Deerslayer (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by James Fenimore Cooper

  That thou shalt do no murder.

  Take heed; for he holds vengeance in his hand,

  To hurl upon your heads that break his law”

  Shakespeare

  THAT THE PARTY TO which Hist compulsorily belonged was not one that was regularly on the warpath was evident by the presence of females. It was a small fragment of a tribe that had been hunting and fishing within the English limits, where it was found by the commencement of hostilities, and, after passing the winter and spring by living on what was strictly the property of its enemies, it chose to strike a hostile blow before it finally retired.1 There was also deep Indian sagacity in the manoeuvre which had led them so far into the territory of their foes. When the runner arrived who announced the breaking out of hostilities between the English and French—a struggle that was certain to carry with it all the tribes that dwelt within the influence of the respective belligerents—this particular party of the Iroquois was posted on the shores of the Oneida, a lake that lies some fifty miles nearer to their own frontier than that which is the scene of our tale. To have fled in a direct line for the Canadas would have exposed them to the dangers of a direct pursuit; and the chiefs had determined to adopt the expedient of penetrating deeper into a region that had now become dangerous, in the hope of being able to retire in the rear of their pursuers, instead of having them on their trail. The presence of the women had induced the attempt at this ruse, the strength of these feebler members of the party being unequal to the effort of escaping from the pursuit of warriors. When the reader remembers the vast extent of the American wilderness at that early day, he will perceive that it was possible for even a tribe to remain months undiscovered in particular portions of it; nor was the danger of encountering a foe, the usual precautions being observed, as great in the woods as it is on the high seas in a time of active warfare.

  The encampment being temporary, it offered to the eye no more than the rude protection of a bivouac, relieved in some slight degree by the ingenious expedients which suggested themselves to the readiness of those who passed their lives amid similar scenes. One fire, that had been kindled against the roots of a living oak, sufficed for the whole party, the weather being too mild to require it for any purpose but cooking. Scattered round this center of attraction were some fifteen or twenty low huts—perhaps kennels would be a better word—into which their different owners crept at night, and which were also intended to meet the exigencies of a storm. These little huts were made of the branches of trees, put together with some ingenuity, and they were uniformly topped with bark that had been stripped from fallen trees, of which every virgin forest possesses hundreds, in all stages of decay. Of furniture, they had next to none. Cooking utensils of the simplest sort were lying near the fire; a few articles of clothing were to be seen in or around the huts; rifles, horns, and pouches leaned against the trees, or were suspended from the lower branches; and the carcasses of two or three deer were stretched to view on the same natural shambles.

  As the encampment was in the midst of a dense wood, the eye could not take in its tout ensembleh at a glance; but hut after hut started out of the gloomy picture, as one gazed about him in quest of objects. There was no center, unless the fire might be so considered—no open area where the possessors of this rude village might congregate; but all was dark, covert, and cunning, like its owners. A few children strayed from hut to hut, giving the spot a little the air of domestic life; and the suppressed laugh and low voices of the women occasionally broke in upon the deep stillness of the somber forest. As for the men, they either ate, slept, or examined their arms. They conversed but little, and then usually apart, or in groups withdrawn from the females; whilst an air of untiring, innate watchfulness and apprehension of danger seemed to be blended even with their slumbers.

  As the two girls came near the encampment, Hetty uttered a slight exclamation on catching a view of the person of her father. He was seated on the ground, with his back to a tree, and Hurry stood near him, indolently whittling a twig. Apparently, they were as much at liberty as any others in or about the camp; and one unaccustomed to Indian usages would have mistaken them for visitors, instead of supposing them to be captives. Wah-ta-Wah led her new friend quite near them, and then modestly withdrew, that her own presence might be no restraint on her feelings. But Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness, to indulge in any outbreaking of feeling. She merely approached and stood at her father’s side without speaking, resembling a silent statue of filial affection. The old man expressed neither alarm nor surprise at her sudden appearance. In these particulars he had caught the stoicism of the Indians; well knowing that there was no more certain mode of securing their respect than by imitating their self-command. Nor did the savages themselves betray the least sign of surprise at this sudden appearance of a stranger among them. In a word, this arrival produced much less visible sensation, though occurring under circumstances so peculiar, than would be seen in a village of higher pretensions to civilization, did an ordinary traveler drive up to the door of its principal inn. Still, a few warriors collected, and it was evident, by the manner in which they glanced at Hetty as they conversed together, that she was the subject of their discourse, and probable that the reasons of her unlooked-for appearance were matters of discussion. This phlegm of manner is characteristic of the North American Indian—some say of his white successor also; but, in this case, much should be attributed to the peculiar situation in which the party was placed. The force in the ark, the presence of Chingachgook excepted, was well known, no tribe or body of troops was believed to be near, and vigilant eyes were posted round the entire lake, watching, day and night, the slightest movement of those whom it would not be exaggerated now to term the besieged.

  Hutter was inwardly much moved by the conduct of Hetty, though he affected so much indifference of manner. He recollected her gentle appeal to him before he left the ark, and misfortune rendered that of weight which might have been forgotten amid the triumph of success. Then he knew the simple, single-hearted fidelity of his child, and understood why she had come, and the total disregard of self that reigned in all her acts.

  “This is not well, Hetty,” he said, deprecating the consequences to the girl herself more than any other evil. “These are fierce Iroquois, and are as little apt to forget an injury as a favor.”

  “Tell me, father,” returned the girl, looking furtively about her, as if fearful of being overheard, “did God let you do the cruel errand on which you came? I want much to know this, that I may speak to the Indians plainly if He did not.”

  “You should not have come hither, Hetty; these brutes will not understand your nature or your intentions!”

  “How was it, father? Neither you nor Hurry seems to have anything that looks like scalps.”

  “If that will set your mind at peace, child, I can answer you, no. I had caught the young creatur’ who came here with you, but her screeches soon brought down upon me a troop of the wildcats that was too much for any single Christian to withstand. If that will do you any good, we are as innocent of having taken a scalp this time as I make no doubt we shall also be innocent of receiving the bounty”

  “Thank you for that, father! Now I can speak boldly to the Iroquois, and with an easy conscience. I hope Hurry, too, has not been able to harm any of the Indians?”

  “Why, as to that matter, Hetty,” returned the individual in question, “you’ve put it pretty much in the natyve character of the religious truth. Hurry has not been able, and that is the long and short of it. I’ve seen many squalls, old fellow, both on land and on the water, but never did I feel one as lively and as snappish as that which come down upon us night afore last, in the shape of an Indian hurrah-boys! Why, Hetty, you’re no great matter at a reason or an idee that lies a little deeper than common, but you’re human and have some human notions; now I’ll just ask you to look at these circumstances. Here was old Tom, your father, and myself bent on a legal opera
tion, as is to be seen in the words of the law and the proclamation, thinking no harm, when we were set upon by critters that were more like a pack of hungry wolves than mortal savages even, and there they had us tethered like two sheep in less time than it has taken me to tell you the story.”

  “You are free, now, Hurry,” returned Hetty, glancing timidly at the fine, unfettered limbs of the young giant. “You have no cords or withes to pain your arms or legs now.”

  “Not I, Hetty. Natur’ is natur‘, and freedom is natur’, too. My limbs have a free look, but that’s pretty much the amount of it, sin’ I can’t use them in the way I should like. Even these trees have eyes; ay, and tongues, too; for, was the old man here, or I, to start one single rod beyond our jail limits, sarvice would be put on the bail afore we could ‘gird up our loins’ for a race; and like as not, four or five rifle bullets would be traveling arter us, carrying so many invitations to curb our impatience. There isn’t a jail in the colony as tight as this we are now in; for I’ve tried the vartue of two or three on ’em, and I know the mater‘als they are made of, as well as the men that make ’em, takin’ down being the next step in schoolin’ to puttin’ up, in all such fabrications.”

  Lest the reader should get an exaggerated opinion of Hurry’s demerits from this boastful and indiscreet revelation, it may be well to say that his offenses were confined to assaults and batteries, for several of which he had been imprisoned, when, as he has just said, he often escaped by demonstrating the flimsiness of the constructions in which he was confined, by opening for himself doors in spots where the architects had neglected to place them. But Hetty had no knowledge of jails, and little of the nature of crime, beyond what her unadulterated and almost instinctive perceptions of right and wrong taught her, and this sally of the rude being who had spoken was lost upon her. She understood his general meaning, however, and answered in reference to that alone.

  “It’s so best, Hurry,” she said. “It is best father and you should be quiet and peaceable till I have spoken to the Iroquois, when all will be well and happy I don’t wish either of you to follow, but leave me to myself. As soon as all is settled, and you are at liberty to go back to the castle, I will come and let you know it.”

  Hetty spoke with so much simple earnestness, seemed so confident of success, and wore so high an air of moral feeling and truth, that both the listeners felt more disposed to attach an importance to her mediation than might otherwise have happened. When she manifested an intention to quit them, therefore, they offered no obstacle, though they saw she was about to join the group of chiefs who were consulting apart, seemingly on the manner and motive of her own sudden appearance.

  When Hist—for so we love best to call her—quitted her companion, she strayed near one or two of the elder warriors, who had shown her most kindness in her captivity—the principal man of whom had even offered to adopt her as his child, if she would consent to become a Huron. In taking this direction the shrewd girl did so to invite inquiry. She was too well trained in the habits of her people to obtrude the opinions of one of her sex and years on men and warriors; but nature had furnished a tact and ingenuity that enabled her to attract the attention she desired, without wounding the pride of those whom it was her duty to defer to and respect. Even her af fected indifference stimulated curiosity; and Hetty had hardly reached the side of her father before the Delaware girl was brought within the circle of the warriors by a secret but significant gesture. Here she was questioned as to the presence of her companion, and the motives that had brought her to the camp. This was all that Hist desired. She explained the manner in which she had detected the weakness of Hetty’s reason, rather exaggerating than lessening the deficiency in her intellect; and then she related in general terms the object of the girl in venturing among her enemies. The effect was all that the speaker expected; her account investing the person and character of their visitor with a sacredness and respect that she well knew would prove her protection. As soon as her own purpose was attained, Hist withdrew to a distance, where, with female consideration and a sisterly tenderness, she set about the preparation of a meal, to be offered to her new friend as soon as the latter might be at liberty to partake of it. While thus occupied, however, the ready girl in no degree relaxed in her watchfulness, noting every change of countenance among the chiefs, every movement of Hetty, and the smaller occurrences that could be likely to affect her own interests or that of her new friend.

  As Hetty approached the chiefs, they opened their little circle with an ease and deference of manner that would have done credit to men of more courtly origin. A fallen tree lay near, and the oldest of the warriors made a quiet sign for the girl to be seated on it, taking his place at her side with the gentleness of a father. The others arranged themselves around the two with grave dignity; and then the girl, who had sufficient observation to perceive that such a course was expected of her, began to reveal the object of her visit. The moment she opened her mouth to speak, however, the old chief gave a gentle sign for her to forbear, said a few words to one of his juniors, and then waited in silent patience until the latter had summoned Hist to the party. This interruption proceeded from the chief having discovered that there existed a necessity for an interpreter; few of the Hurons present understanding the English language, and they but imperfectly.

  Wah-ta-Wah was not sorry to be called upon to be present at the interview, and least of all in the character in which she was now wanted. She was aware of the hazards she ran in attempting to deceive one or two of the party; but was none the less resolved to use every means that offered, and to practice every artifice that an Indian education could supply, to conceal the facts of the vicinity of her betrothed, and of the errand on which he had come. One unpracticed in the expedients and opinions of savage life would not have suspected the readiness of invention, the wariness of action, the high resolution, the noble impulses, the deep self-devotion, and the feminine disregard of self, where the affections were concerned, that lay concealed beneath the demure looks, the mild eyes, and the sunny smiles of this young Indian beauty. As she approached them, the grim old warriors regarded her with pleasure, for they had a secret pride in the hope of engrafting so rare a scion on the stock of their own nation; adoption being as regularly practiced, and as distinctly recognized among the tribes of America, as it ever had been among those nations that submit to the sway of the civil law

  As soon as Hist was seated by the side of Hetty, the old chief desired her to ask “the fair young paleface” what had brought her among the Iroquois, and what they could do to serve her.

  “Tell them, Hist, who I am—Thomas Hutter’s youngest daughter ; Thomas Hutter, the oldest of their two prisoners; he who owns the castle and the ark, and who has the best right to be thought the owner of these hills, and that lake, since he has dwelt so long, and trapped so long, and fished so long among them. They’ll know whom you mean by Thomas Hutter, if you tell them that. And then tell them that I’ve come here to convince them they ought not to harm father and Hurry, but let them go in peace, and to treat them as brothers, rather than as enemies. Now tell them all this plainly, Hist, and fear nothing for yourself or me; God will protect us.”

  Wah-ta-Wah did as the other desired, taking care to render the words of her friend as literally as possible into the Iroquois tongue, a language she used with a readiness almost equal to that with which she spoke her own. The chiefs heard this opening explanation with grave decorum, the two who had a little knowledge of English intimating their satisfaction with the interpreter by furtive but significant glances of the eyes.

  “And now, Hist,” continued Hetty, as soon as it was intimated to her that she might proceed; “and now, Hist, I wish you to tell these redmen, word for word, what I am about to say. Tell them first, that father and Hurry came here with an intention to take as many scalps as they could; for the wicked governor and the province have offered money for scalps; whether of warriors or women, men or children; and the love of gold was too
strong for their hearts to withstand it. Tell them this, dear Hist, just as you have heard it from me, word for word.”

  Wah-ta-Wah hesitated about rendering this speech as literally as had been desired; but detecting the intelligence of those who understood English, and apprehending even a greater knowledge than they actually possessed, she found herself compelled to comply. Contrary to what a civilized man would have expected, the admission of the motives and of the errands of their prisoners produced no visible ef fect on either the countenances or the feelings of the listeners. They probably considered the act meritorious, and that which neither of them would have hesitated to perform in his own person, he would not be apt to censure in another.

  “And now, Hist,” resumed Hetty, as soon as she perceived that her first speeches were understood by the chiefs, “you can tell them more. They know that father and Hurry did not succeed; and therefore they can bear them no grudge for any harm that has been done. If they had slain their children and wives, it would not alter the matter ; and I’m not certain that what I am about to tell them would not have more weight had there been mischief done. But ask them first, Hist, if they know there is a God who reigns over the whole earth and is ruler and chief of all who live, let them be red or white, or what color they may”

  Wah-ta-Wah looked a little surprised at this question; for the idea of the Great Spirit is seldom long absent from the mind of an Indian girl. She put the question as literally as possible, however, and received a grave answer in the affirmative.

  “This is right,” continued Hetty, “and my duty will now be light. This Great Spirit, as you call our God, has caused a book to be written, that we call a Bible; and in this book have been set down all his commandments, and his holy will and pleasure, and the rules by which all men are to live, and directions how to govern the thoughts even, and the wishes, and the will. Here, this is one of these holy books, and you must tell the chiefs what I am about to read to them from its sacred pages.”