CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
One morning, Roche, Gabriel, and myself were summoned to the GreatCouncil Lodge; there we met with the four Comanches whom we had rescuedsome days before, and it would be difficult to translate from theirglowing language their warm expressions of friendship and gratitude. Welearned from them that before the return of the Cayugas from the prairiethey had concealed themselves in some crevices of the earth until night,when they contrived to seize upon three of the horses and effect theirescape. At the passage of the great chasm they had found the old redsash of Roche, which they produced, asking at the same time permissionto keep it as a token from their Pale-face brothers. We shook bands andexchanged pipes. How noble and warm is an Indian in his feelings!
In the lodge we also perceived our friend of former days, "OpishkaKoaki" (the White Raven), but as he was about to address the assembly,we restrained from renewing our acquaintance and directed all ourattention to what was transacting. After the ordinary ceremonies,Opishka Koaki commenced:--
"Warriors, I am glad you have so quickly understood my messages, butwhen does a Comanche turn his back on receiving the vermilion from hischief? Never! you know I called you for war, and you have come; 'tiswell. Yet, though I am a chief, I am a man. I may mistake; I may nowand then strike a wrong path. I will do nothing, attempt nothing,without knowing the thoughts of my brave warriors. Then hear me!
"There live under the sun a nation of Redskins, whose men are cowards.Never striking an enemy but when his back is turned, or when they numbera hundred to one. This nation crawls in the prairies about the greatchasms, they live upon carrion, and have no other horses but those theycan steal from the deer-hearted Watchinangoes. Do my warriors know sucha people? Let them speak! I hear!"
At that moment a hundred voices shouted the name of Cayugas.
"I knew it!" exclaimed the chief, "there is but one such a people with ared skin; my warriors are keen-sighted; they cannot be mistaken. Now,we Comanches never take the scalp of a Cayuga any more than that of ahedge-hog; we kick them out of our way when they cross our path; that'sall. Hear me my braves, and believe me, though I will speak strangewords: these reptiles have thought that because we have not killed themas toads and scorpions, it was because we were afraid of their poison.One thousand Cayugas, among other prisoners, have taken eight Comanches;they have eaten four of them, they would have eaten them all, but thebraves escaped; they are here. Now, is an impure Cayuga a fit tomb forthe body of a Comanche warrior? No! I read the answer in your burningeyes. What then shall we do? Shall we chastise them and give theircarcasses to the crows and wolves? What say my warriors: let themspeak? I hear!"
All were silent, though it was evident that their feelings had beenviolently agitated. At last, an old chief rose and addressed Opishka:
"Great chief," said he, "why askest thou? Can a Comanche and warriorthink in any way but one? Look at them! See you not into their hearts?Perceive you not how fast the blood runs into their veins? Why ask? Isay; thou knowest well their hearts' voice is but the echo of thine own.Say but a word, say, `Let us go to the Cayugas!' Thy warriors willanswer: `We are ready, shew us the path!' Chief of a mighty nation,thou hast heard my voice, and in my voice are heard the thousand voicesof thy thousand warriors."
Opishka Koaki rose again. "I knew it, but I wanted to hear it, for itdoes my heart good; it makes me proud to command so many brave warriors.Then to-morrow we start, and we will hunt the Cayugas even to thedeepest of their burrows. I have said!"
Then the four rescued prisoners recounted how they had been taken, andwhat sufferings they had undergone. They spoke of their unfortunatecompanions and of their horrible fate, which they should have alsoshared had it not been for the courage of the three Pale-face brothers,who killed five Cayugas, and cut their bonds; they themselves killedfive more of their cowardly foes and escaped, but till to-day they hadhad no occasion of telling to their tribe the bravery and generosity ofthe three Pale faces.
At this narrative all the warriors, young and old, looked as though theywere personally indebted to us, and would have come, one and all, toshake our hands, had it not been for the inviolable rules of the councillodge, which forbids any kind of disorder. It is probable that thescene had been prepared beforehand by the excellent chief who wished tointroduce us to his warriors under advantageous circumstances. He wavedhis hand to claim attention, and spoke again.
"It is now twelve moons, it is more I met Owato Wanisha and his twobrothers. He is a chief of the great Shoshones, who are ourgrandfathers, far--far under the setting of the sun beyond the bigmountains. His two brothers are two great warriors from powerfulnations far in the east and beyond the Sioux, the Chippewas beyond the`Oposh-ton-ehoe' (Americans), even beyond the deep salt-water. One is a`Shakanah' (Englishman), the other a `Naimewa' from the`Maha-mate-kosh-ehoj' (an exile from the French). They are good andthey are brave: they have learned wisdom from the `Macota Konayas'(priests), and Owato Wanisha knows how to build strong forts, which hecan better defend than the Watchinangoes have defended theirs. I haveinvited him and his brother to come and taste the buffalo of ourprairies, to ride our horses, and smoke the calumet of friendship. Theyhave come, and will remain with us till we ourselves go to the big stonyriver (the Colorado of the West). They have come; they are our guests;the best we can command is their own already; but they are chiefs andwarriors. A chief is a chief everywhere. We must treat them as chiefs,and let them select a band of warriors for themselves to follow themtill they go away from us.
"You have heard what our scouts have said; they would have been eaten bythe Cayugas, had it not been for our guests, who have preserved not onlythe lives of four men--that is nothing--but the honour of the tribe. Ineed say no more; I know my young amen; I know my warriors; I know theywill love the strangers as chiefs and brothers. I have said."
Having thus spoken, he walked slowly out of the lodge, which wasimmediately deserted for the green lawn before the village. There wewere sumptuously entertained by all the principal chiefs and warriors ofthe tribe, after which they conducted us to a new tent, which they haderected for us in the middle of their principal square. There we foundalso six magnificent horses, well caparisoned, tied to the posts of thetent; they were the presents of the chiefs. At a few steps from thedoor was an immense shield, suspended upon four posts, and on which abeaver, the head of an eagle, and the claws of a bear were admirablypainted--the first totem for me, the second for Gabriel, and the thirdfor Roche. We gratefully thanked our hospitable hosts, and retired torest in our rich and elegant dwelling.
The next morning, we awoke just in time to witness the ceremony ofdeparture; a war party, already on horseback, was waiting for theirchief. At the foot of our shield were one hundred lances, whose ownersbelonged to the family and kindred of the Indians whom we had rescuedfrom the Cayugas. A few minutes afterwards, the owners of the weaponsappeared in the square, well mounted and armed, to place themselves atour entire disposal. We could not put our authority to a better usethan by joining our friends in their expedition, so when the chiefarrived, surrounded by the elders of the tribe, Gabriel advanced towardshim.
"Chief," he said, "and wise men of a brave nation, you have conferredupon us a trust of which we are proud. To Owato Wanisha, perhaps, itwas due, for he is mighty in his tribe; but I and the Shakanah are nochiefs. We will not decline your favour, but we must deserve it. Theyoung beaver will remain in the village, to learn the wisdom of your oldmen, but the eagle and the bear must and will accompany you in yourexpedition. You have given them brave warriors, who would scorn toremain at home; we will follow you."
This proposition was received with flattering acclamations, and thegallant army soon afterwards left the village on its mission of revenge.
The Cayugas were, before that expedition, a powerful tribe, about whomlittle or nothing had ever been written or known. In their customs andmanners of living, they resemble in every way the Club Indians of theCol
orado, who were destroyed by the small-pox. They led a wanderingprairie life, but generally were too cowardly to fight well, and tooinexpert in hunting to surround themselves with comforts, even in themidst of plenty like the Clubs, they are cannibals, though, I suspect,they would not eat a white man. They have but few horses, and theseonly when they could be procured by stealth, for, almost alwaysstarving, they could not afford to breed them, always eating the coltsbefore they could be useful.
Their grounds lie in the vicinity of the great fork of the Rio Puerco,by latitude 35 degrees and longitude 105 degrees from Greenwich. Thewhole nation do not possess half a dozen of rifles, most all of thembeing armed with clubs, bows, and arrows. Some old Comanches haveassured me that the Cayuga country abounds with fine gold.
While I was with the Comanches, waiting the return of the expedition, Ihad an accident which nearly cost me my life. Having learned that therewere many fine basses to be fished in a stream some twenty miles on, Istarted on horseback, with a view of passing the night there. I tookwith me a buffalo-hide, a blanket, and a tin cup, and two hours beforesunset I arrived at the spot.
As the weather had been dry for some time, I could not pick any worms,so I thought of killing some bird or other small animal, whose fleshwould answer for bait. Not falling in with any birds, I determined toseek for a rabbit or a frog. To save time, I lighted a fire, put mywater to boil, spread my hide and blanket, arranged my saddle for apillow, and then went in search of bait, and sassafras to make tea with.
While looking for sassafras, I perceived a nest upon a small oak near tothe stream. I climbed to take the young ones, obtained two, which I putin my round jacket, and looked about me to see where I should jump uponthe ground. After much turning about, I suspended myself by the handsfrom a hanging branch, and allowed myself to drop down. My left footfell flat, but under the soft sole of my right mocassin I felt somethingalive, heaving or rolling. At a glance, I perceived that my foot was onthe body of a large rattle-snake, with his head just forcing itself fromunder my heel.
Thus taken by surprise, I stood motionless and with my heart throbbing.The reptile worked itself free, and twisting round my leg, almost in asecond bit me two or three times. The sharp rain which I felt from thefangs recalled me to consciousness, and though I felt convinced that Iwas lost, I resolved that my destroyer should die also. With mybowie-knife I cut its body into a hundred pieces; walked away very sadand gloomy, and sat upon my blanket near the fire.
How rapid and tumultuous were my thoughts! To die so young, and such adog's death! My mind reverted to the happy scenes of my early youth,when I had a mother, and played so merrily among the golden grapes ofsunny France, and when later I wandered with my father in the Holy land,in Italy and Egypt. I also thought of the Shoshones, of Roche andGabriel, and I sighed. It was a moral agony; for the physical pain hadsubsided, and my leg was almost benumbed by paralysis.
The sun went down, and the last carmine tinges of his departed gloryreminded me how soon my sun would set; then the big burning tearssmothered me, for I was young, very young, and I could not command thecourage and resignation to die such a horrible death. Had I beenwounded in the field, leading my brave Shoshones, and hallooing thewar-whoop, I would have cared very little about it, but thus, like adog! It was horrible! and I dropped my head upon my knees, thinking howfew hours I had now to live.
I was awakened from that absorbing torpor by my poor horse, who was busylicking my ears. The faithful animal suspected something was wrong, forusually at such a time I would sing Spanish ditties or some Indianwar-songs. Sunset was also the time when I brushed and patted him. Theintelligent brute knew that I suffered, and, in its own way, showed methat it participated in my affliction. My water, too, was boiling onthe fire, and the bubbling of the water seemed to be a voice raised onpurpose to divert my gloomy thoughts. "Aye, boil, bubble, evaporate,"exclaimed I; "what do I care for water or tea now?"
Scarcely had I finished these words, when, turning suddenly my headround, my attention was attracted by an object before me, and a gleam ofhope irradiated my gloomy mind: close to my feet I beheld five or sixstems of the rattlesnake master weed. I well knew the plant, but I hadbeen incredulous as to its properties. Often had I heard the Indiansspeaking of its virtues, but I had never believed them. "A drowning manwill seize at a floating straw." By a violent effort I got up on mylegs, went to fetch my knife, which I had left near the dead snake, andI commenced digging for two or three of the roots with all the energy ofdespair.
These roots I cut into small slices, and threw them in the boilingwater. It soon produced a dark green decoction, which I swallowed; itwas evidently a powerful alkali, strongly impregnated with a flavour ofturpentine. I then cut my mocassin, for my foot was already swollen totwice its ordinary size, bathed the wounds with a few drops of theliquid, and, chewing some of the slices, I applied them as a poultice,and tied them on with my scarf and handkerchief. I then put some morewater to boil, and, half an hour afterwards, having drank another pintof the bitter decoction, I drew my blanket over me. In a minute or lessafter the second draught, my brain whirled, and a strange dizzinessovertook me, which was followed by a powerful perspiration, and soonafterwards all was blank.
The next morning, I was awakened by my horse again licking me; hewondered why I slept so late. I felt my head ache dreadfully, and Iperceived that the burning rays of the sun for the last two hours hadbeen darting upon my uncovered face. It was some time before I couldcollect my thoughts, and make out where I was. At last, the memory ofthe dreadful incident of the previous evening broke upon my mind, and Iregretted I had not died during my unconsciousness; for I thought thatthe weakness I felt was an effect of the poison, and that I should haveto undergo an awful lingering death. Yet all around me, nature wassmiling; thousands of birds were singing their morning concert, and, ata short distance, the low and soft murmuring of the stream reminded meof my excessive thirst. Alas! well hath the Italian bard sung:--
"Nesson maggior dolore Che riccordarsi del tempo felice Nella miseria!"--DANTE.
As I lay and reflected upon my utter helplessness, again my heartswelled, and my tears flowed freely. Thirst, however, gave me thecourage which the freshness and beauty of nature had not been able toinspire me with. I thought of attempting to rise to fetch some water;but first I slowly passed my hand down my thigh, to feel my knee. Ithought the inflammation would have rendered it as thick as my waist.My hand was upon my knee, and so sudden was the shock that my heartceased to heat. Joy can be most painful; for I felt an acute pangthrough my breast, as from a blow of a dagger. When I moved my fingeracross the cap of my knee, it was quite free from inflammation, andperfectly sound. Again there was a re-action. Aye, thought I, 'tis allon the ankle; how can I escape! Is not the poison a deadly one? Idared not throw away the blanket and investigate further; I felt weakerand weaker, and again covered my head to sleep.
I did sleep, and when I awoke this time I felt myself a littleinvigorated, though my lips and tongue were quite parched. I rememberedeverything; down my hand slided; I could not reach my ankle, so I put upmy knee. I removed the scarf and the poultice of master weed. Myhandkerchief was full of a dried, green, glutinous matter, and thewounds looked clean. Joy gave me strength. I went to the stream, drankplentifully, and washed. I still felt very feverish; and, although Iwas safe from the immediate effects of the poison, I knew that I had yetto suffer. Grateful to Heaven for my preservation, I saddled myfaithful companion, and, wrapping myself closely in my buffalo hide, Iset off to the Comanche camp. My senses had left me before I arrivedthere. They found me on the ground, and my horse standing by me.
Fifteen days afterwards I awoke to consciousness, a weak and emaciatedbeing. During this whole time I had been raving under a cerebral fever,death hovering over me. It appears that I had received acoup-de-soleil, in addition to my other mischances.
When I returned to consciousness, I was astonished to see Gabriel andRoche by
my side; the expedition had returned triumphant. The Cayugas'villages had been burnt, almost all their warriors destroyed, and thosewho remained had sought a shelter in the fissures of the earth, or inthe passes of the mountains unknown to any but themselves. Two of theMexican girls had also been rescued, but what had become of the othersthey could not tell.
The kindness and cares of my friends, with the invigorating influence ofa beautiful chine, soon restored me to comparative health, but it was along time before I was strong enough to ride and resume my formerexercise. During that time Gabriel made frequent excursions to thesouthern and even to the Mexican settlements, and on the return from hislast trip he brought up news which caused the Indians, for that year, toforsake their hunting, and remain at home. General Lamar and hisassociates had hit upon a plan not only treacherous, but in opendefiance of all the laws of nations. But what, indeed, could beexpected from a people who murdered their guests, invited by them, andunder the sanction of a white flag? I refer to the massacre of theComanche chiefs at San Antonio.
The President of Mexico, Bustamente, had a view to a cessation ofhostilities with Texas. The Texians had sent ambassadors to negotiate arecognition and treaty of alliance and friendship with other nations;they had despatched Hamilton in England to supplicate the cabinet of St.James to lend its mighty influence towards the recognition of Texas byMexico, and while these negotiations were pending, and the peace withMexico still in force, Lamar, in defiance of all good faith and honour,was secretly preparing an expedition, which, under the disguise of amercantile caravan, was intended to conquer Santa Fe and all thenorthern Mexican provinces. This expedition of the Texians, as it wouldpass through the territory of the Comanches, whose villages, etcetera,if unprotected, would, in all probability, have been plundered, andtheir women and children murdered, induced the Comanches to break uptheir camp, and return home as speedily as possible.
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