CHAPTER V.
Although it was nearly true, as Captain Flint had told his men, thatthey were about as well acquainted with his history since he landed inthis country as he was himself, such is not the case with the reader.And in order that he may be as well informed in this matter as theywere, we shall now endeavor to fill up the gap in the narrative.
To the crew of the vessel who had rescued him and saved his life,Captain Flint had represented himself as being one of the hands of aship which had been wrecked at sea, and from which the only ones whohad escaped, were himself and two negros, one of whom was the fatherof the boy who had been found with him. The father of the boy hadfallen overboard, and been drowned just before the vessel hove insight.
This story, which seemed plausible enough, was believed by the meninto whose hands they had fallen, and Flint and the negro, receivedevery attention which their forlorn condition required. And uponarriving in port, charitable people exerted themselves in thecaptain's behalf, procuring him employment, and otherwise enabling himto procure an honest livelihood, should he so incline.
But honesty was not one of the captain's virtues.
He had not been long in the country before he determined to try hisfortune among the Indians.
He adopted this course partly because he saw in it a way of makingmoney more rapidly than in any other, and partly because it opened tohim a new field of wild adventure.
Having made the acquaintance of some of the Indians who were in thehabit of coming to the city occasionally for the purpose of trading,he accompanied them to their home in the wilderness, and havingpreviously made arrangements with merchants in the city, among othersCarl Rosenthrall, to purchase or dispose of his furs, he was soondriving a thriving business. In a little while he became very popularwith the savages, joined one of the tribes and was made a chief.
This state of things however, did not last long. The other chiefsbecame jealous of his influence, and incited the minds of many of thepeople against him.
They said he cheated them in his dealings, that his attachment to thered men was all pretence. That he was a paleface at heart, carrying ontrade with the palefaces to the injury of the Indians. Killing themwith his fire water which they gave them for their furs.
In all this there was no little truth, but Flint, confident of hispower over his new friends, paid no attention to it.
A crisis came at last.
One of the chiefs who had been made drunk by whiskey which he hadreceived from Flint in exchange for a lot of beaver skins, accused thelatter of cheating him; called him a paleface thief who had joined theIndians only for the purpose of cheating them.
Flint forgetting his usual caution took the unruly savage by theshoulders and thrust him out of the lodge.
In a few moments the enraged Indian returned accompanied by another,when the two attacked the white man with knives and tomahawks.
Flint saw no way but to defend himself single-handed as he was,against two infuriated savages, and to do to if possible withoutkilling either.
This he soon discovered was impossible. The only weapon he had atcommand was a hunting knife, and he had two strong men to contendagainst. Fortunately for him, one of them was intoxicated.
As it was, the savage who had begun the quarrel, was killed, and theother so badly wounded that he died a few hours afterwards.
The enmity of the whole tribe was now aroused against Flint, by theunfortunate termination of this affair.
It availed him nothing to contend that he had killed the two in selfdefence, and that they begun the quarrel.
He was a white man, and had killed two Indians, and that was enough.
Besides, how did they know whether he told the truth or not?
He was a paleface, and palefaces had crooked tongues, and their wordscould not be depended upon. Besides their brethren were dead, andcould not speak for themselves.
Finally it was decided in the grand council of the tribe that heshould suffer death, and although they called him a paleface, as hehad joined the tribe he should be treated as an Indian, and sufferdeath by torture in order that he might have an opportunity of showinghow he could endure the most horrible torment without complaining.
The case of Flint now seemed to be a desperate one. He was bound handand foot, and escape seemed out of the question.
Relief came from a quarter he did not anticipate.
The place where this took place was not on the borders of the greatlakes where the tribe to which Flint had attached himself belonged,but on the shores of the Hudson river a few miles above the Highlands,where a portion of the tribe had stopped to rest for a few days, whileon their way to New York, where they were going for the purpose oftrading.
It happened that there was among them a woman who had originallybelonged to one of the tribes inhabiting this part of the country, butwho while young, had been taken prisoner in some one of the wars thatwere always going on among the savages. She was carried away by hercaptors, and finally adopted into their tribe.
To this woman Flint had shown some kindness, and had at several timesmade her presents of trinkets and trifles such as he knew wouldgratify an uncultivated taste. And which cost him little or nothing.He little thought when making these trifling presents the service hewas doing himself.
Late in the night preceding the day on which he was to have beenexecuted, this woman came into the tent where he lay bound, and cutthe thongs with which he was tied, and telling him in a whisper tofollow her, she led the way out.
With stealthy and cautious steps they made their way through theencampment, but when clear of this, they traveled as rapidly as thedarkness of the night and the nature of the ground would admit of.
All night, and a portion of the next day they continued their journey.The rapidity with which she traveled, and her unhesitating manner,soon convinced Flint that she was familiar with the country.
Upon reaching Butterhill, or Mount Tecomthe, she led the way to thecave which we have already described.
After resting for a few moments in the first chamber, the Indianwoman, who we may as well inform the reader was none other than ourfriend Lightfoot, showed Flint the secret door and the entrance to thegrand chamber, which after lighting a torch made of pitch-pine, theyentered.
"Here we are safe," said Lightfoot; "Indians no find us here."
The moment Flint entered this cavern it struck him as being a fineretreat for a band of pirates or smugglers, and for this purpose hedetermined to make use of it.
Lightfoot's knowledge of this cave was owing to the fact, that shebelonged to a tribe to whom alone the secrets of the place were known.It was a tribe that had inhabited that part of the country forcenturies. But war and privation had so reduced them, that there wasbut a small remnant of them left, and strangers now occupied theirhunting grounds.
The Indians in the neighborhood knew of the existence of the cave, buthad never penetrated farther than the first chamber, knowing nothingof the concealed entrance which led to the other. Having as they said,seen Indians enter it who never came out again, and who althoughfollowed almost immediately could not be found there, they began tohold it in a kind of awe, calling it the mystery or medicine cave, andsaying that it was under the guardianship of spirits.
Although the remnants of the once powerful tribe to whom this cave hadbelonged, were now scattered over the country, there existed betweenthem a sort of masonry by which the different members could recogniseeach other whenever they met.
Fire Cloud, the Indian chief, who has already been introduced to thereader, was one of this tribe.
Although the existence of the cave was known to the members of thetribe generally, the whole of its secrets were known to the medicinemen, or priests only.
In fact it might be considered the grand temple where they performedthe mystic rites and ceremonies by which they imposed upon the people,and held them in subjection.
Flint immediately set about fitting up the place for the purpose whichhe intended
it.
To the few white trappers who now and then visited the district, theexistence of the cave was entirely unknown, and even the few Indianswho hunted and fished in the neighborhood, were acquainted only withthe outer cave as before stated.
When Flint was fully satisfied that all danger from pursuit was over,he set out for the purpose of going to the city in order to perfectthe arrangements for carrying out the project he had in view.
On passing out, the first object that met his view was his faithfulfollower Black Bill, siting at the entrance.
"How the devil did you get here!" was his first exclamation.
"Follered de Ingins what was a comin' arter massa," replied the boy.
Bill had followed his master into the wilderness, always like a bodyservant keeping near his person when not prevented by the Indians,which was the case while his master was a prisoner.
When the escape of Flint was discovered, he was free from restraint,and he, unknown to the party who had gone in pursuit, had followedthem.
From the negro, Flint learned that the Indians had tracked him to thecave, but not finding him there, and not being able to trace him anyfurther, they had given up the pursuit.
Flint thinking that the boy might be of service to him in the businesshe was about to enter upon, took him into the cave and put him incharge of Lightfoot.
On reaching the city, Flint purchased the schooner of which he was incommand when first introduced to the reader.
It is said that, "birds of a feather flock together," and Flint havingno difficulty gathering about him a number of kindred spirits, wassoon in a condition to enter upon the profession as he called it, mostcongenial to his taste and habits.
Fire Cloud; Or, The Mysterious Cave. A Story of Indians and Pirates. Page 5