CHAPTER V
THE MOHAWK CHIEF
The canoe was passing between low shores, and they landed on the leftbank, lifting out of the water the little vessel that had served them sowell, and carrying it to a point some distance in the bushes. There theysat down beside it a while and drew long, deep and panting breaths.
"I don't want to repeat that experience soon," said Robert. "I thinkevery muscle and bone in me is aching."
"So do mine," said Willet, "but they ache in a good cause, and what's ofmore importance just now a successful one too. Having left no trail theIndians won't be able to follow us, and we can rest here a long time,which compels me to tell you again to put on your clothes and becomerespectable."
They were quite dry now, and they dressed. They also saw that their armsand ammunition were in order, and after Willet had scouted the country abit, seeing that no human-being was near, they ate breakfast of the deermeat and felt thankful.
"The aches are leaving me," said Willet, "and in another half-hour I'llbe the man I was yesterday. Not I'll be a better man. I've been indanger lots of times and always there's a wonderful feeling ofhappiness when I get out of it."
"That is, risk goes before real rest," said Robert.
"That's about the way to put it, and escaping as we've just done from asiege, this dawn is about the finest I've ever seen. Isn't that a bigand glorious sun over there? I suppose it's the same sun I've beenlooking at for years, but it seems to me that it has a new anduncommonly splendid coat of gilding this morning."
"I think it was put on to celebrate our successful flight," said Robert."It's not only a splendid sun, Dave, but it's an uncommonly friendly onetoo. I can look it squarely in the eye for just a second and it fairlybeams on me."
"My brothers are right," said Tayoga gravely. "If it had not been thewill of Manitou for us to escape from the trap that had been set for usthe sun rising newly behind the mountains would not smile upon us."
"I take that as allegorical," said Robert. "We see with our souls, andour eyes are merely the mirrors through which we look. Seeing, or atleast the color of it, is a state of mind."
Tayoga followed him perfectly and nodded.
"You are getting too deep," interrupted the hunter. "Let's be satisfiedwith our escape. Here, each of you take another piece of venison. I'mglad you still have your bow and arrows, Tayoga, because it won't belong before we'll have to begin looking for another deer."
"The woods swarm with game. It will not be difficult to find one," saidTayoga.
"But for the present I think we'd better lie close. Of course the chiefdanger of attack from those savages has passed, but we're some distancefrom Canada, and it's still doubtful ground. Another wandering band mayrun upon us and that Ojibway, Tandakora, will never quit hunting us,until a bullet stops him. He has a terrible attack of the scalp fever.We want to make good time on our journey, but we mustn't spoileverything by trying to go too fast."
"It might be wise for us to remain the entire day in the forest,"replied the Onondaga. "After the great and long trial of our strengthlast night, we need much rest. And tonight we can make speed on theriver again. What says Lennox?"
"I'm for it," replied Robert, "but I suggest that we go deeper into theforest, taking the canoe with us, and hide our trail. I think I see thegleam of water to our right and if I'm correct it means a brook, upwhich we can walk carrying the canoe with us."
"A good idea, Robert," said Willet. "Suppose you look first and see ifit's really a brook."
The lad returned in a moment or two with a verification. The water ofthe little stream was clear, but it had a fine sandy bottom on whichfootprints were effaced in a few seconds. They waded up it nearly a mileuntil they came to stony ground, when they left the brook and walked onthe outcrop or detached stones a considerable distance, passing at lastthrough dense thickets into a tiny open space. They put the canoe downin the center of the opening, which was circular, and stretched theirown bodies on the grass close to the bushes, through which they couldsee without being seen.
"That trail is well hidden," said Willet, "or rather it's no trail atall. It's just about as much trace as a bird leaves, flying through theair."
"Do you know where we are, Dave?" asked Robert.
"We're not so far from the edge of the wilderness. Before long the landwill begin to slope down toward the St. Lawrence. But it's all wildenough. The French settlements themselves don't go very far back fromthe big river. And the St. Lawrence is a mighty stream, Robert. I reckonthere's not another such river on the globe. The Mississippi I supposeis longer, and carries more volume to the sea, but the St. Lawrence isfull of clear water, Robert, think of that! Most all the other bigrivers of the world, I hear, are muddy and yellow, but the St. Lawrence,being the overflow of the big lakes, is pure. Sometimes it's blue andsometimes it's green, according to the sunlight or the lack of it, andsometimes it's another color, but always it's good, fresh water, flowingbetween mighty banks to the sea, the stream getting deeper and deeperand broader and broader the farther it goes, till beyond Quebec it'sfive and then ten miles across, and near the ocean it's nigh as wide asErie or Ontario. I'm always betting on the St. Lawrence, Robert. Ihaven't been on all the other continents, but I don't believe they canshow anything to beat it."
"Have you seen much of the big lakes, Dave?"
"A lot of Erie and Ontario, but not so much of those farther west,Michigan, Huron and Superior, although they're far bigger and grander.Nothing like 'em in the lake line in this world. We don't know muchabout Superior, but I gather from the Indians that it's nigh to fourhundred miles long, and maybe a hundred and fifty miles across in themiddle. What a power of water! That's not a lake! It's a fresh-watersea. I've seen Niagara, too, Robert, where the river comes tumbling overtwo mighty cliffs, and the foam rises up to the sky, and the rainbow isalways arching over the chasm below. It's a tremendous sight and itkeeps growing on you the longer you look at it. The Indians, who likemyths and allegories, have a fine story about it. They say that Heno, towhom Manitou gave charge of the thunderbolt, once lived in the greatcave or hollow behind the falls, liking the damp and the eternal roar ofthe waters. And Manitou to help him keep a watch over all thethunderbolts gave him three assistants who have never been named. Now,the nations of the Hodenosaunee call themselves the grandchildren ofHeno, and when they make invocation to him they call him grandfather.But they hold that Heno is always under the direction of Hawenneyu, theGreat Spirit, who I take it is the same in their minds as Manitou. Themore you learn of the Indians, and especially of the Hodenosaunee,Robert, the more you admire the beauty and power of their minds."
Willet spoke with great earnestness, his own mind through theexperiences of many years being steeped in forest lore and imagery.Robert, although he knew less of Indian mythology, nevertheless knewenough to feel for it a great admiration.
"I studied the myths of the Greeks and Romans at Albany," he said, "andI don't see that they were very much superior to those of the Indians."
"Maybe they weren't superior at all," said Willet, "and I don't believethe Greeks and Romans ever had a country like the one in which we areroaming. The Book says God made the world in six days, and I think Hemust have spent one whole day, and His best day, too, on the country inhere. Think of the St Lawrence, and all the big lakes and middle-sizedlakes and little lakes, and the Hudson and the other splendid rivers,and the fine mountains east of the Hudson and west of it, and all thegrand valleys, and the great country of the Hodenosaunee, and thegorgeous green forest running hundreds and hundreds of miles, every way!I tell you, Robert--and it's no sacrilege either--after He did such asplendid and well-nigh perfect job He could stop for the night and callit a good and full day's work. I reckon that nowhere else on the earth'ssurface are so many fine and wonderful things crowded into one region."
He took a deep breath and gazed with responsive eyes at the dim bluecrests of the mountains.
"It's all that you call it," said Robert, whose soul w
as filled with thesame love and admiration, "and I'm glad I was born within its limits.I've noticed, Dave, that the people of old lands think they alone havelove of country. New people may love a new land just as much, and I loveall this country about us, the lakes, and the rivers, and the mountainsand the valleys and the forests."
He flung out his arms in a wide, embracing gesture, and he, too, tookdeep long breaths of the crisp air that came over the clean forest.Tayoga smiled, and the smile was fathomless.
"I, Tayoga, of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onondaga, of thegreat League of the Hodenosaunee, can rejoice more than either of you,my white friends," he said, "because I and my fathers for ages before mewere born into this wonderful country of which you speak so well, butnot too well, and much of it belongs to the Hodenosaunee. The Englishand the French are but of yesterday. Tododaho lighted the first councilfire in the vale of Onondaga many generations before either came acrossthe sea."
"It's true, Tayoga," said Willet, "and I don't forget it for a moment.All of us white people, English, French, Dutch, Germans and all otherbreeds, are mere newcomers, and I'm not one ever to deny the rights ofthe Hodenosaunee."
"I know that the Great Bear is always our friend," said the youngOnondaga, "and Lennox too, no less."
"I am, Tayoga," said Robert fervently.
The white lad went to sleep by and by, the others to follow in theirturn, and when he woke it was afternoon. About midway of his comrade'snap Tayoga had gone to sleep also, and now Willet followed him, leavingRobert alone on guard.
His eyes could pierce the bushes, and for some distance beyond, and hesaw that no intruder had drawn near. Nor had he expected any. The placewas too remote and well hidden, and the keenest warriors in the worldcould not follow a vanished trail.
He ate two or three strips of the deer meat, walked around the completecircle of the opening, examining the approaches from every side, andhaving satisfied himself once more that no stranger was near, returnedto his place on the grass near his comrades, full of the great peacethat can come only to those of sensitive mind and lofty imagination. Hissleep had rested him thoroughly. The overtaxed muscles were easy again,and with the vast green forest about him and the dim blue mountainsshowing on the horizon, he felt all the keen zest of living.
He was glad to be there. He was glad to be with Tayoga. He was glad tobe with Willet and he was glad to be going on the important missionwhich the three hoped to carry out, according to promise, no matter whatdangers surrounded them, and that there would be many they already hadproof. But, for the present, at least, there was nothing but peace.
He lay on his back and stared up at the blue sky, in which clouds fleecyand tiny were drifting. All were going toward the northeast and that waythe course of himself and his comrades lay. If Manitou prospered them,they would come to the Quebec of the French, which beforetime had beenthe Stadacona of old Indian tribes. That name, Quebec, was full ofsignificance to him. Standing upon its mighty rock, it was anotherGibraltar. It told him of the French power in North America, and heassociated it vaguely with young officers in brilliant uniforms,powdered ladies, and all the splendor of an Old World court reproducedin the New World. St. Luc had come from there, and with his handsomeface and figure and his gay and graceful manner he had typified theQuebec of the chevaliers, which the grave and solid burghers of Albanyregarded with dread and aversion and yet with a strange sort ofattraction.
He did not deny to himself that he too felt the attraction. An unknownkinship with Quebec, either in blood or imagination, was calling. Hewondered if he would see St. Luc there, but on reflection he decidedthat it was impossible. The mission of the chevalier to the Hodenosauneewould require a long absence. He might arrive in the vale of Onondagaand have to wait many days before the fifty sachems should decide tomeet in council and hear him.
But Robert believed that if St. Luc should appear before the fifty hewould prove to be eloquent, and he would neglect no artifice of word andmanner to make the Hodenosaunee think the French power at Quebecinvincible. He would describe the great deeds of the French officers andsoldiers. He would tell them of that glittering court of Versailles, andperhaps he would make them think their salvation depended upon analliance with France.
Robert was sorry for the moment that his mission was taking him toQuebec and not to the vale of Onondaga, where Willet and he--and Tayogatoo--could appear before the sachems as friends true and tested, andprove to them that the English were their good and natural allies. Theywould recall again what Frontenac had done. They would dwell upon themanner in which he had carried sword and fire among the Six Nations,then the Five, and they would keep open the old wound that yet rankled.
It was a passing wish. The Iroquois would remain faithful to theirancient allies, the English. The blood that Frontenac had shed would beforever a barrier between the Long House and the Stadacona that was.Once more Quebec filled his eye, and he gazed into the northeast wherethe French capital lay upon its mighty and frowning rock. His curiosityconcerning it increased. He wanted to see what kind of city it was, andhe wanted to see what kind of a man the Marquis Duquesne, theGovernor-General of Canada, was. Well, he would be there before manydays and he would see for himself. He and his comrades already had beentriumphant over a danger so great that nothing could stop them now. Hefelt all the elation and certainty that came from a victory over odds.
He rose, parted the bushes and made another tour of the region abouttheir covert. When he was at a point about a hundred yards away hefancied that he heard a sound in a thicket a considerable distanceahead. Promptly taking shelter behind a large tree, he used both eyesand ears, watching the thicket closely, and listening for any othersound that might come.
He heard nothing else but his keen eyes noted a bush swaying directlyinto the teeth of the wind, a movement that could not occur unlesssomething alive in the thicket caused it. He slid his rifle forward andstill watched. Now the bush shook violently, and an awkward blackfigure, shooting out, ran across the open. It was only a bear, and hewas about to resume his circling walk, but second thought told him thatthe bear was running as if he ran away from an object of which he wasafraid, and there was nothing in the northern forests except humanbeings to scare a bear.
He settled back in his shelter and resumed his watch in the thicket,leaving the bear to run where he pleased, which he did, disappearingwith a snort in another thicket. A full ten minutes passed. Robert hadnot stirred. He was crouched behind the tree, blending with the grass,and he held his rifle ready to be fired in an instant, should the needarise.
The bush that had moved against the wind had ceased stirring long since,but now he saw another shaking and it, too, paid no attention to thelaws of nature, defying the wind as the first had done. Robertconcentrated his gaze upon it, thankful that he had not made the blackbear the original cause of things, and presently he saw the featheredhead of an Indian appear among the leaves. It was only a glimpse, he didnot see the body or even the face of the warrior, but it was enough.Where one warrior was another was likely to be in those northernmarches, the most dangerous kind of neutral ground.
He began to slide away, keeping the big tree trunk between him and thethicket, using all the arts of the forest trailer that he had learned bynatural aptitude and long practice. He went back slowly, but the grassstems moved only a little as he went, and he was confident that he notonly had not been seen, but would not be seen. Yet he scarcely dared tobreathe--until he reached the bushes inclosing the opening in which hiscomrades lay.
He paused a few moments before waking the others and filled his lungswith air. He was surprised to find that the hands holding his rifle weredamp with perspiration, and he realized then how great the brief strainhad been. Suppose he had not seen the Indian in the bush, and had beenambushed while on his scouting round! Or suppose he had stayed with hiscomrades and had been ambushed there! But neither had happened, and,taking Willet by the shoulder, he shook him, at the same time whisperingin his ear to make no noise. The h
unter, his trained faculties at onceawake and on guard, sat up quietly, and Tayoga, who seemed to awakeinstinctively at the same time, also, sat up.
"What is it, Robert?" whispered Willet.
"An Indian in the bush about two hundred yards away," replied the youth."I merely saw his hair and the feather in it, but it's safe to assumethat he's not the only one."
"That is so," said Tayoga. "A warrior does not come here alone."
"It can't be the band we beat off when we were in the hollow," saidWillet confidently. "They must be far south of us, even if they haven'tgiven up the chase."
"It is so, Great Bear," said Tayoga. "Was the warrior's head bare,Lennox, or did he have the headdress, gustoweh, like mine?"
"I think," replied Robert, "that the feather projected something likeyours, perhaps from a cross-splint."
"Could you tell from what bird the feather came?"
"Yes, I saw that much. It was the plume of an eagle."
Tayoga mused a moment or two. Then he put two fingers to his mouth andblew between them a mellow, peculiar whistle, much like the notes of adeep-throated forest bird. He waited half a minute and a reply exactlysimilar came.
"These," said Tayoga, "are our people," and rising and parting thebushes, he walked, upright and fearless, toward the thicket in whichRobert had seen the warrior. Robert and Willet, influenced by boldnessas people always are, followed him with confidence, their rifles notthrust forward, but lying in the hollows of their arms.
A dozen warriors issued from the thicket, at their head a tall man ofmiddle age, open and noble in countenance and dignified in bearing.
"These be Mohawks, Ganeagaono, the Keepers of the Eastern Gate," saidTayoga, "and the sachem Dayohogo, which in English means, At the Forks,leads them. He is a great man, valiant in battle and wise in council.His words have great weight when the fifty sachems meet in the vale ofOnondaga to decide the questions of life and death."
He paused and bent his head respectfully before the man of superiorage, and, as yet, of superior rank. A look of pleasure appeared upon theface of the Mohawk chief when he saw the young Onondaga.
"It is Tayoga of the clan of the Bear, of the nation Onundagaono(Onondaga)," he said.
"It is so, Dayohogo of the clan of the Wolf, of the nation Ganeagaono(Mohawk)," replied Tayoga. "Thou of the Keepers of the Eastern Gate andmy father, Daatgadose, of the Keepers of the Council Fire, have beenfriends since they stood at the knees of their mothers, and we too arefriends, Dayohogo."
"You speak true words, Tayoga," said the chief, looking with anappraising eye upon the handsome face and athletic figure of the youngOnondaga. "And the white people with you? One I know to be the GreatBear who calls himself Willet, but the boy I know not."
"His name is Lennox, O Dayohogo. He is the true friend of the GreatBear, of Tayoga and of the Hodenosaunee. He has within the last twodays, standing beside us, fought a valiant battle against the Abenakis,the Hurons, the St. Regis and warriors of the other savage tribes thatcall themselves the allies of Onontio."
Robert felt the penetrating eye of the Mohawk chief upon him. But thegaze of the Indian was friendly, and while he felt admiration for Tayogahe felt equal approval of Lennox.
"You have fought against odds and you have come away safe," he said.
"None of us received any hurt," replied Tayoga, modestly, "but we slewmore than one of those who attacked. It was in a gorge of the river farback, and we escaped in the night, swimming with our canoe. Now we resthere, and truly, Dayohogo, we are glad to see you and your warriors. Theforest has become safe for us. We have part of a deer left, and we askyou to share it with us."
"Gladly," said Dayohogo. "We bring venison and corn meal, and we willhave food together."
His warriors were stalwart men, armed well, and they had no fear of anyfoe, lighting a fire in the open, warming their deer meat and makingbread of their corn meal. The three ate with them, and Robert felt thatthey were among friends. The Mohawks not only had Frontenac to remember,but further back Champlain, the French soldier and explorer, who haddefeated them before they knew the use of firearms. He felt thatDuquesne at Quebec would have great difficulty in overcoming the enmityof this warlike and powerful red nation, and he resolved to do what hecould to keep them attached to the British cause. It might be only alittle, but a little many times amounted to much.
Dayohogo and his warriors had been on a scout toward the north to thevery borders of the French settlements, and the chief told the threethat an unusual movement was going on there. Regular soldiers wereexpected soon from France. War belts and splendid presents had been sentto the tribes about the Great Lakes, both to the north and to the south,and Onontio was addressing messages of uncommon politeness to hisbrethren, the valiant Ganeagaono, otherwise the Mohawks, the Keepers ofthe Eastern Gate.
"And do the Mohawk chiefs listen to the words of Onontio?" asked Robertanxiously.
Dayohogo did not reply at once. He looked at the green woods. Birds,blue or gray or brown, were darting here and there in the foliage, andhis eye rested for a moment on a tiny wren.
"The voice of Onontio is the voice of a bird chattering in a tree," hesaid. "In the day of my father's father's father the children ofOnontio, under Champlain, came with guns, which were strange to us, andwith presents they induced the Adirondack warriors to help them. Theycame up the great lake which the white people call Champlain, then theycrossed to Ticonderoga, near the outlet of the lake, Saint Sacrement,and fell upon two hundred warriors of the Ganeagaono, who then knew onlythe bow and arrow and the war club, and slew many of them. It was fourgenerations ago, but we do not forget. Then when my father was a youngwarrior Frontenac came with a host of white soldiers and the CanadianIndians and killed the warriors and laid waste with fire the lands ofthe Five Nations, now the Six. Can the Hodenosaunee forget?"
The chief gloomed into the fire, and his eyes flashed with the memory ofancient wrongs.
"Onontio has sent belts to the Ganeagaono also, has he not?" askedRobert.
The eyes of the chief flashed again.
"He has tried to do so," he replied, "but the Ganeagaono are loyal totheir brethren of the Hodenosaunee since Tododahoe first found thesacred wampum on the shore of the lake, Chautauqua. Our three clans, theTurtle, the Wolf and the Bear, met in our largest village south of theriver, Ganeagaono (Mohawk), and listened to the bearers of the belts.Then we sent them back to Onontio, telling them if they wished to beheard further they must bring the belt to the council of all the sachemsof the Hodenosaunee in the vale of Onondaga."
"The other nations of the Hodenosaunee," said Tayoga, "have always knownthat the Ganeagaono would do no less. The Keepers of the Eastern Gatehave never departed by the width of a single hair from theirobligations."
Dayohogo turned his gloomy face upon the Onondaga youth, and it waslighted up suddenly by a smile of appreciation and pleasure.
"Tayoga of the Onundagaono," he said in measured tones, "you have spokenwell. The Onundagaono, the Keepers of the Council Fire, and theGaneagaono, the Keepers of the Eastern Gate, be the first tribes of theHodenosaunee, and better it be for a warrior of either to burn two daysand two nights in the fire than to violate in the least the ancientcustoms and laws of the Hodenosaunee."
"Before we had the fight with the savage band," said Robert, "we met aFrenchman, the Chevalier Raymond Louis de St. Luc, who was going to thevale of Onondaga with belts from Onontio. St. Luc is a brave man, agreat orator, and his words will fall, golden and sweet like honey, onthe ears of the fifty chiefs. He will say that Champlain and Frontenacbelonged to an ancient day, that the forests have turned green and thenturned red a hundred and fifty times since Champlain and sixty timessince Frontenac. He will say that what they did was due to a false windthat blew between the French and the Hodenosaunee, hiding the truth, andmaking friends see in the faces of friends the faces of enemies. He willsay that a true wind blows now, and that it has blown away all thefalsehoods. He will say that Onontio is a better friend than
Corlear tothe Hodenosaunee, and far more powerful."
The veteran Mohawk chief looked at young Lennox, and again his gaze wasone of approval, also of comprehension.
"My young white friend is already a great warrior," he said. "What hedid with Tayoga and the Great Bear proves it, but great as he is he iseven greater in the council. The words of the son of Onontio, St. Luc,may drip from his lips like honey, but the speech of Lennox is the voiceof the south wind singing among the reeds. Lennox will be a great oratoramong his people."
Robert blushed, and yet his heart was beating at the praise of Dayohogo,obviously so sincere. He felt with a sudden instinctive rush ofconviction that the Mohawk was telling him the truth. It was an earlyand partial display of the liquid and powerful speech, which afterwardgave him renown in New York and far beyond, and which caused peopleeverywhere to call him the "Golden Mouthed." And he was always eager toacknowledge that much of its strength came from the lofty thought andbrilliant imagery shown by many of the orators of the nations of theHodenosaunee, with whom so much of his youth was spent.
"I only spoke the thought that was in my mind, Dayohogo," he saidmodestly.
"Wherein is the beginning of great speech," said the sachem sagely."When Lennox returns from the journey on which he is now going it wouldbe fit for him to go to the vale of Onondaga and meet St. Luc in debatebefore the fifty sachems."
Robert's heart leaped again. It was like a call to battle, and now heknew what his great aim in life should be. He would strive with studyand practice to make himself first in it, but, for the present, he hadother thoughts and purpose. Willet, however, took fire too from thewords of the Mohawk chief.
"I've noticed before, Robert," he said, "that you had the gift oftongues, and we'll make a great orator of you. In times such as ours aman of that kind is needed bad. Maybe what Dayohogo thinks ought to be,will be, and you will yet oppose St. Luc before the fifty sachems in thevale of Onondaga."
"It would be well," said Dayohogo thoughtfully, "because the men atAlbany still give the Hodenosaunee trouble, making a promise seem onething when it is given, and another when the time to keep it comes."
"I know, Dayohogo!" exclaimed Willet, vehemently. "I know how thosesleek traders who are appointed to deal with you cheat you out of yourfurs and try to cheat you out of your lands! But be patient a littlelonger, you who have been patient so long. Word has come from Englandthat the King will remove his commissioners, and make Sir WilliamJohnson his Indian agent for all North America."
The eyes of Dayohogo and his warriors glistened.
"Is it true?" he asked. "Is Waraiyageh (Johnson) to be the one who willtalk with us and make the treaties with us?"
"I know it to be a fact, Dayohogo."
"Then it is well. We can trust Waraiyageh, and he knows that he cantrust us. Where our trail runs to Kolaneha (Johnstown) on a hill not farfrom our tower castle he has built a great house, and I and my brotherchiefs of all the three clans the Wolf, the Bear and the Turtle, havebeen there and have received presents from him. He is the friend of theGaneagaono, and he knew that he could build a house among us and livethere in peace, with our warriors to guard him."
The news that Johnson would be the King's Indian agent had an electriceffect upon the Mohawks. Whether he talked English or Iroquois he talkeda language they understood, and his acts were comprehensible by them. Hehad their faith and he never lost it.
Some of the hunters went out, and, the woods being full of game, theyquickly shot another deer. Then the warriors still feeling in theirstrength that they had nothing to dread from enemies, built high thefire, cut up the deer, cooked it and made a great feast. The goodfeeling that existed between the Mohawks and the two whites increased.Robert unconsciously began to exercise his gift of golden speech. Hedwelt upon the coming appointment of Waraiyageh, their best friend, todeal in behalf of the King with the Hodenosaunee, and he harpedcontinually upon Champlain and Frontenac. He made them seem to be ofyesterday, instead of long ago. He opened the old wounds the Mohawks hadreceived at the hands of the French and made them sting and burn again.He dwelt upon the faith of the English, their respect for the lands ofthe Hodenosaunee and the ancient friendship with the Six Nations. He hadforgotten the words of Dayohogo that he would be a great orator, butfive minutes after they were spoken he was justifying them.
Tayoga and Willet glanced at each other, but remained silent. YoungLennox was saying enough for all three. Dayohogo did not take his eyesfrom the speaker, following all his words, and the warriors, lying ontheir elbows, watched him and believed what he said. When he stopped thechief and all the warriors together uttered a deep exclamation ofapproval.
"You are called Lennox," said Dayohogo, "and after the white custom itis the only name that you have ever had, but we have a better way. Whena warrior distinguishes himself greatly we give him a new name, whichtells what he has done. Hereafter, Lennox, you will be known to theGaneagaono as Dagaeoga, which is the name of a great chief of the clanof the Turtle, of our nation."
"I thank you much, Dahoyogo," said Robert, earnestly, knowing that ahigh honor was conferred upon him. "I shall try to deserve in some smallway the great name you have conferred upon me."
"One can but do his best," said the Mohawk gravely.
But Willet rejoiced openly in the distinction that had been bestowedupon his young comrade, saying that some day it might be carried outwith formal ceremonies by the Mohawk nation, and was a fact of greatvalue. To be by adoption a son of any nation of the Hodenosaunee wouldbe of enormous assistance to him, if he negotiated with the League inbehalf of the English colonists. But to be adopted by both Onondagas andMohawks gave him a double power.
Robert had already been influenced powerfully by Tayoga, the youngOnondaga, and now the words of Dayohogo, the Mohawk, carried thatinfluence yet further. He understood as few white men did the power ofthe Hodenosaunee and how its nations might be a deciding factor in thecoming war between French and English, just as he understood long afterthat war was over their enormous weight in the new war between theAmericans and English, and he formed a resolution as firm as temperedsteel that his main effort for many years to come should be devoted tostrengthening the ties that connected the people of New York and thegreat League.
The afternoon went on in pleasant talk. The Indians, among themselves orwith those whom they knew from long experience to be good friends, werenot taciturn. Robert told the Mohawks that they were going to Quebec,and Dayohogo expressed curiosity.
"It is the story in our nation, and it is true," he said, "thatgenerations ago we held the great rock of Stadacona, and that the firstFrenchman, Cartier, who came to Canada, found us there, and drove usaway with firearms, which we had never seen before, and which we did notknow how to meet. It is said also by our old men that we had a town withpalisades around it at Hochelaga (Montreal), but whether it is true ornot I do not know. It may be that it was a town of the Wanedote(Hurons), our enemies. And yet the Wanedote are of our blood, though farback in the past we split asunder, and now they take the peace belts ofthe French, while we take those of the English."
"And the capital of the French, which they call Quebec, and which youcall Stadacona, stands on land which really belongs to the Mohawks,"said Robert meaningly.
Dayohogo made no answer, but gloomed into the fire again. After a whilehe said that his warriors and he must depart. They were going towardTiconderoga, where the French had built the fort, Carillon, within theterritory of the Mohawks. He had been glad to meet Tayoga, the GreatBear, and the new young white chief, Dagaeoga, whose speech was like theflowing of pleasant waters. It was a favoring wind that had brought themtogether, because they had enjoyed good talk, and had exchanged wisecounsel with one another. Robert agreed with him in flowery allegory andtook from the canoe where it had been stored among their other goods apresent for the chief--envoys seldom traveled through the Indiancountry without some such article for some such occasion.
It was _gajewa_, a war club, beautifully ca
rved and polished, made ofironwood about three feet long, and with tufts of brilliant feathers ateither end. Inserted at one end was a deer's horn, about five inches inlength, and as sharp as a razor. While it was called a war club, it wasthus more of a battle ax, and at close range and wielded by a powerfularm it was a deadly weapon. It had been made at Albany, and in order torender it more attractive three silver bands had been placed about it atequal intervals.
It was at once a weapon and a decoration, and the eyes of Dayohogoglistened as he received it.
"I take the gift, Dagaeoga," he said, "and I will not forget."
Then they exchanged salutations, and the Mohawks disappeared silently inthe forest.
The Hunters of the Hills Page 7