The Pilgrims of New England - Mrs. J. B. Webb
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Certainly, the mind and feelings of the Indian girl did ripen and
expand with wonderful rapidity; and, as she grew to womanhood, her
gentle gracefulness of manner, and her devoted affection towards
Henrich, confirmed the attachment that had been gradually forming in
his heart ever since he had been her adopted brother, and made him
resolve to ask her of the Sachem as his wife.
Since the conduct of Coubitant had excited--as we saw in a former
chapter--the suspicions of Tisquantum, and had so evidently increased
the dislike of Oriana, the Chieftain had abandoned all idea of
bestowing his daughter's hand on him or of making him his successor in
his official situation; and the departure of the cruel and wily savage
had been to him, as well as to Oriana and Henrich, a great satisfaction
and relief. None of them wished to see his dark countenance again, or
to be exposed to his evil machinations; and all were fully aware that
the marriage of the white stranger to the Sachem's lovely daughter was
a circumstance that would arouse all his jealousy and all his
vengeance. Nevertheless, this apprehension did not deter the old Chief
from giving a joyful consent to the proposal of Henrich to become his
son in fact, as he had long been in name and affection; and the summer
of the year 1627 had seen the nuptials celebrated in Indian fashion. On
the same day, also, the young widow, Mailah, became the wife of
Henrich's chosen friend and companion, Jyanough, who had never left the
Nausetts since first he joined them, but had followed his brother-in-
arms in all his various wanderings.
It was a joyful day to the tribe when this double marriage took place;
and great was the feasting beneath the trees on the shores of the
mighty lake Ontario, where their camp was pitched. Game was roasted in
abundance, and much tobacco was consumed in honor of the happy couples,
who were all beloved by their simple followers; and for whom fresh
wigwams were built, and strewed with sweet sprays of pine and fir, and
furnished with all that Indian wants demanded, and Indian art could
furnish. With some difficulty, Henrich prevailed on the Sachem to
permit his daughter to forego the native custom of cutting off her hair
on the day of her marriage, and wearing an uncouth head-dress until it
grew again; but at length he was successful, on the plea that Oriana,
being a Christian, and about to unite herself to a Christian also,
could not be bound to observe the superstitious and barbarous
ceremonies of her race. Her fine black locks were, therefore, spared;
but Mailah was a second time robbed of hers, and appeared for many
months afterwards with her head closely shrouded in the prescribed
covering.
Much did Henrich wish that he and his bride could have received the
blessing of a minister of the Gospel, as a sacred sanction of their
union. But this could not be: and he endeavored to supply the
deficiency, and to give a holy and Christian character to what he felt
to be the most solemn act of his life, by uniting in earnest prayer
with Oriana, Mailah, and Jyanough, that the blessing of God might rest
upon them all, and enable them to fulfil their new and relative duties
faithfully and affectionately and 'as unto the Lord.'
Three years had elapsed since that day, and no event had occurred to
interrupt the domestic happiness of those young couples, or to disturb
the perfect friendship and unanimity that reigned between them. They
were a little Christian community--small indeed, but faithful and
sincere, and likely to increase in time; for little Lincoya was
carefully instructed in the blessed doctrines which his mother and his
step-father had received, and when Henrich's own son was born, he
baptized him in the name of the Holy Trinity, and gave him the
Christian name of his own loved brother Ludovico; and earnestly he
asked a blessing on his child, and prayed that he might be enabled to
bring him up a Christian, not in name only, but in deed and in truth.
CHAPTER XVI.
'Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand
before envy?
'Open rebuke is better than secret love.
'Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are
deceitful.'
PROV. xxii, 4--6
Tisquantum still sat dozing on his favorite seat before his dwelling,
and Henrich and Oriana remained beside him, silently watching the
peaceful slumbers of their venerable parent, and the playful sports of
their child, who was again roiling on the soft green turf at their
feet, and busily engaged in decking the shaggy head and neck of a
magnificent dog with the gay flowers that were scattered around him.
It was Rodolph--the faithful Rodolph--who had once saved Henrich's life
from the treacherous designs of Coubitant, and who had often since
proved his guard and his, watchful protector in many seasons of peril
and difficulty. His devotion to his master was as strong as ever; and
his strength and swiftness were still unabated, whether in the flood or
the field. But years had somewhat subdued the former restless activity
of his spirits, and, now that he had dwelt so long in a settled home,
his manners had become so domestic, that he seemed to think his chief
duty consisted in amusing the little Ludovico, and carrying him about
on his bread shaggy shoulders, where he looked like the infant Hercules
mounted on his lion. They were, indeed, a picturesque pair, and no
wonder that the young parents of the beautiful child smiled as they
watched him wreathing his little hands in the long curling mane of the
good-tempered animal, and laying his soft rosy cheek on his back.
Such was the group that occupied the small cultivated spot in front of
the chief, lodges of the village: and thus happy and tranquil might
they have remained, until the fading light had warned Oriana that it
was time to lay her child to rest in his mossy bed, and to prepare the
usual meal for her husband and her father. But they were interrupted by
the approach of Jyanough and Mailah, accompanied by the young Lincoya;
and also by a stranger, whose form seemed familiar to them, but whose
features the shadow of the over-hanging trees prevented them at first
from recognizing.
But, as the party approached, a chill struck into the heart of Oriana,
and she instinctively clung closer to her husband's arm, as if she felt
that some danger threatened him; while the open, manly brow of Henrich
contracted for an instant, and was crossed by a look of doubt and
suspicion that was seldom seen to darken it, and could not rest there
long. In a moment that cloud had passed away, and he rose to greet the
stranger with a frank and dignified courtesy, that showed he felt
suspicion and distrust to be unworthy of him. Rodolph, also, seemed to
be affected by the same kind of unpleasant sensations that were felt by
his more intellectual, but not more sagacious fellow-creatures. No
sooner did the stranger advance beyond the shadow of trees, and thus
afford the dog a full view of his very peculiar and striking
countenance, than he uttered a low deep growl of anger; and, slowly
rising from the ground, placed himself between his little charge and
the supposed enemy, on whom he kept his keen eye immovably fixed, while
his strong white teeth were displayed in a very formidable row.
Coubitant--for it could be no other than he--saw clearly the impression
that his appearance had excited on the assembled party of his old
acquaintances; but he was an adept in dissimulation, and he entirely
concealed his feelings under the garb of pleasure at this reunion after
so long a separation. The candid disposition of Henrich rendered him
liable to be deceived by these false professions of his former rival;
and he readily believed that Coubitant had, during his absence of so
many years, forgotten and laid aside all those feelings of envy and
jealousy that once appeared to fill his breast, and to actuate him to
deeds of enmity towards the white stranger, whose father had slain his
chosen friend and companion.
But was it so? Had the cruel and wily savage indeed become the friend
of him who had, he deemed, supplanted him--not only in the favor of his
Chief, but also in the good graces of his intended bride--and who was
now, as he had learnt from Jyanough, the husband of Oriana, and the
virtual Sachem of Tisquantum's subject warriors? No: 'jealousy is cruel
as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most
vehement flame'; and in the soul of Coubitant there dwelt no gentle
principles of mercy and forgiveness to quench this fiery flame. He was
a heathen: and, in his eyes, revenge was a virtue, and the
gratification of it a deep joy: and in the hope of attaining this joy,
he was willing to endure years of difficulty and disappointment, and to
forego all that he knew of home and of comfort. Therefore had he left
the tribe of his adoption, and the friends of his choice, and dwelt for
so many winters and summers among the Narragansetts, until he had
acquired influence in their councils, and won for himself rank in their
tribe. And all this rank and influence he had, as we have seen, exerted
to procure the destruction of the white men, because one of their
number had caused the death of his friend, and he had vowed to be
revenged on the race. He hated the pale-faces, and he hated their
religion and their peaceable disposition, which he considered to be
merely superstition and cowardice; and now that he had failed in all
his deep-laid schemes for their annihilation, all his hatred was
concentrated against Henrich, and he resolved once more to seek him
out, and, by again uniting himself to the band of Nausetts under
Tisquantum, to find an opportunity of ridding himself of one who seemed
born to cross his path, and blight his prospects in life.
Until Coubitant had traced his old associates through many forests, and
over many plains, and had, at length, found the place of their present
abode, he knew not that all his former hopes of becoming the Sachem's
son-in law, and succeeding to his dignity, were already blasted by the
marriage of Oriana to Henrich, and the association of the latter in the
cares and the honors of the chieftainship. For some years after his
abrupt departure from the Nausetts--and while he was striving for
distinction, as well as for revenge, among the Narragansetts--he had
contrived, from time to time, to obtain information of the proceedings
of those whom he had thought it politic to leave for a time; and, as he
found that no steps were taken towards connecting the pale-faced
stranger with the family of the Sachem by marriage, after he had
attained the age at which Indian youths generally take wives; and it
was even reported that Tisquantum designed to unite him to the widow of
Lincoya--his jealous fears were hushed to sleep, and he still hoped to
succeed, ultimately, in his long-cherished plans.
It was not that he loved Oriana. His heart was incapable of that
sentiment which alone is worthy of the name. But he had set his mind on
obtaining her, because she was, in every way, superior to the rest of
her young companions; and because such a union would aggrandize him in
the estimation of the tribe, and tend to further his views of becoming
their chief.
After the failure of his schemes for the utter destruction of the
British settlements, and all his malicious designs against Rodolph in
particular, his personal views with regard to Oriana and Henrich, and
his desire to rule in Tisquantum's stead, returned to his mind with
unabated force, and he resolved again to join the Sachem, and endeavor
to regain his former influence over him, and the consideration in which
he had once been held by his subject-warriors. But the removal of the
tribe to the north, and their frequent journeyings from place to place,
had, for a great length of time, baffled his search; and when, at last,
he was successful, and a Nausett hunter--who had been dispatched from
Paomet on an errand to Tisquantum--met him, and guided him to the
encampment, it was only to have all his hopes dashed for ever to the
ground, and his soul more inflamed with wrath and malice than ever.
On reaching the Nausett village Coubitant had met Jyanough, and been
conducted by him to his hut, where he learnt from him and Mailah all
that had happened to themselves and their friends since he had lost
sight of them; and it had required all the red-man's habitual self-
command and habit of dissimulation to enable him to conceal his fury
and disappointment. He did conceal them, however; and so effectually,
that both the Cree and his wife were deceived, and though that the
narrative excited in him no deeper interest than former intimacy would
naturally create. But this was far from being the case. Oriana and the
chieftainship were lost to him at present, it is true; but revenge
might still be his--that prize that Satan holds out to his slaves to
tempt them on to further guilt and ruin. To win that prize--and,
possibly, even more than that--was worth some further effort: and
deceit was no great effort to Coubitant.
So he smiled in return to Henrich's greeting, and tried to draw Oriana
into friendly conversation, by noticing her lovely boy; who, however,
received his advances with a very bad grace. He also addressed
Tisquantum with all that respectful deference that is expected by an
aged Indian--more especially a Sachem--from the younger members of his
race; and, at length, he succeeded in banishing from the minds of
almost all his former acquaintances those doubts and suspicions that
his conduct had once aroused; and he was again admitted to the same
terms of intimacy with the Chief and his family that he had enjoyed in
years long gone by.
Still, there was one who could not put confidence in Coubitant's
friendly manner, or believe that the feelings of enmity he once so
evidently entertained towards Henrich were altogether banished from his
mind. This was Jyanough, whose devoted attachment to the white
stranger had first led him to mistrust his rival; and who still
resolved to watch his movements with jealous care, and, if possible, to
guard his friend from any evil that might be designed against him.
For some time, he could detect nothing in Coubitant's manner or actions
that could, in any way, confirm his suspicions, which he did not
communicate to any one but Mailah; for he felt it would be ungenerous
to fill the minds of others with the doubts that he could not banish
from his own.
The summer advanced, and became one of extreme heat. The winding stream
that flowed through the meadow--on the skirts of which the Nausett
encampment was formed--gradually decreased, from the failure of the
springs that supplied it, until, at length, its shallow waters were
reduced to a rippling brook--so narrow, that young Lincoya could leap
over it, and Rodolph could carry his little charge across without any
risk of wetting his feet. The long grass and beautiful lilies, and
other wild flowers, that had grown so luxuriantly along the river's
brink, now faded for want of moisture; and the fresh verdure of the
meadow was changed to a dry and dusky yellow. Day by day the brook
dried up, and it became necessary for the camp to be removed to some
more favored spot, where the inhabitants and their cattle could still
find a sufficient supply of water.
For this purpose, it was resolved to migrate southwards, to the banks
of the broad Missouri, which no drought could sensibly affect; and
there to remain until the summer heat had passed away, and the season
for travelling had arrived. Then Tisquantum purposed to bend his steps
once more towards the land of his birth, that he might end his days in
his native Paomet, and behold the home of his fathers before his death.
To this plan Henrich gave a glad assent; for he surely hoped that, when
he reached a district that bordered so nearly on the British
territories, he should be able to obtain some information respecting
his relatives, and, perhaps, even to see them. And Oriana no longer
dreaded returning to the dwellings of her childhood, for she felt
assured--notwithstanding the occasional misgivings that troubled her
anxious heart--that Henrich loved her far too well ever to desert her;
and that he loved truth too well ever to take her from her aged father,
let the temptation be never so great.
All, therefore, looked forward with satisfaction to the autumn, when
the long journey towards the east was to commence: but they well knew
that its accomplishment would occupy several seasons; for the movement
of so large a party, of every age and sex, and the transport of all
their baggage across a district of many hundreds of miles in extent,
must, necessarily, be extremely slow, and interrupted by many pauses
for rest, as well as by the heat or the inclemency of the weather.
Coubitant also expressed his pleasure at the proposed change, which
would afford occupation and excitement to his restless spirit, and
which, likewise, promised him better opportunities for carrying out his
ultimate schemes than he could hope for in his present tranquil mode of
life. His constant attention to Tisquantum, and his assiduous care to
consult his every wish and desire, had won upon the old man's feelings,
and he again regarded him rather as the proved friend of his lost
Tekoa, than as the suspected foe of his adopted son Henrich. He
frequently employed him in executing any affairs in which he still took
an active interest, and he soon came to be looked upon by the tribe as
a sort of coadjutor to their white Sachem, and the confidential friend
of the old Chieftain. This was just what Coubitant desired; and he lost
no opportunity of strengthening his influence over the Nausett
warriors, and making his presence agreeable and necessary to
Tisquantum.
The time appointed for the breaking up of the encampment drew near, and
both Henrich and Oriana felt much regret at the prospect of leaving the
peaceful home where they had spent so many happy days, and where their
little Ludovico had been born. Their comfortable and substantial lodge,
shaded with the plants that decorated it so profusely and so gaily, had
been the most permanent dwelling that they had ever known since their
childhood: and though they hoped eventually to enjoy a still more
settled home, they could not look on this work of their own labor and
taste without affection, or leave it for ever without sorrow.
In order to lessen the fatigue of Tisquantum it was arranged, at the
suggestion of Coubitant, that he should precede the old Sachem, and his
immediate family and attendants, to the place of their intended
encampment; and should select a suitable situation on the banks of the
Missouri, where he and the Nansett warriors could fell timber, and
prepare temporary huts for their reception. This part of the country
was familiar to him, as he had traveled through it, and dwelt among its
plains and its woods in the days of his wandering youth: and he gave
Henrich minute directions as to the route he must take, in order to
follow him to the river, which, he said, lay about three days' journey
to the southward.
To the south of the present encampment arose a considerable eminence,
that was thickly wooded to the summit on the side that overlooked the
Nausett village, and partially sheltered it from the heat of the summer
sun. On the other side it was broken into steep precipices, and its
banks were scantily clothed with shrubs and grass, which the unusual
drought had now rendered dry and withered. A winding and narrow path
round the foot of this hill was the only road that led immediately into
the plain below; and by this path Coubitant proposed to conduct the
tribe, in order to avoid a long detour to the west, where a more easy
road would have been found. He described it to Henrich, who had often
been to the summit of the range of hills that overlooked it in pursuit
of game, but who was ignorant of the proposed route into the Missouri
district; and, after some conversation on the subject, he proposed that
the young Sachem should accompany him the following morning to the brow
of the mountain, from whence he could point out to him the road he must
take through the broken and undulating ground that lay at the bottom of
the hill; and the exact direction he must follow, after he reached the
wide and trackless prairie that intervened between that range and the
hills that bordered the Missouri.
At break of day the march of the tribe was to commence; but as several
of the Nausetts were acquainted with the intricate path round the base
of the hills, it was not necessary for Coubitant to lead them that part
of their journey in person. He therefore proposed, after pointing out
to Henrich all the necessary land-marks which could be so well observed
from the summit, to find his own way down the steep side of the rugged
precipice, and rejoin the party in the plain.
This plan was agreed to; and Coubitant invited Oriana to accompany her
husband, that she also might see and admire the extensive view that was
visible from the heights, and observe the track that her countrymen
would follow through the valley beneath.
Oriana readily acceded to this proposal, not only because she loved to
go by Henrich's side wherever she could be his companion, but also
because--in spite of the present friendly terms to which Coubitant was
admitted by her father and Henrich--she never felt quite easy when the
latter was alone with the dark-browed warrior.
The morning was clear and bright; and before the sun had risen far
above the horizon, and ere the sultry heat of the day had commenced,
Coubitant came to Henrich's lodge, and summoned him and his wife to
their early walk up the mountain. With light and active steps they took
their way through the wood, and Rodolph followed close behind them--not
now bounding and harking with joy, but at a measured pace, and with his
keen bright eye ever fixed on Coubitant.
In passing through the scattered village of huts, the dwelling of
Jyanough lay near the path. Coubitant ceased to speak as he and his
companions approached it; and Oriana thought he quickened his pace, and
glanced anxiously at the dwelling, as if desirous to pass it unobserved
by its inmates. If such was his wish, he was, however, disappointed;
for, just as the party were leaving it behind them, they heard the
short sharp bark of Rodolph at the wigwam door, and immediately
afterwards the answering voice of Jyanough.
'Rodolph, my old fellow, is it you?' exclaimed the Cree, as he came
forth from his hut, and looked anxiously at his friends, who now, to
Coubitant's inward vexation, stood to greet him.
'Where are you off to so early?' he inquired of Henrich; and why is
Coubitant not leading our warriors on their way?'
'We are but going to the brow of the hill,' replied Henrich, 'that
Coubitant may point out to me the path by which we are to follow him.
He will then join his party in the plain, and I will quickly return to
accompany you on our projected hunting scheme. We must add to our stock
of provisions before we commence our journey.'
'I will ascend the hill with you,' said Jyanough; and Coubitant saw
that he took a spear in his hand from the door of the wigwam. Forcing a
smile, he observed, as if carelessly--
'It is needless, my friend. Henrich's eye is so good that he will
readily understand all the directions that I shall give him. Do you
doubt the skill of our young Sachem to lead his people through the
woods and the savannas, being as great as his prowess in war and his
dexterity in hunting? Let him show that he is an Indian indeed, and
wants no aid in performing an Indian's duties.'
'Be it so,' answered Jyanough; and he laid aside the spear, and
reentered the hut, rather to Henrich's surprise, and Oriana's
disappointment, but much to the satisfaction of Coubitant.
Rodolph seemed displeased at this change in the apparent intentions of
his friend; and he lingered a few moments at the door of the lodge,
looking wistfully at its master. But Jyanough bade him go; and a call
from Henrich soon brought him again to his former position, and his
watchful observation of every movement of Coubitant.
The brow of the hill was gained: and so grand and extensive was the
view to the south and west, that Oriana stood for some time
contemplating it with a refined pleasure, and forgot every feeling that
could interrupt the pure and lofty enjoyment. Beneath the precipitous
hill on which she stood, a plain, or wide savanna, stretched away for
many miles, covered with the tall prairie-grass, now dry and yellow,
and waving gracefully in the morning breeze. Its flat monotony was only
broken by a few clumps of trees and shrubs, that almost looked like
distant vessels crossing the wide trackless sea. But to the west this
plain was bounded by a range of hills, on which the rising sun shed a
brilliant glow, marking their clear outline against the deep blue sky
behind. And nearer to the hill from which she looked, the character of
the view was different, but not less interesting. It seemed as if some
mighty convulsion of nature had torn away the side of the hill, and
strewed the fragments in huge end broken masses in the valley beneath.
Over these crags the hand of nature had spread a partial covering of
moss and creeping plants; and many trees had grown up amongst them,
striking their roots deeply into the crevices, and adorning their rough
surfaces by their waving and pendant boughs. Through the rock-strewn
valley, a narrow and intricate path had been worn by the feet of the
wandering natives, and by the constant migrations of the herds of wild
animals that inhabited the prairie, in search of water or of fresher
herbage during the parching heat of an Indian summer.