The Pioneers; Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna

by James Fenimore Cooper

  CHAPTER VII.

  "From Sesquehanna's utmost springs, Where savage tribes pursue their game, His blanket tied with yellow strings, The shepherd of the forest came."--Freneau.

  Before the Europeans, or, to use a more significant term, theChristians, dispossessed the original owners of the soil, all thatsection of country which contains the New England States, and those ofthe Middle which lie east of the mountains, was occupied by two greatnations of Indians, from whom had descended numberless tribes. But,as the original distinctions between these nations were marked by adifference in language, as well as by repeated and bloody wars, theywere never known to amalgamate, until after the power and inroads ofthe whites had reduced some of the tribes to a state of dependence thatrendered not only their political, but, considering the wants and habitsof a savage, their animal existence also, extremely precarious.

  These two great divisions consisted, on the one side, of the Five, or,as they were afterward called, the Six Nations, and their allies; and,on the other, of the Lenni Lenape, or Delawares, with the numerous andpowerful tribes that owned that nation as their grandfather The formerwas generally called, by the Anglo-Americans Iroquois, or the SixNations, and sometimes Mingoes. Their appellation among their rivals,seems generally to have been the Mengwe, or Maqua. They consisted ofthe tribes or, as their allies were fond of asserting, in order to raisetheir consequence, of the several nations of the Mohawks, the Oneidas,the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas; who ranked, in the confederation inthe order in which they are named. The Tuscaroras were admitted to thisunion near a century after its foundation, and thus completed the numberof six.

  Of the Lenni Lenape, or as they were called by the whites, from thecircumstances of their holding their great council-fire on the banksof that river, the Delaware nation, the principal tribes, besides thatwhich bore the generic name, were the Mahicanni, Mohicans, or Mohegans,and the Nanticokes, or Nentigoes. Of these the latter held the countryalong the waters of the Chesapeake and the seashore; while the Mohegansoccupied the district between the Hudson and the ocean, including muchof New England. Of course these two tribes were the first who weredispossessed of their lands by the Europeans.

  The wars of a portion of the latter are celebrated among us as the warsof King Philip; but the peaceful policy of William Penn, or Miquon, ashe was termed by the natives, effected its object with less difficulty,though not with less certainty. As the natives gradually disappearedfrom the country of the Mohegans, some scattering families sought arefuge around the council-fire of the mother tribe, or the Delawares.

  This people had been induced to suffer themselves to be called women bytheir old enemies, the Mingoes, or Iroquois. After the latter, having invain tried the effects of hostility, had recourse in artifice inorder to prevail over their rivals. According to this declaration, theDelawares were to cultivate the arts of peace, and to intrust theirdefence entirely to the men, or warlike tribes of the Six Nations.

  This state of things continued until the war of the Revolution. Whenthe Lenni Lenape formally asserted their independence, and fearlesslydeclared that they were again men. But, in a government so peculiarlyrepublican as the Indian polity, it was not at all times an easy task torestrain its members within the rules of the nation. Several fierce andrenowned warriors of the Mohegans, finding the conflict with the whitesto be in vain, sought a refuge with their grandfather, and brought withthem the feelings and principles that had so long distinguished themin their own tribe. These chieftains kept alive, in some measure, themartial spirit of the Delawares; and would, at times, lead small partiesagainst their ancient enemies, or such other foes as incurred theirresentment.

  Among these warriors was one race particularly famous for their prowess,and for those qualities that render an Indian hero celebrated. But war,time, disease, and want had conspired to thin their number; and the solerepresentative of this once renowned family now stood in the hall ofMarmaduke Temple. He had for a long time been an associate of the whitemen, particularly in their wars, and having been, at the season when hisservices were of importance, much noticed and flattered, he had turnedChristian and was baptized by the name of John. He had suffered severelyin his family during the recent war, having had every soul to whomhe was allied cut off by an inroad of the enemy; and when the lastlingering remnant of his nation extinguished their fires, among thehills of the Delaware, he alone had remained, with a determination oflaying his hones in that country where his fathers had so long lived andgoverned.

  It was only, however, within a few months, that he had appeared amongthe mountains that surrounded Templeton. To the hut of the old hunterhe seemed peculiarly welcome; and, as the habits of the Leather-Stockingwere so nearly assimilated to those of the savages, the conjunction oftheir interests excited no surprise. They resided in the same cabin, ateof the same food, and were chiefly occupied in the same pursuits.

  We have already mentioned the baptismal name of this ancient chief; butin his conversation with Natty, held in the language of the Delawares,he was heard uniformly to call himself Chingachgook, which, interpreted,means the "Great Snake." This name he had acquired in his youth, by hisskill and prowess in war; but when his brows began to wrinkle with time,and he stood alone, the last of his family, and his particular tribe,the few Delawares, who yet continued about the head-waters of theirriver, gave him the mournful appellation of Mohegan. Perhaps there wassomething of deep feeling excited in the bosom of this inhabitant of theforest by the sound of a name that recalled the idea of his nation inruins, for he seldom used it himself--never, indeed, excepting on themost solemn occasions; but the settlers had united, according to theChristian custom, his baptismal with his national name, and to themhe was generally known as John Mohegan, or, more familiarly, as IndianJohn.

  From his long association with the white men, the habits of Mohegan werea mixture of the civilized and savage states, though there was certainlya strong preponderance in favor of the latter. In common with all hispeople, who dwelt within the influence of the Anglo-Americans, hehad acquired new wants, and his dress was a mixture of his native andEuropean fashions. Notwithstanding the in tense cold without, his headwas uncovered; but a profusion of long, black, coarse hair concealed hisforehead, his crown, and even hung about his cheeks, so as to conveythe idea, to one who knew his present amid former conditions, that heencouraged its abundance, as a willing veil to hide the shame of a noblesoul, mourning for glory once known. His forehead, when it could beseen, appeared lofty, broad, and noble. His nose was high, and of thekind called Roman, with nostrils that expanded, in his seventieth year,with the freedom that had distinguished them in youth. His mouth waslarge, but compressed, and possessing a great share of expression andcharacter, and, when opened, it discovered a perfect set of short,strong, and regular teeth. His chin was full, though not prominent; andhis face bore the infallible mark of his people, in its square, highcheek-bones. The eyes were not large, but their black orbs glittered inthe rays of the candles, as he gazed intently down the hall, like twoballs of fire.

  The instant that Mohegan observed himself to be noticed by the grouparound the young stranger, he dropped the blanket which covered theupper part of his frame, from his shoulders, suffering it to fall overhis leggins of untanned deer-skin, where it was retained by a belt ofbark that confined it to his waist.

  As he walked slowly down the long hail, the dignified and deliberatetread of the Indian surprised the spectators.

  His shoulders, and body to his waist, were entirely bare, with theexception of a silver medallion of Washington, that was suspended fromhis neck by a thong of buckskin, and rested on his high chest, amid manyscars. His shoulders were rather broad and full; but the arms, thoughstraight and graceful, wanted the muscular appearance that labor givesto a race of men. The medallion was the only ornament he wore, althoughenormous slits in the rim of either ear, which suffered the cartilagesto fall two inches below the members, had evidently been used for thepurposes of decoration in oth
er days in his hand he held a small basketof the ash-wood slips, colored in divers fantastical conceits, with redand black paints mingled with the white of the wood.

  As this child of the forest approached them, the whole party stoodaside, and allowed him to confront the object of his visit. He did notspeak, however, but stood fixing his glowing eyes on the shoulder of theyoung hunter, and then turning them intently on the countenance of theJudge. The latter was a good deal astonished at this unusual departurefrom the ordinarily subdued and quiet manner of the Indian; but heextended his hand, and said:

  "Thou art welcome, John. This youth entertains a high opinion of thyskill, it seems, for he prefers thee to dress his wound even to our goodfriend, Dr. Todd."

  Mohegan now spoke in tolerable English, but in a low, monotonous,guttural tone;

  "The children of Miquon do not love the sight of blood; and yet theYoung Eagle has been struck by the hand that should do no evil!"

  "Mohegan! old John!" exclaimed the Judge, "thinkest thou that my handhas ever drawn human blood willingly? For shame! for shame, old John!thy religion should have taught thee better."

  "The evil spirit sometimes lives in the best heart," returned John, "butmy brother speaks the truth; his hand has never taken life, when awake;no! not even when the children of the great English Father were makingthe waters red with the blood of his people."

  "Surely John," said Mr. Grant, with much earnestness, "you rememberthe divine command of our Saviour, 'Judge not, lest ye be judged.' Whatmotive could Judge Temple have for injuring a youth like this; one towhom he is unknown, and from whom he can receive neither in jury norfavor?"

  John listened respectfully to the divine, and, when he had concluded, hestretched out his arm, and said with energy:

  "He is innocent. My brother has not done this."

  Marmaduke received the offered hand of the other with a smile, thatshowed, however he might be astonished at his suspicion, he had ceasedto resent it; while the wounded youth stood, gazing from his red friendto his host, with interest powerfully delineated in his countenance.

  No sooner was this act of pacification exchanged, than John proceededto discharge the duty on which he had come. Dr. Todd was far frommanifesting any displeasure at this invasion of his rights, but made wayfor the new leech with an air that expressed a willingness to gratifythe humors of his patient, now that the all-important part of thebusiness was so successfully performed, and nothing remained to bedone but what any child might effect, indeed, he whispered as much toMonsieur Le Quoi, when he said:

  "It was fortunate that the ball was extracted before this Indian camein; but any old woman can dress the wound. The young man, I hear, liveswith John and Natty Bumppo, and it's always best to humor a patient,when it can be done discreetly--I say, discreetly, monsieur."

  "Certainement," returned the Frenchman; "you seem ver happy, MisterTodd, in your pratice. I tink the elder lady might ver well finish vatyou so skeelfully begin."

  But Richard had, at the bottom, a great deal of veneration for theknowledge of Mohegan, especially in external wounds; and, retaining allhis desire for a participation in glory, he advanced nigh the Indian,and said: "Sago, sago, Mohegan! sago my good fellow I am glad you havecome; give me a regular physician, like Dr. Todd to cut into flesh, anda native to heal the wound. Do you remember, John, the time when I andyou set the bone of Natty Bumppo's little finger, after he broke it byfalling from the rock, when he was trying to get the partridge thatfell on the cliffs? I never could tell yet whether it was I or Natty whokilled that bird: he fired first, and the bird stooped, and then itwas rising again as I pulled trigger. I should have claimed it for acertainty, but Natty said the hole was too big for shot, and he fired asingle ball from his rifle; but the piece I carried then didn't scatter,and I have known it to bore a hole through a board, when I've beenshooting at a mark, very much like rifle bullets. Shall I help you,John? You know I have a knack at these things."

  Mohegan heard this disquisition quite patiently, and, when Richardconcluded, he held out the basket which contained his specifics,indicating, by a gesture, that he might hold it. Mr. Jones was quitesatisfied with this commission; and ever after, in speaking of theevent, was used to say that "Dr. Todd and I cut out the bullet, and Iand Indian John dressed the wound."

  The patient was much more deserving of that epithet while under thehands of Mohegan, than while suffering under the practice of thephysician. Indeed, the Indian gave him but little opportunity forthe exercise of a forbearing temper, as he had come prepared for theoccasion. His dressings were soon applied, and consisted only of somepounded bark, moistened with a fluid that he had expressed from some ofthe simples of the woods.

  Among the native tribes of the forest there were always two kinds ofleeches to be met with. The one placed its whole dependence on theexercise of a supernatural power, and was held in greater venerationthan their practice could at all justify; but the other was reallyendowed with great skill in the ordinary complaints of the human body,and was more particularly, as Natty had intimated, "curous" in cuts andbruises.

  While John and Richard were placing the dressings on the wound, Elnathanwas acutely eyeing the contents of Mohegan's basket, which Mr. Jones,in his physical ardor had transferred to the doctor, in order to holdhimself one end of the bandages. Here he was soon enabled to detectsundry fragments of wood and bark, of which he quite coolly tookpossession, very possibly without any intention of speaking at all uponthe subject; but, when he beheld the full blue eye of Marmaduke watchinghis movements, he whispered to the Judge:

  "It is not to be denied, Judge Temple, but what the savages are knowingin small matters of physic. They hand these things down in theirtraditions. Now in cancers and hydrophoby they are quite ingenious. Iwill just take this bark home and analyze it; for, though it can'tbe worth sixpence to the young man's shoulder, it may be good for thetoothache, or rheumatism, or some of them complaints. A man should neverbe above learning, even if it be from an Indian."

  It was fortunate for Dr. Todd that his principles were so liberal, as,coupled with his practice, they were the means by which he acquired allhis knowledge, and by which he was gradually qualifying himself for theduties of his profession. The process to which he subjected the specificdiffered, however, greatly from the ordinary rules of chemistry;for instead of separating he afterward united the component parts ofMohegan's remedy, and was thus able to discover the tree whence theIndian had taken it.

  Some ten years after this event, when civilization and its refinementshad crept, or rather rushed, into the settlements among these wildhills, an affair of honor occurred, and Elnathan was seen to apply asalve to the wound received by one of the parties, which had the flavorthat was peculiar to the tree, or root, that Mohegan had used. Ten yearslater still, when England and the United States were again engaged inwar, and the hordes of the western parts of the State of New York wererushing to the field, Elnathan, presuming on the reputation obtained bythese two operations, followed in the rear of a brigade of militia asits surgeon!

  When Mohegan had applied the bark, he freely relinquished to Richard theneedle and thread that were used in sewing the bandages, for these wereimplements of which the native but little understood the use: and, stepping back with decent gravity, awaited the completion of the business bythe other.

  "Reach me the scissors," said Mr. Jones, when he had finished, andfinished for the second time, after tying the linen in every shape andform that it could be placed; "reach me the scissors, for here is athread that must be cut off, or it might get under the dressings, andinflame the wound. See, John, I have put the lint I scraped betweentwo layers of the linen; for though the bark is certainly best for theflesh, yet the lint will serve to keep the cold air from the wound. Ifany lint will do it good, it is this lint; I scraped it myself, and Iwill not turn my back at scraping lint to any man on the Patent. I oughtto know how, if anybody ought, for my grandfather was a doctor, and myfather had a natural turn that way."

 
"Here, squire, is the scissors," said Remarkable, producing from beneathher petticoat of green moreen a pair of dull-looking shears; "well, uponmy say-so, you have sewed on the rags as well as a woman."

  "As well as a woman!" echoed Richard with indignation; "what do womenknow of such matters? and you are proof of the truth of what I say.Who ever saw such a pair of shears used about a wound? Dr. Todd, I willthank you for the scissors from the case, Now, young man, I think you'lldo. The shot has been neatly taken out, although, perhaps, seeing I hada hand in it, I ought not to say so; and the wound is admirably dressed.You will soon be well again; though the jerk you gave my leaders musthave a tendency to inflame the shoulder, yet you will do, you will do,You were rather flurried, I sup pose, and not used to horses; butI forgive the accident for the motive; no doubt you had the best ofmotives; yes, now you will do."

  "Then, gentlemen," said the wounded stranger, rising, and resuming hisclothes, "it will be unnecessary for me to trespass longer on your timeand patience. There remains but one thing more to be settled, and thatis, our respective rights to the deer, Judge Temple."

  "I acknowledge it to be thine," said. Marmaduke; "and much more deeplyam I indebted to thee than for this piece of venison. But in the morningthou wilt call here, and we can adjust this, as well as more importantmatters Elizabeth"--for the young lady, being apprised that the woundwas dressed, had re-entered the hall--"thou wilt order a repast forthis youth before we proceed to the church; and Aggy will have a sleighprepared to convey him to his friend."

  "But, sir, I cannot go without a part of the deer," returned the youth,seemingly struggling with his own feelings; "I have already told youthat I needed the venison for myself."

  "Oh, we will not be particular," exclaimed Richard; "the Judge will payyou in the morning for the whole deer; and, Remarkable, give the ladall the animal excepting the saddle; so, on the whole, I think you mayconsider yourself as a very lucky young man--you have been shot withoutbeing disabled; have had the wound dressed in the best possiblemanner here in the woods, as well as it would have been done in thePhiladelphia hospital, if not better; have sold your deer at a highprice, and yet can keep most of the carcass, with the skin in thebargain. 'Marky, tell Tom to give him the skin too, and in the morningbring the skin to me and I will give you half a dollar for it, or atleast three-and-sixpence. I want just such a skin to cover the pillionthat I am making for Cousin Bess."

  "I thank you, sir, for your liberality, and, I trust, am also thankfulfor my escape," returned the stranger; "but you reserve the very part ofthe animal that I wished for my own use. I must have the saddle myself."

  "Must!" echoed Richard; "must is harder to be swallowed than the hornsof the buck."

  "Yes, must," repeated the youth; when, turning his head proudly aroundhim, as if to see who would dare to controvert his rights, he met theastonished gaze of Elizabeth, and proceeded more mildly: "That is, ifa man is allowed the possession of that which his hand hath killed, andthe law will protect him in the enjoyment of his own."

  "The law will do so," said Judge Temple, with an air of mortificationmingled with surprise. "Benjamin, see that the whole deer is placed inthe sleigh; and have this youth conveyed to the hut of Leather Stocking.But, young man thou hast a name, and I shall see you again, in order tocompensate thee for the wrong I have done thee?"

  "I am called Edwards," returned the hunter; "Oliver Edwards, I am easilyto be seen, sir, for I live nigh by, and am not afraid to show my face,having never injured any man."

  "It is we who have injured you, sir," said Elizabeth; "and the knowledgethat you decline our assistance would give my father great pain. Hewould gladly see you in the morning."

  The young hunter gazed at the fair speaker until his earnest lookbrought the blood to her temples; when, recollecting himself, he benthis head, dropping his eyes to the carpet, and replied:

  "In the morning, then, will I return, and see Judge Temple; and I willaccept his offer of the sleigh in token of amity."

  "Amity!" repeated Marmaduke; "there was no malice in the act thatinjured thee, young man; there should be none in the feelings which itmay engender."

  "Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,"observed Mr. Grant, "is the language used by our Divine Master himself,and it should be the golden rule with us, his humble followers."

  The stranger stood a moment lost in thought, and then, glancing hisdark eyes rather wildly around the hall, he bowed low to the divine, andmoved from the apartment with an air that would not admit of detention.

  "'Tis strange that one so young should harbor such feelings ofresentment," said Marmaduke, when the door closed behind the stranger;"but while the pain is recent, and the sense of the injury so fresh, hemust feel more strongly than in cooler moments. I doubt not we shall seehim in the morning more tractable."

  Elizabeth, to whom this speech was addressed, did not reply, but movedslowly up the hall by herself, fixing her eyes on the little figure ofthe English ingrain carpet that covered the floor; while, on theother hand, Richard gave a loud crack with his whip, as the strangerdisappeared, and cried:

  "Well, 'Duke, you are your own master, but I would have tried law forthe saddle before I would have given it to the fellow. Do you not ownthe mountains as well as the valleys? are not the woods your own? whatright has this chap, or the Leather-Stocking, to shoot in your woodswithout your permission? Now, I have known a farmer in Pennsylvaniaorder a sportsman off his farm with as little ceremony as I would orderBenjamin to put a log in the stove--By-the-bye, Benjamin, see how thethermometer stands.--Now, if a man has a right to do this on a farm ofa hundred acres, what power must a landlord have who owns sixtythousand--ay, for the matter of that, including the late purchases, ahundred thousand? There is Mohegan, to be sure, he may have some right,being a native; but it's little the poor fellow can do now with hisrifle. How is this managed in France, Monsieur Le Quoi? Do you leteverybody run over your land in that country helter-skelter, as they dohere, shooting the game, so that a gentleman has but little or no chancewith his gun?"

  "Bah! diable, no, Meester Deeck," replied the Frenchman; "we give, inFrance, no liberty except to the ladi."

  "Yes, yes, to the women, I know," said Richard, "that is your Saliclaw. I read, sir, all kinds of books; of France, as well as England; ofGreece, as well as Rome. But if I were in 'Duke's place, I would stickup advertisements to-morrow morning, forbidding all persons to shoot, ortrespass in any manner, on my woods. I could write such an advertisementmyself, in an hour, as would put a stop to the thing at once."

  "Richart," said Major Hartmann, very coolly knocking the ashes fromhis pipe into the spitting-box by his side, "now listen; I have livetseventy-five years on ter Mohawk, and in ter woots. You had bettermettle as mit ter deyvel, as mit ter hunters, Tey live mit ter gun, anda rifle is better as ter law."

  "Ain't Marmaduke a judge?" said Richard indignantly. "Where is theuse of being a judge, or having a judge, if there is no law? Damn thefellow! I have a great mind to sue him in the morning myself, beforeSquire Doolittle, for meddling with my leaders. I am not afraid of hisrifle. I can shoot, too. I have hit a dollar many a time at fifty rods.

  "Thou hast missed more dollars than ever thou hast hit, Dickon,"exclaimed the cheerful voice of the Judge. "But we will now take ourevening's repast, which I perseive, by Remarkable's physiognomy, isready. Monsieur Le Quoi, Miss Temple has a hand at your service. Willyou lead the way, my child?"

  "Ah! ma chere mam'selle, comme je suis enchante!" said the Frenchman."Il ne manque que les dames de faire un paradis de Templeton."

  Mr. Grant and Mohegan continued in the hall, while the remainder of theparty withdrew to an eating parlor, if we except Benjamin, who civillyremained to close the rear after the clergyman and to open the frontdoor for the exit of the Indian.

  "John," said the divine, when the figure of Judge Temple disappeared,the last of the group, "to-morrow is the festival of the nativity ofour blessed Redeemer, when the church has appo
inted prayers andthanksgivings to be offered up by her children, and when all are invitedto partake of the mystical elements. As you have taken up the cross, andbecome a follower of good and an eschewer of evil, I trust I shall seeyou before the altar, with a contrite heart and a meek spirit."

  "John will come," said the Indian, betraying no surprise; though he didnot understand all the terms used by the other.

  "Yes," continued Mr. Grant, laying his hand gently on the tawny shoulderof the aged chief, "but it is not enough to be there in the body; youmust come in the spirit and in truth. The Redeemer died for all, for thepoor Indian as well as for the white man. Heaven knows no difference incolor; nor must earth witness a separation of the church. It is goodand profitable, John, to freshen the understanding, and support thewavering, by the observance of our holy festivals; but all form is butstench in the nostrils of the Holy One, unless it be accompanied by adevout and humble spirit."

  The Indian stepped back a little, and, raising his body to its utmostpowers of erection, he stretched his right arm on high, and dropped hisforefinger downward, as if pointing from the heavens; then, striking hisother band on his naked breast, he said, with energy:

  "The eye of the Great Spirit can see from the clouds--the bosom ofMohegan is bare!"

  "It is well, John, and I hope you will receive profit and consolationfrom the performance of this duty. The Great Spirit overlooks none ofhis children; and the man of the woods is as much an object of his careas he who dwells in a palace. I wish you a good-night, and pray God tobless you."

  The Indian bent his head, and they separated--the one to seek his hut,and the other to join his party at the supper-table. While Benjamin wasopening the door for the passage of the chief, he cried, in a tone thatwas meant to be encouraging:

  "The parson says the word that is true, John. If so be that they tookcount of the color of the skin in heaven, why, they might refuse tomuster on their books a Christian-born, like myself, just for the matterof a little tan, from cruising in warm latitudes; though, for thematter of that, this damned norwester is enough to whiten the skin of ablackamore. Let the reef out of your blanket, man, or your red hide willhardly weather the night with out a touch from the frost."