The Forest King

by Hervey Keyes

  CHAPTER IV.

  The Oneida Indians came annually from the Valley of the Mohawk and theOneida reservation to the Valley of the Susquehanna, by their path downthe Valley of Adaca, to lay in their store of dried venison for the longand dreary winters of this latitude, accompanied by their wives anddaughters, who prepared the meat taken in the hunt, dried and smoked it,and put it in deerskin sacks ready to be conveyed to their winterquarters. They always encamped at their place of rest at the outlet ofthe Adaca Creek into the Susquehanna River, where they had planted anorchard to supply them with apples during the fall hunt.

  Mayall lived near their path where they usually stopped to makeinquiries and gain such information as was necessary to guide them wheredeer were most numerous. They usually gave Mayall an invitation to jointhe fall hunt, which was his favorite amusement at that season of theyear, being an expert in the game of hunting. The Indians gave Mayallhis full share of the venison and furs taken. They ranged the hills andvalleys in every direction from their camp at the place of rest, andreturned at night with their venison and furs, which they handed over totheir squaws to be dressed and dried, excepting such parts as would notbear transportation, which were taken to supply the daily food of thecamp. A number of large gray wolves had been heard nightly from theircamp howling on the mountain south of the Susquehanna, which caused thedeer to leave the South Mountain and cross over to the hills on thenorth side.

  On the morning following one of their howling frolics, one of thehunters shot and wounded a deer on the south side of the river. In theirendeavors to capture it they drove it up the mountain side. There were anumber of hunters joined in the chase, but as the hill grow steep androcky they all fell back and returned to camp but Mayall and twoIndians, who had now reached the high range of hills, where they made atemporary halt to view the ample plains and beauteous tracts below. Onthe one hand they surveyed the famous Susquehanna, rolling in silentdignity and marking its course with inconceivable grandeur, while in thedistance the hills lifted their venerable brows.

  Here they had paused a few moments to view the beauties of Nature as itcame fresh from the hand of Omnipotence. The sunlight was streaming fromthe western skies, kissing each mountain top, clad with crimson andgold, like the morning light that dances on the heaven-kissed hills ofParadise. Mayall viewed the scene with unspeakable delight, as hethought how rich he was in everything that made life desirable to him.From this lofty eminence over the valley forest he could mark the smokecurling from his quiet home, where his lovely companion rested. Youth,beauty, wealth, love, all seemed to be his. All his past life seemed topass in grand review. The sun sank in silence toward the horizon, andcalled to his mind that the chase was leading them too far from camp toreturn before dark.

  Before they had time to decide which course to pursue they heard thedeer returning with a gang of wolves close in pursuit, made ravenous bythe scent of the warm blood gushing from the deer's sides at everybound, in consequence of his wonderful springs to escape the wolves,which were so near that one miss-jump would have been fatal, as a dozenwolves were ready to tear his flesh from his bones.

  It now became hurrying times. Mayall looked round to find a saferetreat. The two Indians that had ascended the hill with him were wildwith affright, and beat a hasty retreat. The deer became exhausted inits exertions to escape, and fell to the ground within two rods of theplace where Mayall stood, and three of the wolves rushed upon him withopen jaws, to devour him. Mayall was just the man for that place; for asquick as a flash of electricity all his presence of mind returned. Thecontents of his gun, with his deadly aim, brought down the first orforemost to the ground. He dropped his gun and met the second with histomahawk, which he dispatched at a blow. The third had then reached him.He aimed a blow at his head, his weapon glanced, and the wolfs mouthcame in contact with his body and fastened his teeth in hishunting-frock. At that instant Mayall gave him a thrust with his longhunting-knife, which he had drawn from his belt with his left hand. Theknife entered between the wolf's ribs and split his heart, and the wolffell back and expired with a mournful howl. Mayall was now clear fromthe wolves. The remainder of the drove was devouring the deer with suchhaste, he saw there would be no escape unless it was effected withoutdelay. He instantly placed his tomahawk in his belt and sheathed hisknife, then fastening his gun to his belt by means of a spring,commenced climbing the first favorable tree he reached.

  He had barely time to climb ten feet from the ground before the wolvesmade a rush for the tree, and commenced jumping at him, mingled with ahowl of rage and disappointment. Mayall continued to climb until hereached a safe and convenient place for loading his gun. He soon loadedand brought down the fourth wolf, and then gave a shout of triumph toinform the Indians that he had reached a place of safety. The Indiansshouted back from the tree-tops far down the mountain, with joy thatechoed through every glen and ascended above the mountain-top; forhearing the howling and growling of the wolves after Mayall's firstfire, they supposed the wolves were devouring Mayall and would soon beupon their track, and had taken the precaution to reach a place ofsafety in time. Mayall now continued to load his gun and fire upon thewolves with success, until the thinned band made their retreat up themountain. He then descended from his lofty perch, made his retreat inthe same direction the Indians had, down the mountain.

  Mayall soon reached the place where the Indians had fled for safety, andfound them perched in a tree like two owls on their nightly roost. Assoon as the Indians saw Mayall they quickly descended, and the threetook up their line of march for their camp with the double-quick. Thecurtains of night were fondly drooping upon the hill-tops, and the starswere shooting forth in glory one by one from Heaven's blue concave asthe three hunters reached the Indian encampment.

  The Indians shouted with joy at their return, after hearing the firingof guns and the fierce howling of wolves. They had been much alarmed fortheir safety. The squaws and Indians flocked round Mayall to hear theIndians relate the story of their adventure and act over the frightfulscene with gun, tomahawk and knife, to show the amount of skill used byMayall in handling the deadly weapons of war. Their war-chief, beingpresent, addressed his Indians in the following manner: "Your pale-facedchief, whom I shall this night adopt by the name of Wolf-hunter, mustever be revered by our tribesmen for his deeds of skill and daring. Hehas driven our enemies from our hunting-ground. Yon skulking thievesthat destroyed our game, and tore the white squaw's papoose from herarms, and bore it over the high hills to where the Susquehanna winds hercourse among the alder groves, there the pale chief left them in theirleafy bed of gore, and returned the white papoose to the embrace of hermother. The Indians who returned to avenge their fallen tribesmen havebeen slain by him, and their bones will ever rest on our hunting-ground,unmolested either by sire or son. He has met this day in deadly combatthe gray wolves of the forest that destroyed our venison. They sparedneither the deer nor its fawn; and to-night they sleep in death, high onthe bleak mountain-side. The God of battle helps him in every strife,and no arm has yet been found able to cope with his. And we should beproud of such a friend to lead the hunt and move the whirlwind of thebattle on."

  Mayall related the story of his adventure with the wolves to Mr. Powel,one of the first settlers of the Adaca Valley, and at the same timeinformed him that Molly Brant, then an Indian maiden of beautiful formand suavity of manners, was with the Indians at their camp, and wasafter that the wife of Sir William Johnson. He said her manners were asgentle as the south wind that rocked the tree-tops in autumn.