The Hunters of the Hills

by Joseph A. Altsheler

  CHAPTER XV

  THE VALE OF ONONDAGA

  The heavens favored their journey. They were troubled by no more stormsor rain, and as the soft winds blew, flowers opened before them. Gamewas abundant and they had food for the taking. As they drew near thevale they were joined by a small party of Oneidas, and a little laterwere met by an Onondaga runner who spoke with great respect to Tayogaand who gave them news.

  The Frenchman, St. Luc, and the Canadian, Dubois, who had come withthem, were in the vale of Onondaga, where they had been received asguests, and had been treated with hospitality. The fifty sachems, takingtheir own time, had not yet met in council, and St. Luc had beencompelled to wait, but he had made great progress in the esteem of theHodenosaunee. Onontio could not have sent a better messenger.

  "I knew that he would do it," said Willet. "That Frenchman, St. Luc, iswonderful, and if anybody could convert the Hodenosaunee to the Frenchcause he's the man. Oh, he'll ply 'em with a thousand arguments, andhe'll dwell particularly on the fact that the French have moved firstand are ready to strike. We haven't come too soon, Robert."

  But the runner informed them further that it would yet be some timebefore the great council in the Long House, since the first festival ofthe spring, the Maple Dance, was to be held in a few days, and thechiefs had refused positively to meet until afterward. The sap wasalready flowing and the guardians of the faith had chosen time and placefor this great and joyous ceremony of the Hodenosaunee, joyous despitethe fact that it was preceded by a most solemn event, the generalconfession of sins.

  The eyes of Tayoga and of the Mohawks and Oneidas glistened when theyheard.

  "We must be there in time for all," said Tayoga.

  "Truly we must, brother," said Daganoweda, the Mohawk.

  And now they hastened their speed through the fertile and beautifulcountry, where spring was attaining its full glory, and, as the sapbegan to run in the maples, so the blood leaped fresh and sparkling evenin the veins of the old. A band of Senecas joined them, and when theycame to the edge of the vale of Onondaga they were a numerous party, alleager, keen, and surcharged with a spirit which was religious, politicaland military, the three being inseparably intertwined in the lives ofthe Hodenosaunee.

  They stood upon a high hill and looked over the great, beautiful valleyfull of orchards and fields and far to the north they caught a slightglimpse of the lake bearing the name of the Keepers of the Council Fire.Smoke rose from the chimneys of the solid log houses built by this mostenlightened tribe, flecking the blue of the sky, and the whole scenewas one of peace and beauty. The eyes of Tayoga, the Onondaga, and ofDaganoweda, the Mohawk, glistened as they looked, and their heartsthrobbed with fervent admiration. It was more than a village of theOnondagas that lay before them, it was the temple and shrine of thegreat league, the Hodenosaunee. The Onondagas kept the council fire, andranked first in piety, but the Mohawks, the Keepers of the Eastern Gate,were renowned even to the Great Plains for their valor, and they stoodwith the Onondagas, their equals man for man, while the Senecas, knownto themselves and their brother nations as the Nundawaono, were morenumerous than either.

  "We shall be in time for the great festival, the Maple Dance," saidTayoga to the young Mohawk.

  "Yes, my brother, we have come before the beginning," said Daganoweda,"and I am glad that it is so. We may not have the Maple Dance again formany seasons. The shadow of the mighty war creeps upon the Hodenosaunee,and when the spring returns who knows where the warriors of the greatLeague will be? We are but little children and we know nothing of thefuture, which Manitou alone holds in his keeping."

  "You speak truth, Daganoweda. The Ganeagaono are both valiant and wise.It is a time for the fifty sachems to use all the knowledge they havegathered in their long lives, but we will hear what the Frenchman, St.Luc, has to say, even though he belongs to the nation that sentFrontenac against us."

  "The Hodenosaunee can do no less," said the Mohawk, tersely.

  Robert could not keep from hearing and he was glad of the little affairwith the two hostile bands, knitting as it did their friendship with theMohawks. But he too, since he had penetrated the Iroquois spirit and sawas they did, felt the great and momentous nature of the crisis. Whilethe nations of the Hodenosaunee might decide whether English or Frenchwere to win in the coming war they might, at the same time, decide thefate of the great League which had endured for centuries.

  They descended into the vale of Onondaga, but at its edge, in a greatforest, the entire group stopped, as it became necessary there forTayoga, Willet and Robert to say a temporary farewell to the others whowould not advance into the Onondaga town until the full power of theHodenosaunee was gathered. The council, as Robert surmised and as he nowlearned definitely, had been called by the Onondagas, who had sentheralds with belts eastward to the Oneidas, who in turn had sent themyet farther eastward to the Mohawks, westward to the Cayugas whose dutyit was to pass them on to the Senecas yet more to the west. The Oneidasalso gave belts to the Dusgaowehono, or Tuscaroras, the valiant tribethat had come up from the south forty years before, and that had beenadmitted into the Hodenosaunee, turning the Five Nations into the Six,and receiving lands within the territory of the Oneidas.

  Already great numbers of warriors from the different nations, theirchiefs at their head, were scattered about the edges of the valleyawaiting the call of the Onondagas for participation in the Maple Dance,and the great and fateful council afterward. And since they did not knowwhether this council was for peace or for war, every sachem had broughtwith him a bundle of white cedar fagots that typified peace, and also abundle of red cedar fagots that typified war.

  "Farewell, my friends," said Daganoweda, the Mohawk, to Tayoga, Robertand Willet. "We rest here until the great sachems of the Onondagas sendfor us, and yet we are eager to come, because never before was theresuch a Maple Dance and never before such a council as these will be."

  "You speak true words, Daganoweda," said Robert, "and the Great Bear andI rejoice that we are adopted sons of the Iroquois and can be here."

  Robert spoke from his heart. Not even his arrival at Quebec, great ashad been his anticipations and their fulfillment, had stirred in himmore interest and enthusiasm. The feeling that for the time being he wasan Iroquois in everything except his white skin grew upon him. He saw asthey saw, his pulses beat as theirs beat, and he thought as theythought. It was not too much for him to think that the fate of NorthAmerica might turn upon the events that were to transpire within thevale of Onondaga within the next few days. Nor was he, despite hisheated brain, and the luminous glow through which he saw everything, farfrom the facts.

  Robert saw that Willet, despite his years and experience, was deeplystirred also, and the dark eyes of Tayoga glittered, as well they might,since the people who were the greatest in all the world to him wereabout to deliberate on their fate and that of others.

  The three, side by side, their hearts beating hard, advanced slowly andwith dignity through the groves. From many points came the sound ofsinging and down the aisles of the trees they saw young girls infestival attire. All the foliage was in deepest green and the sky wasthe soft but brilliant blue of early spring. The air seemed to becharged with electricity, because all had a tense and expectant feeling.

  For Robert, so highly imaginative, the luminous glow deepened. He hadstudied much in the classics, after the fashion of the time, in theschool at Albany, and his head was filled with the old Greek and Romanlearning. Now he saw the ancient symbolism reproduced in the greatforests of North America by the nations of the Hodenosaunee, who hadnever heard of Greece or Rome, nor, to him, were the religion and poetryof the Iroquois inferior in power and beauty, being much closer kin thanthe gods of Greece and Rome to his own Christian beliefs.

  "Manitou favors us," said Tayoga, looking up at the soft blue velvet ofthe sky. "Gaoh, the spirit of the Winds, moves but gently in his home,Dayodadogowah."

  He looked toward the west, because it was there that Gaoh, who had theben
t figure and weazened face of an old man, always sat, Manitou havingimprisoned him with the elements, and having confined him to one place.In the beautiful Iroquois mythology, Gaoh often struggled to releasehimself, though never with success. Sometimes his efforts were but mild,and then he produced gentle breezes, but when he fought fiercely forfreedom the great storms blew and tore down the forests.

  "Gaoh is not very restless today," continued Tayoga. "He struggles butlightly, and the wind from the west is soft upon our faces."

  "And it brings the perfume of flowers and of tender young leaves withit, Tayoga," said Willet. "It's a wonderful world and I'm just a boytoday, standing at its threshold."

  "And even though war may come, perhaps Manitou will smile upon us," saidTayoga. "The Three Sisters whom Hawenneu, who is the same to the whiteman as Manitou, gave to us, the spirit of the Corn, the spirit of theSquash and the spirit of the Bean will abide with us and give us plenty.The spirits in the shape of beautiful young girls hover over us. Wecannot see them, but they are there."

  He looked up and shadows passed over their heads. To the mystic soul ofthe young Onondaga they were the spirits of the three sisters whotypified abundance, and Robert himself quivered. He still saw with theeyes and felt with the heart of an Iroquois.

  Both he and Tayoga were conscious that the spirits were everywhere aboutthem. All the elements and all the powers of nature were symbolized andtypified. The guardians of fire, earth, water, healing, war, the chase,love, winter, summer and a multitude of others, floated in the air. Thetrees themselves had spirits and identity and all the spirits whotogether constituted the Honochenokeh were the servants and assistantsof Hawenneyu. To the eyes of Tayoga that saw not and yet saw, it was ahighly peopled world, and there was meaning in everything, even in thefall of the leaf.

  Tayoga presently put his fingers to his lips and uttered a long mellowwhistle. A whistle in reply came from a grove just ahead, and fourteenmen, all of middle years or beyond, emerged into view. Though elderly,not one among them showed signs of weakness. They were mostly tall, theyheld themselves very erect, and their eyes were of uncommon keenness andpenetration. They were the fourteen sachems of the Onondagas, and attheir head was the first in rank, Tododaho, a name that never ceased toexist, being inherited from the great chief who founded the Leaguecenturies before, and being passed on from successor to successor. Closeto him came Tonessaah, whose name also lasted forever and who was thehereditary adviser of Tododaho, and near him walked Daatgadose and theothers.

  Tayoga, Robert and Willet stopped, and the great chief, Tododaho, a manof splendid presence, in the full glory of Iroquois state costume, gavethem welcome. The sight of Tayoga, of lofty birth, of the clan of theBear, of the nation Onondaga, was particularly pleasing to his eyes. Itwas well that the young warriors, who some day would be chiefs to leadin council and battle, should be present. And the coming of the whiteman and the white lad, who were known to be trusted friends of theHodenosaunee, was welcome also.

  The three, each in turn, made suitable replies, and Robert, his gift ofgolden speech moving him, spoke a little longer than the others. He madea free use of metaphor and allegory, telling how dear were theprosperity and happiness of the Hodenosaunee to his soul, and he feltevery word he said. Charged with the thoughts and impressions of anIroquois, the fourteen chiefs were the quintessence of dignity andimportance to him, and when they smiled and nodded approval of hisyouthful effort his heart was lifted up. Then he, Tayoga and Willetbowed low to these men who in very truth were the keepers of the councilfire of the Hodenosaunee, and whose word might sway the destinies ofNorth America, and, bowing, passed on that they might rest in the LongHouse, as became three great warriors who had valiantly done their dutyin the forest when confronted by their enemies, and who had come to doanother and sacred duty in the vale of Onondaga.

  Young warriors were their escort into one of the great log houses, whichin their nature were much like the community houses found at a later dayin the far southwest. The building they entered was a full hundred andtwenty feet in length and about forty feet broad, and it had five fires,each built in the center of its space. The walls and roof were of polesthatched with bark, and there were no windows, but over each fire was acircular opening in the roof where the air entered and the smoke wentout. If rain or storm came these orifices were covered with greatpieces of bark.

  On the long sides of the walls extended platforms about six feet wide,covered with furs and skins where the warriors slept. Overhead was abark canopy on top of which they placed their possessions. About a dozenwarriors were in the house, all lying down, but they rose and greetedthe three. Berths were assigned to them at once, food and water werebrought, and Robert, weary from the long march, decided that he wouldsleep.

  "I think I'll do the same," said Willet, "and then we'll be fresh forwhat's coming. Tayoga, I suppose, will want to see his kin first."

  Tayoga nodded, and presently disappeared. Then Robert and Willet tooktheir places upon the bark platforms and were soon asleep, not awakeninguntil the next morning when they went forth and found that theexcitement in the valley had increased. Tayoga came to them at once andtold them that Sanundathawata, the council of repentance, was about tobe held. The dawn was just appearing, and as the sun rose the sachems ofthe Onondagas would proceed to the council grove and receive the sachemsof the allied nations.

  "You will wish to see the ceremony," he said.

  "Of course, of course!" said Robert, eagerly, who found that with thecoming of a new day he was as much an Iroquois in spirit as ever. Norcould he see that Willet was less keen about it and the three proceededpromptly to the council grove where a multitude was already hastening.There was, too, a great buzz of talk, as the Iroquois here in the vale,the very heart of their country, did not show the taciturnity in whichthe red man so often takes refuge in the presence of the white.

  The fourteen Onondaga chiefs, Tododaho at their head and Tonessaah athis right, were gathered in the grove, and the warriors of the alliednations approached, headed by their chiefs, nine for the Mohawks, tenfor the Oneidas, nine for the Cayugas, and eight for the Senecas, whilethe Tuscaroras, who were a new nation in the League, had none at all,but spoke through their friends, the Oneidas, within whose lands theyhad been allowed to settle. And when the roll of the nations of theHodenosaunee was called it was not the Onondagas, Keepers of the CouncilFire, who were called first, although they were equal in honor, andleaders in council, but the fierce and warlike Mohawks. Then came theOnondagas, after them the numerous Senecas, followed by the Oneidas,with the Cayugas next and the sachemless Tuscaroras last, but filledwith pride that they, wanderers from their ancient lands, and not largein numbers, had shown themselves so valiant and enduring that thegreatest of all Indian leagues, the Hodenosaunee, should be willing toadmit them as a nation.

  Behind the sachems stood the chiefs, the two names not being synonymousamong the Iroquois, and although the name of the Mohawks was calledfirst the Onondagas were masters of the ceremonies, were, in fact, thepriests of the Hodenosaunee, and their first chief, Tododaho, was thefirst chief of all the League. Yet the Senecas, who though superior innumbers were inferior in chiefs, also had an office, being Door Keepersof the Long House, while the Onondagas were the keepers in the largersense. The eighth sachem of the Senecas, Donehogaweh, had the actualphysical keeping of the door, when the fifty sachems met within, and healso had an assistant who obeyed all his orders, and who, upon occasion,acted as a herald or messenger. But the Onondaga sachem, Honowenato,kept the wampum.

  The more Robert saw of the intertwined religious, military and politicalsystems of the Hodenosaunee, the more he admired them, and he missednothing as the Onondaga sachems received their brother sachems of theallied tribes, all together being known as the Hoyarnagowar, while thechiefs who were elective were known collectively as the Hasehnowaneh.

  Robert, Willet, and Tayoga, who was yet too young to have a part in theceremonies, stood on one side with the crowd and watched wi
th the mostintense interest. Among the nine Mohawk sachems they recognizedDayohogo, who had given Robert the name Dagaeoga, and the lad resolvedto see him later and renew their friendship.

  Meanwhile the thirty-six visiting sachems formed themselves in a circle,with Tododaho, highest of the Onondagas in rank, among them, and facingthe sun which was rising in a golden sea above the eastern hills.Presently the Onondaga lifted his hand and the hum and murmur in thegreat crowd that looked on ceased. Then starting towards the north thesachems moved with measured steps around the circle three times. Everyone of them carried with him a bundle of fagots, and in this case halfof the bundle was red and half white. When they stopped each sachem puthis bundle of fagots on the ground, and sat down before it, while anassistant sachem came and stood behind him. Tododaho took flint andsteel from his pouch, set fire first to his own fagots and then to allthe others, after which he took the pipe of peace, lighted it from oneof the fires, and, drawing upon it three times, blew one puff of smoketoward the center of the heavens, another upon the ground, and the lastdirectly toward the rising sun.

  "He gives thanks," whispered Tayoga, to Robert, "first to Manitou, whohas kept us alive, next to our great mother, the Earth, who has producedthe food that we eat and who sends forth the water that we drink, andlast to the Sun, who lights and warms us."

  Robert thought it a beautiful ceremony, full of idealism, and he noddedhis thanks to Tayoga while he still watched. Tododaho passed the pipe tothe sachem on his right, who took the three puffs in a similar manner,and thus it was passed to all, the entire act requiring a long time, butat its end the fourteen Onondaga sachems and the thirty-six visitingsachems sat down together and under the presidency of Tododaho thecouncil was opened.

  "But little will be done today," said Tayoga. "It is merely what youcall at the Albany school a preliminary. The really great meeting willbe after the Maple Dance, and then we shall know what stand theHodenosaunee will take in the coming war."

  Robert turned away and came face to face with St. Luc. He had known thatthe chevalier was somewhere in the vale of Onondaga, but in hisabsorption in the Iroquois ceremonies he had forgotten about him. Now herealized with full force that he had come to meet the Frenchman and tomeasure himself against him. Yet he could not hide from himself acertain gladness at seeing him and it was increased by St. Luc's frankand gay manner.

  "I was sure that we should soon meet again, Mr. Lennox," he said, "andit has come to pass as I predicted and hoped. And you too, Mr. Willet! Igreet you both."

  He offered a hand to each, and the hunter, as well as Robert, shook itwithout hesitation.

  "You reached Quebec and fulfilled your mission?" he said, giving Roberta keen look of inquiry.

  "Yes, but not without event," replied the youth.

  "I take it from your tone that the event was of a stirring nature."

  "It was rather a chain of events. The Ojibway chief, Tandakora, whom wefirst saw with you, objected to our presence in the woods."

  St. Luc frowned and then laughed.

  "For that I am sorry," he said. "I would have controlled the Ojibway ifI could, but he is an unmitigated savage. He left me, and did what hechose. I hope you do not hold me responsible for any attacks he may havemade upon you, Mr. Lennox."

  "Not at all, Monsieur, but as you see, we have survived everything andhave taken no hurt. Quebec also, a great and splendid city, was notwithout stirring event, not to say danger."

  "But not to heralds, for such I take you and Mr. Willet and Tayoga tohave been."

  "A certain Pierre Boucher, a great duelist, and if you will pardon mefor saying it, a ruthless bravo, also was disposed to make trouble forus."

  "I know Boucher. He is what you say. But since you are here safe andunhurt, as you have just reminded me, you escaped all the snares he setfor you."

  "True, Monsieur de St. Luc, but we have the word that the fowler mayfall into his own snare."

  "Your meaning escapes me."

  "Boucher, the duelist and bravo, will never make trouble for anybodyelse."

  "You imply that he is dead? Boucher dead! How did he die?"

  "A man may be a great swordsman, and he may defeat many others, but thetime usually comes when he will meet a better swordsman than himself."

  "Yourself! Why, you're but a lad, Mr. Lennox, and skillful as you may beyou're not seasoned enough to beat such a veteran as Boucher!"

  "That is true, but there is another who was."

  He nodded toward the hunter and the chevalier's eyes opened wide.

  "And you, a hunter," he said, "could defeat Pierre Boucher, who has beenaccounted the master swordsman! There is more in this than meets theeye!"

  He stared at Willet, who met his gaze firmly. Then he shrugged hisshoulders and said:

  "I'm not one to pry into the secrets of another, but I did not thinkthere was any man in America who was a match for Boucher. Well, he isgone to another world, and let us hope that he will be a better man init than he was in this. Meanwhile we'll return to the business thatbrings us all here. I speak of it freely, since every one of us knows itwell. I wish to bring in the Hodenosaunee on the side of France. Theinterests of these red nations truly lie with His Majesty King Louis,since you British colonists will spread over their lands and will drivethem out."

  "Your pardon, Chevalier de St. Luc, but it is not so. The English havealways been the good friends of the Six Nations, and have never brokentreaties with them."

  "No offense was meant, Mr. Lennox. But we do not wish to waste ourenergies here debating with each other. We will save our skill andstrength for the council of the fifty, where I know you will present thecause of the British king in such manner that its slender justificationwill seem better than it really is."

  Robert laughed.

  "A stab and praise at the same time," he said. "No, Monsieur de St. Luc,I have no wish to quarrel with you now or at any other time."

  "And while we're in the vale of Onondaga we'll be friends."

  "If you wish it to be so."

  "And you too, Mr. Willet?"

  "I've nothing against you, Chevalier de St. Luc, although I shall fightthe cause of the king whom you represent here. On the other hand I maysay that I like you and I wish nothing better than to be friends withyou here."

  "Then it is settled," said St. Luc in a tone of relief. "It is a goodway, I think. Why be enemies before we must? I shall see, too, that mygood Dubois becomes one of us, and together we will witness the MapleDance."

  St. Luc's manner continued frank, and Robert could not question hissincerity. He was glad that the chevalier had proposed the temporaryfriendship and he was glad, too, that Willet approved of it, since hehad such a great respect for the opinion of the hunter. St. Luc, nowthat the treaty was made, bore himself as one of their party, and thedark Canadian, Dubois, who was not far away, also accepted the situationin its entirety. Tayoga, too, confirmed it thoroughly and now that St.Luc was with him on a footing of friendship Robert felt more deeply thanever the charm of his manner and talk. It seemed to him that thechevalier had the sincerity and honesty of de Galisonniere, with moreexperience and worldly wisdom, his experience and worldly wisdommatching those of de Courcelles with a great superiority in sincerityand honesty.

  The three quickly became the five. St Luc and Dubois being accepted wereaccepted without reserve, although Dubois seldom spoke, seeming toconsider himself the shadow of his chief. The next day the five stoodtogether and witnessed the confessions of sins in the council grove,the religious ceremony that always preceded the Maple Dance.

  Tododaho spoke to the sachems, the chiefs and the multitude upon theircrimes and faults, the necessity for repentance and of resolution to dobetter in the future. Robert saw but little difference between hissermon and that of a minister in the Protestant faith in which he hadbeen reared. Manitou was God and God was Manitou. The Iroquois and thewhite men had traveled by different roads, but they had arrived atpractically the same creed and faith. The feeling that for the
timebeing he was an Iroquois in a white man's skin was yet strong upon him.

  Many of the Indian sachems and chiefs were men of great eloquence, andthe speech of Tododaho amid such surroundings, with the breathlessmultitude listening, was impressive to the last degree. Its solemnitywas increased, when he held aloft a belt of white wampum, and,enumerating his own sins, asked Manitou to forgive him. When he hadfinished he exclaimed, "Naho," which meant, "I have done." Then hepassed the wampum to Tonessaah, who also made his confession, and allthe other sachems and chiefs did the same, the people, too, joining withintense fervor in the manifestation.

  A huge banquet of all that forest, river and field afforded was spreadthe next morning, and at noon athletic games, particularly those withthe ball, in which the red man excelled long before the white man came,began and were played with great energy and amid intense excitement. Atthe same time the great Feather Dance, religious in its nature, wasgiven by twelve young warriors and twelve young girls, dressed in theirmost splendid costumes.

  Night came, and the festival was still in progress. What the Indian didhe did with his whole heart, and all his strength. Darkness compelledthe ball games to cease, but the dancing went on by the light of thefires and fresh banquets were spread for all who cared. Robert knew thatit might last for several days and that it would be useless until theend for either him or St. Luc to mention the subject so dear to theirhearts. Hence came an agreement of silence, and all the while theirfriendship grew.

  It is true that official enemies may be quite different in private life,and Robert found that he and St. Luc had much in common. There was acertain kindred quality of temperament. They had the same courage, thesame spirit of optimism, the same light and easy manner of meeting acrisis, with the same deadly earnestness and concentration concealedunder that careless appearance. It was apparent that Robert, who hadspent so much of his life in the forest, was fitted for great events andthe stage upon which men of the world moved. He had felt it in Quebec,when he came into contact with what was really a brilliant court, withall the faults and vices of a court, one of the main objects of whichwas pleasure, and he felt it anew, since he was in the constantcompanionship of a man who seemed to him to have more of that knightlyspirit and chivalry for which France was famous than any other he hadever met. St. Luc knew his Paris and the forest equally well. Nor washe a stranger to London and Vienna or to old Rome that Robert hoped tosee some day. It seemed to Robert that he had seen everything and doneeverything, not that he boasted, even by indirection, but it was drawnfrom him by the lad's own questions, back of which was an intensecuriosity.

  Robert noticed also that Willet, to whom he owed so much, neverintervened. Apparently he still approved the growing friendship of thelad and the Frenchman, and Tayoga, too, showed himself not insensible toSt Luc's charm. Although he was now among his own people, and in thesacred vale of which they were the keepers, he still stayed in thecommunity house with Robert and sought the society of his white friends,including St. Luc.

  "I had thought," said Robert to the hunter the third morning after theirarrival, "that you would prefer for us to show a hostile face to St.Luc, who is here to defeat our purpose, just as we are here to defeathis."

  "Nothing is to be gained by a personal enmity," replied the hunter. "Weare the enemies not of St. Luc, but of his nation. We will meet himfairly as he will meet us fairly, and I see good reasons why you and heshould be friends."

  "But in the coming war he's likely to be one of our ablest and mostenterprising foes."

  "That's true, Robert, but it does not change my view. Brave men shouldlike brave men, and if it is war I hope you and St. Luc will not meet inbattle."

  "You, too, seem to take an interest in him, Dave."

  "I like him," said Willet briefly. Then he shrugged his shoulders, andchanged the subject.

  The great festival went on, and the agents of Corlear and Onontio werestill kept waiting. The sachems would not hear a word from either. AsRobert understood it, they felt that the Maple Dance might not becelebrated again for years. These old men, warriors and statesmen both,saw the huge black clouds rolling up and they knew they portended astorm, tremendous beyond any that North America had known. France andEngland, and that meant their colonies, too, would soon be locked fastin deadly combat, and the Hodenosaunee, who were the third power, mustlook with all their eyes and think with all their strength.

  While the young warriors and the maidens sang and danced withoutceasing, the sachems and the chiefs sat far into the night, and asgravely as the Roman Senate, considered the times and their needs.Runners, long of limb, powerful of chest, and bare to the waist, camefrom all points of the compass and reported secretly. One from Albanysaid that Corlear and the people there and at New York were talking ofwar, but were not preparing for it. Another, a Mohawk who came out ofthe far east, said that Shirley, the Governor of Massachusetts, wasthinking of war and preparing for it too. A third, a Tuscarora, who hadtraveled many days from the south, said that Dinwiddie, the Governor ofVirginia, was already acting. He was sending men, led by a tall youthnamed Washington, into the Ohio country, where the French had alreadygone to build forts. An Onondaga out of the north said that Quebec andMontreal were alive with military preparations. Onontio was giving tothe French Indians muskets, powder, bullets and blankets in a profusionnever known before.

  The red fagots were rapidly displacing the white, and the secretcouncils of the fifty sachems were filled with anxiety, but they hid alltheir disquietude from the people, and much of it from the chiefs. But,to their eyes, all the heavens were scarlet and the world was about tobe in upheaval. It was a time for every sachem to walk with cautioussteps and use his last ounce of wisdom.

  On the fourth night a powerful ally of St. Luc's arrived, although thechevalier had not called him, and did not know until the next day thathe had come. He was a tall, thin man of middle years, wrapped in a blackrobe with a cross upon his breast, and he had traveled alone through thewilderness from Quebec to the vale of Onondaga. He carried no weapon butunder the black robe beat a heart as dauntless as that of Robert, or ofWillet, or of Tayoga, and an invincible faith that had already movedmountains.

  Onondaga men and women received Father Philibert Drouillard, and kneltfor his willing blessing. Despite the memories of Champlain andFrontenac, despite the long and honored alliance with the English, theFrench missionaries, whom no hardships could stop, had made convertsamong the Onondagas, an enlightened nation with kindly and gentleinstincts, and of all these missionaries Father Drouillard had the mosttenacious and powerful will. And piety and patriotism could dwelltogether in his heart. The love of his church and the love of his raceburned there with an equal brightness. He, too, had seen the clouds ofwar gathering, thick and black, and knowing the power of theHodenosaunee, and that they yet waited, he had hastened to them to winthem for France. He was burning with zeal and he would have gone forththe very night of his arrival to talk, but he was so exhausted that hecould not move, and he slept deeply in one of the houses, while hisfaithful converts watched.

  Robert encountered the priest early the next morning, and the meetingwas wholly unexpected by him, although the Frenchman gave no sign ofsurprise and perhaps felt none.

  "Father Drouillard!" he exclaimed. "I believed you to be in Canada! Idid not think there was any duty that could call you to the vale ofOnondaga!"

  The stern face of the priest relaxed into a slight smile. This youth,though of the hostile race, was handsome and winning, and as FatherDrouillard knew, he had a good heart.

  "Holy Church sends us, its servants, poor and weak though we may be, onfar and different errands," he said. "We seek the wheat even among thestones, and there are those, here in the vale of Onondaga itself, whowatch for my coming."

  Robert recalled that there were Catholic converts among the Onondagas, afact that he had forgotten for the time, and he realized at once what apowerful factor Father Drouillard would be in the fight against him.

  "The Chevalier
de St. Luc has been here for some time," he said,"waiting until the fifty sachems are ready to hear him in council, whenhe will speak for France. Mr. Willet and I are also waiting to speak forEngland. But the Chevalier de St. Luc and I are the best of friends, andI hope, Father Drouillard, that you, who have come also to uphold thecause of France, will not look upon me as an enemy, but as one,unfitting though he may be, who wishes to do what he can for hiscountry."

  Father Drouillard smiled again.

  "Ah, my son," he said, "you are a good lad. You bore yourself well inQuebec, and I have naught against you, save that you are not of ourrace."

  "And for that, reverend sir, you cannot blame me."

  Father Drouillard smiled for the third time. It was not often that hesmiled three times in one day, and again he reflected that this was ahandsome and most winning lad.

  "Peace, my son!" he said. "Protestant you are and Catholic am I, Englishyou are and French am I, but no ill wind can ever blow between you andme. We are but little children in the hands of the Omnipotent and we canonly await His decree."

  Robert told Willet a little later that Father Drouillard had come, andthe hunter looked very grave.

  "Our task has doubled," he said. "Now we fight both St. Luc and FatherDrouillard, the army and the church."

  CHAPTER XVI

  THE GREAT TEST

  While Robert and Willet had been glad hitherto that the council of thefifty sachems had delayed its meeting, they were anxious, now thatFather Drouillard had come, to hasten it. That the army and the church,that is the French army and the French church, were in close alliance,they soon had full proof. The priest and the chevalier were muchtogether, and Robert caught an occasional flash of exultation in St.Luc's eyes.

  The new influence was visible also among a minority of the Onondagas.The faith of the converts was very strong, and Father Drouillard was tothem not only a teacher but an emblem also, and through him, aFrenchman, they looked upon France as the chosen country of the new Godwhom they worshiped. And Father Drouillard never worked harder than inthose fateful days. His thin face grew thinner, and his lean figureleaner, but the fire in his eyes burned brighter. The fifty sachems saidnothing. Whether they were for the priest or against him, they neverinterfered with his energies, because without exception they respectedone who they knew sought nothing for himself, who could endure hardship,privation and even torture as well as they, and who also had the giftof powerful and persuasive speech.

  The other nations too, except one, listened to him, though less than theOnondagas. The fierce and warlike Mohawks would have none of him, norwould they allow St. Luc to speak to them. Never could a single Mohawkwarrior forget that Stadacona was theirs, though generations ago it hadbecome French Quebec. They recalled with delight the numerous raids theyhad made into Canada, and their many wars with the French. Robert sawthat one nation, and it was the one standing on an equality with theOnondagas, was irreconcilable. When the council met the nine sachems ofthe Mohawks, and their names would be called first, would provethemselves to the last man the bitter and implacable enemies of theFrench. So, feeling that he was right and loving his own country as muchas the priest and the chevalier loved theirs, he deftly worked upon theminds of the Mohawks. He talked to the fiery young chief, Daganoweda, oflost Stadacona that he had seen with his own eyes. He spoke of its greatsituation on the lofty cliffs above the grandest of rivers, and hedescribed it as the strongest fortress in America. The spirit of theyoung Mohawk responded readily. Robert's appeal was not made toprejudice. He felt that truth and right were back of it. As he saw it,the future of the Hodenosaunee lay with the English, the French couldnever be their real friends, the long breach between Quebec and the valeof Onondaga could not be healed.

  He had an able and efficient assistant in Tayoga, who was devoted tothe alliance with the English and the Americans, and who was constantlytalking with the sachems and chiefs. Willet, too, who had a longacquaintance with all the nations of the Hodenosaunee, and who had manyfriends among them, used all his arts of persuasion, which were by nomeans small, and thus the battle for the favor of the Iroquois went on.The night before the council was to be held, Tayoga, his black eyesflashing, came to Robert and the hunter and they talked together for along time.

  The great council was held the next day in the grove devoted to thatpurpose, the entire ceremony being Greek in its simplicity and dignity,and in its surroundings. The fifty sachems, arrayed in their finestrobes, sat once more in a half circle, save that Tododaho, the Onondaga,was slightly in front of the others, with Tonessaah at his elbow. Thenine Mohawk chiefs, fierce and implacable, sat close together, and longbefore the appeals of England and France were begun Robert knew how theywould vote.

  The effort that he would make had already taken definite shape in hismind. He would be moderate, he would not ask the Hodenosaunee to fightfor the English and Americans, he would merely ask the great nations torefuse the alliance of the French, and if they could not find it intheir hearts to take up the tomahawk for their old friends then toremain at peace in their villages, while English and French fought forthe continent.

  Spring was now far advanced. Robert had never seen the forest in deepergreen and he had never looked up to a bluer sky than the one that bentover them, as they walked toward the council grove. His heart wasbeating hard, but it was with excitement, not with fear. He knew that agreat test was before him, but his mind responded to it, in truth sprangforward to meet it. The breeze that came down from the hills seemed towhisper encouragement in his ears, and the words that he would speakwere already leaping to his lips.

  A great crowd, men, women and children, was gathered about the grove,and like the sachems they were clothed in their best. Brilliant red,blue or yellow blankets gleamed in the sun's rays, and the beads onleggings and moccasins of the softest tanned deerskin, flashed andglittered. Robert, with his memories of the Albany school still fresh,thought once more of the great Greek and Roman assemblies, where all thepeople came to hear their orators discuss the causes that meant most.And then his pulse leaped again and his confidence grew.

  Tododaho spoke first, and when he rose there was a respectful silencebroken only by the murmurs of the wind or the heavy breathing of themultitude. In a spirit of love and exhortation he addressed his people,all of the six great nations. He told them that the mighty powers beyondthe sea, England and France, who with their children divided nearly thewhole world between them, were about to begin war with each other. Thelands occupied by both bordered upon the lands of the Hodenosaunee, andthe storm of battle would hover over all their castles and over the valeof Onondaga. It was well for them to take long and anxious thought, andto listen with attention to what the orators of the English and theFrench would have to say.

  Then Father Drouillard spoke for France. He made an impressive figure,wrapped in his black robe, his eyes burning like coals of fire in histhin, dead white face. Near him on the right, his Onondaga converts weregathered, and he frequently looked at them as he told the fifty sachemsthat France, the greatest and strongest son of Holy Church, was theirbest friend, and their fitting ally. Such was the thread of hisdiscourse. He struck throughout the priestly note. He appealed not aloneto their sense of right in this world, but to the deeds they must do toinsure their entrance into the world to come. France alone could leadthem in the right path, she alone thought of their souls.

  The priest spoke with intense fervor, using the tongue of the Indianswith the greatest clearness and purity. His sincerity was obvious.Neither Robert nor Willet could doubt it for an instant, and they saw,too, that it was making an impression. Deep murmurs of approval cameoften from the converts, and now and then the whole multitude stirred inagreement. But the fifty sachems, all except the nine Mohawks, sat asexpressionless as stones. The Mohawks did not move, but the stern,accusing gaze they bent upon the priest never relaxed. As Robert hadforeseen, the most eloquent orator might talk a thousand years, and hecould never bring them a single inch toward France.


  Willet followed the priest. He attempted no flights. He left the futureto itself and emphasized the present and the past. He recalled thefacts, so well known, that the English had always been their friends,and the French always their enemies. The English had kept their treatieswith the Hodenosaunee, the French could not be trusted.

  The hunter, too, received applause, much of it, and when he finished hetook his position in the audience beside Tayoga. Then the Chevalier deSt. Luc stood before the fifty sachems, as gallant and as handsome afigure as one could find in either the Old World or the New, clothed ina white uniform faced with gold, his hair powdered and tied in a knot,his small sword, gold hilted, by his side.

  The chevalier knew the children of the forest, and Robert recognized atonce in him an antagonist even more formidable than he had expected. Hisappeal was to the lore of the woods and to valor. The French adaptedthemselves to the ways of the forest. They practiced the customs of theIndians, lived with them and often married their women. They could growand flourish together, while the Englishmen and the Bostonnais heldthemselves aloof from the red men, and pretended to be their superiors.The French soldier and the Indian warrior had much in common, side byside they were invincible, and together they could drive the Englishinto the sea, giving back to the red races the lands they had lost.

  He was a graceful and impassioned speaker, and he, too, made hisimpression. The principal point of his theme, that the French alonefraternized with the Indians, was good and all were familiar with thefact. He returned to it continually, and when he sat down the applausewas louder than it had been for either Willet or the priest. It wasevident that he had made a strong appeal, and the Onondaga and Senecasachems regarded him with a certain degree of favor, but the nine fierceand implacable Mohawk sachems did not unbend a particle.

  Then Robert rose. Despite the fewness of his years, the times and hardcircumstance had given him wisdom. He was surcharged, too, with emotion.He was yet an Iroquois for the time being, despite his white face. Hestill saw as they saw, and felt as they felt, and while he wished themto take the side of Britain and the British colonies, or at least notjoin the side of France and the French colonies, he was moved, too, by adeep personal sympathy. The fortunes of the Hodenosaunee were dear tohim. He had been adopted into the great League. Tayoga, as the redpeople saw it, was his brother in more than blood.

  He trembled a little with emotion as he looked upon the gravehalf-circle of the fifty sachems, and the clustering chiefs behind them,and then upon the people, the old men, the warriors, the women and thechildren. As he saw them, they were friendly. They knew him to be one ofthem by all the sacred rites of adoption, they knew that he had foughtby the side of the great young warrior Tayoga of the clan of the Bear,of the nation Onondaga, of the mighty League of the Hodenosaunee, andafter the momentary silence a deep murmur of admiration for the lithe,athletic young figure, and the frank, open face, ran through themultitude.

  He spoke with glowing zeal and in a clear, beautiful voice that carriedlike a trumpet. After the first minute, all embarrassment and hesitationpassed away, and his gift shone, resplendent. The freshness and fervorof youth were added to the logic and power of maturer years, and goldenwords flowed from his lips. The Indians, always susceptible to oratory,leaned forward, attentive and eager. The eyes of the fifty sachems beganto shine and the fierce and implacable Mohawks, who would not relax aparticle for any of the others, nodded with approval, as the speakerplayed upon the strings of their hearts.

  He dwelled less upon the friendship of the English than upon thehostility of the French. He knew that Champlain and Frontenac were faraway in time, but near in the feelings of the Hodenosaunee, especiallythe Mohawks, the warlike Keepers of the Eastern Gate. He said that whilethe French had often lived with the Indians, and sometimes had marriedIndian women, it was not with the nations of the Hodenosaunee, but withtheir enemies, Huron, Caughnawaga, St. Regis, Ojibway and other savagesof the far west. Onontio could not be the friend of their foes and theirfriends also. Manitou had never given to any man the power to carrywater on both shoulders in such a manner.

  The promises of the French to the great nations of the League had neverbeen kept. He and Willet, the hunter whom they called the Great Bear,and the brave young warrior, Tayoga, whom they all knew, had justreturned from the Stadacona of the Mohawks, which the French had seized,and where they had built their capital, calling it Quebec. They hadcovered it with stone buildings, palaces, fortresses and churches, but,in truth and right, it was still the Stadacona of the Mohawks. WhenTayoga and Willet and he walked there, they saw the shades of the greatMohawk sachems of long ago, come down from the great shining stars onwhich they now lived, to confound the French, and to tell the childrenof the Ganeagaono never to trust them.

  Stirred beyond control, a fierce shout burst from the nine Mohawksachems. It was the first time within the memory of the council that anyof its members had given evidence of feeling, while a question laybefore it, but their cry touched a common chord of sympathy. Applauseswept the crowd, and then, deep silence coming again, the oratorcontinued, his fervor and power increasing as he knew now that all thenations of the Hodenosaunee were with him.

  He enlarged upon his theme. He showed to them what a victorious Francewould do. If Quebec prevailed, the fair promises the priest and thechevalier had made to the Hodenosaunee would be forgotten. Even as theMohawks had lost Quebec and other villages they would lose now theircastles, the Upper, the Lower and the Middle, the Cayugas and theOneidas would be crushed, and with them their new brethren theTuscaroras. The French would burst with fire and sword into the sacredvale of Onondaga itself, they would cut down the council grove and burnthe Long House, then their armies would go forth to destroy the Senecas,the Keepers of the Western Gate.

  The thousands, swayed by uncontrollable emotion, sprang to their feetand a tremendous shout burst from them all. St. Luc, seeing theHodenosaunee slipping from his hands and from those of France, leapedup, unable to contain himself, and cried:

  "Do not listen to him! Do not listen to him! What he says cannot come topass!"

  The people were in a turmoil, and the council strove in vain for order,but the young speaker raised his hand and silence came again.

  "The Chevalier de St. Luc and Father Drouillard, who have spoken to youin behalf of France, are brave and good men," he said, "but they cannotcontrol the acts of their country. They tell you what I say cannot cometo pass, but I tell you that it can come to pass, and what is more ithas come to pass. Behold!"

  He took from beneath his deerskin tunic a tomahawk, large and keen, andheld it up. Its shining blade was stained red with the blood of a humanbeing. The silence was now so intense that it became heavy andoppressive. Everyone in the crowd expected something startling tofollow, and they were right.

  He swung the tomahawk about in a circle that all might see it, and theblood upon its blade. His feeling for the dramatic was strong upon him,and he knew that the right moment had come.

  "Do you know whose tomahawk this is?" he cried.

  The crowd was silent and waiting.

  "It is the tomahawk of Tandakora, the Ojibway, the friend and ally ofthe French."

  A fierce shout like a peal of thunder from the crowd, and then the sameintense, waiting silence.

  "Do you know whose blood stains the tomahawk of Tandakora, the Ojibway,the friend and ally of the French?"

  A deep breath from the crowd.

  "It is the blood of Hosahaho, the Onondaga. You knew him well, one ofyour swiftest runners, a skillful hunter, a great warrior, one who liveda truthful and upright life before the face of Manitou. But he is gone.Three nights ago, Tandakora, the Ojibway, the friend and ally of theFrench, with a band of his treacherous men, foully murdered him inambush. But other Onondagas came, and Tandakora and his band had to fleeso fast that he could not regain his tomahawk. It has been brought tothe vale of Onondaga by those who saw Tandakora, but who could notovertake him. It was given by them to Tayoga, whom all of you
know andhonor, and he has given it to me as proof of the faith of Onontio.Tandakora and Onontio are brothers. What Tandakora does Onontio doesalso, and the bright blood of Hosahaho, the Onondaga, that stains thetomahawk of Tandakora, the Ojibway, was shed by Onontio as well asTandakora. Behold! Here are the promises of Onontio, written red in theblood of your brother!"

  An immense tumult followed, but presently Tododaho, first among thesachems, rose and stilled it with uplifted hands. Turning his eyes uponRobert, he said:

  "You have spoken well, O Dagaeoga, and you have shown the proof of yourwords. Never will the great nations of the Hodenosaunee be the friendsof the French. There is too much blood between us."

  Then, turning to Chevalier de St. Luc and Father Drouillard, he said:

  "Go you back to Quebec and tell Onontio that he cannot come to us withpromises in one hand and murder in the other. Our young men will guardyou and see that you are safe, until you pass out of our lands. Go!Through me the fifty sachems speak for the great League of theHodenosaunee."

  The chevalier and the priest, disappointed but dignified, left the valeof Onondaga that night, and St. Luc said to Robert that he bore him noill will because of his defeat.

  Several weeks later, as Robert, Willet, and Tayoga were on their way toAlbany, they heard from an Oneida runner that the English colonials fromVirginia, under young Washington, and the French had been in battle farto the west.

  "The war has begun," said Willet solemnly, "a war that will shake bothcontinents."

  "And the Hodenosaunee will not help Onontio," said Tayoga.

  "And the French may lose Quebec," said Robert looking northward to thecity of his dreams.