The Pilgrims of New England - Mrs. J. B. Webb
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It was now many months since Coubitant had escaped the punishment that
was due to his many crimes, and had fled from the wrath of Tisquantum.
But he had contrived to keep up an exact knowledge of the movements of
the tribe, and even an intercourse with his own treacherous partisans.
Often, indeed, as the Nausetts traveled slowly across the wide plain
between the Missouri and the Mississippi, that well-known and terrible
eye of fire was fixed upon them from the elevated bough of some thick
tree, or from the overhanging summit of a neighboring rock; and often
at night, when the camp was sunk in the silence of repose, his guilty
confederates crept forth to meet him in some retired spot, and form
plans for the future.
In this way Coubitant dodged the path of the Nausetts while they
traversed the forests and savannas, the lulls and the valleys, that led
them at length to the great lake, now so well known as Lake Superior.
Here they encamped for a considerable time, in order to construct a
sufficient number of canoes to carry the whole party across it and
also, by following the chain of lakes and rivers that intersects that
part of the great continent, and ends in Lake Ontario, to enable them
to land at no very great distance from their own native district.
When the little fleet set out on its long and circuitous voyage,
Coubitant actually contrived to be one of the passengers. His partisans
secured a canoe to themselves; and, pretending that some of their
arrangements were incomplete, they lingered on the shore until the rest
of the boats were nearly out of sight. They then summoned their leader
from his place of concealment, and, giving him a seat in the canoe,
followed at their leisure. Thus he performed the whole of the voyage;
and when the tribe landed on the eastern shore of Ontario, and
recommenced their wanderings on land, he left their route, and hastened
forward to try and contrive some schemes that could further his own
views.
The news of the war between the English and his old friends, the
Pequodees, soon reached him; and, in an incredibly short time, he
arrived in their country, and joined Sassacus in his fortified village.
It was he who travelled from thence to the head-quarters of the
Nausetts, near Cape Cod, and secured their assistance in the coming
conflict; and then returned in time to send a trusty emissary to meet
Tisquantum, and deliver to him a courteous message from Sassacus.
This message had the desired effect; for Tisquantum called a council of
his braves, and submitted to them the request of their powerful ally,
that they would fight with him against the Narragansetts. The emissary
was instructed to say nothing of the quarrel with the English; for
Coubitant wished to get Henrich into the power of the Pequodees, before
he became aware of the service that was to be required of him; and he
trusted that no intelligence would reach him in the desolate country
through which he and his warriors would have to march.
All the assembled council were unanimous in their decision, that the
request of Sassacus should be complied with; and Tisquantum then turned
to Henrich, who sat beside him, and said--
'My son! the days are past when I could lead forth my warriors to the
battle, and wield my tomahawk with the best and the bravest. I must sit
in my tent with the children and the squaws, and tell of the deeds that
I once could perform, while my young braves are in the field of fight.
You must now be their leader, Henrich; and let them see that, though
your skin is fair, you have in your breast an Indian heart.'
'I will, my father,' replied the Young Sachem. 'Your warriors shall be
led into the thickest of the battle, even as if your long-lost Tekoa
went before them with his glancing spear. Tisquantum shall never have
cause to feel shame for the son of his adoption.'
'I know it, my brave Henrich,' said the old Chief, 'I know that the
honor of Tisquantum's race is safe in your hands; and that you will
fight in defence of my ancient friends and allies, even as I would have
fought in the days of my young strength. Come away, now; my warriors
must prepare to go with the messenger of the great Sassacus. No time
must be lost in giving him the aid he asks; and you, my son, will be
ready by to-morrow's dawn to lead them on their way. I cannot go with
you, for these feeble limbs are unfit to travel at the speed with which
you must cross the forests and the plains; neither could the women and
children bear it. We will follow the course that we designed to take,
and go to the land of my fathers in the far east; and there we will
wait for our victorious warriors.'
As Tisquantum said this, he left the hall of council, which consisted
of a shadowing maple tree, and led his companion to the hut of boughs,
in which Oriana and Mailah sat anxiously awaiting the result of the
conference. They did not regret when they heard that their husbands
were to hasten to the scene of war, for they were Indian women, and
could glory in the deeds of their warriors. But when they were informed
that the main body of the tribe was to pursue the intended route
towards Paomet,[*] their grief and disappointment were very great.
[Footnote: Cape Cod]
'Must I leave you, Henrich?' exclaimed Oriana. 'Must I know that you
are in the battle-field; and wounded perhaps, and wanting my aid, and I
far away? Let me go with you! You know that Oriana can bear danger, and
fatigue, and hardship; and with you there would be no danger.'
'It cannot be,' replied Henrich, gently but decidedly. 'Your father
cannot travel, as we must do, with no respite or repose; and you, my
Oriana, could not leave him and our boy. You must go with them to
Paomet, my love; and prepare a home for me after the fight is done. The
camp of the fierce Pequodees is no place for you.'
Oriana felt that her husband was right; and she said no more. But she
did not the less sorrowfully assist him in his preparations for the
journey and the battle, or feel less keenly the grief of separation
when, at daybreak on the following morning, he and his warriors were
ready to set out.
'My son,' said Tisquantum, as he grasped the hand of Henrich, 'I have
one request--I would rather say command--to impress upon you before we
part. Let it not be known in the camp that you are a pale-face. I know
that your good arm will bring glory on yourself and those who follow
you; and I would have that glory belong to my own people, among whom
you have learned to fight. I ask it also for your own sake; for in the
camp of Sassacus there may be some who regard your race with jealousy
and hatred, and would not bear to see a pale-face excelling the red
men. You may trust my warriors. They look on you as they would have
done on my Tekoa. But you may not trust either our Indian friends, or
our Indian foes.'
Henrich regarded this precaution as needless; yet, when Oriana joined
her entreaties to those of her father, he readily gave the promise
required. His costume and accoutrements were strictly native; and
constant exposure to the air and sun had burnt his skin almost to a
copper color. But his eyes were a deep blue; and his hair, though now
dark, had a rich auburn glow upon it, that differed greatly from the
jet black locks so universal among the Indians. To hide this, Oriana
gathered it up into a knot on the top of his head in native fashion,
and covered it with a close black cap. Over this his Sachem's coronet
of feathers was placed; and it would have required a very scrutinising
and suspicious eye to have detected the disguise. The blue eyes alone
gave intimation of an European extraction; and they were so shaded by
long black lashes, and had an expression so deep and penetrating, that
few could discover of what color they were. The tongue of Hannah, too,
had learnt to speak the Indian language with a pure, native accent,
that no one could acquire who had not been brought up among the red
men; so that there was little fear of his being known for a pale-face,
amid the excitement and confusion of the war.
The warriors departed; and Tisquantum's party resumed their journey,
though not so joyously as before their separation from those who were
going to meet danger, and, perhaps, death.
With unremitting speed, the Nausett braves pursued their way, and
reached the land of the Pequodees before the campaign had begun.
Sassacus had, as we have seen, taken up his position in one of his
boasted forts, and he wanted no reinforcements there; for his presence
was regarded by his people as a panoply of strength. He, therefore,
sent to desire the Nausett detachment to march to Fort Mystic, and
assist the garrison there in defending it against any attack that might
he made.
CHAPTER XXIII.
'Merciful God! how horrible is night!
...There the shout
Of battle, the barbarian yell, the bray
Of dissonant instruments, the clang of arms,
The shriek of agony, the groan of death,
In one wild uproar and continuous din,
Shake the still air; while overhead, the moon,
Regardless of the stir of this low world,
Holds on her heavenly way.' MADOC.
Henrich was now called on to perform the part of an Indian leader in an
Indian camp. It was no new position to him; for, during his years of
wandering with the Nansetts, he had taken an active part in many of the
wars that were being waged by the tribes among whom they had sojourned,
against their hostile neighbors. He, therefore, was fully conversant
with Indian modes of warfare; but he was as unaccustomed as his
followers were to the defence of a fortress, or to a pitched battle
between assembled forces in an open field.
He had not been long at Fort Mystic ere he found that he was about to
be opposed to some of his own countrymen, and the information filled
him with grief and dismay. It is true, he had dwelt so long among the
Nausett Indians, and all his personal interests were so bound up with
theirs, that he felt as if they were indeed his kindred. But still his
heart yearned towards his own people and the friends of his childhood,
and the idea of being instrumental in shedding the blood of a Briton
was utterly repugnant to him. It was now, however, too late to retract.
He had pledged his word to Tisquantum that he would lead his warriors
bravely against the foes of his allies, and honor forbad him to decline
the post of their Sachem and commander. He therefore concealed his
scruples and anxieties in his own breast, and resolved to do what he
now felt to be his duty. It was with much satisfaction that he learnt,
from one of the Indian spies, that the detachment of troops from New
Plymouth had been unable to join the forces of their countrymen; for
thus he should be spared the trial of being placed in opposition to
those with whom, perhaps, he had been brought up in childhood. Towards
the other settlers be entertained a far less friendly feeling; as
reports of their cruel and unjust conduct towards the natives had, from
time to time, reached him during his residence in different parts of
the continent.
The Pequodees and their allies treated him with respect and honor, as
the representative of their ancient friend Tisquantum; and if his
English blood was known to any of them, they made no remarks on the
subject. They did not dare to notice what such a man as the Nausett
Sachem appeared to be, chose to conceal.
But it is certain that there was one in the fortress of Mystic whose
keen eye had penetrated the disguise, and to whom the features of
Henrich were so familiar, that he could even read his thoughts in his
open and ingenuous countenance. Coubitant was already in the castle
before the Nausett detachment arrived; and, while he dexterously
contrived to conceal himself from Henrich, he watched him narrowly, and
his eye was on him when he first became aware that English soldiers
were with the foes with whom he must contend. Then did the savage exult
in the painful struggle that he could perceive the news excited in his
rival's breast, and he hoped that the white Sachem would find some
pretext for leaving the fort, and deserting to his own countrymen. He
kept spies continually watching his every movement, with orders to
allow him full liberty to escape, but to follow and secure him before
his purpose could be effected, and bring him in bonds to receive from
Coubitant's own hand the punishment of a coward and a deserter.
But he waited in vain for any such attempt on the part of the young
Sachem. Henrich never left the fortress, and employed himself in
endeavoring to keep his men from sharing in the revelry and wild
security of their countrymen.
In this endeavor he had but little success, and Jyanough alone remained
with his friend, and took no part in the noisy songs and dances that
followed the feast, and con-tinned almost until midnight.
Then a deep and profound stillness gradually succeeded to the barbarous
noises of the wild festival; and long before day-break the exhausted
revellers were all buried in a heavy sleep. Even the watch, whose
business it was to patrol round the fort, had that night carelessly
left their respective stations, and come inside the palisades to light
their pipes. Here they found none awake but the Nausett Sachem and his
friend, who were slowly walking among the weary and sleeping warriors,
attended only by a large and powerful dog. There was another wakeful
eye in the fortress, and that was even now fixed on Henrich. Bat he
whose dark soul looked forth from that singular eye, was himself
concealed from view, and was intently watching the object of his hatred,
and hoping that he would now attempt some act of cowardice or
treachery.
Henrich and Jyanough approached the guard, who had thus thoughtlessly
left their post, and desired them immediately to return to their duty.
But while the men remonstrated on the uselessness of so strictly
keeping a watch, now that no present attack could be expected, they
were startled by the loud and furious barking of Rodolph, who had
wandered to the open gate, and thus gave ominous warning of approaching
danger. The terrified guard now reached to the gate, accompanied by
Henrich and Jyanough, when, to their dismay, they beheld in the faint
moonlight a large body of men approaching close to the fort.
They easily discerned that the foremost of the troop were Europeans;
and they raised a loud cry of 'Owannux! Owannux!'--Englishmen!
Englishmen!--which quickly aroused the sleepers, and brought them
towards the gate. In the next minute the fort was thickly hemmed in by
the British force, and a second dense ring was formed beyond them by
their Indian allies.
The main entrance was soon forced by the swords and muskets of the
vigorous assailants; and, though the Pequodees fought with all the fury
of despair, they were driven back, and compelled to retreat towards the
wigwams. They were closely pursued by their foes; and, at length, threw
themselves into the huts, which contained the terrified women and
children, and resolved to defend them to the last gasp. While the
murderous strife continued, the light of day began to dawn; and soon
the full glow of the rising sun revealed the work that had been done in
darkness. The ground was strewed with dead and dying Indians; but the
band of English warriors was yet unbroken, and was fiercely bearing
onward towards the wigwams. Their numbers were small, indeed, when
compared with those of their opponents; but the latter had no
firearms, and a panic seemed to have struck them from the force and
suddenness of the attack. Still they defended the lines of wigwams with
desperation, until Mason, with amazing boldness, entered one of them,
and, seizing a brand from the hearth, set fire to the roof of reeds. An
Indian warrior was in the act of levelling his arrow at him, when an
English officer sprang forward, and cut the string of the bent bow with
his sword.
This officer caught the eye of Henrich; and, though he knew not why,
riveted it by a strange and unaccountable attraction. He was a noble-
looking man; and, though his dark hair was slightly tinged with grey,
his muscular limbs had apparently lost none of their force, and his
spirit none of its courage and energy.
So fixedly was the attention of Henrich fastened on the gallant
soldier, that, for a time, he was regardless of the battle that raged
around him, and of the fearful conflagration that was spreading along
the Indian huts. These were only composed of weed and dry moss and
reeds; and the flames quickly caught hold of them, and promised soon to
bring the conflict to a dreadful close.
The eye of Henrich was still fixed on that noble English officer; and
the instinctive feeling of admiration and respect with which his aspect
inspired him, was increased by seeing him, regardless of his own
safety, actively engaged in rescuing an Indian woman and her child from
a mass of burning ruins.
He had been observed by other eyes also--by eyes that recognised him,
and glared with irrepressible fury as they fell on him'. An Indian
warrior approached him from behind, while he was unguardedly pursuing
his work of mercy; and Henrich saw the savage preparing to strike a
deadly blow, that would have cleft the head of the stranger in twain.
Could he stand and see the noble Briton thus fall by a secret and
unresisted attack? No! every feeling and every instinct of his heart
forbad it! One instant his tomahawk flew in a gleaming circle round
his head; and the next it fell with crushing force on the right
shoulder of the savage, and sank deeply into his chest. It was a timely
blow, and saved the white man's life. But it could not save him from a
severe wound in the back, where the axe of the Indian fell heavily, as
his arm dropped powerlessly by his side--never to be raised again.
Coubitant sank on the ground; and, as he turned to look on his
unexpected assailant, his blood-shot eyes met those of Henrich, and
glared fiercely, first at him, and then at his intended victim, whose
life had been so strangely preserved. They stood side by side,
unconscious of the tie that bound them so closely together. Coubitant
knew it well; and he felt in this awful moment that Mahneto had, in
righteous retribution, sent the son to preserve the father's life from
the hand of him who had hated both alike. He hated them still: and,
even with his dying breath, he would not reveal the secret that would
have united those seemingly hostile warriors in the embrace of deep
affection.
Rodolph had not seen the friend whose timely aid had partially averted
the deadly blow that had been aimed at him by the savage. But, on
turning round, he was astonished to perceive that his foe and his
avenger were apparently of the same party. The latter--whose countenance
expressed the deepest indignation, and who was raising his bloody
hatchet from the prostrate form of the wounded Indian--was evidently not
one of the allies of the English; and his dress and ornaments, and air
of dignified command, indicated him to be a Chief among his own people.
Why, then, had he come to the aid of an enemy?
Rodolph gazed inquiringly at the fine countenance of the young Sachem,
which was now bent upon the dying Indian at his feet.
'Coubitant!' he exclaimed in the Nausett tongue, 'is it, indeed, you
whom I have thus slain unknowingly? You have been a bitter and an
untiring enemy to me; but it was not for this that I smote thee to the
earth. I knew you not. But I saw you aim a cowardly blow at the white
chief; and I saved him. I forgive you now for all your hatred, and all
your evil designs, which Mahneto has thus recompensed upon your own
head.'
'I ask not your forgiveness,' replied the savage in a deep, struggling
voice--for the hand of death was on him, and the dark fire of his eye
was waning out. 'In death, I hate and defy you! And in death I enjoy a
revenge that you know not of.'
He strove to raise his hand in menace, but it fell to the ground; and,
with a groan of suppressed agony, he expired.
The fight was raging with unabated violence, and the conflagration had
already spread to the farthest end of the fortress. Henrich looked
around for his comrades, who were bravely contending with their
powerful foes at some distance, and he hastily prepared to join them.
But, as he turned away, he courteously waved his hand to Rodolph, and
said in the English language, but with an Indian accent,
'Farewell, brave Englishman!'
Rodolph started. That voice had thrilled through his heart when it had
spoken a strange language: but now it struck upon him with a sense of
familiarity that be could not account for, as the Indian Chief was
evidently an utter stranger to him. He returned his parting salutation
and 'farewell'; but still he watched his retreating form, and thought
he distinctly heard him utter the name 'Rodolph!' as a large dog, which
had stood near him during their brief encounter, bounded after him over
foe heaps of slain and dying.
'Surely it was my own fancy that conjured up that name,' thought
Rodolph. The next moment he found himself compelled again to join the
conflict, and, at the head of his little band, to fight his way out of
the fortress, which was rapidly becoming a prey to the devouring
flames. All the English withdrew outside the palisades, and thickly
surrounded the fort; while their Indian allies, who had hitherto kept
aloof, now took courage to approach, and form a second circle outside.
The most furious despair now took possession of the souls of the
devoted Pequodees: and their terrible war-cry was heard resounding
high, and mingled with the agonising yells of the women and children,
and helpless aged men, who were expiring amid the flames. Many of the
warriors climbed the palisades, and leaped down among their foes,
hoping to escape; but they were quickly despatched by the muskets and
bayonets of the English; or if any had power to break through the first
hostile line, they fell beneath the battle-axes of the Mohicans.
Rodolph had received a considerable wound, but it had not entirely
disabled him. At the head of his men he passed through the open gate
of the fortress, and attempted still to lead and command them. He
found, however that his strength was failing, and that he could no
longer wield his good broad sword. He therefore stood leaning on it,
and watching, with mingled feelings of pity and horror, the progress of
the work of destruction.
Presently he saw a side entrance to the fort thrown suddenly open, and
the form of the Indian Chief--whose tomahawk had saved his life, and
whose voice had awakened such strange feelings--appeared rushing forth.
He was attended by another striking looking warrior, and followed by a
band of determined natives, who were resolved to escape, or sell their
lives dearly.
Rodolph's men, who occupied the position opposite to that gate, raised
their muskets to fire on these brave men; but their commander loudly
and authoritatively bade them desist.
'Hold! I command you!' he exclaimed. 'Let that noble Chieftain escape,
and all his attendants for his sake. He saved my life in the fort; and
death to the man who injures him!
He attempted to rush forward to enforce his orders, but pain and loss
of blond prevented him from moving; and he would have fallen but for
the support of one of his comrades.
Meanwhile, Henrich and Jyanough, and their band of Nausetts, had rushed
through the unopposing ranks of the English, and were now contending
desperately with the Indian line beyond. The British troops paused, and
looked after them; and the sympathy that brave men feel for each other
prevented any of them from attempting to pursue or molest them. On the
contrary, all now wished them success.
With breathless anxiety Rodolph gazed after them, and watched the
towering plumes that adorned the noble head of the Sachem, as he bore
onward through the opposing crowd of Indians. He passed, and gained the
plain beyond, attended by his followers; and, from the elevated
position at which the fort was erected, Rodolph could still watch the
little band retiring, until the Indian heroes were hidden from view by
a thicket.
So fiercely had the fire seconded the efforts of the English that the
whole conflict only lasted one hour. In that brief space of time,
between five and six hundred Indians--young and old, men and women--
were destroyed by fire and sword; and the small remainder were made
prisoners of war by the English, or carried off as prizes by the
hostile natives. Only two of the British soldiers were slain, but many
were wounded; and the arrows remaining some time in the wounds, and the
want of necessary medicine and refreshment, added greatly to their
sufferings The medical attendants attached to the expedition, and the
provisions, had all been left in the boats, and a march of more than
six miles through their enemies' land was necessary, in order to reach
them.
Litters were therefore constructed and, in these, the wounded were sent
off under the charge of the Mohicans, while the able-bodied men, whose
number was reduced to little more than forty, prepared to follow as a
rear-guard. The whole party were still near the smoking ruins of the
fort, when they were startled by perceiving a large body of armed
natives approaching. These were a band of more than three hundred
Pequodees, sent by Sassacus to aid the garrison of Fort Mystic.
Happily, they did not discover the small number of the English who were
in a condition to oppose them, and they turned aside, and avoided a
re-encounter. The white men took advantage of this mistake on the part
of their enemies, and hastened forward with all the speed that
circumstances would allow.