to the keeping of their allies. The arrangement was
understood to be merely temporary, and was made as much
with a view to flatter his neighbors as in obedience to the
invariable rule of Indian policy.
While goaded incessantly by these revengeful impulses that
in a savage seldom slumber, the chief was still attentive to his
more permanent personal interests. The follies and disloyalty
committed in his youth were to be expiated by a long and pain-
ful penance, ere he could be restored to the full enjoyment of
the confidence of his ancient people ; and without confidence
there could be no authority in an Indian tribe. In this delicate
and arduous situation, the crafty native had neglected no means
of increasing his influence ; and one of the happiest of his ex-
pedients had been the success with which he had cultivated the
favor of their powerful and dangerous neighbors. The result
of his experiment had answered all the expectations of his pol-
icy ; for the Hurons were in no degree exempt from that gov-
erning principle of nature, which induces man to value his gifts
precisely in the degree that they are appreciated by others.
But, while he was making this ostensible sacrifice to general
considerations, Magua never lost sight of his individual motives.
The latter had been frustrated by the unloeked-for events which
had placed all his prisoners beyond his control ; and he now
found himself reduced to the necessity of suing for favors to
those whom it had so lately been his policy to oblige.
Several of the chiefs had proposed deep and treacherous
schemes to surprise the Delawares, and, by gaining possession
of their camp, to recover their prisoners by the same blow ; for
all agreed that their honor, their interests, and the peace and
happiness of their dead countrymen, imperiously required them
speedily to immolate some victims to their revenge. But plans
352 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
so dangerous to attempt, and of such doubtful issue, Magua
found little difficulty in defeating. He exposed their risk and
fallacy with his usual skill ; and it was only after he had re-
moved every impediment, in the shape of opposing advice, that
he ventured to propose his own projects.
He commenced by flattering the self-love of his auditors ; a
never-failing method of commanding attention. When he had
enumerated the many different occasions on which the Hurons
had exhibited their courage and prowess, in the punishment of
insults, he digressed in a high encomium on the virtue of wis-
dom. He painted the quality, as forming the great point of
difference between the beaver and other brutes ; between the
brutes and men ; and, finally, between the Hurons, in particu-
lar, and the rest of the human race. After he had sufficiently
extolled the property of discretion, he undertook to exhibit in
what manner its use was applicable to the present situation of
their tribe. On the one hand, he said, was their great pale
father, the governor of the Canadas, who had looked upon his
children with a hard eye since their tomahawks had been so
red ; on the other, a people as numerous as themselves, who
spoke a different language, possessed different interests, and loved
them not, and who would be glad of any pretence to bring them
in disgrace with the great white chief. Then he spoke of their
necessities ; of the gifts they had a right to expect for their
past services ; of their distance from their proper hunting-
grounds and native villages ; and of the necessity of consulting
prudence more, and inclination less, in so critical circumstances.
When he perceived that, while the old men applauded his mod-
eration, many of the fiercest and most distinguished of the war-
riors listened to these politic plans with lowering looks, he
cunningly led them back to the subject which they most loved.
He spoke openly of the fruits of their wisdom, which he boldly
pronounced would be a complete and final triumph over their
enemies. He even darkly hinted that their success might be
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 353
extended, with proper caution, in such a manner as to include
the destruction of all whom they had reason to hate. In short,
he so blended the warlike with the artful, the obvious with the
obscure, as to flatter the propensities of both parties, and to
leave to each subject for hope, while neither could say it clearly
comprehended his intentions.
The orator, or the politician, who can produce such a state
of things, is commonly popular with his contemporaries, however
he may be treated by posterity. All perceived that more was
meant than was uttered, and each one believed that the hidden
meaning was precisely such as his own faculties enabled him
to understand, or his own wishes led him to anticipate.
In this happy state of things, it is not surprising that the
management of Magua prevailed. The tribe consented to act
with deliberation, and with one voice they committed the direc-
tion of the whole affair to the government of the chief who had
suggested such wise and intelligible expedients.
Magua had now attained one great object of all his cunning
and enterprise. The ground he had lost in the favor of his peo-
ple was completely regained, and he found himself even placed
at the head of affairs. He was, in truth, their ruler ; and, so
long as he could maintain his popularity, no monarch could be
more despotic, especially while the tribe continued in a hostile
country. Throwing off, therefore, the appearance of consulta-
tion, he assumed the grave air of authority necessary to support
the dignity of his office.
Runners were despatched for intelligence in different direc-
tions ; spies were ordered to approach and feel the encampment
of the Delawares ; the warriors were dismissed to their lodges,
with an intimation that their services would soon be needed ;
and the women and children were ordered to retire, with a
warning that it was their province to be silent. When these
several arrangements were made, Magua passed through the
village, stopping here and there to pay a visit where he thought
2a
354 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
his presence might be flattering to the individual. He con-
firmed his friends in their confidence, fixed the wavering, and
gratified all. Then he sought his own lodge. The wife the
Huron chief had abandoned, when he was chased from among
his people, was dead. Children he had none ; and he now oc-
cupied a hut, without companion of any sort. It was, in fact,
the dilapidated and solitary structure in which David had been
discovered, and whom he had tolerated in his presence, on those
few occasions when they met, with the contemptuous indifference
of a haughty superiority.
Hither, then, Magua retired, when his labors of policy were
ended. While others slept, however, he neither knew nor
sought repose. Had there been one sufficiently curious to have
watched the movements of the newly elected chief, he would
have seen him seated in a corner of his lodge, musing on the
subject of his future plans, from the hour of his retirement to
the time he had appointed for the warriors to assemble again.
Occasionally the air breathed through the crevices of the hut,
and the low flame that fluttered about the embers of the fire
threw their wavering light on the person of the sullen recluse.
At such moments it would not have been difficult to have fancied
the dusky savage the Prince of Darkness, brooding on his own
fancied wrongs, and plotting evil.
Long before the day dawned, however, warrior after warrior
entered the solitary hut of Magua, until they had collected to
the number of twenty. Each bore his rifle, and all the other
accoutrements of war, though the paint was uniformly peaceful.
The entrance of these fierce-looking beings was unnoticed;
some seating themselves in the shadows of the place, and others
standing like motionless statues, until the whole of the desig-
nated band was collected.
Then Magua arose and gave the signal to proceed, marching
himself in advance. They followed their leader singly, and in
that well-known order which has obtained the distinguishing
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 355
appellation of "Indian file." Unlike other men engaged in
the spirit-stirring business of war, they stole from their camp
unostentatiously and unobserved, resembling a band of gliding
spectres, more than warriors seeking the bubble reputation by
deeds of desperate daring.
Instead of taking the path which led directly toward the
camp of the Delawares, Magua led his party for some distance
down the windings of the stream, and along the little artificial
lake of the beavers. The day began to dawn as they entered
the clearing which had been formed by those sagacious and in-
dustrious animals. Though Magua, who had resumed his an-
cient garb, bore the outline of a fox on the dressed skin which
formed his robe, there was one chief of his party who carried
the beaver as his peculiar symbol, or " totem." There would
have been a species of profanity in the omission, had this man
passed so powerful a community of his fancied kindred, with-
out bestowing some evidence of his regard. Accordingly, he
paused, and spoke in words as kind and friendly as if he were
addressing more intelligent beings. He called the animals his
cousins, and reminded them that his protecting influence was
the reason they remained unharmed, while so many avaricious
traders were prompting the Indians to take their lives. He
promised a continuance of his favors, and admonished them to
be grateful. After which, he spoke of the expedition in which
he was himself engaged, and intimated, though with sufficient
delicacy and circumlocution, the expediency of bestowing on
their relative a portion of that wisdom for which they were so
renowned.
During the utterance of this extraordinary address, the com-
panions of the speaker were as grave and as attentive to his
language as though they were all equally impressed with its
propriety. Once or twice black objects were seen rising to the
surface of the water, and the Huron expressed pleasure, con-
ceiving that his words were not bestowed in vain. Just as he
356 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ended his address, the head of a large beaver was thrust from
the door of a lodge, whose earthen walls had been much injured,
and which the party had believed, from its situation, to be un-
inhabited. Such an extraordinary sign of confidence was re-
ceived by the orator as a highly favorable omen ; and, though
the animal retreated a little precipitately, he was lavish of his
thanks and commendations.
When Magua thought sufficient time had been lost in grati-
fying the family affection of the warrior, he again made the sig-
nal to proceed. As the Indians moved away in a body, and
with a step that would have been inaudible to the ears of any
common man, the same venerable-looking beaver once more
ventured his head from its cover. Had any of the Hurons
turned to look behind them, they would have seen the animal
watching their movements with an interest and sagacity that
might easily have been mistaken for reason. Indeed, so very
distinct and intelligible were the devices of the quadruped, that
even the most experienced observer would have been at a loss
to account for its actions, until the moment when the party en-
tered the forest, when the whole would have been explained, by
seeing the entire animal issue from the lodge, uncasing, by the
act, the grave features of Ohingachgook from his mask of fur.
CHAPTER XXVIII
" Brief, I pray you ; for you see, 'tis a busy time with me."
Much Ado About Nothing.
The tribe, or rather half tribe, of Delawares, which has been
so often mentioned, and whose present place of encampment was
so nigh the temporary village of the Hurons, could assemble
about an equal number of warriors with the latter people.
Like their neighbors, they had followed Montcalm into the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 357
territories of the English crown, and were making heavy and
serious inroads on the hunting-grounds of the Mohawks ; though
they had seen fit, with the mysterious reserve so common among
the natives, to withhold their assistance at the moment when
it was most required. The French had accounted for this un-
expected defection on the part of their ally in various ways. It
was the prevalent opinion, however, that they had been influ-
enced by veneration for the ancient treaty, that had once made
them dependent on the six nations for military protection, and
now rendered them reluctant to encounter their former masters.
As for the tribe itself, it had been content to announce to Mont-
calm, through his emissaries, with Indian brevity, that their
hatchets were dull, and time was necessary to sharpen them.
The politic captain of the Canadas had deemed it wiser to sub-
mit to entertain a passive friend, than by any acts of ill-judged
severity to convert him into an open enemy.
On that morning when Magua led his silent party from the
settlement of the beavers into the forest, in the manner de-
scribed, the sun rose upon the Delaware encampment as if it
had suddenly burst upon a busy people, actively employed in
all the customary avocations of high noon. The women ran
from lodge to lodge, some engaged in preparing their morning's
meal, a few earnestly bent on seeking the comforts necessary to
their habits, but more pausing to exchange hasty and whispered
sentences with their friends. The warriors were lounging in
groups, musing more than they conversed; and when a few
words were uttered, speaking like men who deeply weighed
their opinions. The instruments of the chase were to be seen
in abundance among the lodges ; but none departed. Here and
there a warrior was examining his arms, with an attention that
is rarely bestowed on the implements, when no other enemy
than the beasts of the forest is expected to be encountered.
And, occasionally, the eyes of a whole group were turned simul-
taneously toward a large and silent lodge in the centre of
358 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
the village, as if it contained the subject of their common
thoughts.
During the existence of this scene, a man suddenly appeared,
at the furthest extremity of a platform of rock which formed
the level of the village. He was without arms, and his paint
tended rather to soften than increase the natural sternness of
his austere countenance. When in full view of the Delawares
he stopped, and made a gesture of amity, by throwing his arm
upward toward heaven, and then letting it fall impressively on
his breast. The inhabitants of the village answered his salute
by a low murmur of welcome, and encouraged him to advance
by similar indications of friendship. Fortified by these assur-
ances, the dark figure left the brow of the natural rocky terrace,
where it had stood a moment, drawn in a strong outline against
the blushing morning sky, and moved with dignity into the very
centre of the huts: As he approached, nothing was audible but
the rattling of the light silver ornaments that loaded his arms
and neck, and the tinkling of the little bells that fringed his
deer-skin moccasins. He made, as he advanced, many courte-
ous signs of greeting to the men he passed, neglecting to notice
the women, however, like one who deemed their favor, in the
present enterprise, of no importance. When he had reached
the group in which it was evident, by the haughtiness of their
common mien, that the principal chiefs were collected, the
stranger paused, and then the Delawares saw that the active
and erect form that stood before them was that of the well-
known Huron chief, Le Renard Subtil.
His reception was grave, silent, and wary. The warriors in
front stepped aside, opening the way to their most approved
orator by the action ; one who spoke all those languages that
were cultivated among the northern aborigines.
"The wise Huron is welcome," said the Delaware, in the
language of the Maquas ; " he is come to eat his ' succotash/
with his brothers of the lakes."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 359
" He is come," repeated Magua, bending his head with the
dignity of an eastern prince.
The chief extended his arm, and taking the other by the
wrist, they once more exchanged friendly salutations. Then
the Delaware invited his guest to enter his own lodge and share
his morning meal. The invitation was accepted, and the two
warriors, attended by three or four of the old men, walked
calmly away, leaving the rest of the tribe devoured by a desire
to understand the reasons of so unusual a visit, and yet not be-
traying the least impatience by sign or word.
During the short and frugal repast that followed, the con-
versation was extremely circumspect, and related entirely to
the events of the hunt, in which Magua had so lately been
engaged. It would have been impossible for the most finished
breeding to wear more of the appearance of considering the
visit as a thing of course, than did his hosts, notwithstanding
every individual present was perfectly aware that it must be
connected with some secret object, and that probably of im-
portance to themselves. When the appetites of the whole were
appeased, the squaws removed the trenchers and gourds, and
the two parties began to prepare themselves for a subtle trial of
their wits.
" Is the face of my great Canada father turned again toward
his Huron children ? " demanded the orator of the Dela wares.
"When was it ever otherwise?" returned Magua. "He
calls my people ' most beloved/ "
The Delaware gravely bowed his acquiescence to what he
knew to be false, and continued :
" The tomahawks of your young men have been very red."
" It is so ; but they are now bright and dull ; for the Yen-
geese are dead, and the Delawares are our neighbors."
The other acknowledged the pacific compliment by a gesture
of the hand, and remained silent. Then Magua, as if recalled to
such a recollection, by the allusion to the massacre, demanded :
360 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Does my prisoner give trouble to my brothers ? "
" She is welcome."
" The path between the Hurons and the Delawares is short,
and it is open ; let her be sent to my squaws, if she gives
trouble to my brother."
" She is welcome," returned the chief of the latter nation,
still more emphatically.
The baffled Magna continued silent several minutes, appar-
ently indifferent, however, to the repulse he had received in
this his opening effort to regain possession of Cora.
" Do my young men leave the Delawares room on the moun-
tains for their hunts ! " he at length continued.
"The Lenape are rulers of their own hills," returned the
other, a little haughtily.
"It is well. Justice is the master of a red-skin. Why
should they brighten their tomahawks and sharpen their knives
against each other ? Are not the pale faces thicker than the
swallows in the season of flowers ? "
" Good ! " exclaimed two or three of his auditors at the same
time.
Magna waited a little, to permit his words to soften the feel-
ings of the Delawares, before he added :
"Have there not been strange moccasins in the woods?
Have not my brothers scented the feet of white men ? "
"Let my Canada father come," returned the other, evasively,
" his children are ready to see him."
"When the great chief comes, it is to smoke with. the Ind-
ians in their wigwams. The Hurons say, too, he is welcome.
But the Yengeese have long arms, and legs that never tire ! My
young men dreamed they had seen the trail of the Yengeese
nigh the village of the Delawares ! "
" They will not find the Lenape asleep."
"It is well. The warrior whose eye is open can see his
enemy," said Magua, once more shifting his ground, when he
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 361
found himself unable to penetrate the caution of his companion.
" I have brought gifts to my brother. His nation would not go
on the war-path, because they did not think it well, but their
friends have remembered where they lived."
When he had thus announced his liberal intention, the crafty
chief arose, and gravely spread his presents before the dazzled
eyes of his hosts. They consisted principally of trinkets of
little value, plundered from the slaughtered females of William
Henry. In the division of the bawbles the cunning Huron dis-
covered no less art than in their selection. While he bestowed
those of greater value on the two most distinguished warriors,
one of whom was his host, he seasoned his offerings to their in-
feriors with such well-timed and apposite compliments, as left
them no grounds of complaint. In short, the whole ceremony
contained such a hanjpy blending of the profitable with the flat-;
tering, that it was not difficult for the donor immediately to
read the effect of a generosity so aptly mingled with praise, in
the eyes of those he addressed.
This well-judged and politic stroke on the part of Magua
was not without instantaneous results. The Delawares lost
their gravity in a much more cordial expression ; and the host,
in particular, after contemplating his own liberal share of the
spoil for some moments with peculiar gratification, repeated
with strong emphasis, the words :
" My brother is a wise chief. He is welcome."
"The Hurons love their friends the Delawares," returned
Magua. "Why should they not? they are colored by the
same sun, and their just men will hunt in the same grounds
after death. The red-skins should be friends, and look with
open eyes on the white men. Has not my brother scented
spies in the woods?"
The Delaware whose name in English signified "Hard
Heart," an appellation that the French had translated into
"Le Co3ur-dur," forgot that obduracy of purpose, which had
362 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
probably obtained him so significant a title. His countenance
grew very sensibly less stern, and he now deigned to answer
more directly.
" There have been strange moccasins about my camp. They
have been tracked into my lodges."
" Did my brother beat out the dogs ? " asked Magua, with-
out adverting in any manner to the former equivocation of the
chief.
" It would not do. The stranger is always welcome to the
children of the Lenape."
" The stranger, but not the spy."
" Would the Yengeese send their women as spies ? Did not
the Huron chief say he took women in the battle ? "
" He told no lie. The Yengeese have sent out their scouts.
They have been in my wigwams, but thej found no one to say
welcome. Then they fled to the Delawares for, say they, the
Delawares are our friends ; their minds are turned from their
Canada father ! "
This insinuation was a home thrust, and one that in a more
advanced state of society, would have entitled Magua to the
reputation of a skilful diplomatist. The recent defection of
the tribe had, as they well knew themselves, subjected the
Delawares to much reproach among their French allies; and
they were now made to feel that their future actions were to
be regarded with jealousy and distrust. There was no deep
insight into causes and effects necessary to foresee that such
a situation of things was likely to prove highly prejudicial to
their future movements. Their distant villages, their hunting-
grounds, and hundreds of their women and children, together
with a material part of their physical force, were actually
within the limits of the French territory. Accordingly, this
alarming annunciation was received, as Magua intended, with
manifest disapprobation, if not with alarm.
"Let my father look in my face," said Le Coeur-dur; "he
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 363
will see no change. It is true, my young men did not go out
on the war-path : they had dreams for not doing so. But they
love and venerate the great white chief."
" Will he think so when he hears that his greatest enemy is
fed in the camp of his children? When he is told a bloody
Yengee smokes at your fire ? That the pale face who has slain
so many of his friends goes in and out among the Dela wares t
Go ! my great Canada father is not a fool ! "
"Where is the Yengee that the Delawares fear ?" returned
the other ; " who has slain my young men ? who is the mortal
enetny of my Great Father ? "
; . * La Longue Carabine ! "
The Delaware warriors started at the well-known name,
betraying, by their tapiazement, that they now learned, for the
'first time, one sojpbous among the Indian allies of France
was within their pjKer.
"What does joy- brother mean?" demanded Le Coeur-dur, in
a tone that, by its wonder, far exceeded the usual apathy of his
race.
"A Huron never lies!" returned Magua, coldly, leaning his
head against the side of the lodge, and drawing his slight robe
across his tawny breast. " Let the Delawares count their pris-
oners ; they will find one whose skin is neither red nor pale."
A long and musing pause succeeded. The chief consulted
apart with his companions, and messengers were despatched to
collect certain others of the most distinguished men of the tribe.
As warrior after warrior dropped in, they were each made
acquainted, in turn, with the important intelligence that Magua
had just communicated. The air of surprise, and the usual low,
deep, guttural exclamation, were common to them all. The
news spread from mouth to mouth, until the whole encamp-
ment became powerfully agitated. The women suspended their
labors, to catch such syllables as unguardedly fell from the lips
of the consulting warriors. The boys deserted their sports, and
364 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
walking fearlessly among their fathers, looked up in curious ad-
miration, as they heard the brief exclamations of wonder they
so freely expressed at the temerity of their hated foe. In short,
every occupation was abandoned for the time, and all other pur-
suits seemed discarded in order that the tribe might freely in-
dulge, after their own peculiar manner, in an open expression
of feeling.
When the excitement had a little abated, the old men dis-
posed themselves seriously to consider that which it became the
honor and safety of their tribe to perform, under circumstances
of so much delicacy and embarrassment. During all these
movements, and in the midst of the general commotion, Magua
had not only maintained his seat, but the very attitude he had
originally taken, against the side of the lodge, where he con-
tinued as immovable, and, apparently, as ^concerned, as if he
had no interest in the result. Not a single indication of the
future intentions of his hosts, however, escaped his vigilant eyes.
With his consummate knowledge of the nature of the people
with whom he had to deal, he anticipated every measure on
which they decided ; and it might almost be said, that, in many
instances, he knew their intentions, even before they became
known to themselves.
The council of the Delawares was short. When it was
ended, a general bustle announced that it was to be immedi-
ately succeeded by a solemn and formal assemblage of the
nation. As such meetings were rare, and only called on occa-
sions of the last importance, the subtle Huron, who still sat
apart, a wily and dark observer of the proceedings, now knew
that all his projects must be brought to their final issue. He,
therefore, left the lodge and walked silently forth to the place,
in front of the encampment, whither the warriors were already
beginning to collect.
It might have been half an hour before each individual, in-
cluding the women and the children, was in his place. The
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 365
delay had been created by the grave preparations that were
deemed necessary to so solemn and unusual a conference. But
when the sun was seen climbing above the tops of that moun-
tain, against whose bosom the Delawares had constructed their
encampment, most were seated ; and as his bright rays darted
from behind the outline of trees that fringed the eminence,
they fell upon as grave, as attentive, and as deeply interested
a multitude, as was probably ever before lighted by his morn-
ing beams. Its number somewhat exceeded a thousand souls.
In a collection of such serious savages, there is never to be
found any impatient aspirant after premature distinction, stand-
ing ready to move his auditors to some hasty, and, perhaps,
injudicious discussion, in order that his own reputation may be
the gainer. An act of so much precipitancy and presumption
would seal the downfall of precocious intellect forever. It
rested solely with the oldest and most experienced of the men
to lay the subject of the conference before the people. Until
such a one chose to make some movement, no deeds in arms,
no natural gifts, nor any renown as an orator, would have justi-
fied the slightest interruption. On the present occasion, the
aged warrior whose privilege it was to speak, was silent, seem-
ingly oppressed with the magnitude of his subject. The delay
had already continued long beyond the usual deliberative pause
that always preceded a conference ; but no sign of impatience
or surprise escaped even the youngest boy. Occasionally an eye
was raised from the earth, where the looks of most were riveted,
and strayed toward a particular lodge, that was, however, in
no manner distinguished from those around it, except in the
peculiar pare that had been taken to protect it against the
assaults djf the weather.
At length one of those low murmurs, that are so apt to dis-
turb a multitude, was heard, and the whole nation arose to
their feet by a common impulse. At that instant the door of
the lodge in question opened, and three men issuing from it
366 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
slowly approached the place of consultation. They were all
aged, even beyond that period to which the oldest present had
reached ; but one in the centre, who leaned on his companions
for support, had numbered an amount of years to which the
human race is seldom permitted to attain. His frame, which
had once been tall and erect, like the cedar, was now bending
under the pressure of more than a century. The elastic, light
step of an Indian was gone, and in its place he was compelled
to toil his tardy way over the ground, inch by inch. His dark,
wrinkled countenance was in singular and wild contrast with
the long white locks which floated on his shoulders in such
thickness as to announce that generations had probably passed
away since they had last been shorn.
The dress of this patriarch for such, considering his vast
age, in conjunction with his affinity and influence with his
people, he might very properly be termed was rich and im-
posing, though strictly after the simple fashions of the tribe.
His robe was of the finest skins, which had been deprived
of their fur, in order to admit of a hieroglyphical representation
of various deeds in arms, done in former ages. His bosom was
loaded with medals, some in massive silver, and one or two even
in gold, the gifts of various Christian potentates during the long
period of his life. He also wore armlets, and cinctures above
the ankles, of the latter precious metal. His head, on the
whole of which the hair had been permitted to grow, the pur-
suits of war having so long been abandoned, was encircled by a
sort of plated diadem, which, in its turn, bore lesser and more
glittering ornaments, that sparkled amid the glossy hues of
three drooping ostrich feathers, dyed a deep black, in touching
contrast to the color of his snow-white locks. His tomahawk
was nearly hid in silver, and the handle of his knife shone like
a horn of solid gold.
So soon as the first hum of emotion and pleasure, which the
sudden appearance of this venerated individual created, had a
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 367
little subsided, the name of " Tamenund " was whispered from
mouth to mouth. Magua had often heard the fame of this
wise and just Delaware ; a reputation that even proceeded so
far as to bestow on him the rare gift of holding secret commun-
ion with the Great Spirit, and which has since, transmitted his
name, with some slight alteration, to the white usurpers of his
ancient territory, as the imaginary tutelar saint of a vast em-
pire. The Huron chief, therefore, stepped eagerly out a little
from the throng, to a spot whence he might catch a nearer
glimpse of the features of the man, whose decision was likely to
produce so deep an influence on his own fortunes.
The eyes of the old man were closed, as though the organs
were wearied with having so long witnessed the selfish work-
ings of the human passions. The color of his skin differed from
that of most around him, being richer and darker, the latter hue
having been produced by certain delicate" and mazy lines of com-
plicated and yet beautiful figures, which had been traced over
most of his person by the operation of tattooing. Notwith-
standing the position of the Huron, he passed the observant
and silent Magua without notice, and leaning on his two vener-
able supporters proceeded to the high place of the multitude,
where he seated himself in the centre of his nation, with the
dignity of a monarch and the air of a father.
Nothing could surpass the reverence and affection with which
this unexpected visit from one who belonged rather to another
world than to this, was received by his people. After a suit-
able and decent pause, the principal chiefs arose ; and approach-
ing the patriarch, they placed his hands reverently on their
heads, seeming to entreat a blessing. The younger men were
content with touching his robe, or even drawing nigh his per-
son, in order to breathe in the atmosphere of one so aged, so
just, and so valiant. None but the most distinguished among
the youthful warriors even presumed so far as to perform the
latter ceremony ; the great mass of the multitude deeming it a
368 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
sufficient happiness to look upon a form so deeply venerated,
and so well beloved. When these acts of affection and respect
were performed, the chiefs drew back again to their several
places, and silence reigned in the whole encampment.
After a short delay, a few of the young men, to whom in-
structions had been whispered by one of the aged attendants of
Tamenund, arose, left the crowd, and entered the lodge which
has already been noted as the object of so much attention
throughout that morning. In a few minutes they reappeared,
escorting the individuals who had caused all these solemn prep-
arations toward the seat of judgment. The crowd opened in
a lane ; and when the party had reentered, it closed in again,
forming a large and dense belt of human bodies, arranged in an
open circle.
CHAPTER XXIX
"The assembly seated, rising o'er the rest,
Achilles thus the king of men addressed. "
Pope's Iliad.
Cora stood foremost among the prisoners, intertwining her
arms in those of Alice, in the tenderness of sisterly love. Not-
withstanding the fearful and menacing array of savages on
every side of her, no apprehension on her own account could
prevent the noble-minded maiden from keeping her eyes fas-
tened on the pale and anxious features of the trembling Alice.
Close at their side stood Heyward, with an interest in both,
that, at such a moment of intense uncertainty, scarcely knew a
preponderance in favor of her whom he most loved. Hawkeye
had placed himself a little in the rear, with a deference to the
superior rank of his companions, that no similarity in the state
of their present fortunes could induce him to forget. Uncas
was not there.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 369
When perfect silence was again restored, and after the usual
long, impressive pause, one of the two aged chiefs, who sat at
the side of the patriarch arose, and demanded aloud, in very
intelligible English :
" Which of my prisoners is La Longue Carabine ? "
Neither Duncan nor the scout answered. The former, how-
ever, glanced his eyes around the dark and silent assembly, and
recoiled a pace, when they fell on the malignant visage of
Magua. He saw, at once, that this wily savage had some
secret agency in their present arraignment before the nation,
and determined to throw every possible impediment in the
way of the execution of his sinister plans. He had witnessed
one instance of the summary punishment of the Indians, and
now dreaded that his companion was to be selected for a
second. In .this dilemma, with little or no time for reflec-
tion, he suddenly determined to cloak his invaluable friend,
at any or every hazard to himself. Before he had time,
however, to speak, the question was repeated in a louder
voice, and with a clearer utterance.
"Give us arms," the young man haughtily replied, "and
place us in yonder woods. Our deeds shall speak for us ! "
" This is the warrior whose name has filled our ears ! "
returned the chief, regarding Heyward with that sort of curious
interest which seems inseparable from man, when first behold-
ing one of his fellows to whom merit or accident, virtue or
crime, has given notoriety. "What has brought the white
man into the camp of the Delawares ? "
" My necessities. I come for food, shelter, and friends."
" It cannot be. The woods are full of game. The head of
a warrior needs no other shelter than a sky without clouds ; and
the Delawares are the enemies, and not the friends of the
Yengeese. Go, the mouth has spoken, while the heart said
nothing."
Duncan, a little at a loss in what manner to proceed, re-
2b
370 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
mained silent; but the scout, who had listened attentively
to all that passed, now advanced steadily to the front.
" That I did not answer to the call for La Longue Cara-
bine, was not owing either to shame or fear," he. said, "for
neither one nor the other is the gift of an honest man. But
I do not admit the right of the Mingoes to bestow a name
on one whose friends have been mindful of his gifts, in this
particular ; especially as their title is a lie, * Killdeer ' being a
grooved barrel and no carabyne. I am the man, however, that
got the name of Nathaniel from my kin ; the compliment of
Hawkeye from the Delawares, who live on their own river ;
and whom the Iroquois have presumed to style the ' Long
Rifle/ without any warranty from him who is most concerned
in the matter."
The eyes of all present, which had hitherto been gravely
scanning the person of Duncan, were now turned, on the instant,
toward the upright iron frame of this new pretender to the
distinguished appellation. It was in no degree remarkable
that there should be found two who were willing to claim
so great an honor, for impostors, though rare, were not un-
known among the natives ; but it was altogether material to
the just and severe intentions of the Delawares, that there
should be no mistake in the matter. Some of their old men
consulted together in private, and then, as it would seem,
they determined to interrogate their visitor on the subject.
" My brother has said that a snake crept into my camp,"
said the chief to Magua ; "which is he?"
The Huron pointed to the scout.
"Will a wise Delaware believe the barking of a wolf?" ex-
claimed Duncan, still more confirmed in the evil intentions of
his ancient enemy : "a dog never lies, but when was a wolf
known to speak the truth ? "
The eyes of Magua flashed fire ; but, suddenly recollecting the
necessity of maintaining his presence of mind, he turned away
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 371
in silent disdain, well assured that the sagacity of the Indians
would not fail to extract the real merits of the point in contro-
versy. He was not deceived ; for, after another short consulta-
tion, the wary Delaware turned to him again, and expressed the
determination of the chiefs, though in the most considerate
language.
"My brother has been called a liar," he said, "and his
friends are angry. They will show that he has spoken the
truth. Give my prisoners guns, and let them prove which is
the man."
Magua affected to consider the expedient, which he well
knew proceeded from distrust of himself, as a compliment, and
made a gesture of acquiescence, well content that his veracity
should be supported by so skilful a marksman as the scout.
The weapons were instantly placed in the hands of the friendly
opponents, and they were bid to fire over the heads of the
seated multitude, at an earthen vessel, which lay, by accident,
on a stump, some fifty yards from the place where they
stood.
Heyward smiled to himself at the idea of a competition with
the scout, though he determined to persevere in the deception,
until apprised of the real designs of Magua.
Raising his rifle with the utmost care, and renewing his aim
three several times, he fired. The bullet cut the wood within a
few inches of the vessel ; and a general exclamation of satisfac-
tion announced that the shot was considered proof of a great
skill in the use of the weapon. Even Hawkeye nodded his
head, as if he would say, it was better than he had expected.
But, instead of manifesting an intention to' contend with the
successful marksman, he stood leaning on his rifle for more than
a minute, like a man who was completely buried in thought.
From this reverie, he was, however, awakened by one of the
young Indians who had furnished the arms, and who now
touched his shoulder, saying, in exceedingly broken English :
372 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
" Can the pale face beat it ? "
" Yes, Huron ! " exclaimed the scout, raising the short rifle
in his right hand, and shaking it at Magna, with as much
apparent ease as if it were a reed ; " yes, Huron, I could strike
you now, and no power on earth could prevent the deed ! The
soaring hawk is not more certain of the dove than I am this
moment of you, did I choose to send a bullet to your heart !
Why should I not ? Why ! because the gifts of my color for-
bid it, and I might draw down evil on tender and innocent
heads. If you know such a being as God, thank Him, there-
fore, in your inward soul, for you have reason \ "
The flushed countenance, angry eye, and swelling figure of
the scout produced a sensation of secret awe in all that heard
him. The Delawares held their breath in expectation; but
Magua himself, even while he distrusted the forbearance of his
enemy, remained immovable and calm, where he stood wedged
in by the crowd, as one who grew to the spot.
" Beat it," repeated the young Delaware at the elbow of the
scout.
" Beat what, fool ? what ? " exclaimed Hawkeye, still flour-
ishing the weapon angrily above his head, though his eye no
longer sought the person of Magua.
" If the white man is the warrior he pretends," said the aged
chief, " let him strike nigher to the mark."
The scout laughed aloud a noise that produced the star-
tling effect of an unnatural sound on Heyward ; then dropping
the piece, heavily, into his extended left hand, it was discharged,
apparently by the shock, driving the fragments of the vessel
into the air, and scattering them on every side. Almost at the
same instant the rattling sound of the rifle was heard, as he suf-
fered it to fall, contemptuously, to the earth.
The first impression of so strange a scene was engrossing
admiration. Then a low, but increasing, murmur ran through
the multitude, and finally swelled into sounds that denoted a
H
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 373
lively opposition in the sentiments of the spectators. While
some openly testified their satisfaction at such unexampled dex-
terity, by far the larger portion of the tribe were inclined to
believe the success of the shot was the result of accident. Hey-
ward was not slow to confirm an opinion that was so favorable
to his own pretensions.
" It was chance ! " he exclaimed ; " none can shoot without
an aim \ "
" Chance ! " echoed the excited woodsman, who was now
stubbornly bent on maintaining his identity at every hazard,
and on whom the secret hints of Hey ward to acquiesce in the
deception were entirely lost. " Does yonder lying Huron, too,
think it chance ? Give him another gun, and place us face to
face, without cover or dodge, and let Providence and our own
eyes decide the matter atween us ! I do not make the offer to
you, major, for our blood is of a color, and we serve the same
master."
" That the Huron is a liar, is very evident," returned Hey-
ward, coolly ; " you have yourself heard him assert you to be
La Longue Carabine."
It were impossible to say what violent assertion the stub-
born Hawkeye would have next made, in his headlong wish to
vindicate his identity, had not the aged Delaware once more
interposed.
" The hawk which comes from the clouds can return when he
will," he said ; " give them the guns."
This time the scout seized the rifle with avidity ; nor had
Magua, though he watched the movement of the marksman
with jealous eyes, any further cause for apprehension.
" Now let it be proved, in the face of this tribe of Delawares,
which is the better man," cried the scout, tapping the butt of
his piece with that finger which had pulled so many fatal
triggers.
" You see the gourd hanging against yonder tree, major ; if
374 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
you are a marksman fit for the borders, let me see you break its
shell ! "
Duncan noted the object, and prepared himself to renew the
trial. The gourd was one of the usual little vessels used by
the Indians, and it was suspended from a dead branch of a
small pine, by a thong of deer-skin, at the full distance of a
hundred yards. So strangely compounded is the feeling of self-
love, that the young soldier, while he knew the utter worthless-
ness of the suffrages of his savage umpires, forgot the sudden
motives of the contest in a wish to excel. It had been
seen, already, that his skill was far from being contemptible,
and he now resolved to put forth its nicest qualities. Had his
life depended on the issue, the aim of Duncan could not have
been more deliberate or guarded. He fired, and three or four
young Indians, who sprang forward at the report, announced
with a shout, that the ball was in the tree, a very little on one
side of the proper object. The warriors uttered a common
ejaculation of pleasure, and then turned their eyes, inquiringly,
on the movements of his rival.
" It may do for the Royal Americans ! " said Hawkeye,
laughing once more in his own silent, heartfelt manner ; " but
had my gun often turned so much from the true line, many a
marten, whose skin is now in a lady's muff, would still be in the
woods ; ay, and many a bloody Mingo, who has departed to his
final account, would be acting his deviltries at this very day,
atween the provinces. I hope the squaw who owns the gourd
has more of them in her wigwam, for this will never hold water
again ! "
The scout had shook his priming, and cocked his piece, while
speaking, and, as he ended, he threw back a foot and slowly
raised the muzzle from the earth; the motion was steady, uni-
form, and in one direction. When on a perfect level, it remained
for. a single moment, without tremor or variation, as though both
man and rifle were carved in stone. During that stationary
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 375
instant, it poured forth its contents, in a bright, glancing sheet
of flame. Again the young Indians bounded forward, but their
hurried search and disappointed looks announced that no traces
of , the bullet were to be seen.
"Go ! " said the old chief to the scout, in a tone of strong
disgust ; " thou art a wolf in the skin of a dog. I will talk to
the c Long Rifle ' of the Yengeese."
" Ah ! had I that piece which furnished the name you use, I
would obligate myself to cut the tjiong, and drop the gourd
without breaking it ! " returned Hawkeye, perfectly undisturbed
by the other's manner. " Fools, if you would find the bullet of
a sharpshooter of these woods, you must look in the object and
not around it ! "
The Indian youths instantly comprehended his meaning
for this time he spoke in the Delaware tongue and tearing
the gourd from the tree, they held it on high with an exulting
shout, displaying a hole in its bottom, which had been cut by
the bullet, after passing through the usual orifice in the centre
of its upper side. At this unexpected exhibition, a loud and
vehement expression of pleasure burst from the mouth of every
warrior present. It decided the question, and effectually estab-
lished Hawkeye in the possession of his dangerous reputation.
Those curious and admiring eyes which had been turned on
Heyward, were finally directed to the weather-beaten form of
the scout, who immediately became the principal object of atten-
tion to the simple and unsophisticated beings by whom he was
surrounded. When the sudden and noisy commotion had a
little subsided, the aged chief resumed his examination.
" Why did you wish to stop my ears ? " he said, addressing
Duncan ; "are the Dela wares fools, that they could not know
the young panther from the cat 1 "
"They will yet find the Huron a singing-bird," said Duncan,
endeavoring to adopt the figurative language of the natives.
" It is good. We will know who can shut the ears of men.
376 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Brother," added the chief, turning his eyes on Magua, "the
Dela wares listen."
Thus singled, and directly called on to declare his object, the
Huron arose ; and advancing with great deliberation and dignity
into the very centre of the circle, where he stood confronted to
the prisoners, he placed himself in an attitude to speak. Before
opening his mouth, however, he bent his eyes slowly along the
whole living boundary of earnest faces, as if to temper his ex-
pressions to the capacities of his audience. On Hawkeye he
cast a glance of respectful enmity ; on Duncan, a look of inex-
tinguishable hatred ; the shrinking figure of Alice he scarcely
deigned to notice ; but when his glance met the firm, command-
ing, and yet lovely form of Cora, his eye lingered a moment,
with an expression it might have been difficult to define. Then,
filled with his own dark intentions, he spoke in the language of
the Canadas, a tongue that he so well knew was comprehended -
by most of his auditors.
" The Spirit that made men colored them differently," com-
menced the subtle Huron. " Some are blacker than the slug-
gish bear. These He said should be slaves ; and He ordered
them to work forever, like the beaver. You may hear them
groan, when the south wind blows, louder than the lowing buf-
faloes, along the shores of the great salt lake, where the big
canoes come and go with them in droves. Some He made with
faces paler than the ermine of the forests ; and these He ordered
to be traders ; dogs to their women, and wolves to their slaves.
He gave this people the nature of the pigeon ; wings that
never tire; young, more plentiful than the leaves on the
trees, and appetites to devour the earth. He gave them
tongues like the false call of the wild-cat ; hearts like rabbits ;
the cunning of the hog (but none of the fox), and arms longer
than the legs of the moose. With his tongue, he stops the
ears of the Indians; his heart teaches him to pay warriors
to fight his battles ; his cunning tells him how to get together
THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN'S 377
the goods of the earth ; and his arms enclose the land from the
shores of the salt-water to the islands of the great lake. His
gluttony makes him sick. God gave him enough, and yet he
wants all. Such are the pale faces.
"Some the Great Spirit made with skins brighter and
Tedder than yonder sun," continued Magua, pointing impres-
sively upward to the lurid luminary, which was struggling
though the misty atmosphere of the horizon; "and these did
He fashion to His own mind. He gave them this island as He
had made it, covered with trees, and filled with game. The
wind made their clearings; the sun and rains ripened
their fruits; and the snows came to tell them to be
thankful. What need had they of roads to journey by ! They
saw through the hills ! When the beaver worked, they lay in
the shade, and looked on. The winds cooled them in summer;
in winter, skins kept them warm. If they fought among
themselves, it was to prove that they were men. They were
brave ; they were just ; they were happy."
Here the speaker paused, and again looked around him to
discover if his legend had touched the sympathies of his
listeners. He met everywhere with eyes riveted on his own,
heads erect, and nostrils expanded, as if each individual pres-
ent felt himself able and willing, singly, to redress the wrongs
of his race.
" If the Great Spirit gave different tongues to his red
children," he continued, in a low, still, melancholy voice, " it
was that all animals might understand them. Some He placed
among the snows, with their cousin, the bear. Some He
placed near the setting sun, on the road to the happy hunting-
grounds. Some on the lands around the great fresh waters ; but
to his greatest, and most beloved, He gave the sands of the salt
lake. Do my brothers know the name of this favored people 1 "
" It was the Lenape ! " exclaimed twenty eager voices, in a
breath.
378 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"It was the Lenni Lenape," returned Magua, affecting to
bend his head in reverence to their former greatness. "It
was the tribes of the Lenape ! The sun rose from water
that was salt, and set in water that was sweet, and never
hid himself from their eyes. But why should I, a Huron of
the woods, tell a wise people their own traditions ? Why re-
mind them of their injuries; their ancient greatness; their
deeds ; their glory ; their happiness ; their losses ; their tie-
feats ; their misery ? Is there not one among them who has
seen it all, and who knows it to be true? I have done.
My tongue is still, for my heart is of lead. I listen."
As the voice of the speaker suddenly ceased, every face and
all eyes turned, by a common movement, toward the venerable
Tamenund. From the moment that he took his seat, until the
present instant, the lips of the patriarch had not severed, and
scarcely a sign of life had escaped him. He sat bent in feeble-
ness, and apparently unconscious of the presence he was in,
during the whole of that opening scene, in which the skill of
the scout had been so clearly established. At the nicely grad-
uated sound of Magua's voice, however, he betrayed some
evidence of consciousness, and once or twice he even raised his
head, as if to listen. But when the crafty Huron spoke of his
nation by name, the eyelids of the old man raised themselves,
and he looked out upon the multitude with that sort of dull,
unmeaning expression which might be supposed to belong to the
countenance of a spectre. Then he made an effort to rise, and
being upheld by his supporters, he gained his feet, in a posture
commanding by its dignity, while he tottered with weakness.
"Who calls upon the children of the Lenape?" he said,
in a deep, guttural voice, that was rendered awfully audible
by the breathless silence of the multitude ; " who speaks of
things gone ? Does not the egg become a worm the worm a
fly, and perish ? Why tell the Dela wares of good that is past ?
Better thank the Manitou for that which remains."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 379
"It is a Wyandot," said Magua, stepping nigher to the rude
platform on which the other stood ; " a friend of Tamenund."
" A friend ! " repeated the sage, on whose brow a dark frown
settled, imparting a portion of that severity which had rendered
his eye so terrible in middle age. " Are the Mingoes nil era of
the earth ? What brings a Huron here ? "
" Justice. His prisoners are with his brothers, and he comes
for his own."
Tamenund turned his head toward one of his supporters, and
listened to the short explanation the man gave. . Then facing
the applicant, he regarded him a moment with deep attention ;
after which he said, in a low and reluctant voice :
" Justice is the law of the great Manitou. My children, give
the stranger food. Then, Huron, take thine own and depart."
On the delivery of this solemn judgment, the patriarch seated
himself, and closed his eyes again, as if better pleased with the
images of his own ripened experience than with the visible ob-
jects of the world. Against such a decree there was no Dela-
ware sufficiently hardy to murmur, much less oppose himself.
The words were barely uttered when four or five of the younger
warriors, stepping behind Heyward and the scout, passed thongs
so dexterously and rapidly around their arms, as to hold them
both in instant bondage. The former was too much engrossed
with his precious and nearly insensible burden, to be aware of
their intentions before they were executed ; and the latter, who
considered even the hostile tribes of the Delawares a superior
race of beings, submitted without resistance. Perhaps, how-
ever, the manner of the scout would not have been so passive,
had he fully comprehended the language in which the preceding
dialogue had been conducted.
Magua cast a look of triumph around the whole assembly
before he proceeded to the execution of his purpose. Perceiv-
ing that the men were unable to offer any resistance, he turned
his looks on her he valued most. Cora met his gaze with an
380 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
eye so calm and firm, that his resolution wavered. Then recol-
lecting his former artifice, he raised Alice from the arms of the
warrior against whom she leaned, and beckoning Heyward to
follow, he motioned for the encircling crowd to open. But
Cora, instead of obeying the impulse he had expected, rushed
to the feet of the patriarch, and raising her voice, exclaimed
aloud :
" Just and venerable Delaware, on thy wisdom and power we
lean for mercy ! Be deaf to yonder artful and remorseless mon-
ster, who poisons thy ears with falsehoods to feed his thirst for
blood. Thou that hast lived long, and that hast seen the evil
of the world, should know how to temper its calamities to the
miserable."
The eyes of the old man opened heavily, and he once more
looked upward at the multitude. As the piercing tones of the
suppliant swelled on his ears, they moved slowly in the direc-
tion of her person, and finally settled there in a steady gaze.
Cora had cast herself to her knees ; and, with hands clenched
in each other and pressed upon her bosom, she remained like a
beauteous and breathing model of her sex, looking up in his
faded, but majestic countenance, with a species of holy rever-
ence. Gradually the expression of Tamenund's features changed,
and losing their vacancy in admiration, they lighted with a por-
tion of that intelligence which a century before had been wont
to communicate his youthful fire to the extensive bands of the
Delawares. Rising without assistance, and seemingly without
an effort, he demanded, in a voice that startled its auditors by
its firmness:
" What art thou ? "
"A woman. One of a hated race, if thou wilt a Yengee.
But one who has never harmed thee, and who cannot harm thy
people, if she would ; who asks for succor."
"Tell me, my children," continued the patriarch, hoarsely,
motioning to those around him, though his eves still dwelt
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 381
upon the kneeling form of Cora, " where have the Delawares
camped ? "
" In the mountains of the Iroquois, beyond the clear springs
of the Horican."
" Many parching summers are come and gone," continued the
sage, " since I drank of the water of my own rivers. The chil-
dren of Minquon are the justest white men, but they were
thirsty, and they took it to themselves. Do they follow us so
far?"
"We follow none; we covet nothing," answered Cora.
" Captives against our wills, have we been brought among you ;
and we ask but permission to depart to our own in peace. Art
thou not Tamenund the father, the judge, I had almost said,
the prophet of this people ? "
" I am Tamenund of many days."
" 'Tis now some seven years that one of thy people was at the
mercy of a white chief on the borders of this province. He
claimed to be of the blood of the good and just Tamenund.
'Go/ said the white man, 'for thy parent's sake thou art free/
Dost thou remember the name of that English warrior ? "
"I remember, that when a laughing boy," returned the
patriarch, with the peculiar recollection of vast age, " I stood
upon the sands of the sea-shore, and saw a big canoe, with
wings whiter than the swan's, and wider than many eagles,
come from the rising sun."
" Nay, nay ; I speak not of a time so very distant, but of
favor shown to thy kindred by one of mine, within the memory
of thy youngest warrior."
" Was it when the Yengeese and the Dutchmanne fought for
the hunting-grounds of the Delawares 1 Then Tamenund was
a chief, and first laid aside the bow for the lightning of the pale
faces "
"Not yet then," interrupted Cora, "by many ages; I speak
of a thing of yesterday. Surely, surely, you forget it not,"
382 THJE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"It was but yesterday," rejoined the aged man, with touch-
ing pathos, "that the children of the Lenape were masters of
the world. The fishes of the salt lake, the birds, the beasts,
and the Mengee of the woods, owned them for Sagamores."
Cora bowed her head in disappointment, and, for a bitter
moment, struggled with her chagrin. Then elevating her rich
features and beaming eyes, she continued, in tones scarcely less
penetrating than the unearthly voice of the patriarch himself:
" Tell me, is Tamenund a father 1 "
The old man looked down upon her from his elevated stand,
with a benignant smile on his wasted countenance, and then
casting his eyes slowly over the whole assemblage, he answered :
" Of a nation."
" For myself I ask nothing. Like thee and thine, venerable
chief," she continued, pressing her hands convulsively on her
heart, and suffering her head to droop until her burning cheeks
were nearly concealed in the ma'ze of dark, glossy tresses that
fell in disorder upon her shoulders, " the curse of my ancestors
has fallen heavily on their child. But yonder is one who has
never known the weight of Heaven's . displeasure until now.
She is the daughter of an old and failing man, whose days are
near their close. She has many, very many, to love her, and
delight in her ; and she is too good, much too precious, to be-
come the victim of that villain."
" I know that the pale faces are a proud and hungry race. I
know that they claim not only to have the earth, but that the
meanest of their color is better than the Sachems of the red man.
The dogs and crows of their tribes," continued the earnest old
chieftain, without heeding the wounded spirit of his listener,
whose head was nearly crushed to the earth in shame, as he pro-
ceeded, " would bark and caw before they would take a woman
to their wigwams whose blood was not of the color of snow. But
let them not boast before the face of the Manitou too loud. They
entered the land at the rising, and may yet go off at the setting
THE LA&T OF THE M0HICA2TS 383
sun. I have often seen the locusts strip the leaves from the trees,
but the season of blossoms has always come again."
" It is so," said Cora, drawing a long breath, as if reviving
from a trance, raising her face, and shaking back her shining
veil, with a kindling eye, that contradicted the death-like pale-
ness of her countenance; "but why it is not permitted us
to inquire. There is yet one of thine own people who has not
been brought before thee ; before thou lettest the Huron depart
in triumph, hear him speak."
Observing Tamenund to look about him doubtingly, one of
his companions said :
"It is a snake a red-skin in the pay of the Yengeese.
We keep him for the torture."
" Let him come," returned the sage.
Then Tamenund once more sank into his seat, and a silence
so deep prevailed, while the young man prepared to obey his
simple mandate, that the leaves, which fluttered in the draught
of the light morning air, were distinctly heard rustling in the
surrounding forest.
CHAPTER XXX
" If you deny me, fie upon your law !
There is no force in the decrees of Venice :
I stand for judgment : answer, shall I have it ? "
Merchant of Venice.
The silence continued unbroken by human sounds for many
anxious minutes. Then the waving multitude opened and shut
again, and Uncas stood in the living circle. All those eyes,
which had been curiously studying the lineaments of the sage,
as the source of their own intelligence, turned on the instant,
and were now bent in secret admiration on the erect, agile, and
faultless person of the captive. But neither the presence in
384 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS
which he found himself, nor the exclusive attention that he
attracted, in any manner disturbed the self-possession of the
young Mohican. He cast a deliberate and observing look on
every* side of him, meeting the settled expression of hostility
that lowered in the visages of the chiefs, with the same calm-
ness as the curious gaze of the attentive children. But when,
last in his haughty scrutiny, the person of Tamenund came
under his glance, his eye became fixed, as though all other ob-
jects were already forgotten. Then advancing with a slow and
noiseless step up the area, he placed himself immediately be-
fore the footstool of the sage. Here he stood unnoted, though
keenly observant himself, until ojfe of the chiefs apprised the
latter of his presence.
" With what tongue does the prisoner speak to the Manitou ? "
demanded the patriarch, without unclosing his eyes.
" Like his fathers," Uncas replied ; " with the tongue of a
Delaware."
At tlfis sudden and unexpected annunciation, a low, fierce
yell ran through the multitude, that might not inaptly be com-
pared to the growl of the lion, as his choler is first awakened
a fearful omen of the weight of his future anger. The effect
was equally strong on the sage, though differently exhibited.
He passed a hand before his eyes, as if to exclude the least
evidence of so shameful a spectacle, while he repeated, in his
low, guttural tones, the words he had just heard.
" A Delaware ! I have lived to see the tribes of the Lenape
driven from their council fires, and scattered, like broken herds
of deer, among the hills of the Iroquois ! I have seen the
hatchets of a strange people sweep woods from the valleys, that
the winds of heaven had spared ! The beasts that run on the
mountains, and the birds that fly above the trees, have I seen
living in wigwams of men ; but never before have I found a
Delaware so base as to creep, like a poisonous serpent, into the
camps of his nation."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 385
"The singing birds have opened their bills," returned Uncas,
in the softest notes of his own musical voice; "and Tamenund
has heard their song."
The sage started, and bent his head aside, as if to catch the
fleeting sounds of some passing melody.
" Does Tamenund dream 1 " he exclaimed. " What voice is
at his ear ? Have the winters gone backward ? Will summer
come again to the children of the Lenape ? "
A solemn and respectful silence succeeded this incoherent
burst from the lips of the Delaware prophet. His people
readily construed his unintelligible language into one of those
mysterious conferences he was believed to hold so frequently
with a superior intelligence, and they awaited the issue of the
revelation in awe. After 4 patient pause, however, one of the
aged men, perceiving that the sage had lost the recollection of
the subject before them, ventured to remind him again of the
presence of the prisoner. t
" The false Delaware trembles lest he should hear thd words
of Tamenund," he said. " 'Tis a hound that howls, when the
Yengeese show him a trail."
" And ye," returned Uncas, looking sternly around him, " are
dogs that whine, when the Frenchman casts ye the offals of his
deer ! "
Twenty knives gleamed in the air, and as many warriors
sprang to their feet, at this biting, and perhaps merited retort ;
but a motion from one of the chiefs suppressed the outbreaking
of their tempers, and restored the appearance of quiet. The
task might probably have been more difficult, had not a move-
ment made by Tamenund indicated that he was again about to
speak.
" Delaware ! " resumed the sage, " little art thou worthy of
thy name. My people have not seen a bright sun in many
winters; and the warrior who deserts his tribe when hid in
clouds is doubly a traitor. The law of the Manitou is just,
2o
386 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
It is so ; while the rivers run and the mountains stand, while
the blossoms come and go on the trees, it must be so. He is
thine, my children ; deal justly by him."
Not a limb was moved, nor was a breath drawn louder and
longer than common, until the closing syllable of this final
decree had passed the lips of Tamenund. Then a cry of ven-
geance burst at once, as it might be, from the united lips of the
nation ; a frightful augury of their ruthless intentions. In the
midst of these prolonged and savage yells, a chief proclaimed,
in a high voice, that the captive was condemned to endure the
dreadful trial of torture by fire. The circle broke its order,
and screams of delight mingled with the bustle and tumult of
preparation. Heyward struggled madly with his captors ; the
anxious eyes of Hawkeye began to look around him, with an
expression of peculiar earnestness ; and Cora again threw her-
self at the feet of the patriarch, once more a suppliant for
mercy.
Throughout the whole of these trying moments, Uncas had
alone preserved his serenity. He looked on the preparations
with a steady eye, and when the tormentors came to seize him,
he met them with a firm and upright attitude. One among
them, if possible more fierce and savage than his fellows,
seized the hunting-shirt of the young warrior, and at a single
effort tore it from his body. Then, with a yell of frantic
pleasure, he leaped toward his unresisting victim and prepared
to lead him to the stake. But, at that moment, when he ap-
peared most a stranger to the feelings of humanity, the purpose
of the savage was arrested as suddenly as if a supernatural
agency had interposed in the behalf of Uncas. The eyes of the
Delaware seemed to start from their sockets ; his mouth opened
and his whole form became frozen in an attitude of amazement.
Raising his hand with a slow and regulated motion, he pointed
with a finger to the bosom of the captive. His companions
crowded about him in wonder and every eye was, like his own,
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 387
fastened intently on the figure of a small tortoise, beautifully
tattooed on the breast of the prisoner, in a bright blue tint.
For a single instant Uncas enjoyed his triumph, smiling
calmly on the scene. Then motioning the crowd away with a
high and haughty sweep of his arm, he advanced in front of the
nation with the air of a king, and spoke in a voice louder than
the murmur of admiration that ran through the multitude.
" Men of the Lcnni Lenape ! " he said, " my race upholds the
earth ! Your feeble tribe stands on my shell ! What fire that
a Delaware can light would burn the child of my fathers," he
added, pointing proudly to the simple blazonry on his skin;
" the blood that came from such a. stock would smother your
flames ! My race is the grandfather of nations ! "
"Who art thou?" demanded Tamenund, rising at the star-
tling tones he heard, more than at any meaning conveyed by the
language of the prisoner.
"Uncas, the son of Chingachgook," answered the captive,
modestly, turning from the nation, and bending his head in
reverence to the other's character and years; "a son of the
great Unamis."
" The hour of Tamenund is nigh ! " exclaimed the sage ; " the
day is come, at last, to the night ! I thank the Manitou, that
one is here to fill my place at the council fire. Uncas, the child
of Uncas is found ! Let the eyes of a dying eagle gaze on the
rising sun."
The youth stepped lightly, but proudly, on the platform,
where he became visible to the whole agitated and wondering
multitude. Tamenund held him long at the length of his arm
and read every turn in the fine lineaments of his countenance,
with the untiring gaze of one who recalled days of happiness.
"Is Tamenund a boy?" at length the bewildered prophet
exclaimed. "Have I dreamed of so many snows that my
people were scattered like floating sands -r- of Yengeese, more
plenty than the leaves on the trees ! The arrow of Tamenund
388 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
would not frighten the fawn; his arm is withered like the
branch of a dead oak ; the snail would be swifter in the race ;
yet is Uncas before him as they went to battle against the pale
faces ! Uncas, the panther of his tribe, the eldest son of the
Lenape, the wisest Sagamore of the Mohicans! Tell me,
ye Delawares, has Tamenund been a sleeper for a hundred
winters ? "
The calm and deep silence which succeeded these words,
sufficiently announced the awful reverence with which his
people received the communication of the patriarch. None
dared to answer, though all listened in breathless expectation
of what might follow. Uncas, however, looking in his face
with the fondness and veneration of a favored child, presumed
on his own high and acknowledged rank, to reply.
"Four warriors of his race have lived and died," he said,
" since the friend of Tamenund led his people in battle. The
blood of the turtle has been in many chiefs, but all have gone
back into the earth from whence they came, except Chingach-
gook and his son."
"It is true it is true," returned the sage; a flash of rec-
ollection destroying all his pleasing fancies, and restoring him
at once to a consciousness of the true history of his nation.
"Our wise men have often said that two warriors of the
unchanged race were in the hills of the Yengeese ; why have
their seats at the council fires of the Delawares been so long
empty ? "
At these words the young man raised his head, which he had
still kept bowed a little, in reverence ; and lifting his voice so
as to be heard by the multitude, as if to explain at once and
forever the policy of his family, he said aloud :
" Once we slept where we could hear the salt lake speak in its
anger. Then we were rulers and Sagamores over the land.
But when a pale face was seen on every brook, we followed the
deer back to the river of our nation. The Delawares were
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 389
gone. Few warriors of them all stayed to drink of the stream
they loved. Then said my fathers, ' Here will we hunt. The
waters of the river go into the salt lake. If we go toward the
setting sun, we shall find streams that run into the great lakes
of sweet water ; there would a Mohican die, like fishes of the
sea, in the clear springs. When the Manitou is ready and shall
say "Come," w will follow the river to the sea, and take our
own again.' Such, Delawares, is the belief of the children of
the Turtle. Our eyes are on the rising, and not toward the
setting sun. We know whence he comes, but we know not
whither he goes. It is enough."
The men of the Lenape listened to his words with all the
respect that superstition could lend, finding a secret charm even
in the figurative language with which the young Sagamore
imparted his ideas. Uncas himself watched the effect of his
brief explanation with intelligent eyes, and gradually dropped
the air of authority he had assumed, as he perceived that his
auditors were content. Then permitting his looks to wander
over the silent throng that crowded around the elevated seat of
Tamenund, he first perceived Hawkeye in his bonds. Stepping
eagerly from his stand, he made way for himself to the side of
his friend; and cutting his thongs with a quick and angry
stroke of his own knife, he motioned to the crowd to divide.
The Indians silently obeyed, and once more they stood ranged
in their circle, as before his appearance among them. Uncas
took the scout by the hand, and led him to the feet of the
patriarch. -
" Father," he said, " look at this pale face ; a just man, and
the friend of the Delawares."
" Is he a son of Minquon ? "
" Not so ; a warrior known to the Yengeese, and feared by
the Maquas."
" What name has he gained by his deeds ? "
" We call him Hawkeye," Uncas replied, using the Delaware
390 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
phrase; "for his sight never fails. The Mingoes know him
better by the death he gives their warriors ; with them he is
The Long Rifle.' "
" La Longue Carabine ! " exclaimed Tamenund, opening his
eyes, and regarding the scout sternly. " My son has not done
well to call him friend."
"I call him so who proves himself such," returned the young
chief, with great calmness, but with a steady mien. " If Uncas
is welcome among the Delawares, then is Hawkeye with his
friends."
" The pale face has slain my young men ; his name is great
for the blows he has struck the Lenape."
"If a Mingo has whispered that much in the ear of the
Delaware, he has only shown that he is a singing-bird," said
the scout, who now believed that it was time to vindicate him-
self from such offensive charges, and who spoke in the tongue
of the man he addressed, modifying his Indian figures, however,
with his own peculiar notions. " That I have slain the Maquas
I am not the man to deny, even at their own council fires ; but
that* knowingly, my hand has ever harmed a Delaware, is op-
posed to the reason of my gifts, which is friendly to them, and
all that belongs to their nation."
A low exclamation of applause passed among the warriors,
who exchanged looks with each other like men that first began
to perceive their error.
"Where is the Huron?" demanded Tamenund. "Has he
stopped my ears ? "
Magua, whose feelings during that scene in which Uncas had
triumphed may be much better imagined than described, answered
to the call by stepping boldly in front of the patriarch.
" The just Tamenund," he said, " will not keep what a Huron
has lent."
"Tell me, son of my brother," returned the sage, avoiding
the dark countenance of Le Subtil, and turning gladly to the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 391
more ingenuous features of Uncas, "has the stranger a con-
queror's right over you?"
" He has none. The panther may get into snares set by the
women; but he is strong, and knows how to leap through
them."
" La Longue Carabine ? "
" Laughs at the Mingoes. Go, Huron, ask your squaws the
color of a bear."
" The stranger and the white maiden that came into my camp
together?"
" Should journey on an open path."
" And the woman that Huron left with my warriors ? "
Uncas made no reply.
" And the woman that the Mingo has brought into my camp 1 "
repeated Tamenund, gravely.
" She is mine," cried Magua, shaking his hand in triumph at
Uncas. " Mohican, you know that she is mine."
" My son is silent," said Tamenund, endeavoring to read the
expression of the face that the youth turned from him in sorrow.
" It is so," was the low answer.
A short and impressive pause succeeded, during which it was
very apparent with what reluctance the multitude admitted the
justice of the Mingo's claim. At length the sage, on whom alone
the decision depended, said, in a firm voice :
"Huron, depart."
" As he came, just Tamenund," demanded the wily Magua ;
" or with hands filled with the faith of the Delawares ? The
wigwam of Le Kenard Subtil is empty. Make him strong with
his own."
The aged man mused with himself for a time*; and then bend-
ing his head toward one of his venerable companions, he asked :
" Are my ears open ? "
" It is true."
"Is this Mingo a chief V
392 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
"The first in his nation."
"Girl, what wouldst thou? A great warrior takes thee to
wife. Go ! thy race will not end."
" Better, a thousand times, it should," exclaimed the horror-
struck Cora, " than meet with such a degradation ! "
" Huron, her mind is in the tents of her fathers. An unwill-
ing maiden makes an unhappy wigwam."
" She speaks with the tongue of her people," returned Magua,
regarding his victim with a look of bitter irony. "She is of a
race of traders, and will bargain for a bright look. Let Tame-
nund speak the words."
" Take you the wampum, and our love."
" Nothing hence but what Magua brought hither."
" Then depart with thine own. The Great Manitou forbids
that a Delaware should be unjust."
Magua advanced, and seized his captive strongly by the arm ;
the Delawares fell back, in silence ; and Cora, as if conscious that
remonstrance would be useless, prepared to submit to her fate
without resistance.
" Hold, hold ! " cried Duncan, springing forward ; " Huron,
have mercy ! her ransom shall make thee richer than any of
thy people were ever yet known to be."
" Magua is a red-skin ; he wants not the beads of the pale
faces."
"Gold, silver, powder, lead all that a warrior needs shall
be in thy wigwam ; all that becomes the greatest chief."
" Le Subtil is very strong," cried Magua, violently shaking
the hand which grasped the unresisting arm of Cora; "he has
his revenge ! "
" Mighty Ruler of Providence ! " exclaimed Heyward, clasp-
ing his hands together in agony, " can this be suffered ! To you,
just Tamenund, I appeal for mercy."
" The words of the Delaware are said," returned the sage,
closing his eyes, and dropping back into his seat, alike wearied
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 393
with his mental and his bodily exertion. "Men speak not
twice."
"That a chief should not misspend his time in unsaying
what has once been spoken, is wise and reasonable," said
Hawkeye, motioning to Duncan to be silent; u but it is also
prudent in every warrior to consider well before he strikes his
tomahawk into the head of his prisoner. Huron, I love you
not; nor can I say that any Mingo has ever received much
favor at my hands. It is fair to conclude that, if this war does
not soon end, many more of your warriors will meet me in the
woods. Put it to your judgment, then, whether you would
prefer taking such a prisoner as that into your encampment, or
one like myself, who am a man that it would greatly rejoice
your nation to see with naked hands."
"Will 'The Long Rifle' give his life for the woman?" de-
manded Magua, hesitatingly ; for he had already made a motion
toward quitting the place with his victim.
" No, no ; I have not said so much as that," returned Hawk-
eye, drawing back with suitable discretion, when he noted the
eagerness with which Magua listened to his proposal. "It
would be an unequal exchange, to give a warrior, in the prime
of his age and usefulness, for the best woman on the frontiers.
I might consent to go into winter quarters, now at least six
weeks afore the leaves will turn on condition you will release
the maiden."
Magua shook his head, and made an impatient sign for the
crowd to open.
" Well, then," added the scout, with the musing air of a man
who had not half made up his mind : "I will throw 'Killdeer '
into the bargain. Take the word of an experienced hunter, the
piece has not its equal atween the provinces."
Magua still disdained to reply, continuing his efforts to dis-
perse the crowd.
" Perhaps," added the scout, losing his dissembled coolness
394 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
exactly in proportion as the other manifested an indifference to
the exchange, " if I should condition to teach your young men
the real virtue of the we'pon, it would smooth the little differ-
ences in our judgments."
Le Renard fiercely ordered the Dela wares, who still lingered
in an impenetrable belt around him, in hopes he would listen to
the amicable proposal, to open his path, threatening, by the
glance of his eye, another appeal to the infallible justice of their
" prophet."
"What is ordered must sooner or later arrive," continued
Hawkeye, turning with a sad and humbled look to Uncas.
" The varlet knows his advantage and will keep it ! God bless
you, boy ; you have found friends among your natural kin, and
I hope they will prove as true as some you have met who had
no Indian cross. As for me, sooner or later, I must die ; it is
therefore fortunate there are but few to make my death-howl.
After all, it is likely the imps would have managed to master
my scalp, so a day or two will make no difference in the ever-
lasting reckoning of time. God bless you," added the rugged
woodsman, bending his head aside, and then instantly changing
its direction again, with a wistful look toward the youth ; " I
loved both you and your father, Uncas, though our skins are
not altogether of a color, and our gifts are somewhat different.
Tell the Sagamore I never los* sight of him in my greatest
trouble : and, as for you, think of me sometimes when on a
lucky trail ; and depend on it, boy, whether there be one heaven
or two, there is a path in the other world by which honest men
may come together again. You'll find the rifle in the place we
hid it ; take it, and keep it for my sake ; and harkee, lad, as
your natural gifts don't deny you the use of vengeance, use it a
little freely on the Mingoes ; it may unburden grief at my loss,
and ease your mind. Huron, I accept your offer ; release the
woman. I am your prisoner ! "
A suppressed, but still distinct murmur of approbation ran
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 395
through the crowd at this generous proposition ; even the fierc-
est among the Delaware warriors manifesting pleasure at the
manliness of the intended sacrifice. Magua paused, and for an
anxious moment, it might be said, he doubted ; then casting his
eyes on Cora, with an expression in which ferocity and admira-
tion were strangely mingled, his purpose became fixed forever.
He intimated his contempt of the offer with a backward motion
of his head, and said, in a steady and settled voice :
"Le Renard Subtil is a great chief; he has but one mind.
Come," he added, laying his hand too familiarly on the shoul-
der of his captive to urge her onward ; " a Huron is no tattler ;
we will go."
The maiden drew back in lofty womanly reserve, and her
dark eye kindled, while the rich blood shot, like the passing
brightness of the sun, into her very temples, at the indignity.
" I am your prisoner, and at a fitting time shall be ready to
follow, even to my death. But violence is unnecessary," she
coldly said ; and immediately turning to Hawkeye, added :
" Generous hunter ! from my soul I thank you. Your offer is
in vain, neither could it be accepted ; but still you may serve
me, even more than in your own noble intention. Look at that
drooping, humbled child ! Abandon her not until you leave
her in the habitations of civilized men. I will not say," wring-
ing the hard hand of the scout, " that her father will reward
you for such as you are above the rewards of men but he
will thank you and bless you. And, believe me, the blessing
of a just and aged man has virtue in the sight of Heaven.
Would to God, I could hear one from his lips at this awful mo-
ment ! " Her voice became choked, and, for an instant, she was
silent ; then advancing a step nigher to Duncan, who was sup-
porting her unconscious sister, she continued, in more subdued
tones, but in which feeling and the habits of her sex maintained
a fearful struggle : " I need not tell you to cherish the treasure
you will possess. You love her, Heyward ; that would conceal
396 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
a thousand faults, though she had them. She is kind, gentle,
sweet, good, as mortal may be. There is not a blemish in mind
or person at which the proudest of you all would sicken. She is
fair Oh ! how surpassingly fair ! " laying her own beautiful,
but less brilliant hand in melancholy affection on the alabaster
forehead of Alice, and parting the golden hair which clustered
about her brows ; " and yet her soul is pure and spotless as her
skin ! I could say much more, perhaps, than cooler reason
would approve; but I will spare you and myself " Her
voice became inaudible, and her face was bent over the form of
her sister. After a long and burning kiss, she arose, and with
features of the hue of death, but without even a tear in her
feverish eye, she turned away, and added, to the savage, with
all her former elevation of manner : " Now, sir, if it be your
pleasure, I will follow."
" Ay, go," cried Duncan, placing Alice in the arms of an Ind-
ian girl ; " go, Magua, go. These Delawares have their laws,
which forbid them to detain you ; but I I have no such obli-
gation. Go, malignant monster why do you delay ? "
It would be difficult to describe the expression with which
Magua listened to this threat to follow. There was at first a
fierce and manifest display of joy, and then it was instantly sub-
dued in a look of cunning coldness.
"The woods are open," he was content with answering;
" * The Open Hand ' can come."
" Hold," cried Hawkeye, seizing Duncan by the arm, and de-
taining him by violence ; " you know not the craft of the imp.
He would lead you to an ambushment and to your death "
" Huron," interrupted Uncas, who, submissive to the stern
customs of his people, had been an attentive and grave listener
to all that passed ; " Huron, the justice of the Delawares comes
from the Manitou. Look at the sun. He is now in the upper
branches of the hemlock. Your path is short and open. When
he is seen above the trees, there will be men on your trail."
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 397
" I hear a crow ! " exclaimed Magua, with a taunting laugh.
" Go ! " he added, shaking his hand at the crowd, which had
slowly opened to admit his passage. " Where are the petti-
coats of the Delawares ? Let them send their arrows and their
guns to the Wyandots; they shall have venison to eat, and
corn to hoe. Dogs, rabbits, thieves I spit on you ! "
His parting gibes were listened to in a dead, boding silence,
and, with these biting words in his mouth, the triumphant
Magua passed unmolested into the forest, followed by his passive
captive, and protected by the inviolable laws of Indian hos-
pitality.
CHAPTER XXXI
44 Flue. Kill the poys and the luggage ! 'Tis expressly against
the law of arms ; 'tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now,
as can be offered in the 'orld."
Kino Henry V.
So long as their enemy and his victim continued in sight,
the multitude remained motionless as beings charmed to the
place by some power that was friendly to the Huron ; but the
instant he disappeared, it became tossed and agitated by fierce
and powerful passion. Uncas maintained his elevated stand,
keeping his eyes on the form of Cora, until the colors of her
dress were blended with the foliage of the forest; when he
descended, and moving silently through the throng, he disap-
peared in that lodge from which he had so recently issued. A
few of the graver and more attentive warriors, who caught the
gleams of anger that shot from the eyes of the young chief in
passing, followed him to the place he had selected for his medi-
tations. After which, Tamenund and Alice were removed, and
the women and children were ordered to disperse. During the
momentous hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled a
308 THE LAST OF THE MOMCASS
hire ^troubled bet*, who only awaited the appearance and
pk of their leader to take mnot distant and momentous flight.
A young warrior at length issued from tbe lodge of Uncas ;
and Hiring deKterately, with a sort of grave inarch, toward a
dwarf pine that grew in tbe crevices of the rocky terrace, he
tore the bark from it* body, and then returned whence he came
without speaking. He was soon followed by another, who
stripped the sapling of its branches, karing it a naked and
blazed * trunk, A third colored the post with stripes of a dark
red point; all which indications of a hostile design in the
leaders of the nation were receired by the men without in a
gloomy and ominous sflenee. Finally, the Mohican himself re-
appeared, divested of all his attire, except his girdle and leg-
gings, and with one-half of his fine features bid under a cloud of
threatening black,
Uncas mored with a slow and dignified tread toward the
post, which he immediately commenced encircling with a meas-
ured step, not unlike an ancient dance, raising his voice, at the
same time, in the wild and irregular chant of his war song.
The notes were in the extremes of human sounds ; being some-
times melancholy and exquisitely plaintive, even rivalling the
melody of birds and then, by sudden and startling transitions,
causing the auditors to tremble by their depth and energy.
The words were few and often repeated, proceeding gradually
from a sort of invocation, or hymn to the Deity, to an intima-
tion of the warrior's object, and terminating as they commenced
with an acknowledgment of his own dependence on the Great
Spirit If it were possible to translate the comprehensive and
melodious language in which he spoke, the ode might read some-
thing like the following :
" Manitou ! Manitou ! Manitou !
Thou art great, thou art good, thou art wise :
Manitou ! Manitou 1
Thou art just.
1/
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 399
44 In the heavens, in the clouds, oh, I see
Many spots many dark, many red:
In the heavens, oh, I see
Many clouds.
" In the woods, in the air, oh, I hear
The whoop, the long yell, and the cry ;
In the woods, oh, I hear
The loud whoop !
" Manitou ! Manitou ! Manitou 1
I am weak thou art strong ; I am slow ;
Manitou ! Manitou !
Give me aid."
At the end of what might be called each verse he made a
pause, by raising a note louder and longer than common, that
was peculiarly suited to the sentiment just expressed. The
first close was solemn, and intended to convey the idea of ven-
eration ; the second descriptive, bordering on the alarming ; and
the third was the well-known and terrific war-whoop, which
burst from the lips of the young warrior, like a combination of
all the frightful sounds of battle. The last was like the first,
humble and imploring. Three times did he repeat this song,
and as often did he encircle the post in his dance.
At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly esteemed
chief of the Lenape followed his example, singing words of his
own, however, to music of a similar character. Warrior after
warrior enlisted in the dance, until all of any renown and
authority were numbered in its mazes. The spectacle now be-
came wildly terrific ; the fierce-looking and menacing visages of
the chiefs receiving additional power from the appalling strains
in which they mingled their guttural tones. Just then Uncas
struck his tomahawk deep into the post, and raised his voice in
a shout, which might be termed his own battle-cry. The act
s
400 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
announced that he had assumed the chief authority in the in-
tended expedition.
It was a signal that awakened all the slumbering passions of
the nation. A hundred youths, who had hitherto been re-
strained by the diffidence of their years, rushed in a frantic
body on the fancied emblem of their enemy, and severed it
asunder, splinter by splinter, until nothing remained of the
trunk but its roots in the earth. During this moment of
tumult, the most ruthless deeds of war were performed on the
fragments of the tree, with as much apparent ferocity as if they
were the living victims of their cruelty. Some were scalped ;
some received the keen andf trembling axe ; and others suffered
by thrusts from the fatal knife. In short the manifestations of
zeal and fierce delight were so great and unequivocal, that the
expedition was declared to be a war of the nation.
The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved out of the
circle, and cast his eyes up to the sun, which was just gaining
the point when the truce with Magua was to end. The fact
was soon announced by a significant gesture, accompanied by a
corresponding cry; and the whole of the excited multitude
abandoned their mimic warfare, with shrill yells of pleasure, to
prepare for the more hazardous experiment of the reality.
The whole face of the encampment was instantly changed.
The warriors, who were already armed and painted, became as
still as if they were incapable of any uncommon burst of emo-
tion. On the other hand, the women broke out of the lodges,
with the songs of joy and those of lamentation, so strangely
mingled, that it might have been difficult to have said which
passion predominated. None, however, were idle. Some bore
their choicest articles, others their young, and some their aged
and infirm, into the forest, which spread itself like a verdant
carpet of bright green against the side of the mountain. Thither
Tamenund also retired, with calm composure, after a short and
touching interview with Uncas ; from whom the sage separated
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 401
with the reluctance that a parent would quit a long lost and
just recovered child. In the meantime, Duncan saw Alice to a
place of safety, and then sought the scout, with a countenance
that denoted how eagerly he also panted for the approaching
contest.
But Hawkeye was too much accustomed to the war song
and the enlistments of the natives, to betray any interest in
the passing scene. He merely cast an occasional look at
the number and quality of the warriors, who, from time to
time, signified their readiness to accompany Uncas to the
field. In this particular he was soon satisfied ; for, as has
been already seen, the power of the young chief quickly em-
braced every fighting man in the nation. After this material
point was so satisfactorily decided, he despatched an Indian boy
in quest of " Killdeer " and the rifle of Uncas, to the place
where they had deposited their weapons on approaching the
camp of the Delawares ; a measure of double policy, inasmuch
as it protected the arms from their own fate, if detained as
prisoners, and gave them the advantage of appearing among
the strangers rather as sufferers than as men provided with the
means of defence and subsistence. In selecting another to
perform the office of reclaiming his highly prized rifle, the
scout had lost sight of none of his habitual caution. He
knew that Magua had not come unattended, and he also knew
that Huron spies watched the movements of their new enemies,
along the whole boundary of the woods. It would, therefore,
have been fatal to himself to have attempted the experiment ; a
warrior would have fared no better ; but the danger of a boy
would not be likely to commence until after his object was dis-
covered. When Heyward joined him, the scout was coolly
awaiting the result of this experiment.
The boy, who had been well instructed, and was sufficiently
crafty, proceeded, with a bosom that was swelling with the
pride of such a confidence, and all the hopes of young ambition,
2j
402 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
carelessly across the clearing to the wood, which he entered at a
point at some little distance from the place where the guns
were secreted. The instant, however, he was concealed by the foli-
age of the bushes, his dusky form was to be seen gliding, like
that of a serpent, toward the desired treasure. He was success-
ful ; and in another moment he appeared flying across the nar-
row opening that skirted the base of the terrace on which the
village stood, with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing a prize
in each hand. He had actually gained the crags, and was leap-
ing up their sides with incredible activity, when a shot from
the woods showed how accurate had been the judgment of the
scout. The boy answered it with a feeble but contemptuous
shout; and immediately a second bullet was sent after him
from another part of the cover. At the next instant he ap-
peared on the level above, elevating his guns in triumph, while
he moved with the air of a conqueror toward the renowned
hunter who had honored him by so glorious a commission.
Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawkeye had taken in
the fate of his messenger, he received " Killdeer " with a satis-
faction that, momentarily, drove all other recollections from his
mind. After examining the piece with an intelligent eye, and
opening and shutting the pan some ten or fifteen times, and
trying sundry other equally important experiments on the lock,
he turned to the boy, and demanded with great manifestations
of kindness, if he was hurt. The urchin looked proudly up in
bis face, but made no reply.
" Ah ! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm ! " added
the scout, taking up the limb of the patient sufferer, across
which a deep flesh wound had been made by one of the bullets ;
" but a little bruised alder will act like a charm. In the mean-
time I will wrap it in a badge of wampum ! You have com-
menced the business of a warrior early, my brave boy, and are
likely to bear a plenty of honorable scars to your grave. I
know many young men that have taken scalps who cannot
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 403
show such a mark as this. Go ! " having bound up the arm ;
"you will be a chief! "
The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood than the
vainest courtier could be of his blushing ribbon ; and stalked
among the fellows of his age, an object of general admiration
and envy.
But in a moment of so many serious and important duties,
this single act of juvenile fortitude did not attract the general
notice and commendation it would have received under milder
auspices. It had, however, served to apprise the Delawares of
the position and the intentions of their enemies. Accordingly
a party of adventurers, better suited to the task than the weak
though spirited boy, was ordered to dislodge the skulkers. The
duty was soon performed ; for most of the Hurons retired of
themselves when they found they had been discovered. The
Delawares followed to a sufficient distance from their own en-
campment, and then halted for orders, apprehensive of being
led into an ambush. As both parties secreted themselves, the
woods were again as still and quiet as a mild summer morning
and deep solitude could render them.
The calm but still impatient Uncas now collected his chiefs,
and divided his power. He presented Hawkey e, as a war-
rior, often tried, and always found deserving of confidence.
When he found his friend met with a favorable reception he
bestowed on him the command of twenty men, like himself
active, skilful, and resolute. He gave the Delawares to
understand the rank of Heyward among the troops of the
Yengeese, and then tendered to him a trust of equal authority.
But Duncan declined the charge, professing his readiness to
serve as a volunteer by the side of the scout. After this dis-
position, the young Mohican appointed various native chiefs to
fill the different situations of responsibility, and the time press-
ing, he gave forth the word to march. He was cheerfully, but
silently obeyed by more than two hundred men-
V
404 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested ; nor
did they encounter any living objects, that could either give the
alarm, or furnish the intelligence they needed, until they came
upon the lairs of their own scouts. Here a halt was ordered,
and the chiefs were assembled to hold a " whispering council. "
At this meeting divers plans of operation were suggested,
though none of a character to meet the wishes of their ar-
dent leader. Had Uncas followed the promptings of his own
inclinations, he would have led his followers to the charge
without a moment's delay, and put the conflict to the haz-
ard of an instant issue; but such a course would have been
in opposition to all the received practices and opinions of his
countrymen. He was, therefore, fain to adopt a caution that
in the present temper of his mind he execrated, and to listen
to advice at which his fiery spirit chafed, under the vivid
recollection of Cora's danger and Magua's insolence.
After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes, a soli-
tary individual was seen advancing from the side of the enemy,
with such apparent haste, as to induce the belief he might be a
messenger charged with pacific overtures. When within a hun-
dred yards, however, of the cover behind which the Delaware
council had assembled, the stranger hesitated ; appeared uncer-
tain what course to take, and finally halted. All eyes were
turned now on Uncas, and as if seeking directions how to
proceed.
"Hawkeye," said the young chief, in a low voice, "he must
never speak to the Hurons again."
"His time has come," said the laconic scout, thrusting the
long barrel of his rifle through the leaves, and taking his delib-
erate and fatal aim. But, instead of pulling the trigger, he
lowered the muzzle again, and indulged himself in a fit of his
peculiar mirth. " I took the imp for a Mingo, as I'm a miser-
able sinner ! " he said ; " but when my eye ranged along his ribs
for a place to get the bullet in would you think it, Uncas
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 405
I saw the musicianer's blower ; and so, after all, it is the man
they call Gamut, whose death can profit no one, and whose life,
if his tongue can do anything but sing, may be made serviceable
to our own ends. If sounds have not lost their virtue, I'll soon
have a discourse with the honest fellow, and that in a voice he'll
find more agreeable than the speech of ' Killdeer.' "
So saying, Hawkeye laid aside his rifle ; and crawling through
the bushes until within hearing of David, he attempted to re-
peat the musical effort, which had conducted himself, with so
much safety and 6cla% through the Huron encampment. The
exquisite organs of Gamut could not readily be deceived (and,
to say the truth, it would have been difficult for any other than
Hawkeye to produce a similar noise), and consequently, having
once before heard the sounds, he now knew whence they pro-
ceeded. The poor fellow appeared relieved from a state of. great
embarrassment ; for pursuing the direction of the voice a task
that to him was not much less arduous than it would have been
to have gone up in the face of a battery he soon discovered
the hidden songster.
" I wonder what the Hurons will think of that ! " said the
scout, laughing, as he took his companion by the arm, and
urged him toward the rear. " If the knaves lie within ear-shot,
they will say there are two non-com possers instead of one ! But
here we are safe ! " he added, pointing to Uncas and his associ-
ates. " Now give us the history of the Mingo inventions in
natural English, and without any ups and downs of voice."
David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild-looking chiefs,
in mute wonder ; but assured by the presence of faces that he
knew, he soon rallied his faculties so far as to make an intelli-
gent reply.
" The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers," said David ;
" and, I fear, with evil intent. There lias been much howling
and ungodly revelry, together with such sounds as it is profanity
to utter, in their habitations within the past hour; so much
406 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
so, in truth, that I have fled to the Delawares in search of
peace."
"Your ears might not have profited much by the exchange,
had you been quicker of foot," returned the scout a little dryly.
" But let that be as it may ; where are the Hurons ? "
" They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and their vil-
lage, in such force that prudence would teach you instantly to
return."
Uncas cast a glance along the range of trees which concealed
his own band and mentioned the name of
" Magua ? "
" Is among them. He brought in the maiden that had so-
journed with the Delawares, and leaving her in the cave, has
put himself, like a raging wolf, at the head of his savages. I
know not what has troubled his spirit so greatly ! "
" He has left her, you say, in the cave ! " interrupted Hey-
ward ; " 'tis well that we know its situation ! May not some-
thing be done for her instant relief? "
Uncas looked earnestly at the scout before he asked :
" What says Hawkeye 1 "
"Give me my twenty rifles, and I will turn to the right,
along the stream; and passing the huts of the beaver, will
join the Sagamore and the colonel. You shall then hear the
whoop from that quarter; with this wind one may easily send
it a mile. Then, Uncas, do you drive in their front; when
they come within range of our pieces, we will give them a blow
that, I pledge the good name of an old frontiersman, shall make
their line bend like an ashen bow. After which, we will carry
their village, and take the woman from the cave; when the
affair may be finished with the tribe, according to a white man's
battle, by a blow and a victory ; or, in the Indian fashion, with
dadga and. caver. There may be no great learning, major, in
this plan, but with courage and patience it can all be done."
" I like it much/' cried Duncan, who saw that the release of
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 407
Cora was the primary object in the mind of the scout ; "I like
it much. Let it be instantly attempted."
After a short conference the plan was matured, and rendered
more intelligible to the several parties; the different signals
were appointed, and the chiefs separated, each to his allotted
station.
CHAPTER XXXII
" But the plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase
Till the great king, without a ransom paid,
To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid." Pope.
During the time Uncas was making this disposition of his
forces, the woods were as still, and with the exception of those
who had met in council, apparently as much untenanted, as
when they came fresh from the hands of their Almighty Crea-
tor. The eye could range, in every direction, through the long
and shadowed vistas of the trees ; but nowhere was any object
to be seen that did not properly belong to the peaceful and
slumbering scenery. Here and there a bird was heard fluttering
among the branches of the beeches, and occasionally a squirrel
dropped a nut, drawing the startled looks of the party for a
moment to the place ; but the instant the casual interruption
ceased, the passing air was heard murmuring above their heads,
along that verdant and undulating surface of forest, which spread
itself unbroken, unless by stream or lake, over such a vast region
of country. Across the tract of wilderness which lay between
the Delawares and the village of their enemies, it seemed as if
the foot of man had never trodden, so breathing and deep was the
silence in which it lay. But Hawkeye, whose duty led him fore-
most in the adventure, knew the character of those with whom
he was about to contend too well to trust the treacherous quiet.
When he saw his little band collected, the scout threw " Kill-
408 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
deer " into the hollow of his arm, and making a silent signal that
he would be followed, he led them many rods toward the rear,
into the bed of a little brook which they had crossed in advanc-
ing. Here he halted, and after waiting for the whole of his
grave and attentive warriors to close about him, he spoke in
Delaware, demanding :
"Do any of my young men know whither this run will
lead us?"
A Delaware stretched forth a hand, with the two fingers
separated, and indicating the manner in which they were joined
at the root, he answered :
"Before the sun could go his own length, the little water
will be in the big." Then he added, pointing in the direction
of the place he mentioned, " the two make enough for the
beavers."
" I thought as much," returned the scout, glancing his eye
upward at the opening in the tree-tops, "from the course it
takes, and the bearings of the mountains. Men, we will keep
within the cover of its banks till we scent the Hurons."
His companions gave the usual brief exclamation of assent,
but perceiving that their leader was about to lead the way in
person, one or two made signs that all was not as it should be.
Hawkeye, who comprehended their meaning glances, turned
and perceived that his party had been followed thus far by the
singing-master.
"Do you know, friend," asked the scout, gravely, and per-
haps with a little of the pride of conscious deserving in his
manner, " that this is a band of rangers chosen for the most
desperate, service, and put under the command of one who,
though another might say it with a better face, will not be apt
to leave them idle ? It may not be five, it cannot be thirty
minutes before we tread on the body of a Huron, living or
dead."
" Though not admonished of your intentions in words," re-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 409
turned David, whose face was a little flushed, and whose ordi-
narily quiet and unmeaning eyes glimmered with an expression
of unusual fire, "your men have reminded me of the children
of Jacob going out to battle against the Shechemites, for
wickedly aspiring to wedlock with a woman of a race that was
favored of the Lord. Now, I have journeyed far, and sojourned
much in good and evil with the maiden ye seek ; and though
not a man of war, with my loins girded and my sword sharp-
ened, yet would I gladly strike a blow in her behalf."
The scout hesitated, as if weighing the chances of such a
strange enlistment in his mind before he answered :
" You know not the use of any we'pon. You carry no rifle ;
and believe me, what the Mingoes take they will freely give
again."
"Though not a vaunting and bloodily disposed Goliath,"
returned David, drawing a sling from beneath his parti-colored
and uncouth attire, " I have not forgotten the example of the
Jewish boy. With this ancient instrument of war have I
practised much in my youth, and peradventure the skill has
not entirely departed from me."
" Ay ! " said Hawkeye, considering the deer-skin thong and
apron, with a cold and discouraging eye ; " the thing might do
its work among arrows, or even knives : but these Mengwe
have been furnished by the Frenchers with a grooved barrel a
man. However, it seems to be your gift to go unharmed amid
fire ; and as you have hitherto been favored major, you have
left your rifle at a cock ; a single shot before the time would be
just twenty scalps lost to no purpose singer, you can follow ;
we may find use for you in the shoutings."
"I thank you, friend," returned David, supplying himself,
like his royal namesake, from among the pebbles of the brook ;
" though not given to the desire to kill, had you sent me away
my spirit would have been troubled."
" Remember," added the scout, tapping his own head signifi-
410 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
cantly on that spot where Gamut was yet sore, " we come to
fight, and not to musickate. Until the general whoop is given,
nothing speaks but the rifle."
David nodded, as much as to signify his acquiescence with
the terms; and then Hawkeye, casting another observant
glance over his followers, made the signal to proceed.
Their route lay, for the distance of a mile, along the bed of
the water-course. Though protected from any great danger of
observation by the precipitous banks, and the thick shrubbery
which skirted the stream, no precaution known to an Indian
attack was neglected. A warrior rather crawled than walked
on each flank, so as to catch occasional glimpses into the forest ;
and every few minutes the band came to a halt, and listened
for hostile sounds, with an acuteness of organs that would be
scarcely conceivable to a man in a less natural state. Their
march was, however, unmolested, and they reached the point
where the lesser stream was lost in the greater, without the
smallest evidence that their progress had been noted. Here
the scout again halted, to consult the signs of the forest.
" We are likely to have a good day for a fight," he said, in
English, addressing Heyward, and glancing his eyes upward at
the clouds, which began to move in broad sheets across the
firmament ; "a bright sun and a glittering barrel are no friends
to true sight. Everything is favorable ; they have the wind,
which will bring down their noises and their smoke too, no
little matter in itself; whereas, with us it will be first a shot,
and then a clear view. But here is an end to our cover ; the
beavers have had the range of this stream for hundreds of years,
and what atween their food and their dams, there is, as you see,
many a girdled stub, but few living trees."
Hawkeye had, in truth, in these few words, given no bad de-
scription of the prospect that now lay in their front. The
brook was irregular in its width, sometimes shooting through
narrow fissures in the rocks, and at others spreading over acres
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 411
of bottom land, forming little areas that might be termed ponds.
Everywhere along its banks were the mouldering relics of dead
trees, in all the stages of decay, from those that groaned on
their tottering trunks to such as had recently been robbed of
those nigged coats that so mysteriously contain their principle
of life. A few long, low, and moss-covered piles were scattered
among them, like the memorials of a former and long-departed
generation.
All these minute particulars were noted by the scout, with a
gravity and interest that they probably had never before at-
tracted. He knew that the Huron encampment lay a short
half mile up the brook ; and with the characteristic anxiety of
one who dreaded a hidden danger, he was greatly troubled at
not finding the smallest trace of the presence of his enemy.
Once or twice he felt induced to give the order for a rush, and
to attempt the village by surprise ; but his experience quickly
admonished him of the danger of so useless an experiment.
Then he listened intently, and with painful uncertainty, for the
sounds of hostility in the quarter where Uncas was left ; but
nothing was audible except the sighing of the wind, that began
to sweep over the bosom of the forest in gusts which threatened
a tempest. At length, yielding rather to his unusual impatience
than taking counsel from his knowledge, he determined to bring
matters to an issue, by unmasking his force, and proceeding
cautiously, but steadily, up the stream.
The scout had stood, while making his observations, sheltered
by a brake, and his companions still lay in the bed of the ravine,
through which the smaller stream debouched ; but on hearing
his low, though intelligible signal the whole party stole up the
bank, like so many dark spectres, and silently arranged them-
selves around him. Pointing in the direction he wished to pro-
ceed, Hawkeye advanced, the band breaking off in single files,
and following so accurately in his footsteps, as to leave it, if we
except Heyward and David, the trail of but a single man.
412 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
The party was, however, scarcely uncovered before a volley
from a dozen rifles was heard in their rear ; and a Delaware
leaping high into the air, like a wounded deer, fell at his whole
length, perfectly dead.
" Ah, I feared some deviltry like this ! " exclaimed the scout,
in English; adding with the quickness of thought, in his
adopted tongue : "To cover, men, and charge ! "
The band dispersed at the word, and before Heyward had
well recovered from his surprise he found himself standing
alone with David. Luckily the Hurons had already fallen
back, and he was safe from their fire. But this state of things
was evidently to be of short continuance ; for the scout set the
example of pressing on their retreat, by discharging his rifle, and
darting from tree to tree as his enemy slowly yielded ground.
It would seem that the assault had been made by a very
small party of the Hurons, which, however, continued to in-
crease in numbers, as it retired on its friends, until the re-
turn fire was very nearly, if not quite, equal to that
maintained by the advancing Delawares. Heyward threw
himself among the combatants, and imitating the necessary
caution of his companions, he made quick discharges with
his own rifle. The contest now grew warm and stationary.
Few were injured, as both parties kept their bodies as much
protected as possible by the trees ; never, indeed, exposing any
part of their persons except in the act of taking aim. But the
chances were gradually growing unfavorable to Hawkeye and
his band. The quick-sighted scout perceived his danger with-
out knowing how to remedy it. He saw it was more danger-
ous to retreat than to maintain his ground ; while he found his
enemy throwing out men on his flank, which rendered the task
of keeping themselves covered so very difficult to the Dela-
wares, as nearly to silence their fire. At this embarrassing
moment, when they began to think the whole of the hostile
tribe was gradually encircling them, they heard the yell of com-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 413
batants and the rattling of arms, echoing under the arches
of the wood, at the place where Uncas was posted ; a bot-
tom which, in a manner, lay beneath the ground on which
Hawkeye and his party were contending.
The effects of this attack were instantaneous, and to the
scout and his friends greatly relieving. It would seem that,
while his own surprise had been anticipated, and had conse-
quently failed, the enemy in their turn, having been deceived
in its object and in his numbers, had left too small a force
to resist the impetuous onset of the young Mohican. This fact
was doubly apparent, by the rapid manner in which the battle
in the forest rolled upwafd toward the village, and by an
instant falling off in the number of their assailants, who rushed
to assist in maintaining the front, and, as it now proved to be,
the principal point of defence.
Animating his followers by his voice, and his own example,
Hawkeye then gave the word to bear down upon their foes.
The charge, in that rude species of warfare, consisted merely in
pushing from cover to cover, nigher to the enemy ; and in this
manoeuvre he was instantly and successfully obeyed. The Hu-
rons were compelled to withdraw, and the scene of the contest
rapidly changed from the more open ground on which it had
commenced, to a spot where the assailed found a thicket to rest
upon. Here the struggle was protracted, arduous, and seem-
ingly of doubtful issue ; the Delawares, though none of them
fell, beginning ta bleed freely, in consequence of the disad-
vantage at which they were held.
In this crisis, Hawkeye found means to get behind the same
tree as that which served for a cover to Hey ward ; most of his
own combatants being within call, a little on his right, where
they maintained rapid, though fruitless, discharges on their
sheltered enemies.
" You are a young man, major," said the scout, dropping the
butt of " Killdeer " to earth, and leaning on the barrel, a little
414 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
fatigued with his previous industry ; " and it may be your gift
to lead armies, at some future day, ag'in these imps, the Min-
goes. You may here see the philosophy of an Indian fight. It
consists mainly, in a ready hand, a quick eye, and a good cover.
Now, if you had a company of the Royal Americans here, in
what manner would you set them to work in this business ? "
" The bayonet would make a road."
"Ay, there is white reason in what you say; but a man
must ask himself, in this wilderness, how many lives he can
spare. No horse," continued the scout, shaking his head,
like one who mused ; " horse, I am ashamed to say, must
sooner or later, decide these scrimmages. The brutes are better
than men, and to horse we must come at last. Put a shodden
hoof on the moccasin of a red-skin, and if his rifle be once
emptied, he will never stop to load it again."
" This is a subject that might better be discussed at another
time," returned Hey ward ; " shall we charge 1 "
"I see no contradiction to the gifts of any man, in passing
his breathing spells in useful reflections," the scout replied.
"As to a rush, I little relish such a measure ; for a scalp
or two must be thrown away in the attempt. And yet," he
added, bending his head aside, to catch the sounds of the
distant combat, "if we are to be of use to Uncas, these
knaves in our front must be got rid of ! "
Then turning with a prompt and decided air, he called
aloud to his Indians in their own language. His words were
answered by a shout ; and, at a given signal, each warrior made
a swift movement around his particular tree. The sight of
so many dark bodies, glancing before their eyes at the same
instant, drew a hasty and consequently an ineffectual fire from
the Hurons. Without stopping to breathe, the Delawares
leaped in long bounds toward the wood, like so many panthers
springing upon their prey. Hawkeye was in front, brandish-
ing his terrible rifle, and animating his followers by his ex-
THE LAST OF THE MOHWAtfS 415
ample. A few of the older and more cunning Hurons, who
had not been deceived by the artifice which had been prac-
tised to draw their fire, now made a close and deadly dis-
charge of their pieces and justified the apprehensions of the
scout, by felling three of his foremost warriors. But the shock
was insufficient to repel the impetus of the charge. The
Delawares broke into the cover with the ferocity of their
natures and swept away every trace of resistance by the
fury of the onset.
The combat endured only for an instant, hand to hand, and
then the assailed yielded ground rapidly, until they reached the
opposite margin of the thicket, where they clung to the cover,
with the sort of obstinacy that is so often witnessed in hunted
brutes. At this critical moment, when the success of the strug-
gle was again becoming doubtful, the crack of a rifle was heard
behind the Hurons, and a bullet came whizzing from among
some beaver lodges, which were situated in the clearing in
their rear, and was followed by the fierce and appalling yell of
the war-whoop.
" There speaks the Sagamore ! " shouted Hawkeye, answer-
ing the cry with his own stentorian voice ; "we have them now
in face and back ! "
The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous. Discouraged
by an assault from a quarter that left them no opportunity for
cover, the warriors uttered a common yell of disappointment,
and breaking off in a body, they spread themselves across the
opening, heedless of every consideration but flight. Many fell,
in making the experiment, under the bullets and the blows of
the pursuing Delawares.
We shall not pause to detail the meeting between the scout
and Chingachgook, or the more touching interview that Dun-
can held with Muuro. A few brief and hurried words served
to explain the state of things to both parties ; and then Hawk-
eye pointing out the Sagamore to his band, resigned the chief
416 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
authority into the hands of the Mohican chief. Ohingachgook
assumed the station to which his birth and experience gave him
so distinguished a claim, with the grave dignity that always
gives force to the mandates of a native warrior. Following the
footsteps of the scout, he led the party back through the thicket,
his men scalping the fallen Hurons and secreting the bodies of
their own dead as they proceeded, until they gained a point
where the former was content to make a halt.
The warriors who had breathed themselves freely in the pre-
ceding struggle, were now posted on a bit of level ground, sprin-
kled with trees in sufficient numbers to conceal them. The land
fell away rather precipitately in front, and beneath their eyes
stretched, for several miles, a narrow, dark, and wooded vale.
It was through this dense and dark forest that Uncas was still
contending with the main body of the Hurons.
The Mohican and his friends advanced to the brow of the
hill, and listened, with practised ears, to the sounds of the com-
bat. A few birds hovered over the leafy bosom of the valley,
frightened from their secluded nests; and here and there a
light vapory cloud, which seemed already blending with the
atmosphere, arose above the trees, and indicated some spot
where the struggle had been fierce and stationary.
" The fight is coming up the ascent, " said Duncan, pointing
in the direction of a new explosion of firearms ; "we are too
much in the centre of their line to be effective. "
"They will incline into the hollow, where the cover is
thicker," said the scout, "and that will leave us well on their
flank. Go, Sagamore ; you will hardly be in time to give the
whoop, and lead on the young men. I will fight this scrim-
mage with warriors of my own color. You know me, Mohican ;
not a Huron of them all shall cros the swell, into your rear,
without the notice of * Killdeer.' "
The Indian chief paused another moment to consider the
signs of the contest, which was now rolfhag rapidly up the as-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 417
cent, a certain evidence that the Delawares triumphed ; nor
did he actually quit the place until admonished of the proxim-
ity of his friends, as well as enemies, by the bullets of the for-
mer, which began to patter among the dried leaves on the ground,
like the bits of falling hail which precede the bursting of the
tempest. Hawkeye and his three companions withdrew a few
paces to a shelter, and awaited the issue with calmness, that
nothing but great practice could impart in such a scene.
It was not long before the reports of the rifles began to lose
the echoes of the woods, and to sound like weapons discharged
in the open air. Then a warrior appeared, here and there,
driven to the skirts of the forest, and rallying as he entered the
clearing, as at the place where the final stand was to be made.
These were soon joined by others, until a long line of swarthy
figures was to be seen clinging to the cover with the obstinacy
of desperation. Heyward began to grow impatient, and turned
his eyes anxiously in the direction of Chingachgook. The chief
was seated on a rock, with nothing visible but his calm visage,
considering the spectacle with an eye as deliberate as if he were
posted there merely to view the struggle.
" The time is come for the Delaware to strike ! " said Duncan.
"Not so, not so," returned the scout; "when he scents his
friends, he will let them know that he is here. See, see ; the
knaves are getting in that clump of pines, like bees settling
after their flight. By the Lord, a squaw might put a bullet
into the centre of such a knot of dark skins ! "
At that instant the whoop was given, and a dozen Hurons
fell by a discharge from Chingachgook and his band. The
shout that followed was answered by a single war-cry from the
forest, and a yell passed through the air that sounded as if a
thousand throats were united in a common effort. The Hurons
staggered, deserting the centre of their line, and Uncas issued
from the forest through the opening they left, at the head of a
hundred warriors.
2b
418 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
Waving his hands right and left, the young chief pointed out
the enemy to his followers, who separated in pursuit. The war
now divided, both wings of the broken Hurons seeking protec-
tion in the woods again, hotly pressed by the victorious warriors
of the Lenape. A minute might have passed, but the sounds
were already receding in different directions, and gradually los-
ing their distinctness beneath the echoing arches of the woods.
One little knot of Hurons, however, had disdained to seek a
cover, and were retiring, like lions at bay, slowly and sullenly
up the acclivity which Chingachgook and his band had just
deserted to mingle more closely in the fray. Magua was con-
spicuous in this party, both by his fierce and savage mien, and
by the air of haughty authority he yet maintained.
In his eagerness to expedite the pursuit, Uncas had left him-
self nearly alone ; but the moment his eye caught the figure of
Le Subtil, every other consideration was forgotten. Raising his
cry of battle, which recalled some six or seven warriors, and reck-
less of the disparity of their numbers, he rushed upon his enemy.
Le Renard, who watched the movement, paused to receive him
with secret joy. But at the moment when he thought the rash-
ness of his impetuous young assailant had left him at his mercy,
another shout was given, and La Longue Carabine was seen
rushing to the rescue, attended by all his white associates.
The Huron instantly turned, and commenced a rapid retreat tip
the ascent.
There was no time for greetings or congratulations; for
Uncas, though unconscious of the presence of his friends, con-
tinued the pursuit with the velocity of the wind. In vain
Hawkeye called to him to respect the covers ; the young
Mohican braved the dangerous fire of his enemies, and soon
compelled them to a flight as swift as his own headlong speed.
It was fortunate that the race was of short continuance, and
that the white men were much favored by their position, or the
Delaware would soon have outstripped all his companions, and
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 419
fallen a victim to his own temerity. But ere such a calamity
could happen, the pursuers and pursued entered the Wyandot
village, within striking distance of each other.
Excited by the presence of their dwellings, and tired of the
chase, the Hurons now made a stand, and fought around their
council lodge with the fury of despair. The onset and the
issue were like the passage and destruction of a whirlwind.
The tomahawk of Uncas, the blows of Hawkey e, and even the
still nervous arm of Munro, were all busy for that passing mo-
ment, and the ground was quickly strewed with their enemies.
Still Magua, though daring and much exposed, escaped from
every effort against his life, with that sort of fabled protection
that was made to overlook the fortunes of favored heroes in the
legends of ancient poetry. Raising a yell that spoke volumes
of anger and disappointment, the subtle chief, when he saw his
comrades fallen, darted away from the place, attended by his
two only surviving friends, leaving the Delawares engaged in
stripping the dead of the bloody trophies of their victory.
But Uncas, who had vainly sought him in the rnelde bounded
forward in pursuit ; Hawkeye, Hey ward, and David still press-
ing on his footsteps. The utmost that the scout could effect,
was to keep the muzzle of his rifle a little in advance of his
friend, to whom, however, it answered every purpose of a charmed
shield. Once Magua appeared disposed to make another and a
final effort to revenge his losses; but, abandoning his intention
as soon as demonstrated, he leaped into a thicket of bushes,
through which he was followed by his enemies, and suddenly
entered the mouth of the cave already known to the reader.
Hawkeye, who had only forborne to fire in tenderness to Uncas,
raised a shout of success, and proclaimed aloud, that now they
were certain of their game. The pursuers dashed into the long
and narrow entrance, in time to catch a glimpse of the retreat-
ing forms of the Hurons. Their passage through the natural
galleries and subterranean apartments of the cavern was pre-
420 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ceded by the shrieks and cries of hundreds of women and chil-
dren. The place, seen by its dim and uncertain light, appeared
like the shades of the infernal regions, across which unhappy
ghosts and savage demons were flitting in multitudes.
Still, Uncas kept his eye on Magua, as if life to him possessed
but a single object. Hey ward and the scout still pressed on his
rear, actuated, though possibly in a less degree, by a common feel-
ing. But their way was becoming intricate, in those dark and
gloomy passages, and the glimpses of the retiring warriors less
distinct and frequent ; and for a moment the trace was believed
to be lost, when a white robe was seen fluttering in the further
extremity of a passage that seemed to lead up the mountain.
" 'Tis Cora ! " exclaimed Heyward, in a voice in which horror
and delight were wildly mingled.
" Cora ! Cora ! " echoed Uncas, bounding forward like a
deer.
" 'Tis the maiden ! " shouted the scout. " Courage, lady ;
we come ! we come ! "
The chase was renewed with a diligence rendered tenfold en-
couraging by this glimpse of the captive. But the way was
rugged, broken, and in spots nearly impassable. Uncas aban-
doned his rifle, and leaped forward with headlong precipitation.
Heyward rashly imitated his example, though both were, a mo-
ment afterward, admonished of its madness, by hearing the
bellowing of a piece, that the Hurons found time to discharge
down the passage in the rocks, the bullet from which even gave
the young Mohican a slight wound.
" We must close ! " said the scout, passing his friends by a
desperate leap; "the knaves will pick us all off at this dis-
tance; and see, they hold the maiden so as to shield them-
selves ! "
" Though his words were unheeded, or rather unheard, his ex-
ample was followed by his companions, who, by incredible exer-
tions, got near enough to the fugitives to perceive that Cora
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 421
was borne along between two warriors while Magua prescribed
the direction and manner of their flight. At this moment the
forms of all four were strongly drawn against an opening in the
sky, and they disappeared. Nearly frantic with disappoint-
ment, Uncas and Hey ward increased efforts that already seemed
superhuman, and they issued from the cavern on the side of the
mountain, in time to note the route of the pursued. The
course lay up the ascent, and still continued hazardous and
laborious.
Encumbered by his rifle, and, perhaps, not sustained by so
deep an interest in the captive as his companions, the scout suf-
fered the latter to precede him a little, Uncas, in his turn, taking
the lead of Hey ward. In this manner, rocks, precipices, and
difficulties were surmounted in an incredibly short space, that
at another time, and under other circumstances, would have been
deemed almost insuperable. But the impetuous young men were
rewarded, by finding that, encumbered with Cora, the Hurons
were losing ground in the race.
" Stay, dog of the Wyandots ! " exclaimed Uncas, shaking
his bright tomahawk at Magua ; " a Delaware girl calls
stay ! "
" I will go no further," cried Cora, stopping unexpectedly on
a ledge of rocks, that overhung a deep precipice, at no great dis-
tance from the summit of the mountain. " Kill me if thou wilt,
detestable Huron ; I will go no further."
The supporters of the maiden raised their ready tomahawks
with the impious joy that fiends are thought to take in mischief,
but Magua stayed their uplifted arms. The Huron chief, after
casting the weapons he had wrested from his companions over
the rock, drew his knife, and turned to his captive, with a look
in which conflicting passions fiercely contended.
"Woman," he said, "choose; the wigwam or the knife of
Le Subtil ! "
Cora regarded him not, but dropping on her knees, she raised
422 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
her eyes and stretched her arms toward heaven, saying, in a
meek and yet confiding voice :
" I am thine ! do with me as thou seest best ! "
"Woman," repeated Magua, hoarsely, and endeavoring in
vain to catch a glanee from her serene and beaming eye,
" choose ! "
But Cora neither heard nor heeded his demand. The form of
the Huron trembled in every fibre, and he raised his arm on
high, but dropped it again with a bewildered air, like one who
doubted. Once more he struggled with himself and lifted the
keen weapon again; but just then a piercing cry was heard
above them, and Uncas appeared leaping frantically, from a
fearful height, upon the ledge. Magua recoiled a step; and
one of his assistants, profiting by the chance, sheathed his own
knife in the bosom of Cora.
The Huron sprang like a tiger on his offending and already
retreating countryman, but the falling form of Uncas separated
the unnatural combatants. Diverted from his object by this
interruption, and maddened by the murder he had just wit-
nessed, Magua buried his weapon in the back of the prostrate
Delaware, uttering an unearthly shout as he committed the
dastardly deed. But Uncas arose from the blow, as the
wounded panther turns upon his foe, and struck the murderer
of Cora to his feet, by an effort in which the last of his failing
strength was expended. Then with a stern and steady look, he
turned to Le Subtil, and indicated, by the expression of his eye,
all that he would do, had not the power deserted him. The
latter seized the nerveless arm of the unresisting Delaware, and
passed his knife into his bosom three several times, before his
victim, still keeping his gaze riveted on his enemy, with a look
of inextinguishable scorn, fell dead at his feet.
"Mercy! mercy! Huron," cried Hey ward, from above, in
tones nearly choked by horror ; " give mercy, and thou shalt
receive it ! "
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 423
Whirling the bloody knife up at the imploring youth, the
victorious Magua uttered a cry so fierce, iso wild, and yet so
joyous, that it conveyed the sounds of savage triumph to the
ears of those who fought in the valley, a thousand feet below.
He was answered by a burst from the lips of the scout, whose
tall person was just then seen moving swiftly toward him,
along those dangerous crags, with steps as bold and reckless as
if he possessed the power to move in air. But when the hunter
reached the scene of the ruthless massacre, the ledge was ten-
anted' only by the dead.
His keen eye took a single look at the victims, and then shot
its glances over the difficulties of the ascent in his front. A
form stood at the brow of the mountain, on the very edge of
the giddy height, with uplifted arms, in an awful attitude of
menace. Without stopping to consider his person, the rifle
of Hawkeye was raised ; but a rock, which fell on the head of
one of the fugitives below, exposed the indignant and glowing
countenance of the honest Gamut. Then Magua issued from a
crevice, and stepping with calm indifference over the body of
the last of his associates, he leaped a wide fissure, and ascended
the rocks at a point where the arm of David could not reach him.
A single bound would carry him to the brow of the precipice,
and assure his safety.. Before taking the leap, however, the
Huron paused, and shaking his hand at the scout, he shouted :
" The pale faces are dogs ! the Delawares, women ! Magua
leaves them on the rocks, for the crows ! "
Laughing hoarsely, he made a desperate leap, and fell short
of his mark ; though his hands grasped a shrub on the verge
of the height. The form of Hawkeye had crouched like a
beast about to take its spring, and his frame trembled so vio-
lently with eagerness, that the muzzle of the half-raised rifle
played like a leaf fluttering in the wind. Without exhausting
himself with fruitless efforts, the cunning Magua suffered his
body to drop to the length of his arms, and found a fragment
424 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
m
for his feet to rest on. Then summoning all his powers, he
renewed the attempt, and so far succeeded, as to draw his
knees on the edge of the mountain. It was now, when the
body of his enemy was most collected together, that the agitated
weapon of the scout was drawn to his shoulder. The surround-
ing rocks themselves were not steadier than the piece became,
for the single instant that it poured out its contents. The
arras of the Huron relaxed, and his body fell back a little,
while his knees still kept their position. Turning a relentless
look on his enemy, he shook a hand in grim defiance. But his
hold loosened, and his dark person was seen cutting the air
with its head downward, for a fleeting instant, until it glided
past the fringe of shrubbery which clung to the mountain, in
its rapid flight to destruction.
CHAPTER XXXIII
" They fought like brave men, long and well,
They piled that ground with Moslem slain,
They conquered but Bozzaris fell,
Bleeding at every vein.
His few surviving comrades saw
His smile when rang their proud hurrah,
And the red field was won ;
Then saw in death his eyelids close
Calmly, as to a night's repose,
Like flowers at set of sun."
Halleck.
The sun found the Lenape, on the succeeding day, a nation
of mourners. The sounds of the battle were over, and they
had fed fat their ancient grudge, and had avenged their recent
quarrel with the Mengwe, by the destruction of a whole com-
munity. The black and murky atmosphere that floated around
the spot where the Hurons had encamped, sufficiently an-
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 425
*
nounced, of itself, the fate of that wandering tribe ; while hun-
dreds of ravens, that struggled above the bleak summits of the
mountains, or swept, in noisy flocks, across the wide ranges of
the woods, furnished a frightful direction to the scene of the
combat. In short, any eye, at all practised in the signs of a
frontier warfare, might easily have traced all those unerring
evidences of the ruthless results which attend an Indian
vengeance.
Still, the sun rose on the Lenape a nation of mourners. No
shouts of success, no songs of triumph, were heard, in rejoicings
for their victory. The latest straggler had returned from his
fell employment, only to strip himself of the terrific emblems
of his bloody calling, and to join in the lamentations of his
countrymen, as a stricken people. Pride and exultation were
supplanted by humility, and the fiercest of human passions was
already succeeded by the most profound and unequivocal dem-
onstrations of grief.
The lodges were deserted ; but a broad belt of earnest faces
encircled a spot in their vicinity, whither everything possessing
life had repaired, and where all were now collected, in deep and
awful silence. Though beings of every rank and age, of both
sexes, and of all pursuits, had united to form this breathing wall
of bodies, they were influenced by a single emotion. Each eye
was riveted on the centre of that ring, which contained the
objects of so much, and of so common an interest.
Six Delaware girls, with their long, dark, flowing tresses
falling loosely across their bosoms, stood apart, and only gave
proofs of their existence as they occasionally strewed sweet-
scented herbs and forest flowers on a litter of fragrant plants,
that, under a pall of Indian robes, supported all that now
remained of the ardent, high-souled, and generous Cora. Her
form was concealed in many wrappers of the same simple manu-
facture, and her face was shut forever from the gaze of men.
At her feet was seated the desolate Munro. His aged head was
426 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
bowed* nearly to the earth, in compelled submission to the
stroke of Providence ; but a hidden anguish struggled about his
furrowed brow, that was only partially concealed by the careless
locks of gray that had fallen, neglected, on his temples. Gamut
stood at his side, his meek head bared to the rays of the sun,
while his eyes, wandering and concerned, seemed to be equally
divided between that little volume, which contained so many
quaint but holy maxims, and the being in whose behalf his soul
yearned to administer consolation. Heyward was also nigh,
supporting himself against a tree, and endeavoring to keep down
those sudden risings of sorrow that it required his utmost man-
hood to subdue.
But sad and melancholy as this group may easily be imag-
ined, it was far less touching than another, that occupied the
opposite space of the same area. Seated, as in life, with his
form and limbs arranged in grave and decent composure, Uncas
appeared, arrayed in the most gorgeous ornaments that the
wealth of the tribe could furnish. Rich plumes nodded above
his head ; wampum, gorgets, bracelets, and medals, adorned his
person in profusion ; though his dull eye and vacant lineaments
too strongly contradicted the idle tale of pride they would
convey.
Directly in front of the corpse Chingachgook was placed,
without arms, paint, or adornment of any sort, except the bright
blue blazonry of his race, that was indelibly impressed on his
naked bosom. During the long period that the tribe had been
thus collected, the Mohican warrior had kept a steady, anxious
look on the cold and senseless countenance of his son. So riv-
eted and intense had been that gaze, and so changeless his atti-
tude, that a stranger might not have told the living from the
dead, but for the occasional gleamings of a troubled spirit, that
shot athwart the dark visage of one, and the death-like calm
that had forever settled on the lineaments of the other.
The scout was hard by, leaning in a pensive posture on his
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 421
own fatal and avenging weapon ; while Tamenund, supported
by the elders of his nation, occupied a high place at hand,
whence he might look down on the mute and sorrowful as-
semblage of his people.
Just within the inner edge of the circle stood a soldier, in
the military attire of a strange nation ; and without it was his
war-horse, in the centre of a collection of mounted domestics,
seemingly in readiness to undertake some distant journey. The
vestments of the stranger announced him to be one who held a
responsible situation near the person of the captain of the
Canadas ; and who, as it would now seem, rinding his errand of
peace frustrated by the fierce impetuosity of his allies, was
content to become a silent and sad spectator of the fruits of a
contest that he had arrived too late to anticipate.
The day was drawing to the close of its first quarter, and yet
had the multitude maintained its breathing stillness since its
dawn. No sound louder than a stifled sob had been heard
among them, nor had even a limb been moved throughout
that long and painful period, except to perform the simple and
touching offerings that were made, from time to time, in com-
memoration of the dead. The patience and forbearance of
Indian fortitude could alone support such an appearance of
abstraction, as seemed now to have turned each dark and
motionless figure into stone.
At length, the sage of the Delawares stretched forth an arm,
and leaning on the shoulders of his attendants, he arose with an
air as feeble as if another age had already intervened between
the man who had met his nation the preceding day, and him
who now tottered on his elevated stand.
" Men of the Lenape ! " he said, in hollow tones, that sounded
like a voice charged with some prophetic mission : " the face of
the Manitou is behind a cloud ! His eye is turned from you ;
His ears are shut ; His tongue gives no answer. You see Him
not ; yet His judgments are before you. Let your hearts be
428 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
open and your spirits tell no lie. Men of the Lenape ! the face
of the Manitou is behind a cloud."
As this simple and yet terrible annunciation stole on the ears
of the multitude, a stillness as deep and awful succeeded as if
the venerated spirit they worshipped had uttered the words with-
out the aid of human organs ; and even the inanimate Uncas
appeared a being of life, compared with the humbled and sub-
missive throng by whom he was surrounded. As the immedi-
ate effect, however, gradually passed away, a low murmur of
voices commenced a sort of chant in honor of the dead. The
sounds were those of females, and were thrillingly soft and wail-
ing. The words were connected by no regular continuation, but
as one ceased another took up the eulogy, or lamentation, which-
ever it might be called, and gave vent to her emotions in such
language as was suggested by her feelings and the occasion.
At intervals the speaker was interrupted by general and loud
bursts of sorrow, during which the girls around the bier of Cora
plucked the plants and flowers blindly from her body, as if be-
wildered with grief. But, in the milder moments of their
plaint, these emblems of purity and sweetness were cast back to
their places, with every sign of tenderness and regret. Though
rendered less connected by many and general interruptions and
outbreaking^, a translation of their language would have con-
tained a regular descant, which, in substance, might have
proved to possess a train of consecutive ideas.
A girl, selected for the task by her rank and qualifications,
commenced by modest allusions to the qualities of the deceased
warrior, embellishing her expressions with those oriental images
that the Indians have probably brought with them from the ex+
tremes of the other continent, and which form of themselves a
link to connect the ancient histories of the two worlds. She
called him the " panther of his tribe " ; and described him as one
whose moccasin left no trail on the dews ; whose bound was like
the leap of a young fawn ; whose eye was brighter than a star
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 429
in the dark night ; and whose voice, in battle, was loud as the
thunder of the Manitou. She reminded him of the mother who
bore him, and dwelt forcibly on the happiness "she must feel in
possessing such a son. She bade him tell her, when they met
in the world of spirits, that the Delaware girls had shed tears
above the grave of her child, and had called her blessed.
Then, they who succeeded, changing their tones to a milder
and still more tender strain, alluded, with the delicacy and sen-
sitiveness of women, to the stranger maiden, who had left the
upper ^arth at a time so near his own departure, as to render
the- will of the Great Spirit too manifest to be disregarded.
They admonished him to be kind to her, and to have considera-
tion for her ignorance of those arts which were so necessary to
the comfort of a warrior like himself. They dwelt upon her
matchless beauty, and on her noble resolution, without the taint
of envy, and as angels may be thought to delight in a
superior excellence ; adding, that these endowments should -
prove more than equivalent for any little imperfections in her
education.
After which, others again, in due succession, spoke to the
maiden herself, in the low, soft language of tenderness and love.
They exhorted her to be of cheerful mind, and to fear nothing
for her future welfare. A hunter would be her companion, who
knew how to provide for her smallest wants; and a warrior
was at her side who was able to protect her against every dan-
ger. They promised that her path should be pleasant, and her
burden light. They cautioned her against unavailing regrets
for the friends of her youth, and the scenes where her fathers
had dwelt ; assuring her that the "blessed hunting grounds of
the Lenape " contained vales as pleasant, streams as pure, and
flowers as sweet, as the "heaven of the pale faces." They ad-
vised her to be attentive to the wants of her companion, and
never to forget the distinction which the Manitou had so wisely
established between them. Then, in a wild burst of their chant,
430 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
they sang with united voices the temper of the Mohican's mind.
They pronounced him noble, manly, and generous; all that
became a warrior, and all that a maid might love. Clothing
their ideas in the most remote and subtle images, they betrayed,
that, in the short period of their intercourse, they had discov-
ered, with the intuitive perception of their sex, the truant dis-
position of his inclinations. The Delaware girls had found no
favor in his eyes ! He was of a race that had once been lords
on the shores of the salt lake, and his wishes had led him back
to a people who dwelt about the graves of his fathers. Why
should not such a predilection be encouraged ! That she was
of a blood purer and richer than the rest of her nation, any eye
might have seen ; that she was equal to the dangers and daring
of a life in the woods, her conduct had proved ; and now, they
added, the " wise one of the earth " had transplanted her to a
place where she would find congenial spirits, and might be for-
ever happy.
Then, with another transition in voice and subject, allusions
were made to the virgin who wept in the adjacent lodge. They
compared her to flakes of snow ; as pure, aa white, as brilliant,
and as liable to melt in the fierce heats of summer, or congeal
in the frosts of winter. They doubted not that she was lovely
in the eyes of the young chief, whose skin and whose sorrow
seemed so like her own ; but, though far from expressing such
a preference, it was evident they deemed her less excellent than
the maid they mourned. Still they denied her no meed her
rare charms might properly claim. Her ringlets were compared
to the exuberant tendrils of the vine, her eye to the blue vault
of the heavens, and the most spotless cloud, with its glowing
flush of the sun, was admitted to be less attractive than her
bloom.
During these and similar songs nothing was audible but the
murmurs of the music ; relieved, as it was, or rather rendered
terrible, by those occasional bursts of grief which might be
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 431
called its choruses. The Delawares themsejves listened like
charmed men ; and it was very apparent, by the variations of
their speaking countenances, how deep and true was their sym-
pathy. Even David was not reluctant to lend his ears to the
tones of voices so sweet ; and long ere the chant was ended, his
gaze announced that his soul was enthralled.
The scout, to whom alone, of all the white men, the words
were intelligible, suffered himself to be a little aroused from his
meditative posture, and bent his face aside, to catch their mean-
ing, as the girls proceeded. But when they spoke of the future
prospects of Cora and Uncas, he shook his head, like one who
knew the error of their simple creed, and resuming his reclining
attitude, he maintained it until the ceremony, if that might be
called a ceremony, in which feeling was so deeply imbued, was
finished. Happily for the self-command of both Heyward and
Munro, they knew not the meaning of the wild sounds they
heard.
Chingachgook was a solitary exception to the interest mani-
fested by the native part of the audience. His look never
changed throughout the whole of the scene, nor did a muscle
move in his rigid countenance, even at the wildest or the most
pathetic parts of the lamentation. The cold and senseless re-
mains of his son was all to him, and every other sense but that
of sight seemed frozen, in order that his eyes might take their
final gaze at those lineaments he had so long loved, and which
were now about to be closed forever from his view.
In this stage of the funeral obsequies, a warrior much re-
nowned for deeds in arms, and more especially for services in
the recent combat, a man of stern and grave demeanor, ad-
vanced slowly from the crowd, and placed himself nigh the per-
son of the dead.
"Why hast thou left us, pride of the Wapanachki?" he
said, addressing himself to the dull ears of Uncas, as if the
empty clay retained the faculties of the animated man ; " thy
432 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
time has been like that of the sun when in the trees ; thy glory
brighter than his light at noonday. Thou art gone, youthful
warrior, but a hundred Wyandots are clearing the briers from
thy path to the world of spirits. Who that saw thee in battle
would believe that thou couldst die ? Who before thee has ever
fchown Uttawa the way into the fight ? Thy feet were like the
wings of eagles ; thine arm heavier than falling branches from
the pine ; and thy voice like the Manitou when he speaks in
the clouds. The tongue of Uttawa is weak," he added, look-
ing about him with a melancholy gaze, "and his heart ex-
ceeding heavy. Pride of the Wapanachki, why hast thou
left us?"
He was succeeded by others, in due order, until most of the
high and gifted men of the nation had sung or spoken their
tribute of praise over the names of the deceased chief.
When each had ended, another deep and breathing silence
reigned in all the place.
Then a low, deep sound was heard, like the suppressed
accompaniment of distant music, rising just high enough on the
air to be audible, and yet so indistinctly, as to leave its charac-
ter, and the place whence it proceeded, alike matters of con-
jecture. It was, however, succeeded by another and another
strain, each in a higher key, until they grew on the ear,
first in long drawn and often repeated interjections, and
finally in words. The lips of Chingachgook had so far parted,
as to announce that it was the monody of the father.
Though not an eye was turned toward him, nor the smallest
sign of impatience exhibited, it was apparent, by the man-
ner in which the multitude elevated their heads to listen,
that they drank in the sounds with an intentness of atten-
tion, that none but Tamenund himself had ever before com-
manded. But they listened in vain. The strains rose just
so loud as to become intelligible, and then grew fainter and
more trembling, until they finally sank on the ear, as if
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 433
borne away by a passing breath of wind. The lips of the
Sagamore closed, and he remained silent in his seat, looking
with his riveted eye and motionless form, like some creature
that had been turned from the Almighty hand with the
form, but without the spirit of a man. The Delawares, who
knew by these symptoms that the mind of their friend was
not prepared for so mighty an effort of fortitude, relaxed in
their attention ; and, with an innate delicacy, seemed to be-
stow all their thoughts on the obsequies of the stranger
maiden.
A signal was given, by one of the elder chiefs, to the women,
who crowded that part of the circle near which the body of
Cora lay. Obedient to the sign, the girls raised the bier
to the elevation of their heads, and advanced with slow and
regulated steps, chanting, as they proceeded, another wail-
ing song in praise of the deceased. Gamut, who had been a
close observer of rites he deemed so heathenish, now bent his
head over the shoulder of the unconscious father, whispering :
" They move with the remains of thy child ; shall we not fol-
low, and see them interred with Christian burial ? "
Munro started, as if the last trumpet had sounded in his ear,
and bestowing one anxious and hurried glance around him, he
arose and followed in the simple train, with the mien of a
soldier, but bearing the full burden of a parent's suffering. His
friends pressed around him with a sorrow that was too strong
to be termed sympathy even the young Frenchman joined in
the procession, with the air of a man who was sensibly touched
at the early ancf melancholy fate of one so lovely. But when
the last and humblest female of the tribe had joined in the
wild, and yet ordered array, the men of the Lenape contracted
their circle, and formed again around the person of Uncas, as
silent, as grave, and as motionless as before.
The place which had been chosen for the grave of Cora was
a little knoll, where a cluster of young and healthful pines had
2f
434 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
taken root, forming of themselves a melancholy and appropriate
shade over the spot. On reaching it the girls deposited their
burden, and continued for many minutes waiting, with charac-
teristic patience, and native timidity, for some evidence that
they whose feelings were most concerned were content with the
arrangement. At length the scout, who alone understood their
habits, said, in their own language :
"My daughters have done well; the white men thank
them."
Satisfied with this testimony in their favor, the girls pro-
ceeded to deposit the body in a shell, ingeniously, and not in-
elegantly, fabricated of the bark of the birch ,- after which they
lowered it into its dark and final abode. The ceremony of cover-
ing the remains, and concealing the marks of the fresh earth, by
leaves and other natural and customary objects, was conducted
with the same simple and silent forms. But when the labors
of the kind beings who had performed these sad and friendly
offices were so far completed, they hesitated, in a way to show
that they knew not how much further they might proceed. It
was in this stage of the rites that the scout again addressed
them :
" My young women have done enough," he said. " The spirit
of a pale face has no need of food or raiment, their gifts being
according to the heaven of their color. I see," he added, glan-
cing an eye at David, who was preparing his book in a manner
that indicated an intention to lead the way in sacred song, " that
one who better knows the Christian fashions is about to speak."
The females stood modestly aside, and, from having been the
principal actors in the scene, they now became the meek and
attentive observers of that which followed. During the time
David was occupied in pouring out the pious feelings of his
spirit in this manner, not a sign of surprise, nor a look of im-
patience, escaped them. They listened like those who knew
the meaning of the strange words, and appeared as if they felt
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 436
the mingled emotions of sorrow, hope, and resignation, they were
intended to convey.
Excited by the scene he had just witnessed, and perhaps in-
fluenced by his own secret emotions, the master of song exceeded
his usual efforts. His full rich voice was not found to suffer by
a comparison with the soft tones of the girls ; and his more modu-
lated strains possessed, at least for the ears of those to whom they
were peculiarly addressed, the additional power of intelligence.
He ended the anthem, as he had commenced it, in the midst of
a grave and solemn stillness. ,
When, however, the closing cadence had fallen on the ears
of his auditors, the secret, timorous glances of the eyes, and the
general and yet subdued movement of the assemblage, betrayed
that something was expected from the father of the deceased.
Munro seemed sensible that the time was come for him to exert
what is, perhaps, the greatest effort of which human nature is
capable. He bared his gray locks, and looked around the timid
and quiet throng by which he was encircled, with a firm and col-
lected countenance. Then motioning with his hand for the scout
to listen, he said :
" Say to these kind and gentle females, that a heart-broken
and failing man returns them his thanks. Tell them, that the
Being we all worship, under different names, will be mindful of
their charity ; and that the time shall not be distant when we
may assemble around his throne without distinction of sex, or
rank, or color."
The scout listened to the tremulous voice in which the vet-
eran delivered these words, and shook his head slowly when
they were ended, as one who doubted their efficacy.
" To tell them this," he said, (i would be to tell them that
the snows come not in the winter, or that the sun shines fiercest
when the trees are stripped of their leaves."
Then turning to the women, he made such a communication
of the other's gratitude as he deemed most suited to the capac-
436 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
ities of his listeners. The head of Munro had already sunk
upon his chest, and he was again fast relapsing into melancholy,
when the young Frenchman before named ventured to touch
him lightly on the elbow. As soon as he had gained the atten-
tion of the mourning old man, he pointed toward a group of
young Indians, who approached with a light but closely covered
litter, and then pointed upward toward the sun.
"I understand you, sir," returned Munro, with a voice of
forced firmness : " I understand you. It is the will of Heaven,
and I submit. Cora, my child ! if the prayers of a heart-
broken father could avail thee now, bow blessed shouldst thou
be ! Come, gentlemen," he added, looking about him with an
air of lofty composure, though the anguish that quivered in his
faded countenance was far too powerful to be concealed, " our
duty here is ended ; let us depart."
Heyward gladly obeyed a summons that took them from a
spot where, each instant, he felt his self-control was about to
desert him. While his companions were mounting, however,
he found time to press the hand of the scout, and to repeat the
terms of an engagement they had made to meet again within
the posts of the British army. Then gladly throwing himself
into the saddle, he spurred his charger to the side of the litter,
whence low an4 stifled sobs alone announced the presence of
Alice. In this manner, the, head of Munro again dropping on
his bosom, with Heyward and David following in sorrowing
silence, and attended by the aid of Montcalm with his guard,
all the white men, with the exception of Hawkeye, passed from
before the eyes of the Dela wares, and were soon buried in the
vast forests of that region.
But the tie which, through their common calamity, had
united the feelings of these simple dwellers in the woods with
the strangers who had thus transiently visited them,- was not
so easily broken. Years passed away before the traditionary
tale of the white maiden, and of the young warrior of the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 437
Mohicans, ceased to beguile the long nights and tedious
marches, or to animate their youthful and brave with a desire
for vengeance. Neither were the secondary actors in these
momentous incidents forgotten. Through the medium of the
scout, who served for years afterward as a link between them
and civilized life, they learned, in answer to their inquiries, that
the " Grey Head " was speedily gathered to his fathers borne
down, as was erroneously believed, by his military misfortunes ;
and that the "Open Hand" had conveyed his surviving
daughter far into the settlements of the "pale faces," where
her tears had at last ceased to flow, and had been succeeded
by the bright smiles which were better suited to her joyous
nature.
But these were events of a time later than that which con-
cerns our tale. Deserted by all of his color, Hawkeye re-
turned to the spot where his own sympathies led him, with a
force that no ideal bond of union could bestow. He was just
in time to catch a parting look of the features of Uncas, whom
the Delawares were already inclosing in his last vestments of
skins. They paused to permit the longing and lingering gaze
of the sturdy woodsman, and when it was ended, the body was
enveloped, never to be unclosed again. Then came a proces-
sion like the other, and the whole nation was collected about
the temporary grave of the chief temporary, because it was
proper that, at some future day, his bones should rest among
those of his own people.
The movement, like the feeling, had been simultaneous and
general. The same grave expression of grief, the same rigid
silence, and the same deference to the principal mourner, were
observed around the place of interment as have been already
described. The body was deposited in an attitude of repose,
facing the rising sun, with the implements of war and of the
chase at hand, in readiness for the final journey. An opening
was left in the shell, by which it was protected from the soil,
438 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
for the spirit to communicate with its earthly tenement, when
necessary ; and the whole was concealed from the instinct, and
protected frota the ravages of the beasts of prey, with an in-
genuity peculiar to the natives. The manual rites then ceased,
and all present reverted to the more spiritual part of the
ceremonies.
Chingachgook became once more the object of the common
attention. He had not yet spoken, and something consolatory
and instructive was expected from so renowned a chief on an
occasion of such interest. Conscious of the wishes of the
people, the stern and self-restrained warrior raised his face,
which had latterly been buried in his robe, and looked about
him with a steady eye. His firmly compressed and expressive
lips then severed, and for the first time during the long. cere-
monies his voice was distinctly audible.
" Why do my brothers mourn ? " he said, regarding the dark
race of dejected warriors by whom he was environed j " why do
my daughters weep ? that a young man has gone to the happy
hunting grounds ; that a chief has filled his time with honor ?
He was good ; he was dutiful ; he was brave. Who can deny
it? The Manitou had need of such a warrior, and He has
called him away. As for me, the son and the father of Uncas,
I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the pale faces. My race
has gone from the shores of the salt lake and the hills of the
Delawares. But who can say that the serpent of his tribe has
forgotten his wisdom ? I am alone "
"No, no," cried Hawkeye, who had been gazing with a
yearning look at the rigid features of his friend, with something
like his own self-command, but whose philosophy could endure
no longer ; " no, Sagamore, not alone. The gifts of our colors
may be different, but God has so placed us as to journey in the
same path. I have no kin, and I may also say, like you, no
people. He was your sou, and a red-skin by nature ; and it
may be that your blood was nearer but if ever I forget the
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 439
lad who has so often fou't at my side in war, and slept at my
side in peace, may He who made us all, whatever may be our
color or our gifts, forget me ! The boy has left us for a time ;
but, Sagamore, you are not alone."
Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of feel-
ing, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and in that
attitude of friendship these two sturdy and intrepid woodsmen
bowed their heads together, while scalding tears fell to their
feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of falling rain.
In the midst of the awful stillness with which such a-tfurst
of feeling, coming, as it did, from the two most renowned war-
riors of that region, was received, Tamenund lifted his voice to
disperse the multitude.
" It is enough," he said. " Go, children of the Lenape, the
anger of the Manitou is not done. Why should Tamenund
stay ? The pale faces are masters of the earth, and the time
of the red men has not yet come again. My day has been too
long. In the morning I saw the sons of Unamis happy and
strong ; and yet, before the night has come, have I lived to see
the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans."