The Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XV.

  During my long absence and captivity among the Arrapahoes, I had oftenreflected upon the great advantages which would accrue if, by anypossibility, the various tribes which were of Shoshone origin could beinduced to unite with them in one confederacy; and the more I reflectedupon the subject, the more resolved I became, that if ever I returned tothe settlement, I would make the proposition to our chiefs in council.

  The numbers composing these tribes were as follows:--The Shoshonesamounting to about 60,000, independent of the mountain tribes, which wemight compute at 10,000 more; the Apaches, about 40,000; the Arrapahoes,about 20,000; the Comanches and the tribes springing from them, at thelowest computation, amounting to 60,000 more. Speaking the samelanguage, having the same religious formula, the same manners andcustoms; nothing appeared to me to be more feasible. The Arrapahoes werethe only one tribe which was generally at variance with us, but theywere separated from the Shoshones much later than the other tribes, andwere therefore even more Shoshone than the Apaches and Comanches.

  Shortly after my return, I acted upon my resolution. I summoned all thechiefs of our nation to a great council, and in the month of August,1839, we were all assembled outside of the walls of the settlement.After the preliminary ceremonies, I addressed them:--

  "Shoshones! brave children of the Grand Serpent! my wish is to renderyou happy, rich, and powerful. During the day I think of it; I dream ofit in my sleep. At last, I have had great thoughts--thoughts proceedingfrom the Manitou. Hear now the words of Owato Wanisha; he is young, veryyoung; his skin is that of a Pale-face, but his heart is a Shoshone's.

  "When you refused to till the ground, you did well, for it was not inyour nature--the nature of man cannot be changed like that of a moth.Yet, at that time, you understood well the means which give power to agreat people. Wealth alone can maintain the superiority that bravery hasasserted. Wealth and bravery make strength--strength which nothing canbreak down, except the great Master of Life.

  "The Shoshones knew this a long time ago; they are brave, but they haveno wealth; and if they still keep their superiority, it is because theirenemies are at this time awed by the strength and the cunning of theirwarriors. But the Shoshones, to keep their ground, will some day beobliged to sleep always on their borders, to repel their enemies. Theywill be too busy to fish and to hunt. Their squaws and children willstarve! Even now the evil has begun. What hunting and what fishing haveyou had this last year? None! As soon as the braves had arrived at theirhunting-ground, they were obliged to return back to defend their squawsand to punish their enemies.

  "Now, why should not the Shoshones put themselves at once above thereach of such chances? why should they not get rich? They object toplanting grain and tobacco. They do well, as other people can do thatfor them; but there are many other means of getting strength and wealth.These I will teach to my tribe!

  "The Shoshones fight the Crows, because the Crows are thieves; theFlat-heads, because they are greedy of our buffaloes; the Umbiquas,because they steal horses. Were it not for them, the children of theGrand Serpent would never fight; their lodges would fill with wealth,and that wealth would purchase all the good things of the white men fromdistant lands. These white men-come to the Watchinangoes (Mexicans), totake the hides of their oxen, the wool of their sheep. They would cometo us, if we had anything to offer them. Let us then call them, for wehave the hides of thousands of buffaloes; we have the furs of the beaverand the otter; we have plenty of copper in our mountains, and of gold inour streams.

  "Now, hear me. When a Shoshone chief thinks that the Crows will attackhis lodge, he calls his children and his nephews around him. A nationcan do the same. The Shoshones have many brave children in the prairiesof the South; they have many more on the borders of the Yankees. All ofthem think and speak like their ancestors, they are the same people.Now would it not be good and wise to have all these brave grand-childrenand grand-nephews as your neighbours and allies, instead of the Crows,the Cayuses, and the Umbiquas? Yes, it would. Who would dare to comefrom the north across a country inhabited by the warlike Comanches, orfrom the south and the rising sun, through the wigwams of the Apaches?The Shoshones would then have more than 30,000 warriors; they wouldsweep the country, from the sea to the mountains, from the river of thenorth (Columbia) to the towns of the Watchinangoes. When the white menwould come in their big canoes, as traders and friends, we would receivethem well; if they come as foes, we will laugh at them, and whip themlike dogs. These are the thoughts which I wanted to make known to theShoshones.

  "During my absence, I have seen the Apaches and the Comanches. They areboth great nations. Let us send some wise men to invite them to returnto their fathers; let our chiefs offer them wood, land, and water. Ihave said."

  As long as I spoke, the deepest silence reigned over the whole assembly;but as soon as I sat down, and began smoking, there was a generalmovement, which showed me that I had made an impression. The old greatchief rose, however, and the murmurs were hushed. He spoke:--

  "Owato Wanisha has spoken. I have heard. It was a strange vision, abeautiful dream. My heart came young again, my body lighter, and my eyesmore keen. Yet I cannot see the future; I must fast and pray, I must askthe great Master of Life to lend me his wisdom.

  "I know the Comanches, I know the Apaches, and the Arrapahoes. They areour children; I know it. The Comanches have left us a long, long time,but the Apaches and Arrapahoes have not yet forgotten thehunting-grounds where their fathers were born. When I was but a younghunter, they would come every snow to the lodge of our Manitou, to offertheir presents. It was long before any Pale-face had passed themountains. Since that the leaves of the oaks have grown and died eightytimes. It is a long while for a man, but for a nation it is but asyesterday.

  "They are our children,--it would be good to have them with us; theywould share our hunts; we would divide our wealth with them. Then wewould be strong. Owato Wanisha has spoken well; he hath learned manymysteries with the _Macota Conaya_ (black robes, priests); he is wise.Yet, as I have said, the red-skin chiefs must ask wisdom from the GreatMaster. He will let us know what is good and what is bad. At the nextmoon we will return to the council. I have said."

  All the chiefs departed, to prepare for their fasting and ceremonies,while Gabriel, Roche, my old servant, and myself, concerted our measuresso as to insure the success of my enterprise. My servant I despatched toMonterey, Gabriel to the nearest village of the Apaches, and as it wasproper, according to Indian ideas, that I should be out of the wayduring the ceremonies, so as not to influence any chief, I retired withRoche to the boat-house, to pass the time until the new moon.

  Upon the day agreed upon, we were all once more assembled at thecouncil-ground on the shores of the Buona Ventura, The chiefs and eldersof the tribe had assumed a solemn demeanour, and even the men of darkdeeds (the Medecins) and the keepers of the sacred lodges had made theirappearance, in their professional dresses, so as to impress upon thebeholders the importance of the present transaction. One of the sacredlodge first arose, and making a signal with his hand, preparedto speak:--

  "Shoshones," said he, "now has come the time in which out nation musteither rise above all others, as the eagle of the mountains rises abovethe small birds, or sink down and disappear from the surface of theearth. Had we been left such as we were before the Pale-faces crossedthe mountains, we would have needed no other help but a Shoshone heartand our keen arrows to crush our enemies; but the Pale-faces have doublehearts as well as a double tongue; they are friends or enemies as theirthirst for wealth guides them. They trade with the Shoshones, but theyalso trade with the Crows and the Umbiquas. The young chief, OwatoWanisha, hath proposed a new path to our tribe; he is young, but he hasreceived his wisdom from the Black-gowns, who, of all men, are the mostwise. I have heard, as our elders and ancient chiefs have also heard,the means by which he thinks we can succeed: we have fasted, we haveprayed to the Master of Life to show unto us the path which we mustfollow. Shoshones, we
live in a strange time! Our great Manitou bids usRed-skins obey the Pale-face, and follow him to conquer or die. I havesaid! The chief of many winters will now address his warriorsand friends!"

  A murmur ran through the whole assembly, who seemed evidently much movedby this political speech from one whom they were accustomed to look uponwith dread, as the interpreter of the will of heaven. The old chief, whohad already spoken in the former council, now rose and spoke with atremulous yet distinct voice.

  "I have fasted, I have prayed, I have dreamed. Old men, who have livedalmost all their life, have a keener perception *to read the wishes ofthe Master of Life concerning the future. I am a chief, and have been achief during sixty changes of the season. I am proud of my station, andas I have struck deepest in the heart of our enemies, I am jealous ofthat power which is mine, and would yield it to no one, if the greatManitou did not order it. When this sun will have disappeared behind thesalt-water, I shall no longer be a chief! Owato Wanisha will guide ourwarriors, he will preside in council, for two gods are with him--theManitou of the Pale-faces and the Manitou of the Red-skins.

  "Hear my words, Shoshones! I shall soon join my father and grandfatherin the happy lands, for I am old! Yet, before my bones are buried at thefoot of the hills, it would brighten my heart to see the glory of theShoshones, which I know must be in a short time. Hear my words! Longages ago some of our children, not finding our hunting-grounds wideenough for the range-of their arrows, left us. They first wandered inthe south, and in the beautiful prairies of the east, under a climateblessed by the good spirits. They grew and grew in number till theirfamilies were as numerous as ours, and as they were warriors and theirhearts big, they spread themselves, and, soon crossing the bigmountains, their eagle glance saw on each side of their territory thesalt-water of the sunrise and the salt-water of the sunset. These arethe Comanches, a powerful nation. The Comanches even now have a Shoshoneheart, a Shoshone tongue. Owato Wanisha has been with them; he says theyare friends, and have not forgotten that they are the children of theGreat Serpent.

  "Long, long while afterwards, yet not long enough that I should escapethe memory and the records of our holy men, some other of our children,hearing of the power of the Comanches of their wealth, of theirbeautiful country, determined also to leave us and spread to the south.These are the Apaches From the top of the big mountains, always coveredwith snow they look towards the bed of the sun. They see the green grassof the prairie below them, and afar the blue salt-water Their houses areas numerous as the stars in heaven, their warriors as thick as theshells in the bottom of our lakes. They are brave; they are feared bythe Pale-faces--by all; and they too, know that we are their fathers;their tongue is our tongue their Manitou our Manitou; their heart aportion of our heart and never has the knife of a Shoshone drunk theblood of a Apache, nor the belt of an Apache suspended the scalpof Shoshone.

  "And afterwards, again, more of our children left us. By that time theyleft us because we were angry. They were few families of chiefs who hadgrown strong and proud. They wished to lord over our wigwams, and wedrove them away, as the panther drives away her cubs, when their clawsand teeth have been once turned against her. These are the ArrapahoesThey are strong and our enemies, yet they are a noble nation. I have inmy lodge twenty of their scalps; they have many ours. They fight by thebroad light of the day, with the lane bow, and arrows; they scorntreachery. Are they not although rebels and unnatural children, stillthe children, of the Shoshones? Who ever heard of the Arrapahoesentering the war-path in night? No one! They are no Crows, no Umbiquas,no Flat-heads! They can give death; they know how to receiveit,--straight and upright, knee to knee, breast to breast, and their eyedrinking the glance of their foe.

  "Well, these Arrapahoes are our neighbours; often, very often, too muchso (as many of our widows can say), when they unbury their tomahawk andenter the war-path against the Shoshones. Why; can two suns light thesame prairie, or two male eagles cover the same nest? No. Yet numerousstars appear during night, all joined together, and obedient to themoon. Blackbirds and parrots will unite their numerous tribes and takethe same flight to seek altogether a common rest a shelter for a night;it is a law of nature. The Red-skin knows none but the laws of nature.The Shoshone is an eagle on the hills, a bright sun in the prairie, sois an Arrapahoe; they must both struggle and fight till one sun isthrown into darkness, or one eagle, blind and winged, falls down therocks and leaves the whole nest to its conqueror. The Arrapahoes wouldnot fight a cowardly Crow, except for self-defence, for he smells ofcarrion; nor would a Shoshone.

  "Crows, Umbiquas, and Flat-heads, Cayuses, Bonnaxes, and Callapoos canhunt all together and rest together; they are the blackbirds and theparrots; they must do so, else the eagle should destroy them during theday, or the hedgehog during the night.

  "Now, Owato Wanisha, or his Manitou, has offered a bold thing. I havethought of it, I have spoken of it to the spirits of the Red-skin; theysaid it was good; I say it is good! I am a chief of many winters; I knowwhat is good, I know what is bad! Shoshones, hear me! my voice is weak,come nearer; hearken to my words, hist! I hear a whisper under theripples of the water, I hear it in the waving of the grass, I feel it onthe breeze!--hist, it is the whisper of the Master of Life,--hist!"

  At this moment the venerable chief appeared abstracted, his faceflushed; then followed a trance, as if he were communing with someinvisible spirit. Intensely and silently did the warriors watch thestruggles of his noble features; the time had come in which the minds ofthe Shoshones were freed of their prejudices, and dared to contemplatethe prospective of a future general domination over the Westerncontinent of America. The old chief raised his hand, and hespoke again:--

  "Children, for you are my children! Warriors, for you are all brave!Chiefs, for you are all chiefs! I have seen a vision. It was a cloud,and the Manitou was upon it. The cloud gave way, and behind I saw a vastnation, large cities, rich wigwams, strange boats, and great parties ofwarriors, whose trail was so long that I could not see the beginning northe end. It was in a country which I felt within me was extending fromthe north, where all is ice, down to the south, where all is fire! Thena big voice was heard! It was not a war-whoop, it was not the yell ofthe fiends, it was not the groan of the captive tied to the stake; itwas a voice of glory, that shouted the name of the Shoshones--for allwere Shoshones. There were no Pale-faces among them--none! Owato Wanishawas there, but he had a red skin, and his hair was black; so were histwo fathers, but they were looking young; so was his aged and humblefriend, but his limbs seemed to have recovered all the activity andvigour of youth; so were his two young friends, who have fought sobravely at the Post, when the cowardly Umbiquas entered our grounds.This is all what I have heard, all what I have seen; and the whispersaid to me, as the vision faded away, 'Lose no time, old chief, the dayhas come! Say to thy warriors, Listen to the young Pale-face. The GreatSpirit of the Red-skin will pass into his breast, and lend him somewords that the Shoshone will understand.'

  "I am old and feeble; I am tired; arise, my grandson Owato Wanisha;speak to my warriors; tell them the wishes of the Great Spirit. Ihave spoken."

  Thus called upon, I advanced to the place which the chief had leftvacant, and spoke in my turn:--

  "Shoshones, fathers, brothers, warriors,--I am a Pale-face, but you knowall my heart is a Shoshone's. I am young, but no more a child. It is buta short time since that I was a hunter; since that time the Manitou hasmade me a warrior, and led me among strange and distant tribes, where hetaught me what I should do to render the Shoshones a great people. Hearmy words, for I have but one tongue; it is the tongue of my heart, andin my heart now dwells the Good Spirit. Wonder not, if I assume the toneof command to give orders; the orders I will give are the Manitou's.

  "The twelve wisest heads of the Shoshones will go to the Arrapahoes.With them they will take presents; they will take ten sons of chiefs,who have themselves led men on the war-path; they will take ten younggirls, fair to look at, daughters of chiefs, whose voices are s
oft asthe warbling of the birds in the fall. At the great council of theArrapahoes, the ten girls will be offered to ten great chiefs, and tengreat chiefs will offer their own daughters to our ten young warriors;they will offer peace for ever; they will exchange all the scalps, andthey will say that their fathers, the Shoshones, will once more opentheir arms to their brave children. Our best hunting-ground shall betheirs; they will fish the salmon of our rivers; they will be ArrapahoesShoshones; we will become Shoshones Arrapahoes. I have already sent tothe settlement of the Watchinangoes my ancient Pale-face friend of thestout heart and keen eye; shortly we will see at the Post a vessel witharms, ammunition, and presents for the nation. I will go myself with aparty of warriors to the prairies of the Apaches, and among theComanches.

  "Yet I hear within me a stout voice, which I must obey. My grandfather,the old chief, has said he should be no more a chief. It was wrong, verywrong; the Manitou is angry. Is the buffalo less a buffalo when he growsold, or the eagle less an eagle when a hundred winters have whitened hiswings? No! their nature cannot change, not more than that of a chief andthat chief, a chief of the Shoshones!

  "Owato Wanisha will remain what he is; he is too young to be the greatchief of the whole of a great nation. His wish is good, but his wisdomis of yesterday; he cannot rule. To rule belongs to those who havedeserved doing so, by long experience. No! Owato Wanisha will lead hiswarriors to the war-path, or upon the trail of the buffalo; he will goand talk to the grandchildren of the Shoshones; more he cannot do!

  "Let now the squaws prepare the farewell meal, and make ready the greenpaint; to-morrow I shall depart, with fifty of my young men. Ihave spoken."

  The council being broken up, I had to pass through the ceremony ofsmoking the pipe and shaking hands with those who could call themselveswarriors. On the following morning, fifty magnificent horses, richlycaparisoned, were led to the lawn before the council lodge. Fiftywarriors soon appeared, in their gaudiest dresses, all armed with thelance, bow, and lasso, and rifle suspended across the shoulder. Thenthere was a procession of all the tribe, divided into two bands, thefirst headed by the chiefs and holy men; the other, by the youngvirgins. Then the dances commenced; the elders sang their exploits offormer days, as an example to their children; the voting men exercisedthemselves at the war-post; and the matrons, wives, mothers, or sistersof the travellers painted their faces with green and red, as a token ofthe nature of their mission. When this task was performed, the whole ofthe procession again formed their ranks, and joined in a chorus, askingthe Manitou for success, and bidding us farewell. I gave the signal; allmy men sprang up in their saddles, and the gallant little band, afterhaving rode twice round the council lodge, galloped away intothe prairie.

  Two days after us, another party was to start for the country of theArrapahoes, with the view of effecting a reconciliation between ourtwo tribes.