Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

  At that time, the Pawnee Picts, themselves an offset of the Shoshonesand Comanches, and speaking the same language--a tribe residing upon thenorthern shores of the Red River, and who had always been at peace withtheir ancestors, had committed some depredations upon the northernterritory of the Comanches.

  The chiefs, as usual, waited several moons for reparation to be offeredby the offenders, but as none came, it was feared that the Picts hadbeen influenced by the American agents to forget their long friendship,and commence hostilities with them. It was, therefore, resolved that weshould enter the war path, and obtain by force that justice whichfriendship could no longer command.

  The road which we had to travel, to arrive at the town of the PawneePicts, was rough and uneven, running over hills and intersected by deepgullies. Bad as it was, and faint and tired as were our horses, in tendays we reached a small prairie, within six miles of the river, on theother side of which lay the principal village of the Pawnee Picts.

  The heavens now became suddenly overcast, and a thunderstorm soonrendered it impossible for even our best warriors to see their way. Ahalt was consequently ordered, and, notwithstanding a tremendous rain,we slept soundly till morn, when a drove of horses, numbering somehundreds, was discovered some distance to our left. In all appearancethey were tame animals, and many thought they could see the Pawneewarriors riding them. Four of us immediately started to reconnoitre,and we made our preparations for attack; as we gradually approachedthere appeared to be no little commotion among the herd, which we nowplainly perceived to be horses without any riders.

  When we first noticed them, we discerned two or three white spots, whichGabriel and I mistook for flags; a nearer view convinced us that theywere young colts.

  We continued our route. The sun had scarcely risen when we arrived onthe shore of the river, which was lined with hundreds of canoes, eachcarrying green branches at their bows and white flags at their sterns.Shortly afterwards, several chiefs passed over to our side, and invitedall our principal chiefs to come over to the village and talk to thePawnee Picts, who wished to remain brothers with their friends--theComanches. This was consented to, and Gabriel, Roche, and I accompaniedthem. This village was admirably protected from attack on every side;and in front, the Red River, there clear and transparent, rolls its deepwaters. At the back of the village, stony and perpendicular mountainsrise to the height of two thousand feet, and their ascent is impossible,except by ladders and ropes, or where steps have, been cut into therock.

  The wigwams, one thousand in number, extend, for the space of fourmiles, upon a beautiful piece of rich alluvial soil, in a very highstate of cultivation; the fields were well fenced and luxuriant withmaize, pumpkins, melons, beans and squashes. The space between themountains and the river, on each side of the village, was thicklyplanted with close ranks of prickly pear, impassable to man or beast, sothat the only way in which the Pawnees could be attacked was in front,by forcing a passage across the river, which could not be effectedwithout a great loss of life, as the Pawnees are a brave people and wellsupplied with rifles, although in their prairie hunts they prefer to usetheir lances and their arrows.

  When we entered the great council lodge, the great chief, Wetara Sharoj,received us with great urbanity, assigned to us places next to him, andgave the signal for the Pawnee elders to enter the lodge. I was verymuch astonished to see among them some white men, dressed in splendidmilitary uniforms; but the ceremonies having begun, and it being theIndian custom to assume indifference, whatever your feelings may be, Iremained where I was. Just at the moment that the pipe-bearer waslighting the calumet of peace, the venerable Pawnee chief advanced tothe middle of the lodge, and addressed the Comanches:--

  "My sight is old, for I have seen a hundred winters, and yet I canrecognise those who once were friends. I see among you Opishka Koaki(the White Raven), and the leader of a great people; Pemeh-Katey (theLong Carbine), and the wise Hah-nee (the Old Beaver). You are friends,and we should offer you at once the calumet of peace, but you have comeas foes; as long as you think you have cause to remain so, it would bemean and unworthy of the Pawnees to sue and beg for what perchance theymay obtain by their courage. Yet the Comanches and the Pawnees havebeen friends too long a time to fall upon each other as a starved wolfdoes upon a wounded buffalo. A strong cause must excite them to fightagainst each other, and then, when it comes, it must be a war ofextermination, for when a man breaks with an old friend, he becomes morebitter in his vengeance than against an utter stranger. Let me hearwhat the brave Comanches have to complain of, and any reparation,consistent with the dignity of a Pawnee chief, shall be made, soonerthan risk a war between brothers who have so long hunted together andfought together against a common enemy. I have said."

  Opishka Koaki ordered me to light the Comanche calumet of peace, andadvancing to the place left vacant by the ancient chief, he answered:--

  "I have heard words of great wisdom; a Comanche always loves andrespects wisdom; I love and respect my father, Wetara Sharoj; I willtell him what are the complaints of our warriors, but before, as we havecome as foes, it is but just that we should be the first to offer thepipe of peace; take it, chief, for we must be friends; I will tell ourwrongs, and leave it to the justice of the great Pawnee to efface them,and repair the loss his young men have caused to a nation of friends."

  The pipe was accepted, and the "talk" went on. It appeared that a partyof one hundred Pawnee hunters had had their horses estampeded one night,by some hostile Indians. For five days they forced their way on foot,till entering the northern territory of the Comanches, they met with adrove of horses and cattle. They would never have touched them, had itnot been that, a short time afterwards, they met with another verynumerous party of their inveterate enemies--the Kiowas, by whom theywere pressed so very hard, that they were obliged to return to the placewhere the Comanche herds of horse were grazing, and to take them, toescape their foes. So far, all was right; it was nothing more than whatthe Comanches would have done themselves in the land of the Pawnees; butwhat had angered the Comanche warriors was, that the hundred horses thusborrowed in necessity, had never been returned, although the party hadarrived at the village two moons ago.

  When the Pawnees heard that we had no other causes for complaint, theyshewed, by their expressions of friendship, that the ties of longbrotherhood were not to be so easily broken; and indeed the Pawnees had,some time before, sent ten of their men with one hundred of their finesthorses, to compensate for those which they had taken and ratherill-treated, in their hurried escape from the Kiowas. But they hadtaken a different road from that by which we had come, and consequentlywe had missed them. Of course, the council broke up, and the Indians,who had remained on the other side of the river, were invited in thevillage to partake of the Pawnee hospitality.

  Gabriel and I soon accosted the strangely-dressed foreigners. In fact,we were seeking each other, and I learned that they had been a long timeamong the Pawnees, and would have passed over to the Comanches, in orderto confer with me on certain political matters, had it not been thatthey were aware of the great antipathy the chiefs of that tribeentertained against the inhabitants of the United States.

  The facts were as follows:--These people were emissaries of the Mormons,a new sect which had sprung up in the States, and which was rapidlyincreasing in numbers. This sect had been created by a certain JosephSmith. Round the standard of this bold and ambitious leader, swarms ofpeople crowded from every part, and had settled upon a vast extent ofground on the eastern shores of the Mississippi, and there established acivil, religious, and military power, as anomalous as it was dangerousto the United States. In order to accomplish his ulterior views, thismodern apostle wished to establish relations of peace and friendshipwith all the Indians in the great western territories, I had for thatpurpose sent messengers among the various tribes east of the RockyMountains. Having also learned, by the St. Louis trappers, thatstrangers, long e
stablished among the Shoshones of the Pacific Ocean,were now residing among the Comanches, Smith had ordered his emissariesamong the Pawnees to endeavour to meet us, and concert together as towhat measures could be taken so as to secure a general league, defensiveand offensive, against the Americans and the Texians, and which was toextend from the Mississippi to the western seas.

  Such a proposition of course could not be immediately answered. Itherefore obtained leave from the Comanches to stake the two strangerswith us, and we all returned together. It would be useless to relate tothe reader that which passed between me and the emissaries of theMormons; let it suffice to say, that after a residence of three weeks inthe village, they were conducted back to the Pawnees. With the adviceof Gabriel, I determined to go myself and confer with the principalMormon leaders; resolving in my own mind that if our interview was notsatisfactory, I would continue on to Europe, and endeavour either toengage a company of merchants to enter into direct communication withthe Shoshones, or to obtain the support of the English government, infurtherance of the objects I had in view for the advantage of the tribe.

  As a large portion of the Comanches were making preparations for theirannual migration to the east of Texas, Roche, Gabriel, and I joined thisparty, and having exchanged an affectionate farewell with the remainderof the tribe, and received many valuable presents, we started, takingthe direction of the Saline Lake, which forms the head-waters of thesouthern branch or fork of the river Brasos. There we met again withour old friends, the Wakoes, and learned that there was a party of sixtyor seventy Yankees or Texians roaming about the upper forks of theTrinity, committing all sorts of depredations, and painting their bodieslike the Indians, that their enormities might be laid to the account ofthe savages. This may appear strange to the reader, but it has been acommon practice for some time. There have always been in the UnitedStates a numerous body of individuals, who, having by their crimes beencompelled to quit the settlements of the east, have sought shelter outof the reach of civilisation. These individuals are all desperatecharacters, and, uniting themselves in small bands, come fearlesslyamong the savages, taking squaws, and living among them till asufficient period has elapsed to enable them to venture, under anassumed name and in a distant state, to return with impunity and enjoythe wealth acquired by plunder and assassination.

  This is the history of the major portion of the western pioneers, whosecourage and virtues have been so much celebrated by American writers.As they increased in numbers, these pioneers conceived a plan by whichthey acquired great wealth. They united together, forming a society ofland privateers or buccaneers, and made incursions into the very heartof the French and Spanish settlements of the west, where, not beingexpected, they surprised the people and carried off great booty. When,however, these Spanish and French possessions were incorporated into theUnited States, they altered their system of plunder; and, under the nameof Border's Buggles, they infested the states of the Mississippi andTennessee, where they obtained such a dreaded reputation that thegovernment sent out many expeditions against them, which, however, wereuseless, as all the principal magistrates of these states had contrivedeven themselves to be elected members of the fraternity. The increaseof population broke up this system, and the "Buggles" were compelled toresort to other measures. Well acquainted with Indian manners, theywould dress and paint themselves as savages, and attack the caravans toMexico. The traders, in their reports, would attribute the deed to sometribe of Indians, probably, at the moment of the attack, some five orsix hundred miles distant from the spot.

  This land pirating is now, carried to a greater extent than ever. Bandsof fifty or sixty pioneers steal horses, cattle, and slaves from thewest of Arkansas and Louisiana; and sell them in Texas, where they havetheir agents; and then, under the disguise of Indian warriors, theyattack plantations in Texas, carrying away with them large herds ofhorses and cattle, which they drive to Missouri, through the lonelymountain passes of the Arkansas, or to the Attalapas and Opelousasdistricts of Western Louisiana, forcing their way through the Lakes andswamps on both shores of the river Sabine. The party mentioned by theWakoes was one of this last description.

  We left our friends, and, after a journey of three days, we crossed theBrasos, close to a rich copper mine, which has ages been worked by theIndians, who used, as they do now, thin metal for the points of theirarrows and lances. Another three days' journey brought us to one of theforks of Trinity, and there we met with two companies of Texian rangersand spies, under the command of a certain Captain Hunt, who had beensent from the lower part of the river to protect the northernplantations. With him I found five gentlemen, who, tired of residing inTexas, had taken the opportunity of this military escort to return tothe Arkansas. As soon as they heard that I was going there myself, theyoffered to join me, which I agreed to, as it was now arranged thatGabriel and Roche should not accompany me farther than to the Red River.[See note 1.]

  The next morning I received a visit from Hunt and two or three inferiorofficers, to advise upon the following subject. An agricultural companyfrom Kentucky had obtained from the Texian government a grant of landson the upper forks of the Trinity. There twenty-five or thirty familieshad settled, and they had with them numerous cattle, horses, mules, anddonkeys a very superior breed. On the very evening I met with theTexian rangers, the settlement had been visited by a party of ruffians,who stole every thing, murdering sixty or seventy men, women, andchildren, and firing all the cottages and log-houses of this rising andprosperous village. All the corpses were shockingly mangled andscalped, and as the assailants were painted in the Indian fashion, thefew inhabitants who had escaped and gained the Texian camp declared thatthe marauders were Comanches.

  This I denied stoutly, as did the Comanche party, and we all proceededwith the Texian force to Lewisburg, the site of the massacre. As soonas I viewed the bodies, lying here and there, I at once was positivethat the deed had been committed by white men. The Comanche chief couldscarcely restrain his indignation; he rode close to Captain Hunt andsternly said to him:--

  "Stoop, Pale-face of a Texian, and look with thy eyes open; be honest ifthou canst, and confess that thou knowest by thine own experience thatthis deed is that of white men. What Comanche ever scalped women andchildren. Stoop, I say, and behold a shame on thy colour and race--arace of wolves, preying upon each other; a race of jaguars, killing thefemale after having forced her--stoop and see.

  "The bodies of the young women have been atrociously and cowardlyabused--seest thou? Thou well knowest the Indian is too noble and tooproud to level himself to the rank of a Texian or of a brute."

  Twenty of our Comanches started on the tracks, and in the eveningbrought three prisoners to the camp. They were desperate blackguards,well known to every one of the soldiers under Captain Hunt, who in spiteof their Indian disguise, identified them immediately. Hunt refused topunish them, or make any further pursuit, under the plea that he hadreceived orders to act against Indian depredators, but not against whitemen.

  "If such is the case," interrupted the Comanche chief; "retireimmediately with thy men, even to-night, or the breeze of evening willrepeat thy words to my young men, who would give a lesson of justice tothe Texians. Away with thee, if thou valuest thy scalp; justice shallbe done by Indians; it is time they should take it into their own hands,when Pale-faces are afraid of each other."

  Captain Hunt was wise enough to retire without replying, and the nextmorning the Indians, armed with cords and switches, gave a severewhipping to the brigands, for having assumed the Comanche paint andwar-whoop. This first part of their punishment being over, their paintwas washed off, and the chief passed them over to us, who were, with theaddition I have mentioned, now eight white inca. "They are too mean,"said the chief, "to receive a warrior's death; judge them according toyour laws; justice must be done."

  It was an awful responsibility; but we judged them according to the lawsof the United States and of Texas: they were condemned to be hung, and
at sunset they were executed. For all I know, their bodies may stillhang from the lower branches of the three large cotton-wood trees uponthe head waters of the Trinity River.

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  Note 1. It may appear singular to the reader that the Comanche, beingalways at war with the Texians, should not have immediately attacked theparty under the orders of Hunt. But we were merely a hunting-party;that is to say, our band was composed chiefly of young hunters, not yetwarriors. On such occasions, there is frequently, though not always, anancient warrior for every eight hunters just to shew to them the craftsof Indian mode of hunting. These parties often bring with them theirsquaws and children, and never fight but when obliged to do so.