The last of the Mohicans : a narrative of 1757

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THE LAST OF T||
THE MOHICANS

% J. FENLMORE COOPER

With Steel Engravings reproducing

the Original Illustrations by

F. O. C. DARI.FV

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New York £r- Londorx
D. APPLETON 6 COMPANY

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

Vol. 4

3

INTRODUCTION.

IT is believed that the scene of this tale, and most of the
information necessary to understand its allusions, are ren
dered sufficiently obvious to the reader in the text itself, or in
the accompanying notes. Still there is so much obscurity
in the Indian traditions, and so much confusion in the In
dian names, as to render some explanation useful.

Few men exhibit greater diversity, or, if we may so ex
press it, greater antithesis of character, than the native
warrior of North America. In war, he is daring, boastful,
cunning, ruthless, self-denying, and self-devoted; in peace,
just, generous, hospitable, revengeful, superstitious, modest,
and commonly chaste. These are qualities, it is true, which
do not distinguish all alike; but they are so far the predom
inating traits of these remarkable people, as to be character
istic.

It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the Ameri
can continent have an Asiatic origin. There are many
physical as well as moral facts which corroborate this opin
ion, and some few that would seem to weigh against it.

The color of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar to
himself; and while his cheek-bones have a very striking in
dication of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate may
have had great influence on the fo/mer, but it is difficult to
see how it can have produced the substantial difference
which exists in the latter. The imagery of the Indian, both
in his poetry and his oratory, is Oriental, — chastened, and
perhaps improved, by the limited range of his practical
knowledge. He draws his metaphors from the clouds, the

O INTRODUCTION.

seasons, the birds, the beasts, and the vegetable world. In
this, perhaps, he does no more than any other energetic and
imaginative race would do, being compelled to set bounds
to fancy by experience; but the North American Indian
clothes his ideas in a dress which is different from that of
the African, and is Oriental in itself. His language has
the richness and sententious fulness of the Chinese. He
will express a phrase in a word, and he will qualify the
meaning of an entire sentence by a syllable; he will even
convey different significations by the simplest inflections of
the voice.

Philologists have said that there are but two or three lan
guages, properly speaking, among all the numerous tribes
which formerly occupied the country that now composes the
United States. They ascribe the known difficulty one peo
ple have in understanding another to corruptions and dia
lects. The writer remembers to have been present at an
interview between two chiefs of the Great Prairies west of
the Mississippi, and when an interpreter was in attendance
who spoke both their languages. The warriors appeared to
be on the most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed
much together; yet, according to the account of the inter
preter, each was absolutely ignorant of what the other said.
They were of hostile tribes, brought together by the influ
ence of the American Government, and it is worthy of re
mark, that a common policy led them both to adopt the
same subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be of
use in the event of the chances of [war throwing either of
the parties into the hands of his enemies. Whatever may
be the truth, as respects the root and the genius of the
Indian tongues, it is quite certain they are now so distinct
in their words as to possess most of the disadvantages of
Strange languages; hence much of the embarrassment that
has arisen in learning their histories, and most of the uncer
tainty which exists in their traditions.

Like nations of higher pretensions, the American Indian

INTRODUCTION 7

gives a very different account of his own tribe or race from
that which is given by other people. He is much addicted
to over estimating his own perfections, and to undervaluing
those of his rival or his enemy; a trait which may possibly
be thought corroborative of the Mosaic account of the crea
tion.

The Whites have assisted greatly in rendering the tradi
tions of the Aborigines more obscure by their own manner
of corrupting names. Thus, the term used in the title of
this book has undergone the changes of Mahicanni, Mohi
cans, and Mohegans; the latter being the word commonly
used by the Whites. When it is remembered that the Dutch
(who first settled New York), the English, and the French,
all gave appellations to the tribes that dwelt within the
country which is the scene of this story, and that the Indians
not only gave different names to their enemies, but fre
quently to themselves, the cause of the confusion will be
understood.

In these pages, Lenni-Lenape, Lenope, Delawares, Wa-
panachki, and Mohicans, all mean the same people, or tribes
of the same stock. The Menge, the Maquas, the Mingoes,
and the Iroquois, though not all strictly the same, are iden
tified frequently by the speakers, being politically confede
rated and opposed to those just named. Mingo was a term
of peculiar reproach, as were Mengwe and Maqua in a less
degree.

The Mohicans were the possessors of the country first
occupied by the Europeans in this portion of the continent
They were, consequently, the first dispossessed; and the
seemingly inevitable fate of all these people, who disappear
before the advances, or it might be termed the inroads of
civilization, as the verdure of their native forests falls be
fore the nipping frost, is represented as having already
befallen them. There is sufficient historical truth in the
picture to justify the use that has been made of it.

In point of fact, the country which is the scene of the foi-

8 INTRODUCTION.

lowing tale has undergone as little change, since the histor-
rical events alluded to had place, as almost any other
district of equal extent within the whole limits of the
United States. There are fashionable and well-attended
watering-places at and near the spring where Hawk-eye
halted to drink, and roads traverse the forests where he and
his friends were compelled to journey without even a path.
Glenn's has a large village; and while William Henry, and
even a fortress of later date, are only to be traced as ruins,
there is another village on the shores of the Horican. But,
beyond this, the enterprise and energy of a people who have
done so much in other places have done little here. The
whole of that wilderness, in which the latter incidents of
the legend occurred, is nearly a wilderness still, though the
red man has entirely deserted this part of the State. Of all
the tribes named in these pages, there exist only a few half-
civilized beings of the Oneidas, on the reservations of their
people in New York. The rest have disappeared, either
from the regions in which their fathers dwelt, or altogether
from the earth.

There is one point on which we would wish to say a word
before closing this preface. Hawk-eye calls the Lac du
Saint Sacrement, the " Horican." As we believe this to be
an appropriation of the name that has its origin with our
selves, the time has arrived, perhaps, when the fact should
be frankly admitted. While writing this book, fully a
quarter of a century since, it occurred to us that the French
name of this lake was too complicated, the American too
commonplace, and the Indian too unpronounceable, for
either to be used familiarly in a work of fiction. Looking
over an ancient map, it was ascertained that a tribe of In
dians, called " Les Horicans" by the French, existed in the
neighborhood of this beautiful sheet of water. As every
word uttered by Natty Bumppo was not to be received as
rigid truth, we took the liberty of putting the " Horican "
into his mouth, as the substitute for " Lake George." The

INTRODUCTION. 9

name has appeared to find favor, and all things considered,
it may possibly be quite as well to let it stand, instead of
going back to the House of Hanover for the appellation of
our finest sheet of water. We relieve our conscience by the
confession, at all events, leaving it to exercise its authority
as it may see fit.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER I.

Mine ear is open, and my heart prepared :
The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold: —
Say, is my kingdom lost ?

SHAKESPEARE.

IT was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North
America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were
to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. A
wide and apparently an impervious boundary of forests sev
ered the possessions of the hostile provinces of France and
England. The hardy colonist, and the trained European
who fought at his side, frequently expended months in
struggling against the rapids of the streams, or in effecting
the rugged passes of the mountains, in quest of an opportu
nity to exhibit their courage in a more martial conflict. But,
emulating the patience and self-denial of the practised na
tive warriors, they learned to overcome every difficulty; and
it would seem that, in time, there was no recess of the woods
so dark, nor any secret place so lovely, that it might claim
exemption from the inroads of those who had pledged their
blood to satiate their vengeance, or to uphold the cold and
selfish policy of the distant monarchs of Europe.

Perhaps no district throughout the wide extent of the
intermediate frontiers can furnish a livelier picture of the
cruelty and fierceness of the savage warfare of those periods
than the country which lies between the head-waters of the
Hudson and the adjacent lakes.

12 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

The facilities which nature had there offered to the march
of the combatants were too obvious to be neglected. The
lengthened sheet of the Champlain stretched from the fron
tiers of Canada, deep within the borders of the neighboring
province of New York, forming a natural passage across half
the distance that the French were compelled to master in
order to strike their enemies. Near its southern termina
tion, it received the contributions of another lake, whose
waters were so limpid as to have been exclusively selected
by the Jesuit missionaries to perform the typical purifica
tion of baptism, and to obtain for it the title of lake " du
Saint Sacrement." The less zealous English thought they
conferred a sufficient honor on its unsullied fountains, when
they bestowed the name of their reigning prince, the second
of the house of Hanover. The two united to rob the untu
tored possessors of its wooded scenery of their native right
to perpetuate its original appellation of " Horican." *

Winding its way among countless islands, and embedded
in mountains, the " holy lake " extended a dozen leagues
still further to the south. With the high plain that there
interposed itself to the further passage of the water, com
menced a portage of as many miles, which conducted the
adventurer to the banks of the Hudson, at a point where,
with the usual obstructions of the rapids, or rifts, as they
were then termed in the language of the country, the river
became navigable to the tide.

While, in the pursuit of their daring plans of annoy
ance, the restless enterprise of the French even attempted
the distant and difficult gorges of the Alleghany, it may
easily be imagined that their proverbial acuteness would not
overlook the natural advantages of the district we have just

* As each nation of the Indians had either its language or its dialect, they usually
gave different names to the same place, though nearly all of their appellations were
descriptive of the object. Thus, a literal translation of the name of this beautiful
sheet of water, used by the tribe that dwelt on its banks, would be "The Tail of the
Lake." Lake George, as it is vulgarly, and now indeed legally, called, forms a sort of
tail to Lake Champlain, when viewed on the map. Hence the name.

THE LAST WF THE MOHICANS. 13

described. It became, emphatically, the bloody arena, in
which most of the battles for the mastery of the colonies
were contested. Forts were erected at the different points
that commanded the facilities of the route, and were taken
and retaken, razed and rebuilt, as victory alighted on the
hostile banners. While the husbandman shrank back from
the dangerous passes, within the safer boundaries of the
more ancient settlements, armies larger than those that had
often disposed of the sceptres of the mother countries were
seen to bury themselves in these forests, whence they rarely
returned but in skeleton bands, that were haggard with care,
or dejected by defeat. Though the arts of peace were un
known to this fatal region, its forests were alive with men;
its shades and glens rang with the sounds of martial music,
and the echoes of its mountains threw back the laugh, or
repeated the wanton cry, of many a gallant and reckless
youth, as he hurried by them, in the noontide of his spirits,
to slumber in a long night of forgetfulness.

It was in this scene of strife and bloodshed that the inci
dents we shall attempt to relate occurred, during the third
year of the war which England and France last waged for
the possession of a country that neither was destined to re
tain.

The imbecility of her military leaders abroad, and the
fatal want of energy in her councils at home, had lowered
the character of Great Britain from the proud elevation on
which it had been placed by the talents and enterprise of
her former warriors and 'statesmen. No longer dreaded by
her enemies, her servants were fast losing the confidence of
self-respect. In this mortifying abasement, the colonists,
though innocent of her imbecility, and too -humble to be the
agents of her blunders, were but the natural participators.
They had recently seen a chosen army from that country,
which, reverencing as a mother, they had blindly believed
invincible — an army led by a chief who had been selected
from a crowd of trained warriors, for his rare military en-

14 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

dowments, disgracefully routed by a handful of French and
Indians, and only saved from annihilation by the coolness
and spirit of a Virginian boy, whose riper fame has since
diffused itself, with the steady influence of moral truth, to
the uttermost confines of Christendom.* A wide frontier
had been laid naked by this unexpected disaster, and more
substantial evils were preceded by a thousand fanciful and
imaginary dangers. The alarmed colonists believed that
the yells of the savages mingled with every fitful gust of
wind that issued from the interminable forests of the west.
The terrific character of their merciless enemies increased
immeasurably the natural horrors of warfare. Numberless
recent massacres were still vivid in their recollections; nor
was there any ear in the provinces so deaf as not to have
drunk in with avidity the narrative of some fearful tale of
midnight murder, in which the natives of the forests were
the principal and barbarous actors. As the credulous and
excited traveller related the hazardous chances of the wil
derness, the blood of the timid curdled with terror, and
mothers cast anxious glances even at those children which
slumbered within the security of the largest towns. In
short, the magnifying influence of fear began to set at
naught the calculations of reason, and to render those who
should have remembered their manhood the slaves of the
basest of passions. Even the most confident and the stout
est hearts began to think the issue of the contest was becom
ing doubtful; and that abject class was hourly increasing
in numbers, who thought they foresaw all the possessions of
the English crown in America subdued by their Christian
foes, or laid waste by the inroads of their relentless allies.

* Washington : who, after uselessly admonishing the European general of the danger
into which he was heedlessly running, saved the remnants of the British army, on this
occasion, by his decision and courage. The reputation earned by Washington in this
battle was the principal cause of his being selected to command the American armies
at a later day. It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that, while all America
rang with his well-merited reputation, his name does not occur in any European ac
count of the battle ; at least, the author has searched for it without success. In this
manner does the mother country absorb even the fame, under that system of rule.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 15

When, therefore, intelligence was received at the fort
which covered the southern termination of the portage be
tween the Hudson and the lakes, that Montcalm had been
seen moving up the Champlain, with an army " numerous as
the leaves on the trees," its truth was admitted with more of
the craven reluctance of fear than with the stern joy that a
warrior should feel, in finding an enemy within reach of his
blow. The news had been brought, toward the decline of a
day in midsummer, by an Indian runner, who also bore an
urgent request from Munro, the commander of a work on the
shore of the " holy lake," for a speedy and powerful rein
forcement. It has already been mentioned that the distance
between these two posts was less than five leagues. The
rude path, which originally formed their line of communi
cation, had been widened for the passage of wagons ; so that
the distance which had been travelled by the son of the for
est in two hours, might easily be effected by a detachment
of troops, with their necessary baggage, between the rising
and setting of a summer sun. The loyal servants of the
British crown had given to one of these forest fastnesses the
name of William Henry, and to the other that of Fort Ed
ward; calling each after a favorite prince of the reigning
family. The veteran Scotchman just named held the first,
with a regiment of regulars and a few provincials; a force
really by far too small to make head against the formidable
power that Montcalm was leading to the foot of his earthen
mounds. At the latter, however, lay General Webb, who
commanded the armies of the king in the northern prov
inces, with a body of more than five thousand men. By
uniting the several detachments of his command, this officer
might have arrayed nearly double that number of comba
tants against the enterprising Frenchman, who had ventured
so far from his reinforcements, with an army but little supe
rior in numbers.

But, under the influence of their degraded fortunes, both
officers and men appeared better disposed to await the ap-

1 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

proach of their formidable antagonists, within their works,
than to resist the progress of their march, by emulating the
successful example of the French at Fort du Quesne, and
striking a blow on their advance.

After the first surprise of the intelligence had a little
abated, a rumor was spread through the entrenched camp,
which stretched along the margin of the Hudson, forming
a chain of outworks to the body of the fort itself, that a
chosen detachment of fifteen hundred men was to depart,
with the dawn, for William Henry, the post at the northern
extremity of the portage. That which at first was only ru
mor soon became certainty, as orders passed from the quar
ters of the commander-in-chief to the several corps he had
selected for this service, to prepare for their speedy depar
ture. All doubt as to the intention of Webb now vanished,
and an hour or two of hurried footsteps and anxious faces
succeeded. The novice in the military art flew from point
to point, retarding his own preparations by the excess of
his violent and somewhat distempered zeal, while the more
practised veteran made his arrangements with a delibera
tion that scorned every appearance of haste, though his so
ber lineaments and anxious eye sufficiently betrayed that he
had no very strong professional relish for the, as yet, un
tried and dreaded warfare of the wilderness. At length the
sun set in a flood of glory, behind the distant western hills,
and as darkness drew its veil around the secluded spot the
sounds of preparation diminished -y the last light finally dis
appeared from the log cabin of some officer; the trees cast
their deeper shadows over the mounds and the rippling
stream, and a silence soon pervaded the camp, as deep as
that which reigned in the vast forest by which it was envi
roned.

According to the orders of the preceding night, the heavy
sleep of- the army was broken by the rolling of the warning
drums, whose rattling echoes were heard issuing, on the
damp morning air, out of every vista of the woods, just as

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. I/

day began to draw the shaggy outlines of some tall pines of
the vicinity, on the opening brightness of a soft and cloud
less eastern sky. In an instant the whole camp was in
motion; the meanest soldier arousing from his lair to wit
ness the departure of his comrades, and to share in the ex
citement and incidents of the hour. The simple array of
the chosen band was soon completed. While the regular
and trained hirelings of the king marched with haughtiness
to the right of the line, the less pretending colonists took
their humbler position on its left, with a docility that long
practice had rendered easy. The scouts departed; strong
guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that
bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning
was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the
combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment
with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown
the slumbering apprehensions of many a novice, who was
now about to make his first essay in arms. While in v;ew
of their admiring comrades, the same proud front and
ordered array was observed, until, the notes of their fifes
growing fainter in distance, the forest at length appeared to
swallow up the living mass which had slowly entered its
bosom.

The deepest sounds of the retiring and invisible column
had ceased to be born on the breeze to the listeners, and
the latest straggler had already disappeared in pursuit; but
there still remained the signs of another departure, before a
log cabin of unusual size and accommodations, in front of
which those sentinels paced their rounds, who were known
to guard the person of the English general. At this spot
were gathered some half-dozen horses, caparisoned in a
manner which showed that two, at least, were destined to
bear the persons of females, of a rank that it was not usual
to meet so far in the wilds of the country. A third wore
the trappings and arms of an officer of the staff; while the
rest, from the plainness of the housings, and the travelling

1 8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

mails w'fli which they were encumbered, were evidently
fitted for the reception of as many menials, who were, seem
ingly, already awaiting the pleasure of those they served.
At a respectful distance from this unusual show, were gath
ered divers groups of curious idlers; some admiring the
blood and bone of the high-mettled military charger, and
others gazing at the preparations, with the dull wonder of
vulgar curiosity. There was one man, however, who, by
his countenance and actions, formed a marked exception to
those who composed the latter class of spectators, being
neither idle, nor seemingly very ignorant.

The person of this individual was to the last degree un
gainly without being in any particular manner deformed.
He had all the bones and joints-of other men, without any
of their proportions. Erect, his stature surpassed that of
his fellows; though, seated, he appeared reduced within the
ordinary limits of the race. The same contrariety in his
members seemed to exist throughout the whole man. His
head was large; his shoulders narrow; his arms long and
dangling; while his hands were small, if not delicate. His
legs and thighs were thin, nearly to emaciation, but of extraor
dinary length; and his knees would have been considered
tremendous, had they not been outdone by the broader foun
dations on which this false superstructure of blended human
orders was so profanely reared. The ill-assorted and inju
dicious attire of the individual only served to render his
awkwardness more conspicuous. A sky-blue coat, with
short and broad skirts and low cape, exposed a long thin
neck, and longer and thinner legs, to the worst animadver
sions of the evil-disposed. His nether garment was of yel
low nankeen, closely fitted to the shape, and tied at his
bunches of knees by large knots of white ribbon, a good
deal sullied by use. Clouded cotton stockings, and shoes,
on one of the latter of which was a plated spur, completed
the costume of the lower extremity of this figure, no curve
or angle of which was concealed, but, on the other hand,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ig

Studiously exhibited, through the vanity or simplicity of its
owner. From beneath the flap of an enormous pocket of a
soiled vest of embossed silk, heavily ornamented with tar
nished silver lace, projected an instrument, which, from
being seen in such martial company, might have been easily
mistaken for some mischievous and unknown implement of
war. Small as it was, this uncommon engine had excited
the curiosity of most of the Europeans in the camp, though
several of the provincials were seen to handle it, not only
without fear, but with the utmost familiarity. A large, civil
cocked hat, like those worn by clergymen within the last
thirty years, surmounted the whole, furnishing dignity to a
good-natured and somewhat vacant countenance, that ap
parently needed such artificial aid to support the gravity of
some high and extraordinary trust.

While the common herd stood aloof, in deference to the
quarters of Webb, the figure we have described stalked into
the centre of the domestics, freely expressing his censures
or commendations on the merits of the horses, as by chance
they displeased or satisfied his judgment.

" This beast, I rather conclude, friend, is not of home
raising, but is from foreign lands, or perhaps from the little
island itself, over the blue water? " he said, in a voice as
remarkable for the softness and sweetness of its tones, as
was his person for its rare proportions: "I may speak of
these things, and be no braggart; for I have been down at
both havens; that which is situate at the mouth of Thames,
and is named after the capital of Old England, and that
which is called * Haven/ with *he addition of the woid
' New'; and have seen the snows and brigantines collecting
their droves, like the gathering to the ark, being outward
bound to the Island of Jamaica, for the purpose of barter
and traffic in four-footed animals; but never before have I
beheld a beast which verified the true scripture war-horse
like this; * He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his
strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He saith

2O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar
off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.' — It would
seem that the stock of the horse of Israel has descended to
our own time; would it not, friend? "

Receiving no reply to this extraordinary appeal, which,
in truth, as it was delivered with the vigor of full and sono
rous tones, merited some sort of notice, he who had thus sung
forth the language of the holy book turned to the silent fig
ure to whom he had unwittingly addressed himself, and
found a new and more powerful subject of admiration in the
object that encountered his gaze. His eyes fell on the still,
upright, and rigid form of the " Indian runner," who had
borne to the camp the unwelcome tidings of the preceding
evening. Although in a state of perfect repose, and appar
ently disregarding, with characteristic stoicism, the excite
ment and bustle around him, there was a sullen fierceness
mingled with the quiet of the savage, that was likely to ar
rest the attention of much more experienced eyes than those
which now scanned him, in unconcealed amazement. The
native bore both the tomahawk and knife of his tribe; and
yet his appearance was not altogether that of a warrior. On
the contrary, there was an air of neglect about his person,
like that which might have proceeded from great and recent
exertion, which he had not yet found leisure to repair. The
colors of the war-paint had blended in dark confusion about
his fierce countenance, and rendered his swarthy lineaments
still more savage and repulsive, than if art had attempted
an effect which had been thus produced by chance. His
eye, alone, which glistened like a fiery star amid lowering
clouds, was to be seen in its state of native wildness. For
a single instant, his searching and yet wary glance met the
wondering look of the other, and then changing its direc
tion, partly in cunning, and partly in disdain, it remained
fixed, as if penetrating the distant air.

It is impossible to say what unlooked-for remark this
short and silent communication, between two such singular

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 21

men, might have elicited from the white man, had not his
active curiosity been again drawn to other objects. A gen
eral movement amongst the domestics, and a low sound of
gentle voices, announced the approach of those whose pres
ence alone was wanted to enable the cavalcade to move.
The simple admirer of the war-horse instantly fell back to a
low, gaunt, switch-tailed mare, that was unconsciously glean
ing the faded herbage of the camp nigh by; Where, leaning
with one elbow on the blanket that concealed an apology for
a saddle, he became a spectator of the departure, while a
foal was quietly making its morning repast on the opposite
side of the same animal.

A young man, in the dress of an officer, conducted to
their steeds two females, who, as it was apparent by their
dresses, were prepared to encounter the fatigues of a journey
in the woods. One, and she was the most juvenile in her
appearance, though both were young, permitted glimpses
of her dazzling complexion, fair golden hair, and bright
blue eyes, to be caught, as she artlessly suffered the morning
air to blow aside the green veil which descended low from
her beaver. The flush which still lingered above the pines t
in the western sky was not more bright nor delicate than/
the bloom on her cheek; nor was the opening day more
cheering than the animated smile which she bestowed on
the youth, as he assisted her into the saddle. The other,
who appeared to share equally in the attentions of the
young officer, concealed her charms from the gaze of the
soldiery with a care that seemed better rilled to the experi
ence of four or five additional years. It could be seen,
however, that her person, though moulded with the same
exquisite proportions, of which none of the graces were lost
by the travelling dress she wore, was rather fuller and more
mature than that of her companion.

No sooner were these females seated, than their attendant
sprang lightly into the saddle of the war-horse, when the
whole three bowed to Webb, who, in courtesy, awaited their

22 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

parting on the threshold of his cabin, and turning their
horses' heads, they proceeded at a slow amble, foiiowed by
their train, toward the northern entrance of the encampment.
As they traversed that short distance, not a voice was heard
amongst them; but a slight exclamation proceeded from the
younger of the females, as the Indian runner glided by her,
unexpectedly, and led the way along the military road in her
front. Though this sudden and startling movement of the
Indian produced no sound from the other, in the surprise,
her veil also was allowed to open its folds, and betrayed an
indescribable look of pity, admiration, and horror, as her
dark eye followed the easy motions of the savage. The
tresses of this lady were shining and black, like the plumage
of the raven. Her complexion was not brown, but it rather
appeared charged with the color of the rich blood, that seemed
ready to burst its bounds. And yet there was neither
coarseness nor want of shadowing in a countenance that was
exquisitely regular and dignified, and surpassingly beauti
ful. She smiled, as if in pity at her own momentary forget-
fulness, discovering by the act a row of teeth that would
have shamed the purest ivory; when, replacing the veil, she
bowed her face, and rode in silence, like one whose thoughts
were abstracted from the scene around her.

CHAPTER II.

Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola !

SHAKESPEARE,

WHILE one of the lovely beings we have so cursorily pre
sented to the reader was thus lost in thought, the other
quickly recovered from the alarm which induced the ex
clamation, and, laughing at her own weakness, she inquired
of the youth who rode by her side —

"Are such spectres frequent in the woods, Hey ward; or
is this sight an especial entertainment ordered on our behalf?

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2$

If the latter, gratitude must close our mouths; but if the
former, both Cora and I shall have need to draw largely on
that stock of hereditary courage which we boast, even before
we are made to encounter the redoubtable Montcalm."

"Yon Indian is a* runner 'of the army; and, after the
fashion of his people, he may be accounted a hero," re
turned the officer. " He has volunteered to guide us to the
lake, by a path but little known, sooner than if we followed
the tardy movements of the column; and, by consequence,
more agreeably."

"I like him not," said the lady, shuddering, partly in as
sumed, yet more in real terror. " You know him, Duncan,
or you would not trust yourself so freely to his keeping? "

" Say, rather, Alice, that I would not trust you. I do
know him, or he would not have my confidence, and least
of all at this moment. He is said to be a Canadian too;
and yet he served with our friends the Mohawks, who, as
you know, are one of t!i3 six allied nations.* He was
brought amongst us, as I have heard, by some strange acci
dent in which your father was interested, and in which the
savage was rigidly dealt by — but I forget the idle tale; it is
enough, that he is now our friend."

" If he has been my father's enemy, I like him still less! "
exclaimed the now really anxious girl. " Will you not speak
to him, Major Heyward, that I may hear his tones? Fool
ish though it may be, you have often heard me avow my
faith in the tones of the human voice! "

* There existed for a long time a confederation among the Indian tribes which oc
cupied the northwestern part of the colony of New York, which was at first known
as the " Five Nations " At a later day it admitted another tribe, when the appellation
was changed to that of the "Six Nations." The original confederation consisted of
the Mohawks, the O::eidas, the Senecas, the Cayugas, and the Onondagos. The
sixth tribe was the Tuscaroras. There are remnants of all those people still living on
lands secured to them by the State ; but they are daily disappearing, either by deaths
or by removals to scenes more congenial to their habits. In a short time there will be
no remains of these extraordinary people, in those regions in which they dwelt for
centuries, but their names. The State of New York has counties named after all of
them but the Mohawks and the Tuscaroras. The second river of that State is called
the Mohawk.

24 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" It would be in vain ; and answered, most probably, by an
ejaculation. Though he may understand it, he affects, like
most of his people, to be ignorant of the English; and least
of all will he condescend to speak it now that war demands
the utmost exercise of his dignity. But he stops; the pri
vate path by which we are to journey is, doubtless, at hand."

The conjecture of Major Heyward was true. When they
reached the spot where the Indian stood, pointing into the
thicket that fringed the military road, a narrow and blind
path, which might, with some little inconvenience, receive
one person at a time, became visible.

" Here, then, lies our way," said the young man, in a low
voice. " Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the dan
ger you appear to apprehend."

"Cora, what think you?" asked the reluctant fair one.
" If we journey with the troops, though we may find their
presence irksome, shall we not feel better assurance of our
safety?"

" Being little accustomed to the practices of the savages,
Alice, you mistake the place of real danger," said Heyward.
" If enemies have reached the portage at all, a thing by no
means probable, as our scouts are abroad, they will surely
be found skirting the column, where scalps abound the most.
The route of the detachment is known, while ours, having
been determined within the hour, must still be secret."

" Should we distrust the man because his manners are not
our manners, and that his skin is dark! " coldly asked Cora.

Alice hesitated no longer; but giving her Narraganset *
a smart cut of the whip, she was the first to dash aside the
slight branches of the bushes, and to follow the runner along

* In the State of Rhode Island there is a bay called Narraganset, so named after a
powerful tribe of Indians, which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or one of
those unaccountable freaks which nature sometimes plays in the animal world, gave
rise to a breed of horses which were once well known in America by the name of the
Narragansets. They were small, commonly of the color called sorrel in America, and
distinguished by their habit of pacing. Horses of this race were, and are still, in much
request as saddle horses, on account of their hardiness and the ease of their move
ments. As they were also sure of foot, the Narragansets were greatly sought for by
females who were obliged to travel over the roots and holes in the new "countries."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2$

the dark and tangled pathway. The young man regarded
the last speaker in open admiration, and even permitted her
fairer though certainly not more beautiful companion to
proceed unattended, while he sedulously opened the way
himself for the passage of her who has been called Cora.
It would seem that the domestics had been previously in
structed; for, instead of penetrating the thicket, they fol
lowed the route of the column ; a measure which Heyward
stated had been dictated by the sagacity of their guide, in
order to diminish the marks of their trail, if, haply, the Ca
nadian savages should be lurking so far in advance of their
army. For many minutes the intricacy of the route ad
mitted of no further dialogue; after which they emerged
from the broad border of underbrush which grew along the
line of the highway, and entered under the high but dark
arches of the forest Here their progress was less interrupt
ed; and the instant the guide perceived that the females
could command their steeds, he moved on, at a pace between
a trot and a walk, and at a rate which kept the sure-footed
and peculiar animals they rode at a fast yet easy amble.
The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora, when
the distant sounds of horses' hoofs, clattering over the roots
of the broken way in his rear, caused him to check his
charger; and, as his companions drew their reins at the
same instant, the whole party came to a halt, in order to ob
tain an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption.

In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow
deer, amongst the straight trunks of the pines; and, in an
other instant, the person of the ungainly man, described in
the preceding chapter, came into view, with as much rapid
ity as he could excite his meagre beast to endure without
coming to an open rupture. Until now this personage had
escaped the observation of the travellers. If he possessed
the power to arrest any wandering eye when exhibiting the
glories of his altitude on foot, his equestrian graces were
still more likely to attract attention. Notwithstanding con-

20 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

stant application of his one armed heel to the flanks of the
mare, the most confirmed gait that he could establish was a
Canterbury gallop with the hind legs, in which those more
forward assisted for doubtful moments, though generally
content to maintain a loping trot. Perhaps the rapidity of
the changes from one of these paces to the other created an
optical illusion, which might thus magnify the powers of the
beast; for it is certain that Hey ward, who possessed a true
eye for the merits of a horse, was unable, with his utmost
ingenuity, to decide by what sort of movement his pursuer
worked his sinuous way on his footsteps with such perse
vering hardihood.

The industry and movements of the rider were not less
remarkable than those of the ridden. At each change in
the evolutions of the latter, the former raised his tall person
in the stirrups; producing, in this manner, by the undue
elongation of his legs, such sudden growths and diminish-
ings of the stature, as baffled every conjecture that might
be made as to his dimensions. If to this be added the fact
that, in consequence of the ex parte application of the spur,
one side of the mare appeared to journey faster than the
other; and that the aggrieved flank was resolutely indicated
by unremitted flourishes of a bushy tail, we finish the picture
of both horse and man.

The frown which had gathered around the handsome,
open, and manly brow of Heyward gradually relaxed, and
his lips curled into a slight smile, as he regarded the stran
ger. Alice made no very powerful effort to control her
merriment; and even the dark, thoughtful eye of Cora light
ed with a humor that, it would seem, the habit, rather than
the nature, of its mistress repressed.

"Seek you any here?" demanded Heyward, when the
other had arrived sufficiently nigh to abate his speed ; " I
trust you are no messenger of evil tidings."

" Even so," replied the stranger, making diligent use of
his triangular castor, to produce a circulation in the close

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2/

air of the woods, and leaving his hearers in doubt to which
of the young man's questions he responded ; when, however,
he had cooled his face, and recovered his breath, he contin
ued, "I hear you are riding to William Henry; as I am
journeying thitherward myself, I concluded good company
would seem consistent to the wishes of both parties."

"You appear to possess the privilege of a casting vote,"
returned Hey ward: " we are three, whilst you have consulted
no one but yourself.7'

"Even so. The first point to be obtained is to know
one's own mind. Once sure of that, and where women are
concerned it is not easy, the next is, to act up to the deci
sion. I have endeavored to do both, and here I am.'*

"If you journey to the lake, you have mistaken your
route," said Hey ward, haughtily ; " the highway thither is at
least half a mile behind you."

" Even so," returned the stranger, nothing daunted by this
cold reception; " I have tarried at ' Edward ' a week, and I
should be dumb not to have inquired the road I was to jour
ney; and if dumb there would be an end to my calling."
After simpering in a small way, like one whose modesty
prohibited a more open expression of his admiration of a
witticism that was perfectly unintelligible to his hearers, he
continued: " It is not prudent for any one of my profession
to be too familiar with those he has to instruct; for which
reason I follow not the line of the army: besides which, I
conclude that a gentleman of your character has the best
judgment in matters of wayfaring; I have therefore decided
to join company, in order that the ride may be made agree
able, and partake of social communion."

"A most arbitrary, if not a hasty decision! " exclaimed
Heyward, undecided whether to give vent to his growing
anger, or to laugh in the other's face. " But you speak of
instruction, and of a profession ; are you an adjunct to the
provincial corps, as a master of the noble science of de
fence and offence; or, perhaps, you are one who draws

28 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

lines and angles, under the pretence of expounding the
mathematics? "

The stranger regarded his interrogator a moment, in won
der; and then, losing every mark of self-satisfaction in an
expression of solemn humility, he answered:

"Of offence, I hope there is none, to either party: of de
fence, I make none — by God's good mercy, having committed
no palpable sin since last entreating his pardoning grace.
I understand not your allusions about lines and angles; and
I leave expounding to those who have been called and set
apart for that holy office. I lay claim to no higher gift than
a small insight into the glorious art of petitioning and
thanksgiving, as practised in psalmody."

"The man is, most manifestly, a disciple of Apollo,"
cried the amused Alice, " and I take him under my own
especial protection. Nay, throw aside that frown, Heyward,
and in pity to my longing ears, suffer him to journey in our
train. Besides," she added, in a low and hurried voice,
casting a glance at the distant Cora, who slowly followed
the footsteps of their silent but sullen guide, " it may be a
friend added to our strength, in time of need."

" Think you, Alice, that I would trust those I love by
this secret path, did I imagine such need could happen? "

"Nay, nay, I think not of it now; but this strange man
amuses me; and if he 'hath music in his soul/ let us not
churlishly reject his company." She pointed persuasively
along the path with her riding-whip, while their eyes met in
a look which the young man lingered a moment to prolong;
then yielding to her gentle influence, he clapped his spurs
into his charger, and in a few bounds was again at the side
of Cora.

"I am glad to encounter thee, friend," continued the
maiden, waving her hand to the stranger to proceed, as she
urged her Narraganset to renew its amble. " Partial rela
tives have almost persuaded me that I am not entirely
worthless in a duet myself; and we may enliven our way

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 29

taring by indulging in our favorite pursuit. It might be of
signal advantage to one, ignorant as I, to hear the opinions
md experience of a master in the art."

"It is refreshing both to the spirits and to the body to
ndulge in psalmody, in befitting seasons," returned the
naster of song, unhesitatingly complying with her intima-
ion to follow; "and nothing would relieve the mind more
:han such a consoling communion. But four parts are alto
gether necessary to the perfection of melody. You have all
;he manifestations of a soft and rich treble; I can, by espe-
:ial aid, carry a full tenor to the highest letter; but we lack
counter and bass! Yon officer of the king, who hesitated
o admit me to his company, might fill the latter, if one may
udge from the intonations of his voice in common dia-
ogue."

" Judge not too rashly from hasty and deceptive appear-
mces," said the lady, smiling; "though Major Heyward
:an assume such deep notes on occasion, believe me, his
latural tones are better fitted for a mellow tenor than the
)ass you heard."

" Is he, then, much practised in the art of psalmody?"
iemanded her simple companion.

Alice felt disposed to laugh, though she succeeded in
suppressing her merriment, ere she answered —

" I apprehend that he is rather addicted to profane song,
rhe chances of a soldier's life are but little fitted for the
mcouragement of more sober inclinations."

" Man's voice is given to him, like his other talents, to
DC used, and not to be abused. None can say they have
jver known me neglect my gifts! I am thankful that,
;hough my boyhood maybe said to have been set apart, like
:he youth of the royal David, for the purposes of music, no
syllable of rude verse has ever profaned my lips.7'

"You have, then, limited your efforts to sacred song? "

" Even so. As the psalms of David exceed all other Ian-
junge, so does the psalmody that has been fitted to them by

30 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the divines and sages of the land, surpass all vain poetry.
Happily, I may say that I utter nothing but the thoughts
and the wishes of the King of Israel himself; for though the
times may call for some slight changes, yet does this ver
sion which we use in the colonies of New England so much
exceed all other versions, that, by its richness, its exactness,
and its spiritual simplicity, it approacheth, as near as may
be, to the great work of the inspired writer. I never abide
in any place, sleeping or waking, without an example of this
gifted work. 'Tis the six-and-twentieth edition, promul
gated at Boston, Anno Domini 1744; and is entitled, * The
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New
Testaments; faithfully translated into English Metre, for the
Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints, in Public and
Private, especially in New England.' "

During this eulogium on the rare production of his native
poets, the stranger had drawn the book from his pocket, and
fitting a pair of iron-rimmed spectacles to his nose, opened
the volume with a care and veneration suited to its sacred
purposes. Then, without circumlocution or apology, first
pronouncing the word " Standish," and placing the unknown
engine, already described, to his mouth, from which he drew
a high, shrill sound that was followed by an octave below,
from his own voice, he commenced singing the following
words, in full, sweet, and melodious tones, that set the music,
the poetry, and even the uneasy motion of his ill-trained
beast at defiance :

"How good it is, O see,

And how it pleaseth well,
Together, e'en in unity,

For brethren so to dwell.
It's like the choice ointment,

From the head to th' beard did go :
Down Aaron's beard, that downward went,

His garment's skirts unto."

The delivery of these skilful rhymes was accompanied, on
the part of the stranger, by a regular rise and fall of his
right hand, which terminated at the descent, by suffering the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 3«

fingers to dwell a moment on the leaves of the little volume;
and on the ascent, by such a flourish of the member as none
but the initiated may ever hope to imitate. It would seem
tfiat long practice had rendered this manual accompaniment
accessary; for it did not cease until the preposition which
;he poet had selected for the close of his verse, had been
duly delivered like a word of two syllables.

Such an innovation on the silence and retirement of the
iorest could not fail to enlist the ears of those who journeyed
it so short a distance in advance. The Indian muttered a
:ew words in broken English to Heyward, who, in his turn,
jpoke to the stranger; at once interrupting, and, for the time,
Closing his musical efforts.

" Though we are not in danger, common prudence would
;each us to journey through this wilderness in as quiet a
nanner as possible. You will, then, pardon me, Alice,
should I diminish your enjoyments, by requesting this gen-
;leman to postpone his chant until a safer opportunity."

"You will diminish them, indeed," returned the arch girl,
'for never did I hear a more unworthy conjunction of exe
rtion and language, than that to which I have been listen
ing; and I was far gone in a learned inquiry into the causes
Df such an unfitness between sound and sense, when you
3roke the charm of my musing by that bass of yours, Dun-
:an!"

" I know not what you call my bass," said Heyward,
piqued at her remark, " but I know that your safety, and
:hat of Cora, is far dearer to me than could be any orchestra
Df Handel's music." He paused and turned his head quickly
:oward a thicket, and then bent his eyes suspiciously on their
*uide, who continued his steady pace, in undisturbed grav
ity. The young man smiled to himself, for he believed he
had mistaken some shining berry of the woods for the glis
tening eyeballs of a prowling savage, and he rode forward,
continuing the conversation which had been interrupted by
the passing thought.

$2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Major Heyward was mistaken only in suffering his youth
ful and generous pride to suppress his active watchfulness.
The cavalcade had not long passed, before the branches of
the bushes that formed the thicket were cautiously moved
asunder, and a human visage, as fiercely wild as savage art
and unbridled passions could make it, peered out on the re
tiring footsteps of the travellers. A gleam of exultation
shot across the darkly painted lineaments of the inhabitant
of the forest, as he traced the route of his intended victims,
who rode unconsciously onward; the light and graceful
forms of the females waving among the trees, in the curva
tures of their path, followed at each bend by the manly fig
ure of Heyward, until, finally, the shapeless person of the
singing master was concealed behind the numberless trunks
of trees, that rose, in dark lines, in the intermediate space.

CHAPTER III.

Before these fields were shorn and till'd,

Full to the brim our rivers flow'd ;
The melody of waters fill'd

The fresh and boundless wood ;
And torrents dash'd, and rivulets play'd.

And 'fountains spouted in the shade.

BRYANT.

LEAVING the unsuspecting Heyward and his confiding com
panions to penetrate still deeper into a forest that con
tained such treacherous inmates, we must use an author's
privilege, and shift the scene a few miles to the westward of
the place where we have last seen them.

On that day, two men were lingering on the banks of a
small but rapid stream, within an hour's journey of the en
campment of Webb, like those who awaited the appearance
of an absent person, or the approach of some expected event.
The vast canopy of woods spread itself to the margin of the
river, overhanging the water, and shadowing its dark current

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 33

with a deeper hue. The rays of the sun were beginning to
grow less fierce, and the intense heat of the day was les
sened, as the cooler vapors of the springs and fountains rose
above their leafy beds, and rested in the atmosphere. Still
that breathing silence, which marks the drowsy sultriness of
an American landscape in July, pervaded the secluded spot,
interrupted only by the low voices of the men, the occasional
and lazy tap of a woodpecker, the discordant cry of some
gaudy jay, or a swelling on the ear, from the dull roar of a
distant waterfall.

These feeble and broken sounds were, however, too famil
iar to the foresters, to draw their attention from the more
interesting matter of their dialogue. While one of these
loiterers showed the red skin and wild accoutrements of a
native of the woods, the other exhibited, through the mask
of his rude and nearly savage equipments, the brighter,
though sunburnt and long-faded complexion of one who
might claim descent from a European parentage. The for«
mer was seated on the end of a mossy log, in a posture that
permitted him to heighten the effect of his earnest language,
by the calm but expressive gestures of an Indian engaged in
debate. His body, which was nearly naked, presented a
terrific emblem of death, drawn in intermingled colors of
white and black. His closely shaved head, on which no
other hair than the well-known and chivalrous scalping tuft *
was preserved, was without ornament of any kind, with the
exception of a solitary eagle's plume, that crossed his crown
and depended over the left shoulder. A tomahawk and
scalping-knife, of English manufacture, were in his girdle;
while a short military rifle, of that sort with which the policy
of the whites armed their savage allies, lay carelessly across

* Th« North American warrior caused the hair to be plucked from his whole body ;
a small tuft, only, was left on the crown of his head, in order that his enemy might
avail himself of it, in wrenching off the scalp in the event of his fall. The scalp was
the only admissible trophy of victory. Thus, it was deemed more important to obtain
the scalp than to kill the man. Some tribes lay great stress on the honor of striking a
dead body. These practices have nearly disappeared among the Indians of the Atlan
tic States.

34 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

his bare and sinewy knee. The expanded chest, full formed
limbs, and grave countenance of this warrior, would denote
that he had reached the vigor of his days, though no symp
toms of decay appeared to have yet weakened his manhood.

The frame of the white man, judging by such parts as
were not concealed by his clothes, was like that of one who
had known hardships and exertion from his earliest youth.
His person, though muscular, was rather attenuated than full ;
but every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated
by unremitted exposure and toil. He wore a hunting-shirt
of forest-green, fringed with faded yellow,* and a summer
cap of skins which had been shorn of their fur. He also
bore a knife in a girdle of wampum, like that which con
fined the scanty garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk.
His moccasins were ornamented after the gay fashion of the
natives, while the only part of his under dress which ap
peared below the hunting-frock was a pair of buckskin leg
gings, that laced at the sides, and which were gartered above
the knees with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and horn
completed his personal accoutrements, though a rifle of great
length,f which the theory of the more ingenious whites had
taught them was the most dangerous of all fire-arms, leaned
against a neighboring sapling. The eye of the hunter, or
scout, whichever he might be, was small, quick, keen, and
restless, roving while he spoke, on every side of him, as if
in quest of game, or distrusting the sudden approach of
some lurking enemy. Notwithstanding these symptoms of
habitual suspicion, his countenance was not only without
guile, but at the moment at which he is introduced, it was
charged with an expression of sturdy honesty.

" Even your traditions make the case in my favor, Chin-
gachgook," he said, speaking in the tongue which was

*The hunting-shirt is a picturesque smock-frock, being shorter, and ornamented
with fringes and tassels. The colors are intended to imitate the hues of the wood, with
a view to concealment. Many corps of American riflemen have been thus attired ; and
the dress is one of the most striking of modern times. The hunting -shirt is frequently
white. t The rifle of the army is short ; that of the hunter is always long.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 35

known to all the natives who formerly inhabited the coun
try between the Hudson and the Potomac, and of which we
shall give a free translation for the benefit of the reader; en
deavoring, at the same time, to preserve some of the pecu
liarities both of the individual and of the language. " Your
fathers came from the setting sun, crossed the big river,*
fought the people of the country, and took the land; and
mine came from the red sky of the morning, over the salt
lake, and did their work much after the fashion that had
been set them by yours; then let God judge the matter be
tween us, and friends spare their words! "

"My fathers fought with the naked red man! " returned
the Indian, sternly, in the same language. " Is there no
difference, Hawk-eye, between the stone-headed arrow of
the warrior, and the leaden bullet with which you kill? "

"There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made
him with a red skin! " said the white man, shaking his head
like one on whom such an appeal to his justice was not
thrown away. For a moment he appeared to be conscious
of having the worst of the argument, then rallying again, he
answered the objection of his antagonist in the best manner
his limited information would allow : " I am no scholar,
and I care not who knows it; but judging from what I have
seen, at deer chases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below,
I should think a rifle in the hands of their grandfathers was
not so dangerous as a hickory bow and a good flint-head
might be, if drawn with Indian judgment, and sent by an
Indian eye."

" You have the story told by your fathers," returned the
other, coldly waving his hand. "What say your old men?
do they tell the young warriors, that the pale-faces met the
red men, painted for war and armed with the stone hatchet
and wooden gun ? "

* The Mississippi. The scout alludes to a tradition which is very popular among the
tribes of the Atlantic States. Evidence of their Asiatic origin is deduced from the
circumstances, though great uncertainty hangs over the whole history of the Indians.

36 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" I am not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself
on his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have
on earth, and he is an Iroquois, daren't deny that I am gen
uine white," the scout replied, surveying, with secret satis
faction, the faded color of his bony and sinewy hand; " and
I am willing to own that my people have many ways, of
which, as an honest man, I can't approve. It is one of their
customs to write in books what they have done and seen,
instead of telling them in their villages, where the lie can
be given to the face of a cowardly boaster, and the brave
soldier can call on his comrades to witness for the truth of
his words. In consequence of this bad fashi n, a man who
is too conscientious to misspend his days among the women,
in learning the names of black marks, may never hear of the
deeds of his fathers, nor feel a pride in striving to outdo
them. For myself I conclude all the Bumppos could shoot;
for I have a natural turn with a rifle, which must have been
handed down from generation to generation, as, our holy
commandments tell us, all good and evil gifts are bestowed;
though I should be loth to answer for other people in such
a matter. But every story has its two sides: so I ask you,
Chingachgook, what passed, according to the traditions of
the red men, when our fathers first met? "

A silence of a minute succeeded, during which the Indian
sat mute; then, full of the dignity of his office, he com
menced his brief tale, with a solemnity that served to
heighten its appearance of truth.

" Listen, Hawk-eye, and your car shall drink no lie. 'Tis
what my fathers have said, and what the Mohicans have
done." He hesitated a single instant, and bending a cau
tious glance toward his companion, he continued, in a man
ner that was divided between interrogation and assertion —
" Does not this stream at our feet run toward the summer,
until its waters grow salt, and the current ilows upward? "

"It can't be denied that your traditions tell you true in
both these matters," said the white man ; " for I have been

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 37

there, and have seen them; though, why water, which is so
sweet in the shade, should become bitter in the sun, is an
alteration for which I have never been able to account."

" And the current! " demanded the Indian, who expected
his reply with that sort of interest that a man feels in the
confirmation of testimony, at which he marvels even while
he respects it; " the fathers of Chmgachgook have not lied!"

" The holy Bible is not more true, and that is the truest
thing in nature. They call this up-stream current the tide,
which is a thing soon explained, and clear enough. Six
hours the waters run in, and six hours they run out, and the
reason is this: when there is higher water in the sea than in
the river, they run in until the river gets to be highest, and
then it runs out again."

" The waters in the woods, and on the great lakes, run
downward until they lie like my hand," said the Indian,
stretching the limb horizontally before him, "and then they
run no more."

"No honest man will deny it," said the scout, a little
nettled at the implied distrust of his explanation of the
mystery of the tides ; " and I grant that it is true on the
small scale, and where the land is level. But everything
depends on what scale you look at things. Now, on is
the small scale, the 'arth is level ; but on the large scale it
round. In this manner, pools and ponds, and even the
great fresh-water lakes, may be stagnant, as you and I both
know they are, having seen them; but when you come to
spread water over a great tract, like the sea, where the earth
is round, how in reason can the water be quiet? You might
as well expect the river to lie still on the brink of those
black rocks a mile above us, though your own ears tell you
that it is tumbling over them at this very moment! "

If unsatisfied by the philosophy of his companion, the
Indian was far too dignified to betray his unbelief. He lis
tened like one who was convinced, and resumed his narra
tive in his former solemn manner.

38 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" We came from the place where the sun is hid at night,
over great plains where the buffaloes live, until we reached
the big river. There we fought the Alligewi, till the ground
was red with their blood. From the banks of the big river
to the shores of the salt lake, there was none to meet us.
The Maquas followed at a distance. We said the country
should be ours from the place where the water runs up no
longer on this stream to a river twenty suns' journey toward
the summer. The land we had taken like warriors we kept
like men. We drove the Maquas into the woods with the
bears. They only tasted salt at the licks ; they drew no fish
from the great lake : we threw them the bones."

" All this I have heard and believe," said the white man,
observing that the Indian paused: "but it was long before
the English came into the country."

" A pine grew then where this chestnut now stands. The
first pale-faces who came among us spoke no English. They
came in a large canoe, when my fathers had buried the toma
hawk with the red men around them. Then, Hawk-eye,"
he continued, betraying his deep emotion, only by permit
ting his voice to fall to those low, guttural tones, which ren
der his language, as spoken at times, so very musical;
" then, Hawk-eye, we were one people, and we were happy.
The salt lake gave us its fish, the wood its deer, and the air
its birds. We took wives who bore us children ; we wor
shipped the Great Spirit; and we kept the Maquas beyond
the sound of our songs of triumph ! "

" Know you anything of your own family at that time ?" " de
manded the white. " But you are a just man, for an Indian !
and, as I suppose you hold their gifts, your fathers must have
been brave warriors, and wise men at the council fire."

" My tribe is the grandfather of nations, but I am an un
mixed man. The blood of chiefs is in my veins, where it
must stay forever. The Dutch landed, and gave my people
the fire-water ; they drank until the heavens and the earth
seemed to meet, and they foolishly thought they had found

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 39

the Great Spirit. Then they parted with their land. Foot
by foot, they were driven back from the shores, until I, that
am a chief and a Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine
but through the trees, and have never visited the graves of
my fathers ! "

"Graves bring solemn feelings over the mind," returned
the scout, a good deal touched at the calm suffering of his
companion; "and they often aid a man in his good inten
tions; though, for myself, I expect to leave my own bones
unburied, to bleach in the woods, or to be torn asunder by
the wolves. But where are to be found those of your race
who came to their kin in the Delaware country, so many
summers since? "

"Where are the blossoms of those summers! — fallen, one
by one: so all of my family departed, each in his turn, to
the land of spirits. I am on the hill-top, and must go down
into the valley; and when Uncas follows in my footsteps,
there will no longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores,
for my boy is the last of the Mohicans."

"Uncas is here! " said another voice, in the same, soft,
guttural tones, near his elbow; "who speaks to Uncas? "

The white man loosened his knife in his leathern sheath,
and made an involuntary movement of the hand toward his
rifle, at this sudden interruption; but the Indian sat com
posed, and without turning his head at the unexpected sounds.

At the next instant, a youthful warrior passed between
them, with a noiseless step, and seated himself on the bank
of the rapid stream. No exclamation of surprise escaped
the father, nor was any question asked, or reply given, for
several minutes; each appearing to await the moment when
he might speak, without betraying womanish curiosity or
childish impatience. The white man seemed to take coun
sel from their customs, and, relinquishing his grasp of the
rifle, he also remained silent and reserved. At length
Chingachgook turned his eyes slowly toward his son, and
demanded—

4O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Do the Maquas dare to leave the print of their mocca«
sins in these woods? "

"I have been on their trail," replied the young Indian,
" and know that they number as many as the fingers of my
two hands; but they lie hid like cowards."

"The thieves are out-lying for scalps and plunder! " said
the white man, whom we shall call Hawk-eye, after the
manner of his companions. " That busy Frenchman, Mont-
calm, will send his spies into our very camp, but he will
know what road we travel ! "

" ?Tis enough! " returned the father, glancing his eye tow
ard the setting sun; "they shall be driven like deer from
their bushes. Hawk-eye, let us eat to-night, and show the
Maquas that we are men to-morrow."

" I am as ready to do the one as the other: but to fight
the Iroquois 'tis necessary to find the skulkers; and to eat,
'tis necessary to get the game — talk of the devil and he will
come ; there is a pair of the biggest antlers I have seen this
season, moving the bushes below the hill! Now, Uncas,"
he continued in a half whisper, and laughing with a kind
of inward sound, like one who had learnt to be watchful,
" I will bet my charger three times full of powder, against
a foot of wampum, that I take him atwix the eyes, and
nearer to the right than to the left."

"It cannot be! " said the young Indian, springing to his
feet with youthful eagerness; "all but the tips of his horns
are hid!"

" He's a boy! " said the white man, shaking his head while
he spoke, and addressing the father. " Does he think when
a hunter sees a part of the creatur', he can't tell where the
rest of him should be! "

Adjusting his rifle, he was about to make an exhibition
of that skill on which he so much valued himself, when the
warrior struck up the piece with his hand, saying,

" Hawk-eye! will you fight the Maquas? "

" These Indians know the nature of the woods, as it might

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 41

be by instinct! " returned the scout, dropping his rifle, and
turning away like a man who was convinced of his error.
" I must leave the buck to your arrow, Uncas, or we may
kill a deer for them thieves, the Iroquois, to eat."

The instant the father seconded this intimation by an ex
pressive gesture of the hand, Uncas threw himself on the
ground, and approached the animal with wary movements.
When within a few yards of the cover, he fitted an arrow to
his bow with the utmost care, while the antlers moved, as if
their owner snuffed an enemy in the tainted air. In another
moment the twang of the cord was heard, a white streak
was seen glancing into the bushes, and the wounded buck
plunged from the cover to the very feet of his hidden enemy.
Avoiding the horns of the infuriated animal, Uncas darted
to his side, and passed his knife across the throat, when
bounding to the edge of the river it fell, dyeing the waters
with its blood.

" 'Twas done with Indian skill," said the scout, laughing
inwardly, but with vast satisfaction ; " and 'twas a pretty
sight to behold ! Though an arrow is a near shot, and needs
a knife to finish the work."

" Hugh! " ejaculated his companion, turning quickly, like
a hound who scented game.

" By the Lord, there is a drove of them ! " exclaimed the
scout, whose eyes began to glisten with the ardor of his
usual occupation; " if they come within range of a bullet I
will drop one, though the whole Six Nations should be lurk
ing within sound! What do you hear, Chingachgook? for
to my ears the woods are dumb."

" There is but one deer, and he is dead," said the Indian,
bending his body till his car nearly touched the earth. " I
hear the. sounds of feet ! "

" Perhaps the wolves have driven the buck to shelter, and
are following on his trail."

"No. The horses of white men are coming!" returned
the other, raising himself with dignity, and resuming his

42 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

seat on the log with his former composure. " Hawk-eye,
they are your brothers ; speak to them."

" That will I, and in English that the king needn't be
ashamed to answer," returned the hunter, speaking in the
language of which he boasted ; " but I see nothing, nor do
I hear the sounds of man or beast; 'tis strange that an In
dian should understand white sounds better than a man who,
his very enemies will own, has no cross in his blood,
although he may have lived with the red-skins long enough
to be suspected! Ha! there goes something like the crack
ing of a dry stick, too — now I hear the bushes move — yes,
yes, there is a trampling that I mistook for the falls — and —
but here they come themselves; God keep them from the
Iroquois ! "

CHAPTER IV.

Well, go thy way ; thou shalt not from this grove
Till i torment thee for this injury.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

THE words were still in the mouth of the scout, when the
leader of the party, whose approaching footsteps had caught
the vigilant ear of the Indian, came openly into view. A
beaten path, such as those made by the periodical passage
of the deer, wound through a little glen at no great distance,
and struck the river at the point where the white man and
his red companions had posted themselves. Along this
track the travellers, who had produced a surprise so unusual
in the depths of the forest, advanced slowly toward the
hunter, who was in front of his associates, in readiness to
receive them.

"Who comes?" demanded the scout, throwing his rifle
carelessly across his left arm, and keeping the forefinger of
his right hand on the trigger, though he avoided all appear
ance of menace in the act — " Who comes hither, among the
beasts and dangers of the wilderness? "

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 43

" Believers in religion, and friends to the law and to the
king," returned he who rode foremost. " Men who have
journeyed since the rising sun, in the shades of this forest,
without nourishment, and are sadly tired of their wayfaring."

"You are, then, lost," interrupted the hunter, "and have
found how helpless 'tis not to know whether to take the
right hand or the left? "

" Even so ; sucking babes are not more dependent on those
who guide them than we are of larger growth, and who may
now be said to possess that stature without the knowledge
of men. Know you the distance to a post of the crown
called William Henry?"

" Hoot! " shouted the scout, who did not spare his open
laughter, though, instantly checking the dangerous sounds,
he indulged his merriment at less risk of being overheard
by any lurking enemies. "You are as much off the scent
as a hound would be, with Horican atwixt him and the deer!
William Henry, man! if you are friends to the king, and
have business with the army, your better way would be to
follow the river down to Edward, and lay the matter before
Webb; who tarries there, instead of pushing into the defiles,
and driving this saucy Frenchman back across Champlain,
into his den again."

Before the stranger could make any reply to this unex
pected proposition, another horseman dashed the bushes
aside, and leaped his charger into the pathway, in front of
his companion.

" What, then, may be our distance from Fort Edward ? "
demanded a new speaker; "the place you advise us to seek
we left this morning, and our destination is the head of the
lake."

" Then you must have lost your eyesight afore losing your
way, for the road across the portage is cut to a good two
rods, and is as grand a path, I calculate, as any that runs
into London, or even before the palace of the king himself."

"We will not dispute concerning the excellence of the

44 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

passage," returned Hey ward, smiling; for, as the reader has
anticipated, it was he. " It is enough, for the present, that
we trusted to an Indian guide to take us by a nearer, though
blinder path, and that we are deceived in his knowledge.
In plain words, we know not where we are."

"An Indian lost in the woods! " said the scout, shaking
his head doubtingly ; " when the sun is scorching the tree
tops, and the water-courses are full; when the moss on every
beech he sees will tell him in which quarter the north star
will shine at night! The woods are full of deer-paths which
run to the streams and licks, places well known to every
body ; nor have the geese done their flight to the Canada
waters altogether ! 'Tis strange that an Indian should be
lost atwixt Horican and the bend in the river! Is he a
Mohawk?"

"Not by birth, though adopted in that tribe; I think his
birth-place was farther north, and he is one of those you
call a Huron."

" Hugh!" exclaimed the two companions of the scout, who
had continued until this part of the dialogue, seated immov
able, and apparently indifferent to what passed, but who
now sprang to their feet with an activity and interest that
had evidently got the better of their reserve, by surprise.

" A Huron ! " repeated the sturdy scout, once more shaking
his head in open distrust; "they are a thievish race, nor do
I care by whom they are adopted ; you can never make any
thing of them but skulks and vagabonds. Since you trusted
yourself to the care of one of that nation, I only wonder that
you have not fallen in with more."

" Of that there is little danger, since William Henry is
so many miles in our front. You forget that I have told
you our guide is now a Mohawk, and that he serves with our
forces as a friend."

" And I tell you that he who is born a Mingo will die a
Mingo," returned the other, positively. " A Mohawk! No,
give me a Delaware or a Mohican for honesty ; and when

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 45

they will fight, which they won't all do, having suffered their
cunning enemies, the Maquas, to make them women — but
when they will fight at all, look to a Delaware, or a Mohi
can, for a warrior! "

"Enough of this,'7 said Heyward, impatiently; "I wish
not to inquire into the character of a man that I know, and
to whom you must be a stranger. You have not yet answered
my question ; what is our distance from the main army at
Edward?"

" It seems that may depend on who is your guide. One
would think such a horse as that might get over a good deal
of ground atwixt sun-up and sun-down."

" I wish no contention of idle words with you, friend,"
said Heyward, curbing his dissatisfied manner, and speak
ing in a more gentle voice; " if you will tell me the distance
to Fort Edward, and conduct me thither, your labor shall
not go without its reward."

"And in so doing, how know I that I don't guide an
enemy and a spy of Montcalm, to the works of the army?
It is not every man who can speak the English tongue that
is an honest subject."

" If you serve with the troops, of whom I judge you to be
a scout, you should know of such a regiment of the king as
the 6oth."

" The 6oth ! you can tell me little of the Royal Americans
that I don't know, though I do wear a hunting-shirt instead
of a scarlet jacket."

" Well, then, among other things, you may know the name
of its major? "

"Its major!" interrupted the hunter, elevating his body
like one who was proud of his trust. " If there is a man in
the country who knows Major Effingham, he stands before
you."

" It is a corps which has many majors; the gentleman you
name is the senior, but I speak of the junior of them all; he
who commands the companies in garrison at William Henry."

46 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"Yes, yes, I have heard that a young gentleman of vast
riches, from one of the provinces far south, has got the place.
He is over young, too, to hold such rank, and to be put
above men whose heads are beginning to bleach; and yet
they say he is a soldier in his knowledge, and a gallant gen
tleman!"

" Whatever he may be, or however he may be qualified for
his rank, he now speaks to you, and of course can be no
enemy to dread."

The scout regarded Heyward in surprise, and then lifting
his cap, he answered, in a tone less confident than before —
though still expressing doubt —

" I have heard a party was to leave the encampment this
morning, for the lake shore? "

" You have heard the truth ; but I preferred a nearer route,
trusting to the knowledge of the Indian I mentioned."

" And he deceived you, and then deserted ? "

"Neither, as I believe; certainly not the latter, for he is
to be found in the rear."

" I should like to look at the creatur' ; if it is a true Iro-
quois I can tell him by his knavish look, and by his paint,"
said the scout, stepping past the charger of Heyward, and
entering the path behind the mare of the singing master,
whose foal had taken advantage of the halt to exact the ma
ternal contribution. After shoving aside the bushes, and
proceeding a few paces, he encountered the females, who
awaited the result of the conference with anxiety, and not
entirely without apprehension. Behind these, the runner
leaned against a tree, where he stood the close examination
of the scout with an air unmoved, though with a look so dark
and savage, that it might in itself excite fear. Satisfied
with his scrutiny, the hunter soon left him. As he repassed
the females, he paused a moment to gaze upon their beauty,
answering to the smile and nod of Alice with a look of open
pleasure. Thence he went to the side of the motherly ani-
mal, and spending a minute in a fruitless inquiry into the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 47

character of her rider, he shook his head and returned to
Heyward.

" A Mingo is a Mingo, and God having made him so,
neither the Mohawks nor any other tribe can alter him," he
said, when he had regained his former position. " If we
were alone, and you would leave that noble horse at the
mercy of the wolves to-night, I could show you the way to
Edward, myself, within an hour, for it lies only about an
hour's journey hence; but with such ladies in your com
pany 'tis impossible! "

" And why ? they are fatigued, but they are quite equal to
a ride of a few more miles."

"'Tis a natural impossibility !" repeated the scout; "I
wouldn't walk a mile in these woods after night gets into
them, in company with that runner, for the best rifle in the
colonies. They are full of outlying Iroquois, and your
mongrel Mohawk knows where to find them too well, to be
my companion."

"Think you so? " said Heyward, leaning forward in the
saddle, and dropping his voice nearly to a whisper; " I con
fess I have not been without my own suspicions, though I
have endeavored to conceal them, and affected a confidence
I have not always felt, on account of my companions. It
was because I suspected him that I would follow no longer;
making him, as you see, follow me."

" I knew he was one of the cheats as soon as I laid eyes
on him ! " returned the scout, placing a finger on his nose,
in sign of caution. "The thief is leaning against the foot
of the sugar sapling, that you can see over them bushes;
his right leg is in a line with the bark of the tree, and,"
tapping his rifle, " I can take him from where I stand, be
tween the ankle and the knee, with a single shot, putting an
end to his tramping through the woods, for at least a month
to come. If I should go back to him, the cunning varmint
would suspect something, and be dodging through the trees
like a frightened deer."

48 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"It will not do. He may be innocent, and I dislike the
act. Though, if I felt confident of his treachery—

" 'Tis a safe thing to calculate on the knavery of an Iro-
quois," said the scout, throwing his rifle forward, by a short
of instinctive movement.

" Hold! " interrupted Heyward, " it will not do — we must
think of some other scheme; — and yet, I have much reason
to believe the rascal has deceived me."

The hunter, who had already abandoned his intention of
maiming the runner, mused a moment and then made a ges
ture, which instantly brought his two red companions to his
side. They spoke together earnestly in the Delaware lan
guage, though in an undertone; and by the gestures of the
white man, which were frequently directed toward the top
of the sapling, it was evident he pointed out the situation
of their hidden enemy. His companions were not long in
comprehending his wishes, and, laying aside their fire-arms,
they parted, taking opposite sides of the path, and burying
themselves in the thicket, with such cautious movements
that their steps were inaudible.

" Now, go you back," said the hunter, speaking again to
Heyward, " and hold the imp in talk ; these Mohicans here
will take him without breaking his paint."

" Nay," said Heyward, proudly, " I will seize him my
self."

"Hist! what could you do, mounted, against an Indian
in the bushes? "

" I will dismount."

"And, think you, when he saw one of your feet out of the
stirrup, he would wait for the other to be free ? Whoever
comes into the woods to deal with the natives must use In
dian fashions, if he would wish to prosper in his undertak
ings. Go, then; talk openly to the miscreant, and seem to
believe him the truest friend you have on farth."

Heyward prepared to comply, though with strong disgust
at the nature of the office he was compelled to execute,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 49

Each moment, however, pressed upon him a conviction of
the critical situation in which he had suffered his invalu
able trust to be involved through his own confidence. The
sun had already disappeared, and the woods, suddenly de
prived of his light,* were assuming a dusky hue, which
keenly reminded him that the hour the savage usually chose
for his most barbarous and remorseless acts of vengeance or
hostility was speedily drawing near. Stimulated by appre
hension, he left the scout, who immediately entered into a
loud conversation with the stranger that had so unceremoni
ously enlisted himself in the party of travellers that morn
ing. In passing his gentler companions Heyward uttered a
few words of encouragement, and was pleased to find that,
though fatigued with the exercise of the day, they appeared
to entertain no suspicion that their present embarrassment
was other than the result of accident. Giving them reason
to believe he was merely employed in a consultation con
cerning the future route, he spurred his charger, and drew
the reins again, when the animal had carried him within a
few yards of the place where the sullen runner still stood,
leaning against the tree.

" You may see, Magua," he said, endeavoring to assume
an air of freedom and confidence, "that the night is closing
around us, and yet we are no nearer to William Henry than
when we left the encampment of Webb with the rising sun.
You have missed the way, nor have I been more fortunate.
But, happily, we have fallen in with a hunter, he whom you
hear talking to the singer, that is acquainted with the deer-
paths and by-ways of the woods, and who promises to lead
us to a place where we may rest securely till the morning."

The Indian riveted his glowing eyes on Heyward as he
asked, in his imperfect English, "Is he alone? "

"Alone!" hesitatingly answered Heyward, to whom de
ception was too new to be assumed without embarrassment.

* The scene of this tale was in the 42d degree of latitude, where the twilight is never
of long continuance.

5<D THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Oh ! not alone, surely, Magua, for you know that we are
with him."

" Then le Renard Subtil will go," returned the runner,
coolly raising his little wallet from the place where it had
lain at his feet; " and the pale-faces will see none but their
own color."

" Go! Whom call you le Renard? "

" Tis the name his Canada fathers have given to Magua,"
returned the runner, with an air that manifested his pride at
the distinction. " Night is the same as day to le Subtil,
when Munro waits for him."

" And what account will le Renard give the chief of Wil
liam Henry concerning his daughters? Will he dare to tell
the hot-blooded Scotsman that his children are left without
a guide, though Magua promised to be one? "

" Though the gray head has a loud voice, and a long arm,
le Renard will not hear him, or feel him, in the woods."

"But what will the Mohawks say? They will make him
petticoats, and bid him stay in the wigwam with the women,
for he is no longer to be trusted with the business of a man."

" Le Subtil knows the path to the great lakes, and he can
find the bones of his fathers," was the answer of the un
moved runner.

"Enough, Magua," said Heyward; "are we not friends?
Why should there be bitter words between us? Munro has
promised you a gift for your services when performed, and I
shall be your debtor for another. Rest your weary limbs,
then, and open your wallet to eat. We have a few moments
to spare; let us not waste them in talk like wrangling wo
men. When the ladies are refreshed we will proceed."

"The pale-faces make themselves dogs to their wcmen,"
muttered the Indian, in his native language, " and when
they want to eat, their warriors must lay aside the toma
hawk to feed their laziness."

"What say you, Renard? "

" Le Subtil says it is good."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 5!

The Indian then fastened his eyes keenly on the open
countenance of Heyward, but meeting his glance, he turned
them quickly away, and seating himself deliberately on the
ground, he drew forth the remnant of some former repast, and
began to eat, though not without first bending his looks
slowly and cautiously around him.

" This is well/7 continued Heyward; " and le Renard will
have strength and sight to find the path in the morning; " —
he paused, for sounds like the snapping of a dried stick, and
the rustling of leaves, rose from the adjacent bushes, but
recollecting himself instantly, he continued — "we must be
moving before the sun is seen, or Montcalm may lie in our
path, and shut us out from the fortress."

The hand of Magua dropped from his mouth to his side,
and though his eyes were fastened on the ground, his head
was turned aside, his nostrils expanded, and his ears seemed
even to stand more erect than usual, giving to him the ap
pearance of a statue that was made to represent intense
attention.

Heyward, who watched his movements with a vigilant
eye, carelessly extricated one of his feet from the stirrup,
while he passed a hand toward the bear-skin covering of his
holsters. Every effort to detect the point most regarded by
the runner was completely frustrated by the tremulous
glances of his organs, which seemed not to rest a single in
stant on any particular object, and which, at the same time,
could be hardly said to move. While he hesitated how to
proceed, le Subtil cautiously raised himself to his feet,
though with a motion so slow and guarded, that not the
slightest noise was produced by the change. He)rward felt
it had now become incumbent on him to act. Throwing his
leg over the saddle, he dismounted, with a determination to
advance and seize his treacherous companion, trusting the
result to his own manhood. In order, however, to prevent
unnecessary alarm, he still preserved an air of calmness and
friendship. m 4

52 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Le Renard Subtil does not eat," he said, using the ap
pellation he had found most flattering to the vanity of the
Indian. " His corn is not well parched, and it seems dry.
Let me examine , perhaps something may be found among
my own provisions that will help his appetite."

Magua held out the wallet to the proffer of the other.
He even suffered their hands to meet, without betraying the
least emotion, or varying his riveted attitude of attention.
But when he felt the fingers of Heyward moving gently
along his own naked arm, he struck up the limb of the
young man, and uttering a piercing cry as he darted be
neath it, plunged, at a single bound, into the opposite
thicket. At the next instant the form of Chingachgook ap
peared from the bushes, looking like a spectre in its paint,
and glided across the path in swift pursuit. Next followed
the shout of Uncas, when the woods were lighted by a sud
den flash, that was accompanied by the sharp report of the
hunter's rifle.

CHAPTER V.

"In such a night

Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew ;
And saw the lion's shadow ere himself."

MERCHANT OF VENICE.

THE suddenness of the flight of his guide, and the wild
cries of the pursuers, caused Heyward to remain fixed, for a
few moments, in inactive surprise. Then recollecting the
importance of securing the fugitive, he dashed aside the
surrounding bushes, and pressed eagerly forward to lend his
aid in the chase. Before he had, however, proceeded a
hundred yards, he met the three foresters already returning
from their unsuccessful pursuit.

" Why so soon disheartened ! " he exclaimed ; " the scoun
drel must be concealed behind some of these trees, and may
yet be secured. We are not safe while he goes at large."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 53

" Would you set a cloud to chase the wind ? " returned the
disappointed scout, " I heard the imp, brushing over the dry
leaves, like a black snake, and blinking a glimpse of him,
just over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be on the
scent; but 'twouldn't do! and yet for a reasoning aim, if
anybody but myself had touched the trigger, I should call it
a quick sight, and I may be accounted to have experience
in these matters, and one who ought to know. Look at this
sumach; its leaves are red, though everybody knows the
fruit is in the yellow blossom, in the month of July! "

" 'Tis the blood of le Subtil! he is hurt, and may yet
fall!"

" No, no," returned the scout, in decided disapprobation
of this opinion, "I rubbed the bark off a limb, perhaps, but
the creature leaped the longer for it. A rifle bullet acts on
a running animal, when it barks him, much the same as one
of your spurs on a horse; that is, it quickens motion, and
puts life into the flesh, instead of Baking it away. But when
it cuts the ragged hole, after a bound or two, there is, com
monly, a stagnation of further leaping, be it Indian or be it
deer!"

" We are four able bodies, to one wounded man ! "

" Is life grievous to you? " interrupted the scout. " Yon
der red devil would draw you within swing of the toma
hawks of his comrades, before you were heated in the chase.
It was an unthoughtful act in a man who has so often slept
with the war-whoop ringing in the air, to let off his piece
within sound of an ambushment! But then it was a natural
temptation! 'twas very natural ! Come, friends, let us move
our station, and in such a fashion, too, as will throw the
cunning of a Mingo on a wrong scent, or our scalps will be
drying in the wind in front of Montcalm's marque, ag'in
this hour to-morrow."

This appalling declaration, which the scout uttered with
the cool assurance of a man who fully comprehended, while
he did not fear to face the danger, served to remind Hey

54 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ward of the importance of the charge with which he himself
had been intrusted. Glancing his eyes around, with a vain
effort to pierce the gloom that was thickening beneath the
leafy arches of the forest, he felt as if, cut off from human
aid, his unresisting companions would soon lie at the entire
mercy of those barbarous enemies, who, like beasts of prey,
only waited till the gathering darkness might render their
blows more fatally certain. His awakened imagination, de
luded by the deceptive light, converted each waving bush,
or the fragment of some fallen tree, into human forms, and
twenty times he fancied he could distinguish the horrid vis
ages of his lurking foes, peering from their hiding places,
in never-ceasing watchfulness of the movements of his
party. Looking upward, he found that the thin fleecy
clouds, which evening had painted on the blue sky, were
already losing their faintest tints of rose-color, while the
imbedded stream, which glided past the spot where he stood,
was to be traced only by the dark boundary of its wooded
banks.

" What is to be done? " he said, feeling the utter helpless-
ness of doubt in such a pressing strait; "desert me not, for
God's sake ! remain to defend those I escort, and freely
name your own reward ! "

His companions, who conversed apart in the language of
their tribe, heeded not this sudden and earnest appeal.
Though their dialogue was maintained in low and cautious
sounds, but little above a whisper, Heyward, who now ap
proached, could easily distinguish the earnest tones of the
younger warrior from the more deliberate speeches of his
seniors. It was evident, that they debated on the propriety
of some measure, that nearly concerned the welfare of the
travellers. Yielding to his powerful interest in the subject,
and impatient of a delay that seemed fraught with so much
additional danger, Heyward drew still nigher to the dusky
group, with an intention of making his offers of compensa
tion more definite, when the white man, motioning with his

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 55

hand, as if he conceded the disputed point, turned away,
saying in a sort of soliloquy, and in the English tongue: —

" Uncas is right ! it would not be the act of men to leave
such harmless things to their fate, even though it breaks up
the harboring place for ever. If you would save these ten
der blossoms from the fangs of the worst of sarpents, gentle
man, you have neither time to lose nor resolution to throw
away! "

" How can such a wish be doubted ! have I not already
offered "

" Offer your prayers to Him, who can give us wisdom to
circumvent the cunning of the devils who fill these woods,"
calmly interrupted the scout, " but spare your offers of
money, which neither you may live to realize, nor I to profit
by. These Mohicans and I will do what man's thoughts
can invent, to keep such flowers, which, though so sweet,
were never made for the wilderness, from harm, and that
without hope of any other recompense but such as God
always gives to upright dealings. First, you must promise
two things, both in your own name and for your friends, or
without serving you, we shall only injure ourselves! "

" Name them."

"The one is, to be still as these sleeping woods, let what
will happen; and the other is, to keep the place where we
shall take you for ever a secret from all mortal men."

" I will do my utmost to see both these conditions fulfilled."

" Then follow, for we are losing moments that are as pre
cious as the heart's blood to a stricken deer! "

Heyward could distinguish the impatient gesture of the
scout, through the increasing shadows of the evening, and
he moved in his footsteps, swiftly, toward the place where
he had left the remainder of his party. When they rejoined
the expecting and anxious females, he briefly acquainted
them with the conditions of their new guide, and with the
necessity that existed for their hushing every apprehension,
in instant and serious exertions. Although his alarming

56 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

communication was not received without much secret terror
by the listeners, his earnest and impressive manner, aided
perhaps by the nature of the danger, succeeded in bracing
their nerves to undergo some unlooked-for and unusual
trial. Silently, and without a moment's delay, they per
mitted him to assist them from their saddles, when they
descended quickly to the water's edge where the scout had
collected the rest of the party, more by the agency of ex
pressive gestures than by any use of words.

"What to do with these dumb creatures! " muttered the
white man, on whom the sole control of their future move
ments appeared to devolve ; " it would be time lost to cut
their throats, and cast them into the river; and to leave
them here, would be to tell the Mingoes that they have not
far to seek to find their owners! "

" Then give them their bridles, and let them range the
woods," Heyward ventured to suggest.

"No; it would be better to mislead the imps, and make
them believe they must equal a horse's speed to run down
their chase. Aye, aye, that will blind their fire-balls of
eyes! Chingach — Hist! what stirs the bush?"

" The colt."

" That colt, at least, must die," muttered the scout, grasp
ing at the mane of the nimble beast, which easily eluded
his hand; "Uncas, your arrows! "

" Hold ! " exclaimed the proprietor of the condemned ani
mal, aloud, without regard to the whispering tones used by
the others; "spare the foal of Miriam! it is the comely
offspring of a faithful dam, and would willingly injure
naught."

"When men struggle for the single life God has given
them," said the scout sternly, " even their own kind seem no
more than the beasts of the wood. If you speak again, I
shall leave you to the mercy of the Maquas! Draw to your
arrow's head, Uncas; we have no time for second blows."

The low, muttering sounds of his threatening voice were

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 57

still audible, when the wounded foal, first rearing on its
hinder legs, plunged forward to its knees. It was met by
Chingachgook, whose knife passed across its throat quicker
than thought, and then precipitating the motions of the
struggling victim, he dashed it into the river, down whose
stream it glided away, gasping audibly for breath with its
ebbing life. This deed of apparent cruelty, but of real ne
cessity, fell upon the spirits of the travellers like a terrific
warning of the peril in which they stood, heightened as it
was by the calm though steady resolution of the actors in
the scene. The sisters shuddered and clung closer to each
other, while Heyward instinctively laid his hand on one of
the pistols he had just drawn from their holsters, as he
placed himself between his charge and those dense shadows
that seemed to draw an impenetrable veil before the bosom
of the forest.

The Indians, however, hesitated not a moment, but taking
the bridles, they led the frightened and reluctant horses
into the bed of the river.

At a short distance from the shore, they turned, and were
soon concealed by the projection of the bank, under the
brow of which they moved, in a* direction opposite to the
course of the waters. In the mean time, the scout drew a
canoe of bark from its place of concealment beneath some
low bushes, whose branches were waving with the eddies of
the current, into which he silently motioned for the females
to enter. They complied without hesitation, though many
a fearful and anxious glance was thrown behind them, tow
ard the thickening gloom, which now lay like a dark bar
rier along the margin of the stream.

So soon as Cora and Alice were seated, the scout, without
regarding the element, directed Heyward to support one
side of the frail vessel, and posting himself at the other,
they bore it up against the stream, followed by the dejected
owner of the dead foal. In this manner they proceeded, for
many rods, in a silence that was only interrupted by the

58 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

rippling of the water, as its eddies played around them, or
the low dash made by their own cautious footsteps. Hey-
ward yielded the guidance of the canoe implicitly to the
scout, who approached or receded from the shore, to avoid
the fragments of rocks, or deeper parts of the river, with a
readiness that showed his knowledge of the route they held.
Occasionally he would stop; and in the midst of a breathing
stillness, that the dull but increasing roar of the waterfall
only served to render more impressive, he would listen with
painful intenseness, to catch any sounds that might arise
from the slumbering forest. When assured that all was
still, and unable to detect, even by the aid of his practised
senses, any sign of his approaching foes, he would deliber
ately assume his slow and guarded progress. At length
they reached a point in the river, where the roving eye of
Heyward became riveted on a cluster of black objects, col
lected at a spot where the high bank threw a deeper shadow
than usual on the dark waters. Hesitating to advance, he
pointed out the place to the attention of his companion.

" Aye," returned the composed scout, "the Indians have
hid the beasts with the judgment of natives! Water leaves
no trail, and an owl's eyes would be blinded by the dark
ness of such a hole."

The whole party was soon reunited, and another consulta
tion was held between the scout and his new comrades, dur
ing which, they, whose fates depended on the faith and in
genuity of these unknown foresters, had a little leisure to
observe their situation more minutely.

The river was confined between high and cragged rocks,
one of which impended above the spot where the canoe
rested. As these, again, were surmounted by tall trees,
which appeared to totter on the brows of the precipice, it
gave the stream the appearance of running through a deep
and narrow dell. All beneath the fantastic limbs and ragged
tree tops, which were, here and there, dimly painted against
the starry zenith, lay alike in shadowed obscurity. Behind

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 59

them, the curvature of the banks soon bounded the view, by
the same dark and wooded outline; but in front, and appar
ently at no great distance, the water seemed piled against
the heavens, whence it tumbled into caverns, out of \vhich
issued those sullen sounds that had loaded the evening
atmosphere. It seemed, in truth, to be a spot devoted to
seclusion, and the sisters imbibed a soothing impression of
security, as they gazed upon its romantic, though not unap-
palling beauties. A general movement among their con
ductors, however, soon recalled them from a contemplation
of the wild charms that night had assisted to lend the place,
to a painful sense of their real peril.

The horses had been secured to some scattering shrubs
that grew in the fissures of the rocks, where, standing in the
water, they were left to pass the night. The scout directed
Heyward and his disconsolate fellow-travellers to seat them
selves in the forward end of the canoe, and took possession
of the other himself, as erect and steady as if he floated in
a vessel of much firmer materials. The Indians warily re
traced their steps toward the place they had left, when the
scout, placing his pole against a rock, by a powerful shove,
sent his frail bark directly into the centre of the turbulent
stream. For many minutes the struggle between the light
bubble in which they floated, and the swift current, was
severe and doubtful. Forbidden to stir even a hand, and
almost afraid to breathe, lest they should expose the frail
fabric to the fury of the stream, the passengers watched the
glancing waters in feverish suspense. Twenty times they
thought the whirling eddies were sweeping them to destruc
tion, when the master-hand of their pilot would bring the
bows of the canoe to stem the rapid. A long, a vigorous,
and, as it appeared to the females, a desperate effort, closed
the struggle. Just as Alice veiled her eyes in horror, under
the impression that they were about to be swept within the
vortex at the foot of the cataract, the canoe floated, stationary,
at the side of a flat rock, that lay on a level with the water.

6O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

n Where are we ? and what is next to be done ? " demanded
Hey ward, perceiving that the exertions of the scout had
ceased.

"You are at the foot of Glenn's," returned the other,
speaking aloud, without fear of consequences, within the
roar of the cataract ; " and the next thing is to make a steady
landing, lest the canoe upset, and you should go down again
the hard road we have travelled, faster than you came up;
'tis a hard rift to stem, when the river is a little swelled;
and five is an unnatural number to keep dry, in the hurry-
skurry, with a little birchen bark and gum. There, go
you all on the rock, and I will bring up the Mohicans with
the venison. A man had better sleep without his scalp,
than famish in the midst of plenty."

His passengers gladly complied with these directions.
As the last foot touched the rock, the canoe whirled from its
station, when the tall form of the scout was seen, for an in
stant, gliding above the waters, before it disappeared in the
impenetrable darkness that rested on the bed of the river.
Left by their guide, the travellers remained a few minutes
in helpless ignorance, afraid even to move along the broken
rocks, lest a false step should precipitate them down some
one of the many deep and roaring caverns, into which the
water seemed to tumble, on every side of them. Their sus
pense, however, was soon relieved; for aided by the skill of
the natives, the canoe shot back into the eddy, and floated
again at the side of the low rock, before they thought the
scout had even time to rejoin his companions.

" We are now fortified, garrisoned, and provisioned,"
cried Heyward, cheerfully, " and may set Montcalm and his
allies at defiance. How, now, my vigilant sentinel, can you
see anything of those you call the Iroquois, on the main
land?"

"I call them Iroquois, because to me every native, who
speaks a foreign tongue, is accounted an enemy, though he
may pretend to serve the king! If Webb wants faith and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 6 1

honesty in an Indian, let him bring out the tribes of the
Delawares, and send these greedy and lying Mohawks and
Oneidas, with their six nations of varlets, where in nature
they belong, among the French ! "

" We should then exchange a warlike for a useless friend!
I have heard that the Delawares have laid aside the hatchet,
and are content to be called women ! "

" Aye, shame on the Hollanders * and Iroquois, who cir
cumvented them by their deviltries, into such a treaty! But
I have known them for twenty years, and I call him liar,
that says cowardly blood runs in the veins of a Delaware.
You have driven their tribes from the sea-shore, and would
now believe what their enemies say, that you may sleep at
night upon an easy pillow. No, no; to me, every Indian
who speaks a foreign tongue is an Iroquois, whether the
castle f of his tribe be in Canada, or be in York."

Heyward perceiving that the stubborn adherence of the
scout to the cause of his friends the Delawares or Mohicans,
for they were branches of the same numerous people, was
likely to prolong a useless discussion, changed the subject.

" Treaty or no treaty, I know full well, that your two
companions are brave and cautious warriors! have they
heard or seen anything of our enemies? "

" An Indian is a mortal to be felt afore he is seen," re
turned the scout, ascending the rock, and throwing the deer
carelessly down. " I trust to other signs than such as come
in at the eye, when I am outlying on the trail of the Min-
goes."

" Do your ears tell you that they have traced our retreat? "

" I should be sorry to think they had, though this is a
spot that stout courage might hold for a smart skrimmage.
I will not deny, however, but the horses cowered when I
passed them, as though they scented the wolves; and a wolf

* The reader will remember that New York was originally a colony of the Dutch.

tThe principal villages of the Indians are still called "castles" by the whites of
New York. "Oneida castle " is no more than a scattered hamlet ; but the name is in
general use.

62 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

is a beast that is apt to hover about an Indian ambushment,
craving the offals of the deer the savages kill."

" You forget the buck at your feet! or, may we not owe
their visit to the dead colt? Ha! what noise is that? "

"Poor Miriam!" murmured the stranger; "thy foal was
foreordained to become a prey to ravenous beasts ! " Then,
suddenly lifting up his voice, amid the eternal din of the
waters, he sang aloud —

"First born of Egypt, smite did he,
Of mankind, and of beast also •
O, Egypt ! wonders sent 'midst thee,
On Pharaoh and his servants too I "

" The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its own
er," said the scout; "but it's a good sign to see a man
account upon his dumb friends. He has the religion of the
matter, in believing what is to happen will happen; and
with such a consolation, it won't be long afore he submits
to the rationality of killing a four-footed beast, to save the
lives of human men. It may be as you say," he continued,
reverting to the purport of Heyward's last remark ; " and
the greater the reason why we should cut our steaks, and let
the carcase drive down the stream, or we shall have the pack
howling along the cliffs, begrudging every mouthful we
swallow. Besides, though the Delaware tongue is the same
as a book to the Iroquois, the cunning varlets are quick
enough at understanding the reason of a wolf's howl."

The scout, whilst making his remarks, was busied in col
lecting certain necessary implements; as he concluded, he
moved silently by the group of travellers, accompanied by
the Mohicans, who seemed to comprehend his intentions
with instinctive readiness, when the whole three disap
peared in succession, seeming to vanish against the dark
face of a perpendicular rock, that rose to the height of a few
yards, within as many feet of the water's edge.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 63

CHAPTER VI.

41 Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide •
He wales a portion with judicious care ;
And ' let us worship God,' he says, with solemn air.**

BURNS.

HEYWARD, and his female companions, witnessed this mys
terious movement with secret uneasiness; for, though the
conduct of the white man had hitherto been above reproach,
his rude equipments, blunt address, and strong antipathies,
together with the character of his silent associates, were all
causes for exciting distrust in minds that had been so re
cently alarmed by Indian treachery.

The stranger alone disregarded the passing incidents.
He seated himself on a projection of the rocks, whence he
gave no other signs of consciousness than by the struggles
of his spirit, as manifested in frequent and heavy sighs.
Smothered voices were next heard, as though men called to
each other in the bowels of the earth, when a sudden light
flashed upon those without, and laid bare the much-prized
secret of the place.

At the further extremity of a narrow, deep cavern in the
rock, whose length appeared much extended by the perspec
tive and the nature of the light by which it was seen, was
seated the scout, holding a blazing knot of pine. The
strong glare of the fire fell full upon his sturdy, weather-
beaten countenance and forest attire, lending an air of ro
mantic wildness to the aspect of an individual, who, seen
by the sober light of day, would have exhibited the pecul
iarities of a man remarkable for the strangeness of his
dress, the iron-like inflexibility of his frame, and the singu
lar compound of quick, vigilant sagacity, and of exquisite
simplicity, that by turns usurped the possession of his mus
cular features. At a little distance stood Uncas, his whole
person thrown powerfully into view. The travellers anx-

64 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

iously regarded the upright flexible figure of the young
Mohican, graceful and unrestrained in the attitudes and
movements of nature. Though his person was more than
usually screened by a green and fringed hunting-shirt, like
that of the white man, there was no concealment to his dark,
glancing, fearless eye, alike terrible and calm; the bold
outline of his high, haughty features, pure in their native
red; or to the dignified elevation of his receding forehead,
together with all the finest proportions of a noble head,
bared to the generous scalping tuft. It was the first oppor
tunity possessed by Duncan and his companions, to view the
marked lineaments of either of their Indian attendants, and
each individual of the party felt relieved from a burden of
doubt, as the proud and determined, though wild expression
of the features of the young warrior forced itself on their
notice. They felt it might be a being partially benighted
in the vale of ignorance, but it could not be one who would
willingly devote his rich natural gifts to the purposes of
wanton treachery. The ingenuous Alice gazed at his free
air and proud carriage, as she would have looked upon some
precious relic of the Grecian chisel, to which life had been
imparted by the intervention of a miracle; while Heyward,
though accustomed to see the perfection of form which
abounds among the uncorrupted natives, openly expressed
his admiration at such an unblemished specimen of the
noblest proportions of man.

"I could sleep in peace," whispered Alice, in reply,
"with such a fearless and generous- looking youth for my
sentinel. Surely, Duncan, those cruel murders, those terrific
scenes of torture, of which we read and hear so much, are
never acted in the presence of such as he ! "

"This, certainly, is a rare and brilliant instance of those
natural qualities, in which these peculiar people are said to
excel," he answered. " I agree with you, Alice, in thinking
that such a front and eye were formed rather to intimidate
than to deceive ; but let us not practise a deception upon

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 65

ourselves, by expecting any other exhibition of \vhat we es
teem virtue than according to the fashion of a savage. As
bright examples of great qualities are but too uncommon
among Christians, so are they singular and solitary with the
Indians ; though, for the honor of our common nature, neither
are incapable of producing them. Let us then hope that
this Mohican may not disappoint our wishes, but prove,
what his looks assert him to be, a brave and constant
friend."

" Now Major Heyward speaks as Major Heyward should,"
said Cora; "who, that looks at this creature of nature, re
members the shade of his skin? "

A short, and apparently an embarrassed silence succeeded
this remark, which was interrupted by the scout calling to
them, aloud, to enter.

" This fire begins to show too bright a flame," he contin
ued, as they complied, "and might light the Mingoes to our
undoing. Uncas, drop the blanket, and show the knaves its
dark side. This is not such a supper as a major of the
Royal Americans has a right to expect, but I've known stout
detachments of the corps glad to eat their venison raw, and
without a relish too.* Here, you see, we have plenty of salt,
and can make a quick broil. There's fresh sassafras boughs
for the ladies to sit on, which may not be as proud as their
my-hog-guinea chairs, but which sends up a sweeter flavor
than the skin of any hog can do, be it of Guinea, or be it
of any other land. Come, friend, don't be mournful for the
colt, 'twas an innocent thing, and had not seen much hard'
ship. Its death will save the creature many a sore back
and weary foot! "

Uncas did as the other had directed, and when the voice

*In vulgar parlance the condiments of a repast are called by the Americans ua
relish," substituting the thing for its effect • These provincial terms are frequently
put in the mouths of the speakers according to their several conditions in life- Most
of them are of local use, and others quite peculiar to the particular class of men to
which the character belongs. In the present instance the scout uses the word with
immediate reference to the "salt," with which his own party was so fortunate as to be
provided.

66 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

of Hawk-eye ceased, the roar of the cataract sounded like
the rumbling of distant thunder.

" Are we quite safe in this cavern? " demanded Hey ward.
" Is there no danger of surprise? A single armed man, at
its entrance, would hold us at his mercy."

A spectral-looking figure stalked from out the darkness
behind the scout, and seizing a blazing brand, held it tow
ard the further extremity of their place of retreat. Alice
uttered a faint shriek, and even Cora rose to her feet, as
this appalling object moved into the light; but a single
word from Heyward calmed them, with the assurance it was
only their attendant, Chingachgook, who, lifting another
blanket, discovered that the cavern had two outlets. Then,
holding the brand, he crossed a deep, narrow chasm in the
rocks, which ran at right angles with the passage they were
in, but which, unlike that, was open to the heavens, and
entered another cave, answering to the description of the
first, in every essential particular.

" Such old foxes as Chingachgook and myself are not
often caught in a burrow with one hole," said Hawk-eye,
laughing; "you can easily see the cunning of the place — the
rock is black limestone, which everybody knows is soft; it
makes no uncomfortable pillow, where brush and pine wood
is scarce; well, the fall was once a few yards below us, and
I dare to say was, in its time, as regular and as handsome a
sheet of water as any along the Hudson. But old age is a
great injury to good looks, as these sweet young ladies have
yet to Tarn \ The place is sadly changed ! These rocks
are full of cracks, and in some places they are softer than
at othersome, and the water has worked out deep hollows
for itself, until it has fallen back, aye, some hundred feet,
breaking here and wearing there, until the falls have
neither shape nor consistency.*^

" In what part of them are we? n asked Heyward.

" Why, we are nigh the spot that Providence first placed
them at, but where, it seems, they were too rebellious to

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 6/

stay. The rock proved softer on each side of us, and so
they left the centre of the river bare and dry, first working
out these two little holes for us to hide in."

" We are then on an island ? "

'^**Tf~&ye\ there are the falls on two sides of us, and the
river above and below. If you had daylight, it would be
worth the trouble to step up on the height of this rock, and
look at the perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at
all; sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles; there, it
skips; here, it shoots; in one place 'tis white as snow, and
in another 'tis green as grass; hereabouts, it pitches into
deep hollows, that rumble and quake the 'arth ; and there
away, it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioning whirl
pools and gulleys in the old stone, as if 'twas no harder
than trodden clay. '\The whole design of the river seems
disconcerted. First it runs smoothly, as if meaning to go
down the descent as things were ordered; then it angles
about and faces the shores; nor are there places wanting
where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave the wilder
ness, to mingle with the salt! Aye, lady, the fine cobweb-
looking cloth you wear at your throat, is coarse, and like a
fish net, to little spots I can show you, where the river
fabricates all sorts of images, as if, having broke loose from
order, it would try its hand at everything. And yet what
does it amount to! After the water has been suffered to
have its will, for a time, like a headstrong man, it is gath
ered together by the hand that made it, and a few rods be
low you may see it all, flowing on steadily toward the sea,
as was foreordained from the first foundation of the 'arth! "

While his auditors received a cheering assurance of the
security of their place of concealment, from this untutored
description of Glenn's,* they were much inclined to judge

* Glenn's Falls on the Hudson, some forty or fifty miles above the head of tide, or
the place where that river becomes navigable for sloops. The description of this pic- — — ^
turesque and remarkable little cataract, as given by the scout, is sufficiently correct, -~~.
though the application of the water to the uses of civilized life has materially injured
its beauties. The rocky island and the two caverns are well known to every traveller.

68 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

differently from Hawk-eye, of its wild beauties. But they
were not in a situation to suffer their thoughts to dwell on
the charms of natural objects; and, as the scout had not
found it necessary to cease his culinary labors while he
spoke, unless to point out, with a broken fork, the direction
of some particularly obnoxious point in the rebellious
stream, they now suffered their attention to be drawn to
the necessary though more vulgar consideration of their
supper.

The repast, which was greatly aided by the addition of a
few delicacies that Heyward had the precaution to bring
with him when they left their horses, was exceedingly re
freshing to the wearied party. Uncas acted as attendant to
the females, performing all the little offices within his
power, with a mixture of dignity and anxious grace, that
served to amuse Heyward, who well knew that it was an
utter innovation on the Indian customs, which forbid their
warriors to descend to any menial employment, especially
in favor of their women. As the rites of hospitality were,
however, considered sacred among them, this little departure
from the dignity of manhood excited no audible comment.
Had there been one there sufficiently disengaged to become
a close observer, he might have fancied that the services of
the young chief were not entirely impartial. That while
he tendered to Alice the gourd of sweet water, and the
venison in a trencher, neatly carved from the knot of the
pepperidge, with sufficient courtesy, in performing the same
offices to her sister, his dark eye lingered on her rich speak
ing countenance. Once or twice he was compelled to speak,
to command the attention of those he served. In sucK
cases, he made use of English, broken and imperfect, but
sufficiently intelligible, and which he rendered so mild and

since the former sustains a pier of a bridge, which is now thrown across the river,
immediately above the fall. In explanation of the taste of Hawk-eye, it should be
remembered that men always prize that most which is least enjoyed. Thus in a new
country, the woods and other objects, which in an old country would be maintained
at great cost, are got rid of, simply with a view of "improving" as it is called.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 69

musical, by his deep,* guttural voice, that it never failed to
cause both ladies to look up in admiration and astonish
ment. In the course of these civilities, a few sentences
were exchanged, that served to establish the appearance of
an amicable intercourse between the parties.

In the meanwhile, the gravity of Chingachgook remained
immovable. He had seated himself more within the circle
of light, where the frequent uneasy glances of his guests
were better enabled to separate the natural expression of
his face from the artificial terrors of the war-paint. They
found a strong resemblance between father and son, with
the difference that might be expected from age and hard
ships. The fierceness of his countenance now seemed to
slumber, and in its place was to be seen the quiet, vacant
composure, which distinguishes an Indian warrior when his
faculties are not required for any of the greater purposes of
his existence. It was, however, easy to be seen, by the oc
casional gleams that shot across his swarthy visage, that it
was only necessary to arouse his passions, in order to give
full effect to the terrific device which he had adopted to in
timidate his enemies. On the other hand, the quick, roving
eye of the scout seldom rested. He ate and drank with an
appetite that no sense of danger could disturb, but his vigi
lance seemed never to desert him. Twenty times the gourd
or the venison was suspended before his lips, while his
head was turned aside, as though he listened to some dis
tant and distrusted sounds — a movement that never failed
to recall his guests from regarding the novelties of their
situation, to a recollection of the alarming reasons that had
driven them to seek it. As these frequent pauses were
never followed by any remark, the momentary uneasiness
they created quickly passed away, and for a time was for
gotten.

" Come, friend," said Hawk-eye, drawing out a keg from
beneath a cover of leaves, toward the close of the repast,

* The meaning of Indian words is much governed by the emphasis and tones.

7<D THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

and addressing the stranger who sat at his elbow, doing
great justice to his culinary skill, "try a little spruce; 'twill
wash away all thoughts of the colt, and quicken the life in
your bosom. I drink to our better friendship, hoping that
a little horseflesh may leave no heartburnings atween us.
How do you name yourself ? "

"Gamut — David Gamut," returned the singing-master,
preparing to wash down his sorrows in a powerful draught
of the woodman's high-flavored and well-laced compound.

" A very good name, and, I dare say, handed down from
honest forefathers. I'm an admirator of names, though the
Christian fashions fall far below savage customs in this
particular. The biggest coward I ever knew was called
Lyon ; and his wife, Patience, would scold you out of hear
ing in less time than a hunted deer would run a rod. With
an Indian /t.is a matter of conscience; what he calls him
self, he generally is — not that Chingachgook, which signi
fies big sarpent, is really a snake, big or little; but that he
understands the windings and turnings of human natur', and
is silent, and strikes his enemies when they least expect
him. — What may be your calling? "

" I am an unworthy instructor in the art of psalmody."

"Anan!"

"I teach singing to the youths of the Connecticut levy."

" You might be better employed. The young hounds go
laughing and singing too much already through the woods,
when they ought not to breathe louder than a fox in his
cover. Can you use the smooth bore, or handle the rifle? "

" Praised be God, I have never had occasion to meddle
with murderous implements! "

" Perhaps you understand the compass, and lay down the
watercourses and mountains of the wilderness on paper, in
order that they who follow may find places by their given
names? "

" I practise no such employment."

" You have a pair of legs that might make a long path

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. /I

seem short! you journey sometimes, I fancy, with tidings
for the general."

"Never; I follow no other than my own high vocation,
which is instruction in sacred music! "

"'Tis a strange calling!" muttered Hawk-eye, with an
inward laugh, " to go through life, like a cat-bird, mocking
all the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other
men's throats. Well, friend, I suppose it is your gift, and
mustn't be denied any more than if 'twas shooting, or some-
other better inclination. Let us hear what you can do in
that way; 'twill be a friendly manner of saying good-night,
for 'tis time that these ladies should be getting strength for
a hard and a long push, in the pride of the morning, afore
the Maquas are stirring."

" With joyful pleasure do I consent," said David, adjust
ing his iron-rimmed spectacles, and producing his beloved
little volume, which he immediately tendered to Alice.
" What can be more fitting and consolatory than to offer
up evening praise, after a day of such exceeding jeop
ardy!"

Alice smiled; but regarding Heyward, she blushed and
hesitated.

"Indulge yourself," he whispered: "ought not the sug
gestion of the worthy namesake of the Psalmist to have its
weight at such a moment? "

Encouraged by his opinion, Alice did what her pious in
clinations and her keen relish for gentle sounds, had before
so strongly urged. The book was opened at a hymn not
ill adapted to their situation, and in which the poet, no
longer goaded by his desire to excel the inspired King
of Israel, had discovered some chastened and respectable
powers. Cora betrayed a disposition to support her sister,
and the sacred song proceeded, after the indispensable pre
liminaries of the pitch-pipe and the tune had been duly
attended to by the methodical David.

The air was solemn and slow. At times it rose to the

^2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

fullest compass of the rich voices of the females, who hung
over their little book in holy excitement, and again it sank
so low, that the rushing of the waters ran through their
melody, like a hollow accompaniment. The natural taste
and true ear of David governed and modified the sounds to
suit the confined cavern, every crevice and cranny of which
was filled with the thrilling notes of their flexible voices.
The Indians riveted their eyes on the rocks, and listened
with an attention that seemed to turn them into stone. But
the scout, who had placed his chin in his hand, with an ex
pression of cold indifference, gradually suffered his rigid
features to relax, until, as verse succeeded verse, he felt his
iron nature subdued, while his recollection was carried back
to boyhood, when his ears had been accustomed to listen to
similar sounds of praise, in the settlements of the colony.
His roving eyes began to moisten, and before the hymn was
ended, scalding tears rolled out of fountains that had long
seemed dry, and followed each other down those cheeks,
that had oftener felt the storms of heaven than any testi
monials of weakness. The singers were dwelling on one of
those low, dying chords, which the ear devours with such
greedy rapture, as if conscious that it is about to lose them,
when a cry, that seemed neither human nor earthly, rose in
the outward air, penetrating not only the recesses of the
cavern, but to the inmost hearts of all who heard it. It was
followed by a stillness apparently as deep as if the waters
had been checked in their furious progress, at such a horrid
and unusual interruption.

"What is it?" murmured Alice, after a few moments of
terrible suspense.

"What is it? " repeated Hey ward, aloud.

Neither Hawk-eye nor the Indians made any reply. They
listened, as if expecting the sound would be repeated, with
a manner that expressed their own astonishment. At
length, they spoke together, earnestly, in the Delaware
language, when Uncas, passing by the inner and most con-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 73

cealed aperture, cautiously left the cavern. When he had
gone, the scout first spoke in English.

" What it is, or what it is not, none here can tell ; though
two of us have ranged the woods for more than thirty years!
I did believe there was no cry that Indian or beast could
make, that my ears had not heard ; but this has proved that
I was only a vain and conceited mortal! "

" Was it not, then, the shout the warriors make when they
wish to intimidate their enemies? " asked Cora, who stood
drawing her veil about her person, with a calmness to
which her agitated sister was a stranger.

"No, no; this was bad, and shocking, and had a sort of
unhuman sound; but when you once hear the war-whoop,
you will never mistake it for anything else! Well, Un-
cas!" speaking in Delaware to the young chief as he re-
entered, "what see you? do our lights shine through the
blankets?"

The answer was short, and apparently decided, being
given in the same tongue.

"There is nothing to be seen without," continued Hawk-
eye, shaking his head in discontent; "and our hiding-place
is still in darkness! Pass into the other cave, you that
need it, and seek for sleep; we must be afoot long before
the sun, and make the most of our time to get to Edward,
while the Mingoes are taking their morning nap."

Cora set the example of compliance, with a steadiness
that taught the more timid Alice the necessity of obedience.
Before leaving the place, however, she whispered a request
to Duncan that he would follow. Uncas raised the blanket
for their passage, and as the sisters turned to thank him for
this act of attention, they saw the scout seated again before
the dying embers, with his face resting on his hands, in a
manner which showed how deeply he brooded on the unac
countable interruption which had broken up their evening
devotions.

Heyward took with him a blazing knot, which threw a

74 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

dim light through the narrow vista of their new apartment.
Placing it in a favorable position, he joined the females,
who now found themselves alone with him for the first time
since they had left the friendly ramparts of Fort Edward.

" Leave us not, Duncan," said Alice; "we cannot sleep
in such a place as this, with that horrid cry still ringing in
our ears! "

" First let us examine into the security of your fortress,"
he answered, " and then we will speak of rest."

He approached the further end of the cavern, to an out
let, which, like the others, was concealed by blankets, and
removing the thick screen, breathed the fresh and reviving
air from the cataract. One arm of the river flowed through
a deep, narrow ravine, which its current had worn in the
soft rock, directly beneath his feet, forming an effectual
defence, as he believed, against any danger from that quar
ter; the water, a few rods above them, plunging, glancing,
and sweeping along, in its most violent and broken manner.

" Nature has made an impenetrable barrier on this side,"
he continued, pointing down the perpendicular declivity
into the dark current, before he dropped the blanket; '* and
as you know that good men and true are on guard in front,
I see no reason why the advice of our honest host should
be disregarded. I am certain Cora will join me in saying,
that sleep is necessary to you both."

" Cora may submit to the justice of your opinion, though
she cannot put it in practice,'* returned the elder sister, who
had placed herself by the side of Alice, on a couch of sassa
fras; "there would be other causes to chase away sleep,
though we had been spared the shock of this mysterious
noise. Ask yourself, Heyward, can daughters forget the
anxiety a father must endure, whose children lodge, he
knows not where or how, in such a wilderness, and in the
midst of so many perils? "

14 He is a soldier, and knows how to estimate the chances
of the woods."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 75

" He is a father, and cannot deny his nature."
" How kind has he ever been to all my follies! how ten
der and indulgent to all my wishes! " sobbed Alice. "We
have been selfish, sister, in urging our visit at such haz
ard!"

" I may have been rash in pressing his consent in a mo
ment of so much embarrassment, but I would have proved to
him, that however others might neglect him in his strait, his
children at least were faithful! "

" When he heard of your arrival at Edward," said Hey-
ward, kindly, " there was a powerful struggle in his bosom
between fear and love; though the latter, heightened, if pos
sible, by so long a separation, quickly prevailed. * It is
the spirit of my noble-minded Cora that leads them, Dun
can,' he said, ' and I will not balk it. Would to God, that
he who holds the honor of our royal master in his guardian
ship, would show but half her firmness! ' '

"And did he not speak of me, Heyward?" demanded
Alice, with jealous affection. " Surely, he forgot not alto
gether his little Elsie!"

"That were impossible," returned the young man; "he
called you by a thousand endearing epithets, that I may not
presume to use, but to the justice of which I can warmly
testify. Once, indeed, he said-
Duncan ceased speaking; for while his eyes were riveted
on those of Alice, who had turned toward him with the
eagerness of filial affection, to catch his words, the same
strong, horrid cry, as before, filled the air, and rendered
him mute. A long, breathless silence succeeded, during
which each looked at the others in fearful expectation of
hearing the sound repeated. At length, the blanket was
slowly raised, and the scout stood in the aperture with a
countenance whose firmness evidently began to give way,
before a mystery that seemed to threaten some danger,
against which all his cunning and experience might prove
of no avail. yol< 4

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER VII.

"They do not sleep.
On yonder cliffs, a grisly band,
I see them sit." GRAY.

" TWOULD be neglecting a warning that is given for our
good, to lie hid any longer," said Hawk-eye, " when such
sounds are raised in the forest ! These gentle ones may keep
close, but the Mohicans and I will watch upon the rock,
where I suppose a major of the 6oth would wish to keep us
company."

"Is then our danger so pressing? " asked Cora.

" He who makes strange sounds, and gives them out for
man's information, alone knows our danger. I should think
myself wicked, unto rebellion against his will, was I to bur
row with such warnings in the air! Even the weak soul
who passes his days in singing, is stirred by the cry, and, as
he says, is * ready to go forth to the battle.' If 'twere only
a battle, it would be a thing understood by us all, and easi
ly managed; but I have heard that when such shrieks are
atween heaven and 'arth, it betokens another sort of war
fare!"

" If all our reasons for fear, my friend, are confined to
such as proceed from supernatural causes, we have but little
occasion to be alarmed," continued the undisturbed Cora;
" are you certain that our enemies have not invented some
new and ingenious method to strike us with terror, that their
conquest may become more easy ? "

" Lady," returned the scout, solemnly, " I have listened
to all the sounds of the woods for thirty years, as a man will
listen, whose life and death depend on the quickness of his
ears. There is no whine of the panther; no whistle of the
cat-bird; nor any invention of the devilish Mingoes, that
can cheat me! I have heard the forest moan like mortal

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 77

men in their affliction ; often, and again, have I listened to
the wind playing its music in the branches of the girdled
trees; and I have heard the lightning cracking in the air,
like the snapping of blazing brush, as it spitted forth sparks
and forked flames; but never have I thought that I heard
more than the pleasure of Him who sported with the things
of his hand. But neither the Mohicans, nor I, who am a
white man without a cross, can explain the cry just heard.
We, therefore, believe it a sign given for our good."

" It is extraordinary! " said Heyward, taking his pistols
from the place where he had laid them on entering; "be
it a sign of peace or a signal of war, it must be looked to.
Lead the way, my friend ; I follow/'

On issuing from their place of confinement, the whole
party instantly experienced a grateful renovation of spir
its, by exchanging the pent air of the hiding-place for the
cool and invigorating atmosphere which played around the
whirlpools and pitches of the cataract. A heavy evening
breeze swept along the surface of the river, and seemed to
drive the roar of the falls into the recesses of their own cav
erns, whence it issued heavily and constant, like thunder
rumbling beyond the distant hills. The moon had risen,
and its light was already glancing here and there on the
waters above them; but the extremity of the rock where
they stood still lay in shadow. With the exception of the
sounds produced by the rushing waters, and an occasional
breathing of the air, as it murmured past them in fitful cur
rents, the scene was as still as night and solitude could
make it. In vain were the eyes of each individual bent
along the opposite shores, in quest of some signs of life,
that might explain the nature of the interruption they had
heard. Their anxious and eager looks were baffled by the
deceptive light, or rested only on naked rocks, and straight
and immovable trees.

" Here is nothing to be seen but the gloom and quiet of a
lovely evening," whispered Duncan ; " how much should we

78 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

prize such a scene, and all this breathing solitude, at any
other moment, Cora! Fancy yourselves in security, and
what now, perhaps, increases your terror, may be made con
ducive to enjoyment "

" Listen ! " interrupted Alice.

The caution was unnecessary. Once more the same
sound arose, as if from the bed of the river, and having
broken out of the narrow bounds of the cliffs, was heard un
dulating through the forest, in distant and dying cadences.

" Can any here give a name to such a cry ? " demanded
Hawk-eye, when the last echo was lost in the woods; "if
so, let him speak; for myself, I judge it not to belong to
'arth!"

" Here, then, is one who can undeceive you," said Dun
can; "I know the sound full well, for often have I heard it
on the field of battle, and in situations which are frequent
in a soldier's life. 'Tis the horrid shriek that a horse will
give in his agony; oftener drawn from him in pain, though
sometimes in terror. My charger is either a prey to the
beasts of the forest, or he sees his danger, without the power
to avoid it. The sound might deceive me in the cavern, but
in the open air I know it too well to be wrong."

The scout and his companions listened to this simple ex
planation with the interest of men who imbibe new ideas,
at the same time that they get rid of old ones, which had
proved disagreeable inmates. The two latter uttered their
usual and expressive exclamation, " hugh ! " as the truth
first glanced upon their minds, while the former, after a
short musing pause, took upon himself to reply.

" I cannot deny your words," he said ; " for I am little
skilled in horses, though born where they abound. The
wolves must be hovering above their heads on the bank, and
the timorsome creatures are calling on man for help, in the
best manner they are able. Uncas " — he spoke in Delaware
• — "Uncas, drop down in the canoe, and whirl a brand
among the pack; or fear may do what the wolves can't get

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 79

at to perform, and leave us without horses in the morning,
when we shall have so much need to journey swiftly! "

The young native had already descended to the water, to
comply, when a long howl was raised on the edge of the
river, and was borne swiftly off into the depths of the forest,
as though the beasts, of their own accord, were abandoning
their prey in sudden terror. Uncas, with instinctive quick
ness, receded, and the three foresters held another of their
low, earnest conferences.

" We have been like hunters who have lost the points of
the heavens, and from whom the sun has been hid for days,"
said Hawk-eye, turning away from his companions; "now
we begin again to know the signs of our course, and the
paths are cleared from briers! Seat yourselves in the shade
which the moon throws from yonder beech — 'tis thicker
than that of the pines — and let us wait for that which the
Lord may choose to send next. Let all your conversation
be in whispers; though it would be better, and perhaps, in
the end, wiser, if each one held discourse with his own
thoughts, for a time."

The manner of the scout was seriously impressive, though
no longer distinguished by any signs of unmanly apprehen
sion. It was evident that his momentary weakness had van
ished with the explanation of a mystery which his own expe
rience had not served to fathom ; and though he now felt all
the realities of their actual condition, that he was prepared
to meet them with the energy of his hardy nature. This
feeling seemed also common to the natives, who placed
themselves in positions which commanded a full view of
both shores, while their own persons were effectually con
cealed from observation. In such circumstances, common
prudence dictated that Heyward and his companions should
imitate a caution that proceeded from so intelligent a
source. The young man drew a pile of the sassafras from
the cave, and placing it in the chasm which separated the
two caverns, it was occupied by the sisters , who were thus

8O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

protected by the rocks from any missiles, while their anxi
ety was relieved by the assurance that no danger could ap
proach without a warning. Heyward himself was posted at
hand, so near that he might communicate with his compan
ions without raising his voice to a dangerous elevation;
while David, in imitation of the woodsmen, bestowed his
person in such a manner among the fissures of the rocks,
that his ungainly limbs were no longer offensive to the eye.

In this manner, hours passed by without further interrup
tion. The moon reached the zenith, and shed its mild light
perpendicularly on the lovely sight of the sisters slumbering
peacefully in each other's arms. Duncan cast the wide
shawl of Cora before a spectacle he so much loved to con
template, and then suffered his own head to seek a pillow
on the rock. David began to utter sounds that would have
shocked his delicate organs in more wakeful moments; in
short, all but Hawk-eye and the Mohicans lost every idea
of consciousness, in uncontrollable drowsiness. But the
watchfulness of these vigilant protectors neither tired nor
slumbered. Immovable as that rock, of which each appeared
to form a part, they lay, with their eyes roving, without in
termission, along the dark margin of trees that bounded the
adjacent shores of the narrow stream. Not a sound escaped
them ; the most subtle examination could not have told they
breathed. It was evident that this excess of caution pro
ceeded from an experience that no subtlety on the part of
their enemies could deceive. It was, however, continued
without any apparent consequences, until the moon had set,
and a pale streak above the tree-tops, at the bend of the
river a little below, announced the approach of day.

Then, for the first time, Hawk-eye was seen to stir. He
crawled along the rock, and shook Duncan from his heavy
slumbers.

" Now is the time to journey," he whispered; " awake the
gentle on*es, and be ready to get into the canoe when I bring
it to the landing-place."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 8 1

"Have you had a quiet night?" said Heyward; "for
myself, I believe sleep has got the better of my vigilance."

"All is yet still as midnight. Be silent, but be quick."

By this time Duncan was thoroughly awake, and he im
mediately lifted the shawl from the sleeping females. The
motion caused Cora to raise her hand as if to repulse him,
while Alice murmured, in her soft gentle voice, "No, no,
dear father, we were not deserted, Duncan was with us! "

"Yes, sweet innocence," whispered the youth; "Duncan
is here, and while life continues or danger remains, he will
never quit thee. Cora! Alice! awake! The hour has come
to move ! "

A loud shriek from the younger of the sisters, and the
form of the other standing upright before him, in bewildered
horror, was the unexpected answer he received. While the
words were still on the lips of Heyward, there had arisen
such a tumult of yells and cries as served to drive the swift
currents of his own blood back from its bounding course
into the fountains of his heart. It seemed, for near a min
ute, as if the demons of hell had possessed themselves of
the air about them, and were venting their savage humors
in barbarous sounds. The cries came from no particular
direction, though it was evident they filled the woods, and
as the appalled listeners easily imagined, the caverns of the
falls, the rocks, the bed of the river, and the upper air.
David raised his tall person in the midst of the infernal din,
with a hand on either ear, exclaiming —

"Whence comes this discord! Has hell broke loose,
that man should utter sounds like these!"

The bright flashes and the quick reports of a dozen rifles,
from the opposite banks of the stream, followed this incau
tious exposure of his person, and left the unfortunate sing
ing-master senseless on that rock where he had been so long
slumbering. The Mohicans boldly sent back the intimidat
ing yell of their enemies, who raised a shout of savage tri
umph at the fall of Gamut The flash of rifles was then

82 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

quick and close between them, but either party was too well
skilled to leave even a limb exposed to the hostile aim.
Duncan listened with intense anxiety for the strokes of the
paddle, believing that flight was now their only refuge.
The river glanced by with its ordinary velocity, but the canoe
was nowhere to be seen on its dark waters. He had just
fancied they were cruelly deserted by the scout, as a stream
of flame issued from the rock beneath him, and a fierce yell,
blended with a shriek of agony, announced that the messen
ger of death, sent from the fatal weapon of Hawk-eye, had
found a victim. At this slight repulse the assailants in
stantly withdrew, and gradually the place became as still as
before the sudden tumult.

Duncan seized the favorable moment to spring to the body
of Gamut, which he bore within the shelter of the narrow
chasm that protected the sisters. In another minute the
whole party was collected in this spot of comparative safety.

"The poor fellow has saved his scalp," said Hawk-eye,
coolly passing his hand over the head of David; "but he
is a proof that a man may be born with too long a tongue!
'Twas downright madness to show six feet of flesh and blood,
on a naked rock, to the raging savages. I only wonder he
has escaped with life."

" Is he not dead ? " demanded Cora, in a voice whose
husky tones showed how powerfully natural horror strug
gled with her assumed firmness. " Can we do aught to as
sist the wretched man ? "

"No, no! the life is in his heart yet, and after he has
slept awhile he will come to himself, and be a wiser man
for it, till the hour of his real time shall come," returned
Hawk-eye, casting another oblique glance at the insensible
body, while he filled his charger with admirable nicety.
" Carry him in, Uncas, and lay him on the sassafras. The
longer his nap lasts the better it will be for him, as I doubt
whether he can find a proper cover for such a shape on these
rocks ; and singing won't do any good with the Iroquois."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 83

"You believe, then, the attack will be renewed? '• asked
Heyward.

" Do I expect a hungry wolf will satisfy his craving with
a mouthful ! They have lost a man, and 'tis their fashion^
when they meet a loss, and fail in the surprise, to fall back;
but we shall have them on again, with new expedients to
circumvent us, and master our scalps. Our main hope," he
continued, raising his rugged countenance, across which a
shade of anxiety just then passed like a darkening cloud,
"will be to keep the rock until Munro can send a party to
our help! God send it may be soon, and under a leader
that knows the Indian customs! "

"You hear our probable fortunes, Cora," said Duncan;
"and you know we have everything to hope from the anxiety
and experience of your father. Come, then, with Alice,
into this cavern, where you, at least, will be safe from the
murderous rifles of our enemies, and where you may bestow
a care suited to your gentle natures on our unfortunate com
rade."

The sisters followed him into the outer cave, where David
was beginning, by his sighs, to give symptoms of returning
consciousness; and then commending the wounded man to
their attention, he immediately prepared to leave them.

" Duncan ! " said the tremulous voice of Cora, when he
had reached the mouth of the cavern. He turned, and be
held the speaker, whose color had changed to a deadly pale
ness, and whose lip quivered, gazing after him, with an ex
pression of interest which immediately recalled him to her
side. " Remember, Duncan, how necessary your safety is to
our own — how you bear a father's sacred trust — how much
depends on your discretion and care — in short," she added,
while the tell-tale blood stole over her features, crimsoning
her very temples, " how very deservedly dear you are to all
of the name of Munro."

" If anything could add to my own base love of life," said
Heyward, suffering his unconscious eyes to wander to the

84 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

youthful form of the silent Alice, " it would be so kind an
assurance. As major of the 6oth, our honest host will tell
you I must take my share of the fray; but our task will be
easy; it is merely to keep these bloodhounds at bay for a
few hours."

Without waiting for reply, he tore himself from the pres
ence of the sisters, and joined the scout and his companions,
who still lay within the protection of the little chasm be
tween the two caves.

" I tell you, Uncas," said the former, as Heyward joined
them, " you are wasteful of your powder, and the kick of the
rifle disconcerts your aim! Little powder, light lead, and a
long arm, seldom fail of bringing the death-screech from a
Mingo! At least, such has been my experience with the
creatur's. Come, friends; let us to our covers, for no man
can tell when or where a Maqua* will strike his blow."

The Indians silently repaired to their appointed stations,
which were fissures in the rocks, whence they could com
mand the approaches to the foot of the falls. In the centre
of the little island, a few short and stunted pines had found
root, forming a thicket, into which Hawk-eye darted with the
swiftness of a deer, followed by the active Duncan. Here
they secured themselves, as well as circumstances would per
mit, among the shrubs and fragments of stone that were
scattered about the place. Above them was a bare, rounded
rock, on each side of which the water played its gambols,
and plunged into the abysses beneath, in the manner already
described. As the day had now dawned, the opposite shores
no longer presented a confused outline, but they were able
to look into the woods, and distinguish objects beneath the
canopy of gloomy pines.

A long and anxious watch succeeded, but without any fur
ther evidences of a renewed attack ; and Duncan began to

* It will be observed that Hawk-eye applies different names to his enemies. Mingo
and Maqua are terms of contempt, and Iroquois is a name given by the French. Th«
Indians rarely use the same name when different tribes speak of each other.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 85

hope that their fire had proved more fatal than was sup
posed, and that their enemies had been effectually repulsed.
When he ventured to utter this impression to his companion,
it was met by Hawk-eye with an incredulous shake of the
head.

" You know not the nature of a Maqua, if you think he is
so easily beaten back without a scalp! " he answered. "If
there was one of the imps yelling this morning, there were
forty! and they know our number and quality too well to
give up the chase so soon. Hist! look into the water above,
just where it breaks over the rocks. I am no mortal, if the
risky devils haven't swam down upon the very pitch, and, as
bad luck would have it, they have hit the head of the island.
Hist! man, keep close! or the hair will be off your crown
in the turning of a knife! "

Heyward lifted his head from the cover, and beheld what
he justly considered a prodigy of rashness and skill. The
river had worn away the edge of the soft rock in such a man
ner, as to render its first pitch less abrupt and perpendicu
lar than is usual at waterfalls. With no other guide than
the ripple of the stream where it met the head of the island,
a party of their insatiable foes had ventured into the current,
and swam down upon this point, knowing the ready access
it would give, if successful, to their intended victims. As
Hawk-eye ceased speaking, four human heads could be seen
peering above a few logs of driftwood that had lodged on
these naked rocks, and which had probably suggested the
idea of the practicability of the hazardous undertaking. At
the next moment, a fifth form was seen floating over the
green edge of the fall, a little from the line of the island.
The savage struggled powerfully to gain the point of safety,
and, favored by the glancing water, he was already stretch
ing forth an arm to meet the grasp of his companions, when
he shot away again with the whirling current, appeared to
rise into the air, with uplifting arms and starting eyeballs,
and fell, with a sullen plunge, into that deep and yawning

86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

abyss over which he hovered. A single, wild, despairing
shriek rose from the cavern, and all was hushed again, as the
grave.

The first generous impulse of Duncan was to rush to the
rescue of the hapless wretch; but he felt himself bound to
the spot by the iron grasp of the immovable scout.

" Would ye bring certain death upon us, by telling the
Mingoes where we lie?" demanded Hawk-eye, sternly;
" 'tis a charge of powder saved, and ammunition is as pre
cious now as breath to a worried deer! Freshen the prim
ing of your pistols — the mist of the falls is apt to dampen
the brimstone — and stand firm for a close struggle, while I
fire on their rush."

He placed a finger in his mouth, and drew a long, shrill
whistle, which was answered from the rocks that were guard
ed by the Mohicans. Duncan caught glimpses of heads
above the scattered driftwood, as this signal rose on the air,
but they disappeared again as suddenly as they had glanced
upon his sight. A low, rustling sound next drew his atten
tion behind him, and, turning his head, he beheld Un-
cas within a few feet, creeping to his side. Hawk-eye
spoke to him in Delaware, when the young chief took his
position with singular caution and undisturbed coolness.
To Heyward this was a moment of feverish and impatient
suspense; though the scout saw fit to select it as a fit occa
sion to read a lecture to his more youthful associates on the
art of using fire-arms with discretion.

" Of all we'pons," he commenced, " the long-barrelled,
true-grooved, soft-metalled rifle, is the most dangerous in
skilful hands, though it wants a strong arm, a quick eye,
and great judgment in charging, to put forth all its beau
ties. The gunsmiths can have but little insight into their
trade, when they make their fowling-pieces and short horse
men's "

He was interrupted by the low but expressive " hugh " of
Uncas.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 8/

" I see them, boy, I see them ! " continued Hawk-eye ;
" they are gathering for the rush, or they would keep their
dingy backs below the logs. Well, let them," he added, ex
amining his flint; "the leading man certainly comes on to
his death, though it should be Montcalm himself! "

At that moment the woods were filled with another burst
of cries, and at the signal four savages sprang from the cov
er of the driftwood. Heyward felt a burning desire to rush
forward to meet them, so intense was the delirious anxiety
of the moment; but he was restrained by the deliberate ex
amples of the scout and Uncas. When their foes, who leaped
over the black rocks that divided them, with long bounds,
uttering the wildest yells, were within a few rods, the rifle
of Hawk-eye slowly rose among the shrubs, and poured out
its fatal contents. The foremost Indian bounded like a
stricken deer, and fell headlong among the clefts of the
island.

"Now, Uncas! " cried the scout, drawing his long knife,
while his quick eyes began to flash with ardor, " take the
last of the screeching imps; of the other two we are sar-
tain!"

He was obeyed; and but two enemies remained to be
overcome. Heyward had given one of his pistols to Hawk-
eye, and together they rushed down a little declivity toward
their foes; they discharged their weapons at the same in
stant, and equally without success.

"I know'd it! and I said it! " muttered the scout, whirl
ing the despised little implement over the falls with bitter
disdain. "Come on, ye bloody-minded hell-hounds! ye
meet a man without a cross ! "

The words were barely uttered, when he encountered a
savage of gigantic stature, and of the fiercest mien. At the
same moment, Duncan found himself engaged with the oth
er, in a similar contest of hand to hand. With ready skill,
Hawk-eye and his antagonist each grasped that uplifted
arm of the other which held the dangerous knife. For near

88 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

a minute they stood looking one another in the eye, and
gradually exerting the power of their muscles for the mas
tery. At length, the toughened sinews of the white man
prevailed over the less practised limbs of the native. The
arm of the latter slowly gave way before the increasing force
of the scout, who, suddenly wresting his armed hand from
the grasp of his foe, drove the sharp weapon through his
naked bosom to the heart. In the mean time, Heyward had
been pressed in a more deadly struggle. His slight sword
was snapped in the first encounter. As he was destitute
of any other means of defence, his safety now depended en
tirely on bodily strength and resolution. Though deficient
in neither of these qualities, he had met an enemy every
way his equal. Happily, he soon succeeded in disarming
his adversary, whose knife fell on the rock at their feet; and
from this moment it became a fierce struggle who should
cast the other over the dizzy height into a neighboring cav
ern of the falls. Every successive struggle brought them
nearer to the verge, where Duncan perceived the final and
conquering effort must be made. Each of the combatants
threw all his energies into that effort, and the result was,
that both tottered on the brink of the precipice. Heyward
felt the grasp of the other at his throat, and saw the grim
smile the savage gave, under the revengeful hope that he
hurried his enemy to a fate similar to his own, as he felt his
body slowly yielding to a resistless power, and the young
man experienced the passing agony of such a moment in all
its horrors. At that instant of extreme danger, a dark hand
and glancing knife appeared before him; the Indian re
leased his hold, as the blood flowed freely from around the
severed tendons of his wrist; and while Duncan was drawn
backward by the saving arm of Uncas, his charmed eyes
were still riveted on the fierce and disappointed counte
nance of his foe, who fell sullenly and disappointed down
the irrecoverable precipice.

"To cover 1 to cover 1" cried Hawk-eye, who just then

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 89

had despatched his enemy; "to cover, for your lives! the
work is but half ended ! "

The young Mohican gave a shout of triumph, and, fol
lowed by Duncan, he glided up the acclivity they had de
scended to the combat, and sought the friendly shelter of the
rocks and shrubs.

CHAPTER VIII.

" They linger yet,
Avengers of their native land." GRAY.

THE warning call of the scout was not uttered without occa
sion. During the occurrence of the deadly encounter just
related, the roar of the falls was unbroken by any human
sound whatever. It would seem that interest in the result
had kept the natives on the opposite shores in breathless
suspense, while the quick evolutions and swift changes in
the positions of the combatants effectually prevented a fire
that might prove dangerous alike to friend and enemy. But
the moment the struggle was decided, a yell arose as fierce
and savage as wild and revengeful passions could throw
into the air. It was followed by the swift flashes of the
rifles, which sent their leaden messengers across the rock
in volleys, as though the assailants would pour out their
impotent fury on the insensible scene of the fatal contest.

A steady, though deliberate return was made from the rifle
of Chingachgook, who had maintained his post throughout
the fray with unmoved resolution. When the triumphant
shout of Uncas was borne to his ears, the gratified father
raised his voice in a single responsive cry, after which his
busy piece alone proved that he still guarded his pass with
unwearied diligence. In this manner many minutes flew
by with the swiftness of thought: the rifles of the assailants
speaking, at times, in rattling volleys, and at others in occa
sional, scattering shots. Though the rock, the trees, and
the shrubs, were cut and torn in a hundred places around

9O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the besieged, their cover was so close, and so rigidly main*
tained, that, as yet, David had been the only sufferer in their
little band.

" Let them burn their powder," said the deliberate scout,
while bullet after bullet whizzed by the place where he se
curely lay; "there will be a fine gathering of lead when it
is over, and I fancy the imps will tire of the sport, afore
these old stones cry out for mercy ! Uncas, boy, you waste
the kernels by overcharging: and a kicking rifle never car
ries a true bullet. I told you to take that loping miscreant
under the line of white paint; now, if your bullet went a
hair's breadth, it went two inches above it. The life lies
low in a Mingo, and humanity teaches us to make a quick
end of the sarpents."

A quiet smile lighted the haughty features of the young
Mohican, betraying his knowledge of the English language,
as well as of the other's meaning; but he suffered it to pass
away without vindication or reply.

" I cannot permit you to accuse Uncas of want of judg
ment or of skill," said Duncan; "he saved my life in the
coolest and readiest manner, and he has made a friend who
never will require to be reminded of the debt he owes."

Uncas partly raised his body, and offered his hand to the
grasp of Heyward, During this act of friendship, the two
young men exchanged looks of intelligence which caused
Duncan to forget the character and condition of his wild
associate. In the mean while, Hawk-eye, who looked on
this burst of youthful feeling with a cool but kind regard,
made the following reply :

" Life is an obligation which friends often owe to each
other in the wilderness. I dare say I may have served Un
cas some such turn myself before now; and I very well re
member that he has stood between me and death five differ
ent times: three times from the Mingoes, once in crossing
Horican, and "

" That bullet was better aimed than common ! " exclaimed

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 9 1

Duncan, involuntarily shrinking from a shot which struck
the rock at his side with a smart rebound.

Hawk-eye laid his hand on the shapeless metal, and shook
his head, as he examined it, saying, " Falling lead is never
flattened! had it come from the clouds this might have hap
pened!"

But the rifle of Uncas was deliberately raised toward the
heavens, directing the eyes of his companions to a point
where the mystery was immediately explained. A ragged
oak grew on the right bank of the river, nearly opposite to
their position, which, seeking the freedom of the open space,
had inclined so far forward, that its upper branches over
hung that arm of the stream which flowed nearest to its own
shore. Among the topmost leaves, which scantily concealed
the gnarled and stunted limbs, a savage was nestled, partly
concealed by the trunk of the tree, and partly exposed, as
though looking down upon them to ascertain the effect pro
duced by his treacherous aim.

" These devils will scale heaven to circumvent us to our
ruin," said Hawk-eye; "keep him in play, boy, until I can
bring * killdeer ' to bear, when we will try his metal on each
side of the tree at once."

Uncas delayed his fire until the scout uttered the word.
The rifles flashed, the leaves and bark of the oak flew
into the air, and were scattered by the wind, but the Indian
answered their assault by a taunting laugh, sending down
upon them another bullet in return, that struck the cap of
Hawk-eye from his head. Once more the savage yells
burst out of the woods, and the leaden hail whistled above
the heads of the besieged, as if to confine them to a place
where they might become easy victims to the enterprise of
the warrior who had mounted the tree.

"This must be looked to!" said the scout, glancing
about him with an anxious eye. " Uncas, call up your
father; we have need of all our we'pons to bring the cun
ning varment from his roost."

92 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

The signal was instantly given ; and, before Hawk-eye
had reloaded his rifle, they were joined by Chingachgook.
When his son pointed out to the experienced warrior the
situation of their dangerous enemy, the usual exclamatory
" hugh " burst from his lips ; after which, no further ex
pression of surprise or alarm was suffered to escape him.
Hawk-eye and the Mohicans conversed earnestly together in
Delaware for a few moments, when each quietly took his
post, in order to execute the plan they had speedily devised.

The warrior in the oak had maintained a quick though
ineffectual fire, from the moment of his discovery. But his
aim was interrupted by the vigilance of his enemies, whose
rifles instantaneously bore on any part of his person that was
left exposed. Still his bullets fell in the centre of the
crouching party. The clothes of Heyward, which rendered
him peculiarly conspicuous, were repeatedly cut, and once
blood was drawn from a slight wound in his arm.

At length, emboldened by the long and patient watchful
ness of his enemies, the Huron attempted a better and more
fatal aim. The quick eyes of the Mohicans caught the dark
line of his lower limbs incautiously exposed through the
thin foliage, a few inches from the trunk of the tree. Their
rifles made a common report, when, sinking on his wounded
limb, part of the body of the savage came into view. Swift
as thought, Hawk-eye seized the advantage, and discharged
his fatal weapon into the top of the oak. The leaves were
unusually agitated; the dangerous rifle fell from its com
manding elevation, and after a few moments of vain strug
gling, the form of the savage was seen swinging in the wind,
while he still grasped a ragged and naked branch of the
tree, with hands clenched in desperation.

"Give him, in pity give him, the contents of another
rifle!" cried Duncan, turning away his eyes in horror from
the spectacle of a fellow-creature in such awful jeopardy.

" Not a karnel ! " exclaimed the obdurate Hawk-eye ; " his
death is certain, and we have no powder to spare, for Indian

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 93

fights sometimes last for days; 'tis their scalps or ours I—
and God, who made us, has put into our natures the crav
ing to keep the skin on the head ! "

Against this stern and unyielding morality, supported as
it was by such visible policy, there was no appeal. From
that moment the yells in the forest once more ceased, the
fire was suffered to decline, and all eyes, those of friends as
well as enemies, became fixed on the hopeless condition of
the wretch who was dangling between heaven and earth.
The body yielded to the currents of air, and though no mur
mur or groan escaped the victim, there were instants when
he grimly faced his foes, and the anguish of cold despair
might be traced, through the intervening distance, in pos
session of his swarthy lineaments. Three several times the
scout raised his piece in mercy, and as often prudence get
ting the better of his intention, it was again silently lowered.
At length one hand of the Huron lost its hold, and dropped
exhausted to his side. A desperate and fruitless struggle to
recover the branch succeeded, and then the savage was seen
for a fleeting instant, grasping wildly at the empty air. The
lightning is not quicker than was the flame from the rifle
of Hawk-eye; the limbs of the victim trembled and con
tracted, the head fell to the bosom, and the body parced the
foaming waters like lead, when the element closed above it,
in its ceaseless velocity, and every vestige of the unhappy
Huron was lost for ever.

No shout of triumph succeeded this important advantage,
but even the Mohicans gazed at each other in silent horror.
A single yell burst from the woods, and all was again still.
Hawk-eye, who alone appeared to reason on the occasion,
shook his head at his own momentary weakness, even utter
ing his self-disapprobation aloud.

" 'Twas the last charge in my horn, and the last bullet in
my pouch, and 'twas the act of a boy!" he said; "what
mattered it whether he struck the rock living or dead! feel
ing would soon be over. Uncas, lad, go down to the canoe,

94 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

and bring up the big horn ; it is all the powder we have left,
and we shall need it to the last grain, or I am ignorant of
the Mingo nature."

The young Mohican complied, leaving the scout turning
over the useless contents of his pouch, and shaking the emp
ty horn with renewed discontent. From this unsatisfactory
examination, however, he was soon called by a loud and
piercing exclamation from Uncas, that sounded, even to the
unpractised ears of Duncan, as the signal of some new and
unexpected calamity. Every thought filled with apprehen
sion for the precious treasure he had concealed in the cav
ern, the young man started to his feet, totally regardless of
the hazard he incurred by such an exposure. As if actuated
by a common impulse, his movement was imitated by his
companions, and, together, they rushed down the pass to the
friendly chasm, with a rapidity that rendered the scattering
fire of their enemies perfectly harmless. The unwonted cry
had brought the sisters, together with the wounded David,
from their place of refuge ; and the whole party, at a single
glance, was made acquainted with the nature of the disas
ter that had disturbed even the practised stoicism of their
youthful Indian protector.

At a short distance from the rock, their little bark was to
be seen floating across the eddy, toward the swift current
of the river, in a manner which proved that its course was
directed by some hidden agent. The instant this unwel
come sight caught the eye of the scout, his rifle was levelled,
as by instinct, but the barrel gave no answer to the bright
sparks of the flint.

" Tis too late, 'tis too late! " Hawk-eye exclaimed, drop
ping the useless piece in bitter disappointment; "the mis
creant has struck the rapid ; and had we powder, it could
hardly send the lead swifter than he now goes ! "

The adventurous Huron raised his head above the shelter
of the canoe, and while it glided swiftly down the stream,
he waved his hand, and gave forth the shout, which was the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 95

known signal of success. His cry was answered by a yell
and a laugh from the woods, as tauntingly exulting as if
fifty demons were uttering their blasphemies at the fall of
some Christian soul.

"Well may you laugh, ye children of the devil!" said
the scout, seating himself on a projection of the rock, and
suffering his gun to fall neglected at his feet, "for the three
quickest and truest rifles in these woods are no better than
so many stalks of mullen, or the last year's horns of a buck! "

"What is to be done?" demanded Duncan, losing the
first feeling of disappointment in a more manly desire for
exertion; "what will become of us? "

Hawk-eye made no other reply than by passing his finger
around the crown of his head, in a manner so significant,
that none who witnessed the action could mistake its mean
ing.

" Surely, surely, our case is not so desperate! " exclaimed
the youth, "the Hurons are not here; we may make good
the caverns, we may oppose their landing."

" With what? ;' coolly demanded the scout. " The arrows
of Uncas, or such tears as women shed! No, no, you are
young, and rich, and have friends, and at such an age I
know it is hard to die! But/' glancing his eyes at the Mo
hicans, " let us remember we are men without a cro^s, and
let us teach these natives of the forest that white blood can
run as freely as red, when the appointed hour is come."

Duncan turned quickly in the direction indicated by the
other's eyes, and read a confirmation of his worst apprehen
sions in the conduct of the Indians. Chingachgook, placing
himself in a dignified posture on another fragment of the
rock, had already laid aside his knife and tomahawk, and
was in the act of taking the eagle's plume from his head,
and smoothing the solitary tuft of hair in readiness to per
form its last and revolting office. His countenance was
composed, though thoughtful, while his dark gleaming eyes
were gradually losing the fierceness of the combat in art

96 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

expression better suited to the change he expected momen
tarily to undergo.

"Our case is not, cannot be so hopeless! " said Duncan;
"even at this very moment succor may be at hand. I see
no enemies! they have sickened of a struggle in which
they risk so much with so little prospect of gain! "

" It may be a minute, or it may be an hour, afore the wily
sarpents steal upon us, and it is quite in natur' for them to
be lying within hearing at this very moment," said Hawk-
eye; "but come they will, and in such a fashion as will
leave us nothing to hope! Chingachgook " — he spoke in
Delaware — " my brother, we have fought our last battle to
gether, and the Maquas will triumph in the death of the
sage man of the Mohicans, and of the pale-face, whose eyes
can make night as day, and level the clouds to the mists of
the spring! "

"Let the Mingo women go weep over their slain!" re
turned the Indian, with characteristic pride and unmoved
firmness ; " the Great Snake of the Mohicans has coiled him
self in their wigwams, and has poisoned their triumph with
the wailings of children, whose fathers have not returned!
Eleven warriors lie hid from the graves of their tribes since
the snows have melted, and none will tell where to find
them when the tongue of Chingachgook shall be silent!
Let them draw the sharpest knife, and whirl the swiftest
tomahawk, for their bitterest enemy is in their hands. Un-
cas, topmost branch of a noble trunk, call on the cowards
to hasten or their hearts will soften, and they will change
to women ! "

" They look among the fishes for their dead ! " returned
the low, soft voice of the youthful chieftain ; " the Hurons
float with the slimy eels! They drop from the oaks like
fruit that is ready to be eaten! and the Delawares laugh! "

" Aye, aye," muttered the scout, who had listened to this
peculiar burst of the natives with deep attention; "they
have warmed their Indian feelings, and they'll soon pro-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 97

voke the Maquas to give them a speedy end. As for me,
who am of the whole blood of the whites, it is befitting that
I should die as becomes my color, with no words of scoffing
in my mouth, and without bitterness at the heart! "

" Why die at all ! " said Cora, advancing from the place
where natural horror had, until this moment, held her
riveted to the rock; "the path is open on every side; fly,
then, to the woods, and call on God for succor! Go, brave
men, we owe you too much already; let us no longer in
volve you in our hapless fortunes! "

"You but little know the craft of the Iroquois, lady, if
you judge they have left the path open to the woods! " re
turned Hawk-eye, who, however, immediately added in his
simplicity: "the down-stream current, it is certain, might
soon sweep us beyond the reach of their rifles or the sounds
of their voices."

"Then try the river. Why linger, to add to the number
of the victims of our merciless enemies? "

"Why? " repeated the scout, looking about him proudly.
" Because it is better for a man to die at peace with himself
than to live haunted by an evil conscience! What answer
could we give Munro, when he asked us where and how we
left his children?"

"Go to him, and say, that you left them with a message
to hasten to their aid," returned Cora, advancing nigher to
the scout, in her generous ardor; "that the Hurons bear
them into the northern wilds, but that by vigilance and
speed they may yet be rescued; and if, after all, it should
please heaven that his assistance come too late, bear to
him," she continued, her voice gradually lowering, until it
seemed nearly choked, "the love, the blessings, the final
prayers of his daughters, and bid him not mourn their early
fate, but to look forward with humble confidence to the
Christian's goal to meet his children."

The hard, weather-beaten features of the scout began to
work, and when she had ended, he dropped his chin to his

98 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

hand, like a man musing profoundly on the nature of the
proposal.

" There is reason in her words ! " at length broke from
his compressed and trembling lips; "aye, and they bear the
spirit of Christianity; what might be right and proper in a
red-skin, may be sinful in a man who has not even a cross
in blood to plead for his ignorance. Chingachgook! Uncas!
hear you the talk of the dark-eyed woman ! "

He now spoke in Delaware to his companions, and his
address, though calm and deliberate, seemed very decided.
The elder Mohican heard him with deep gravity, and ap
peared to ponder on his words, as though he felt the im
portance of their import. After a moment of hesitation, he
waved his hand in assent, and uttered the English word
"Good " with the peculiar emphasis of his people. Then,
replacing his knife and tomahawk in his girdle, the warrior
moved silently to the edge of the rock which was most con
cealed from the banks of the river. Here he paused a mo
ment, pointed significantly to the woods below, and saying
a few words in his own language, as if indicating his in
tended route, he dropped into the water, and sank from be
fore the eyes of the witnesses of his movements.

The scout delayed his departure to speak to the generous
girl, whose breathing became lighter as she saw the success
of her remonstrance.

"Wisdom is sometimes given to the young, as well as to
the old," he said; "and what you have spoken is wise, not
to call it by a better word. If you are led into the woods,
that is, such of you as may be spared for a while, break the
twigs on the bushes as you pass, and make the marks of your
trail as broad as you can, when, if mortal eyes can see them,
depend on having a friend who will follow to the ends of
'arth afore he desarts you."

He gave Cora an affectionate shake of the hand, lifted his
rifle, and after regarding it a moment with melancholy
solicitude, laid it carefully aside, and descended to the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 99

place where Chingachgook had just disappeared. For an
instant he hung suspended by the rock; and looking about
him, with a countenance of peculiar care, he added, bitterly,
•'Had the powder held out, this disgrace could never have
befallen! " then, loosening his hold, the water closed above
his head, and he also became lost to view.

All eyes were now turned on Uncas, who stood leaning
against the ragged rock, in immovable composure. After
waiting a short time, Cora pointed down the river, and said :

" Your friends have not been seen, and are now, most
probably, in safety; is it not time for you to follow? "

" Uncas will stay," the young Mohican calmly answered
in English.

"To increase the horror of our capture, and to diminish
the chances of our release! Go, generous young man," Cora
continued, lowering her eyes under the gaze of the Mohican,
and, perhaps, with an intuitive consciousness of her power;
"go to my father, as I have said, and be the most con
fidential of my messengers. Tell him to trust you with the
means to buy the freedom of his daughters. Go! 'tis my
wish, 'tis my prayer, that you will go! "

The settled, calm look of the young chief changed to an
expression of gloom, but he no longer hesitated. With a
noiseless step he crossed the rock, and dropped into the
troubled stream. Hardly a breath was drawn by those he
left behind, until they caught a glimpse of his head emerg
ing for air, far down the current, when he again sank, and
was seen no more.

These sudden and apparently successful experiments had
all taken place in a few minutes of that time which had now
become so precious. After the last look at Uncas, Cora
turned, and, with a quivering lip, addressed herself to Hey-
ward: —

" I have heard of your boasted skill in the water, too,
Duncan," she said; " follow, then, the wise example set you

by these sirtple and faithful beings."

E Vol. 4

IOO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Is such the faith that Cora Munro would exact from
her protector?" said the young man, smiling mournfully,
but with bitterness.

"This is not a time for idle subtleties and false opinions,"
she answered; " but a moment when every duty should be
equally considered. To us you can be of no further service
here, but your precious life may be saved for other and
nearer friends."

He made no reply, though his eyes fell wistfully on the
beautiful form of Alice, who was clinging to his arm with
the dependency of an infant.

" Consider," continued Cora, after a pause during which
she seemed to struggle with a pang even more acute than
any that her fears had excited, " that the worst to us can be
but death ; a tribute that all must pay at the good time of
God's appointment."

"There are evils worse than death," said Duncan, speak
ing hoarsely, and as if fretful at her importunity, "but
which the presence of one who would die in your behalf may
avert."

Cora ceased her entreaties; and, veiling her face in her
shawl, drew the nearly insensible Alice after her into the
deepest recess of the inner cavern.

CHAPTER IX.

" Be gay securely ;

Dispel, my fair, with smiles, the tim'rous clouds
That hang on thy clear brow."

DEATH OF AGRIPPINA.

THE sudden and almost magical change, from the stirring
incidents of the combat to the stillness that now reigned
around him, acted on the heated imagination of Heyward
like some exciting dream. While all the images and events
he had witnessed remained deeply impressed on his memory,
he felt a difficulty in persuading himself of their truth.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. IOI

Still ignorant of the fate of those who had trusted to the aid
of the swift current, he at first listened intently to any
signal, or sounds of alarm, which might announce the good
or evil fortune of their hazardous undertaking. His atten
tion was, however, bestowed in vain; for, with the disap
pearance of Uncas, every sign of the adventurers had been
lost, leaving him in total uncertainty of their fate.

In a moment of such painful doubt, Duncan did not hesi
tate to look about him, without consulting that protection
from the rocks which just before had been so necessary to
his safety. Every effort, however, to detect the least evi
dence of the approach of their hidden enemies, was as fruit
less as the inquiry after his late companions. The wooded
banks of the rivers seemed again deserted by everything
possessing animal life. The uproar which had so lately
echoed through the vaults of the forest was gone, leaving
the rush of the waters to swell and sink on the currents of
the air, in theunmingled sweetness of nature. A fish-hawk,
which, secure on the topmost branches of a dead pine, had
been a distant spectator of the fray, now stooped from his
high and ragged perch, and soared, in wide sweeps, above
his prey, while a jay, whose noisy voice had been stilled by
the hoarser cries of the savages, ventured again to open his
discordant throat, as though once more in undisturbed pos
session of his wild domains. Duncan caught from these
natural accompaniments of the solitary scene a glimmering
of hope; and he began to rally his faculties to renewed ex
ertions, with something like a reviving confidence of success.

" The Hurons are not to be seen," he said, addressing
David, who had by no means recovered from the effects of
the stunning blow he had received; "let us conceal our
selves in the cavern, and trust the rest to Providence."

" I remember to have united with two comely maidens, in
lifting up our voices in praise and thanksgiving," returned
the bewildered singing-master; "since which time I have
been visited by a heavy judgment for my sins. I have been

IO2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

mocked with the likeness of sleep, while sounds of discord
have rent my ears, such as might manifest the fulness of
time, and that nature had forgotten her harmony."

"Poor fellow 1 thine own period was, in truth, near its
accomplishment! But arouse, and come with me; I will
lead you where all other sounds but those of your own
psalmody shall be excluded."

"There is melody in the fall of the cataract, and the
rushing of many waters is sweet to the senses! " said David,
pressing his hand confusedly on his brow. "Is not the air
yet filled with shrieks and cries, as though the departed
spirits of the damned "

" Not now, not now," interrupted the impatient Heyward,
"they have ceased, and they who raised them, I trust in
God, they are gone too! everything but the water is still and
at peace ; in, then, where you may create those sounds you
love so well to hear."

David smiled sadly, though not without a momentary
gleam of pleasure, at this allusion to his beloved vocation.
He no longer hesitated to be led to a spot which promised
such unalloyed gratification to his wearied senses; and,
leaning on the arm of his companion, he entered the narrow
mouth of the cave. Duncan seized a pile of the sassafras,
which he drew before the passage, studiously concealing
every appearance of an aperture. Within this fragile barrier
he arranged the blankets abandoned by the foresters, dark
ening the inner extremity of the cavern, while its outer re
ceived a chastened light from the narrow ravine, through
which one arm of the river rushed, to form the junction with
its sister branch, a few rods below.

" I like not that principle of the natives, which teaches
them to submit without a struggle, in emergencies that ap
pear desperate," he said, while busied in this employment,'
" our own maxim, which says, * while life remains there is
hope/ is more consoling, and better suited to a soldier's
temperament. To you, Cora, I will urge no words of idle

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 1 03

encouragement; your own fortitude and undisturbed reason
will teach you all that may become your sex; but cannot we
dry the tears of that trembling weeper on your bosom? n

" I am calmer, Duncan," said Alice, raising herself from
the arms of her sister, and forcing an appearance of com
posure through her tears ; " much calmer, now. Surely, in
this hidden spot we are safe, we are secret, free from injury;
we will hope everything from those generous men who have
risked so much already in our behalf."

" Now does our gentle Alice speak like a daughter of
Munro!" said Hey ward, pausing to press her hand as he,
passed toward the outer entrance of the cavern. " With two
such examples of courage before him, a man would be
ashamed to prove other than a hero." He then seated him
self in the centre of the cavern, grasping his remaining
pistol with a hand convulsively clenched, while his con
tracted and frowning eye announced the sullen desperation
of his purpose. "The Hurons, if they come, may not gain
our position so easily as they think," he lowly muttered;
and dropping his head back against the rock, he seemed to
await the result in patience, though his gaze was unceasingly
bent on the open avenue to their place of retreat.

With the last sound of his voice, a deep, a long, and al
most breathless silence succeeded. The fresh air of the
morning had penetrated the recess, and its influence was
gradually felt on the spirits of its inmates. As minute
after minuter passed by, leaving them in undisturbed security,
the insinuating feeling of hope was gradually gaining pos
session of every bosom, though each one felt reluctant to
give utterance to expectations that the next moment might
so fearfully destroy.

David alone formed an exception to these varying emo
tions. A gleam of light from the opening crossed his wan
countenance, and fell upon the pages of the little volume,
whose leaves he was again occupied in turning, as if search
ing for some song more fitted to their condition than any

104 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

that had yet met his eye. He was, most probably, acting
all this time under a confused recollection of the promised
consolation of Duncan. At length, it would seem, his pa
tient industry found its reward; for, without explanation or
apology, he pronounced aloud the words " Isle of Wight,"
drew a long, sweet sound from his pitch pipe, and then ran
through the preliminary modulations of the air, whose name
he had just mentioned, with the sweeter tones of his own
musical voice.

" May not this prove dangerous ? " asked Cora, glancing
her dark eye at Major Heyward.

"Poor fellow! his voice is too feeble to be heard amid
the din of the falls," was the answer; "besides, the cavern
will prove his friend. Let him indulge his passion, since
it may be done without hazard."

" Isle of Wight! " repeated David, looking about him with
that dignity with which he had long been wont to silence
the whispering echoes of his school; "'tis a brave tune, and
set to solemn words; let it be sung with meet respect! "

After allowing a moment of stillness to enforce his dis
cipline, the voice of the singer was heard, in low, murmur
ing syllables, gradually stealing on the ear, until it filled
the narrow vault with sounds rendered trebly thrilling by
the feeble and tremulous utterance produced by his debility.
The melody, which no weakness could destroy, gradually
wrought its sweet influence on the senses of those who
heard it. It even prevailed over the miserable travesty of
the song of David which the singer had selected from a
volume of similar effusions, and caused the sense to be for
gotten in the insinuating harmony of the sounds. Alice
unconsciously dried her tears, and bent her melting eyes on
the pallid features of Gamut, with an expression of chast
ened delight that she neither affected nor wished to conceal.
Cora bestowed an approving smile on the pious efforts of
the namesake of the Jewish prince, and Heyward soon
turned his steady, stern look from the outlet of the cavern.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 105

to fasten it, with a milder character, on the face of Davids
or to meet the wandering beams which at moments strayed
from the humid eyes of Alice. The open sympathy of the
listeners stirred the spirit of the votary of music, whose
voice regained its richness and volume, without losing that
touching softness which proved its secret charm. Exerting
his renovated powers to their utmost, he was yet filling the
arches of the cave with long and full tones, when a yell
burst into the air without, that instantly stilled his pious
strains, choking his voice suddenly, as though his heart had
literally bounded into the passage of his throat,

"We are lost!" exclaimed Alice, throwing herself into
the arms of Cora.

" Not yet, not yet," returned the agitated but undaunted
Heyward; "the sound came from the centre of the island,
and it has been produced by the sight of their dead com
panions. We are not yet discovered, and there is still
hope."

Faint and almost despairing as was the prospect of escape,
the words of Duncan were not thrown away, for it awakened
the powers of the sisters in such a manner, that they awaited
the result in silence. A second yell soon followed the first,
when a rush of voices was heard pouring down the island,
from its upper to its lower extremity, until they reached the
naked rock above the caverns, where, after a shout of savage
triumph, the air continued full of horrible cries and screams,
such as man alone can utter, and he only when in a state of
the fiercest barbarity.

The sounds quickly spread around them in every direc
tion. Some called to their fellows from the water's edge,
and were answered from the heights above. Cries were
heard in the startling vicinity of the chasm between the two
caves, which mingled with hoarser yells that arose out of
the abyss of the deep ravine. In short, so rapidly had the
savage sounds diffused themselves over the barren rock, that
it was not difficult for the anxious listeners to imagine they

IO6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

could be heard beneath, as in truth they were above, and on
every side of them.

In the midst of this tumult, a triumphant yell was raised
within a few yards of the hidden entrance to the cave.
Heyward abandoned every hope, with the belief it was the
signal that they were discovered. Again the impression
passed away, as he heard the voices collect near the spot
where the white man had so reluctantly abandoned his rifle.
Amid the jargon of the Indian dialects that he now plainly
heard, it was easy to distinguish not only words, but sen
tences, in the patois of the Canadas. A burst of voices had
shouted simultaneously, "La longue Carabine!" causing
the opposite woods to re-echo with a name which, Heyward
well remembered, had been given by his enemies to a cele
brated hunter and scout of the English camp, and who, he
now learnt for the first time, had been his late companion.

"La longue Carabine! la longue Carabine!" passed
from mouth to mouth, until the whole band appeared to be
collected around a trophy which would seem to announce
the death of its formidable owner. After a vociferous con
sultation, which was, at times, deafened by bursts of savage
joy, they again separated, filling the air with the name of a
foe, whose body, Heyward could collect from their expres
sions, they hoped to find concealed in some crevice of the
island.

" Now," he whispered to the trembling sisters, " now is
the moment of uncertainty! if our place of retreat escape
this scrutiny, we are still safe ! In every event, we are as
sured, by what has fallen from our enemies, that our friends
have escaped, and in two short hours we may look for suc
cor from Webb."

There were now a few minutes of fearful stillness, dur
ing which Heyward well knew that the savages conducted
their search with greater vigilance and method. More than
once he could distinguish their footsteps, as they brushed
the sassafras, causing the faded leaves to rustle, and the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

branches to snap. At length, the pile yielded a little, a
corner of a blanket fell, and a faint ray of light gleamed
into the inner part of the cave. Cora folded Alice to her
bosom in agony, and Duncan sprang to his feet. A shout
was at that moment heard, as if issuing from the centre of
the rock, announcing that the neighboring cavern had at
length been entered. In a minute, the Dumber and loud-
ness of the voices indicated that the whole party was col
lected in and around that secret place.

As the inner passages to the two caves were so close to
each other, Duncan, believing that escape was no longer
possible, passed David and the sisters, to place himself be
tween the latter and the first onset of the terrible meeting.
Grown desperate by his situation, he drew nigh the slight
barrier which separated him only by a few feet from his re
lentless pursuers, and placing his face to the casual open
ing, he even looked out, with a sort of desperate indifference,
on their movements.

Within reach of his arm was the brawny shoulder of a
gigantic Indian, whose deep and authoritative voice ap
peared to give directions to the proceedings of his fellows.
Beyond him again, Duncan could look into the vault op
posite, which was filled with savages, upturning and rirling
the humble furniture of the scout. The wound of David
had dyed the leaves of sassafras with a color that the natives
well knew was anticipating the season. Over this sign of
their success, they set up a howl, like an opening from so
many hounds who had recovered a lost trail. After this
yell of victory, they tore up the fragrant bed of the cavern,
and bore the branches into the chasm, scattering the boughs,
as if they suspected them of concealing the person of the
man they had so long hated and feared. One fierce and
wild-looking warrior approached the chief, bearing a load of
the brush, and pointing, exultingly, to the deep red stains
with which it was sprinkled, uttered his joy in Indian yells,
whose meaning Heyward was only enabled to comprehend

IO8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

by the frequent repetition of the name of " La longue Cara
bine." When his triumph had ceased, he cast the brush on
the slight heap that Duncan had made before the entrance
of the second cavern, and closed the view. His example
was followed by others, who, as they drew the branches from
the cave of the scout, threw them into one pile, adding, un
consciously, to the security of those they sought. The very
slightness of the defence was its chief merit, for no one
thought of disturbing a mass of brush, which all of them
believed, in that moment of hurry and confusion, had been
accidentally raised by the hands of their own party.

As the blankets yielded before the outward pressure, and
the branches settled in the fissure of the rock by their own
weight, forming a compact body, Duncan once more breathed
freely. With a light step, and lighter heart, he returned to
the centre of the cave, and took the place he had left, where
he could command a view of the opening next the river.
While he was in the act of making this movement, the In
dians, as if changing their purpose by a common impulse,
broke away from the chasm in a body, and were heard rush
ing up the island again, toward the point whence they had
originally descended. Here another wailing cry betrayed
that they were again collected around the bodies of their
dead comrades.

Duncan now ventured to look at his companions; for,
during the most critical moments of their danger, he had
been apprehensive that the anxiety of his countenance might
communicate some additional alarm to those who were so
little able to sustain it.

"They are gone, Cora! " he whispered; "Alice, they are
returned whence they came, and we are saved ! To heaven,
that has alone delivered us from the grasp of so merciless
an enemy, be all the praise! "

"Then to heaven will I return my thanks 1" exclaimed
the younger sister, rising from the encircling arms of Cora,
and casting herself with enthusiastic gratitude on the naked

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 1 09

rock ; " to that heaven who has spared the tears of a gray,
headed father; has saved the lives of those I so much
love-
Both Hey ward, and the more tempered Cora, witnessed
the act of involuntary emotion with powerful sympathy, the
former secretly believing that piety had never worn a form
so lovely as it had now assumed in the youthful person of
Alice. Her eyes were radiant with the glow of grateful
feelings; the flush of her beauty was again seated on her
cheeks, and her whole soul seemed ready and anxious to
pour out its thanksgivings, through the medium of her elo
quent features. But when her lips moved, the words they
should have uttered appeared frozen by some new and sud
den chill. Her bloom gave place to the paleness of death;
her soft and melting eyes grew hard, and seemed contract
ing with horror; while those hands, which she had raised,
clasped in each other, toward heaven, dropped in horizontal
lines before her, the fingers pointed forward in convulsed
motion. Heyward turned, the instant she gave a direction
to his suspicions, and, peering just above the ledge which
formed the threshold of the open outlet of the cavern, he
beheld the malignant, fierce, and savage features of Le
Renard Subtil.

In that moment of surprise, the self-possession of Hey
ward did not desert him. He observed by the vacant ex
pression of the Indian's countenance, that his" eye, accus
tomed to the open air, had not yet been able to penetrate
the dusky light which pervaded the depth of the cavern.
He had even thought of retreating beyond a curvature in
the natural wall, which might still conceal him and his com
panions, when, by the sudden gleam of intelligence that
shot across the features of the savage, he saw it was too late,
and that they were betrayed.

The look of exultation and brutal triumph which an
nounced this terrible truth was irresistibly irritating. For
getful of everything but the impulses of his hot blood, Dun-

IIO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

can levelled his pistol and fired. The report of the weapon
made the cavern bellow like an eruption from a volcano;
and when the smoke it vomited had been driven away before
the current of air which issued from the ravine, the place so
lately occupied by the features of his treacherous guide was
vacant. Rushing to the outlet, Heyward caught a glimpse
of his dark figure, stealing around a low and narrow ledge,
which soon hid him entirely from sight.

Among the savages, a frightful stillness succeeded the
explosion, which had just been heard bursting from the
bowels of the rock. But when Le Renard raised his voice
in a long and intelligible whoop, it was answered by a
spontaneous yell from the mouth of every Indian within
hearing of the sound. The clamorous noises again rushed
down the island; and before Duncan had time to recover
from the shock, his feeble barrier of brush was scattered to
the winds, the cavern was entered at both its extremities,
and he and his companions were dragged from their shelter
and borne into the day, where they stood surrounded by the
whole band of the triumphant Hurons.

CHAPTER X.

"I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn,
As much as we this night have overwatched ( "

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

THE instant the shock of this sudden misfortune had abated,
Duncan began to make his observations on the appear
ance and proceedings of their captors. Contrary to the
usages of the natives in the wantonness of their success,
they had respected, not only the persons of the trembling
sisters, but his own. The rich ornaments of his military
attire had indeed been repeatedly handled by different in
dividuals of the tribe with eyes express ing a savage longing

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Ill

to possess the baubles; but before the customary violence
could be resorted to, a mandate in the authoritative voice
of the large warrior already mentioned, stayed the uplifted
hand, and convinced Heyward that they were to be reserved
for some object of particular moment.

While, however, these manifestations of weakness were
exhibited by the young and vain of the party, the more ex
perienced warriors continued their search throughout both
caverns, with an activity that denoted they were far from
being satisfied with those fruits of their conquest which had
already been brought to light. Unable to discover any new
victim, these diligent workers of vengeance soon approached
their male prisoners, pronouncing the name of " La longue
Carabine," with a fierceness that could not easily be mis
taken. Duncan affected not to comprehend the meaning of
their repeated and violent interrogatories, while his com
panion was spared the effort of a similar deception by his
ignorance of French. Wearied, at length, by their impor
tunities, and apprehensive of irritating his captors by too
stubborn a silence, the former looked about him in quest of
Magua, who might interpret his answers to questions which
were at each moment becoming more earnest and threatening.

The conduct of this savage had formed a solitary excep
tion to that of all his fellows. While the others were busily
Occupied in seeking to gratify their childish passion for
finery, by plundering even the miserable effects of the scout,
or had been searching, with such bloodthirsty vengeance
in their looks, for their absent owner, Le Renard had stood
at a little distance from the prisoners, with a demeanor so
quiet and satisfied, as to betray that he had already effected
the grand purpose of his treachery. When the eyes of Hey
ward first met those of his recent guide, he turned them
away in horror at the sinister though calm look he encoun
tered. Conquering his disgust, however, he was able, with
an averted face, to address his successful enemy —

" Le Renard Subtil is too much of a warrior," said the

112 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

reluctant Heyward, "to refuse telling an unarmed man what
his conquerors say."

" They ask for the hunter who knows the paths through
the woods," returned Magua, in his broken English, laying
his hand, at the same time, with a ferocious smile, on the
bundle of leaves with which a wound on his own shoulder
was bandaged. " La longue Carabine ! his rifle is good, and
his eye never shut; but, like the short gun of the white
chief, it is nothing against the life of Le Subtil ! "

" Le Renard is too brave to remember the hurts received
in war, or the hands that gave them ! "

" Was it war, when the tired Indian rested at the sugar-
tree to taste his corn! who filled the bushes with creeping
enemies! who drew the knife! whose tongue was peace,
while his heart was colored with blood 1 Did Magua say
that the hatchet was out of the ground, and that his hand
had dug it up? "

As Duncan dared not retort upon his accuser by remind
ing him of his own premeditated treachery, and disdained
to deprecate his resentment by any words of apology, he re
mained silent. Magua seemed also content to rest the con
troversy as well as all further communication there, for he
resumed the leaning attitude against the rock, from which,
in momentary energy, he had arisen. But the cry of " La
longue Carabine " was renewed the instant the impatient
savages perceived that the short dialogue was ended.

"You hear," said Magua, with stubborn indifference;
"the red Hurons call for the life of 'The long Rifle/ or
they will have the blood of them that keep him hid ! "

" He is gone — escaped ; he is far beyond their reach."

Renard smiled with cold contempt, as he answered —

"When the white man dies, he thinks he is at peace; but
the red men know how to torture even the ghosts of their
enemies. Where is his body? Let the Hurons see his
scalp!"

" He is not dead, but escaped."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 1 13

Magua shook his head incredulously.

"Is he a bird, to spread his wings; or is he a fish, to
swim without airl The white chief reads in his books, and
he believes the Hurons are fools! "

" Though no fish, ' The long Rifle ' can swim. He floated
down the stream when the powder was all burnt, and when
the eyes of the Hurons were behind a cloud."

"And why did the white chief stay? " demanded the still
incredulous Indian. " Is he a stone that goes to the bottom,
or does the scalp burn his head? "

"That I am not a stone, your dead comrade, who fell into
the falls, might answer, were the life still in him," said the
provoked young man, using, in his anger, that boastful lan
guage which was most likely to excite the admiration of an
Indian. " The white man thinks none but cowards desert
their women."

Magua muttered a few words, inaudibly, between his teeth
before he continued, aloud—

" Can the Delawares swim, too, as well as crawl in the
bushes? Where is ' Le gros Serpent '? "

Duncan, who perceived by the use of these Canadian ap
pellations, that his late companions were much better known
to his enemies than to himself, answered, reluctantly, " He
also is gone down with the water."

"' Le Cerf agile ' is not here? "

" I know not whom you call * The nimble Deer,' " said
Duncan, gladly profiting by any excuse to create delay.

"Uncas," returned Magua, pronouncing the Delaware
name with even greater difficulty than he spoke his English
words. " 4 Bounding Elk ' is what the white man says, when
he calls to the Young Mohican."

" Here is some confusion in names between us, Le Re-
nard," said Duncan, hoping to provoke a discussion.
"Daim is the French for deer, and cerf for stag; £lan is
the true term, when one would speak of an elk."

"Yes," muttered the Indian, in his native tongue,- "the

114 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

pale-faces are prattling women! they have two words foi
each thing, while a red-skin will make the sound of his
voice speak for him." Then changing his language, he con
tinued, adhering to the imperfect nomenclature of his pro
vincial instructors, " The deer is swift, but weak; the elk is
swift, but strong, and the son of * Le Serpent' is * Le Cerf
agile.* Has he leaped the river to the woods? "

" If you mean the younger Delaware, he too is gone down
with the water."

As there was nothing improbable to an Indian in the
manner of the escape, Magua admitted the truth of what he
had heard, with a readiness that afforded additional evidence
how little he would prize such worthless captives. With
his companions, however, the feeling was manifestly dif
ferent.

The Hurons had awaited the result of this short dialogue
with characteristic patience, and with a silence that in
creased until there was a general stillness in the band.
When Heyward ceased to speak, they turned their eyes, as
one man, on Magua, demanding, in this expressive manner,
an explanation of what had been said. Their interpreter
pointed to the river and made them acquainted with the
result as much by the action as by the few words he uttered.
When the fact was generally understood, the savages raised
a frightful yell, which declared the extent of their disap
pointment. Some ran furiously to the water's edge, beat
ing the air with frantic gestures, while others spat upon
the element, to resent the supposed treason it had committed
against their acknowledged rights as conquerors. A few,
and they not the least powerful and terrific of the band, threw
lowering looks, in which the fiercest passion was only tem
pered by habitual self-command, at those captives who still
remained in their power; while one or two even gave vent
to their malignant feelings by the most menacing gestures,
against which neither the sex nor the beauty of the sisters
Was any protection. The young soldier made a desperate,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 115

but fruitless effort to spring to the side of Alice, when he
saw the dark hand of a savage twisted in the rich tresses
which were flowing in volumes over her shoulders, while a
knife was passed around the head from which they fell, as
if to denote the horrid manner in which it was about to
be robbed of its beautiful ornament. But his hands were
bound; and at the first movement he made, he felt the grasp
of the powerful Indian who directed the band, pressing his
shoulder like a vice. Immediately conscious how unavail
ing any struggle against such an overwhelming force must
prove, he submitted to his fate, encouraging his gentle com
panions by a few low and tender assurances, that the natives
seldom failed to threaten more than they performed.

But, while Duncan resorted to these words of consolation
to quiet the apprehensions of the sisters, he was not so weak
as to deceive himself. He well knew that the authority of
an Indian chief was so little conventional, that it was oftener
maintained by physical superiority than by any moral su
premacy he might possess. The danger was, therefore, mag
nified exactly in proportion to the number of the savage
spirits by which they were surrounded. The most positive
mandate from him who seemed the acknowledged leader,
was liable to be violated at each moment, by any rash hand
that might choose to sacrifice a victim to the manes of some
dead friend or relative. While, therefore, he sustained an
outward appearance of calmness and fortitude, his heart
leaped into his throat whenever any of their fierce captors
drew nearer than common to the helpless sisters, or fastened
one of their sullen wandering looks on those fragile forms
which were so little able to resist the slightest assault.

His apprehensions were, however, greatly relieved when
h2 saw that the leader had summoned his warriors to himself
in council. Their deliberations were short:, and it would
seem, by the silence of most of the party, the decision
unanimous. By the frequency with which the few speakers
pointed in the direction of the encampment of Webb, it was

Il6 THE LAST OP THE MOHICANS.

apparent they dreaded the approach of danger from that
quarter. This consideration probably hastened their de
termination, and quickened the subsequent movements.

During this short conference, Heyward, rinding a respite
from his greatest fears, had leisure to admire the cautious
manner in which the Hurons had made their approaches,
even after hostilities had ceased.

It has already been stated, that the upper half of the
island was a naked rock, and destitute of any other defences
than a few scattered logs of driftwood. They had selected
this point to make their descent, having borne the canoe
through the wood around the cataract for that purpose.
Placing their arms in the little vessel, a dozen men clinging
to its sides had trusted themselves to the direction of the
canoe, which was controlled by two of the most skilful war
riors, in attitudes that enabled them to command a view of
the dangerous passage. Favored by this arrangement, they
touched the head of the island at that point which had
proved so fatal to their first adventurers, but with the ad
vantages of superior numbers, and the possession of fire
arms. That such had been the manner of their descent was
rendered quite apparent to Duncan ; for they now bore the
light bark from the upper end of the rock, and placed it in
the water, near the mouth of the outer cavern. As soon as
this change was made, the leader made signs to the prison
ers to descend and enter.

As resistance was impossible, and remonstrance useless,
Heyward set the example of submission by leading the
way into the canoe, where he was soon seated with the sis
ters, and the still wondering David. Notwithstanding the
Hurons were necessarily ignorant of the little channels
among the eddies and rapids of the stream, they knew the
common signs of such a navigation too well to commit any
material blunder. When the pilot chosen for the task of
guiding the canoe had taken his station, the whole band
plunged again into the river, the vessel glided down the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Hj

current, and in a few moments the captives found them
selves on the south bank of the stream, nearly opposite to
the point where they had struck it the preceding evening.

Here was held another short but earnest consultation,
during which the horses, to whose panic their owners as
cribed their heaviest misfortune, were led from the cover of
the woods, and brought to the sheltered spot. The band
now divided. The great chief so often mentioned, mount
ing the charger of Heyward, led the way directly across the
river, followed by most of his people, and disappeared in
the woods, leaving the prisoners in charge of six savages, at
whose head was Le Renard Subtil. Duncan witnessed all
their movements with renewed uneasiness.

He had been fond of believing, from the uncommon for
bearance of the savages, that he was reserved as a prisoner
to be delivered to Montcalm. As the thoughts of those
who are in misery seldom slumber, and the invention is
never more lively than when it is stimulated by hope, how
ever feeble and remote, he had even imagined that the pa
rental feelings of Munro were to be made instrumental in
seducing him from his duty to the king. For though the
French commander bore a high character for courage and
enterprise, he was also thought to be expert in those political
practices which do not always respect the nicer obligations
of morality, and which so generally disgraced the European
diplomacy of that period.

All those busy and ingenious speculations were now an
nihilated by the conduct of his captors. That portion of
the band who had followed the huge warrior took the route
toward the foot of the Horican, and no other expectation
was left for himself and companions, than that they were to
be retained as hopeless captives by their savage conquerors.
Anxious to know the worst, and willing, in such an emer
gency, to try the potency of gold, he overcame his reluc
tance to speak to Magua. Addressing himself to his former
guide, who had now assumed the authority and manner of

Il8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

one who was to direct the future movements of the party,
he said, in tones as friendly and confiding as he could as
sume —

" I would speak to Magua, what is fit only for so great a
chief to hear."

The Indian turned his eyes on the young soldier scorn
fully, as he answered —

" Speak; trees have no ears! "

" But the red Hurons are not deaf; and counsel that is fit
for the great men of a nation would make the young war
riors drunk. If Magua will not listen, the officer of the
king knows how to be silent."

The savage spoke carelessly to his comrades, who were
busied, after their awkward manner, in preparing the horses
for the reception of the sisters, and moved a little to one
side, whither, by a cautious gesture, he induced Heyward to
follow.

" Now speak," he said ; " if the words are such as Magua
should hear."

"Le Renard Subtil has proved himself worthy of the
honorable name given to him by his Canada fathers," com
menced Heyward ; " I see his wisdom, and all that he has
done for us, and shall remember it, when the hour to re
ward him arrives. Yes! Renard has proved that he is not
only a great chief in council, but one who knows how to
deceive his enemies! "

"What has Renard done? " coldly demanded the Indian.

"What! has he not seen that the woods were filled with
outlying parties of the enemies, and that the serpent could not
steal through them without being seen? Then, did he not
lose his path to blind the eyes of the Hurons? Did he
not pretend to go back to his tribe, who had treated him ill,
and driven him from their wigwams like a dog? And, when
we saw what he wished to do, did we not aid him, by mak
ing a false face, that the Hurons might think the white man
believed that his friend was his enemy? Is not all this

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 119

true? And when Le Subtil had shut the eyes and stopped
the ears of his nation by his wisdom, did they not forget
that they had once done him wrong, and forced him to flee
to the Mohawks? And did they not leave him on the south
side of the river, with their prisoners, while they have gone
foolishly on the north? Does not Renard mean to turn like
a fox on his footsteps, and carry to the rich and gray-headed
Scotchman his daughters? Yes, Magua, I see it all, and I
have already been thinking how so much wisdom and hon
esty should be repaid. First, the chief of William Henry
will give as a great chief should for such a service. The
medal * of Magua will no longer be of tin, but of beaten
gold, his horn will run over with powder; dollars will be
as plenty in his pouch as pebbles on the shore of Horican;
and the deer will lick his hand, for they will know it to be
vain to fly from the rifle he will carry ! As for myself, I
know not how to exceed the gratitude of the Scotchman, but
I — yes, I will

"What will the young chief who comes from toward the
sun, give? " demanded the Huron, observing that Heyward
hesitated in his desire to end the enumeration of benefits
with that which might form the climax of an Indian's wishes.

" He will make the fire-water from the Islands in the salt
lake flow before the wigwam of Magua, until the heart of
the Indian shall be lighter than the feathers of the humming
bird, and his breath sweeter than the wild honeysuckle."

Le Renard had listened gravely as Heyward slowly pro
ceeded in this subtle speech. When the young man men
tioned the artifice he supposed the Indian to have practised
on his own nation, the countenance of the listener was veiled
ir an expression of cautious gravity. At the allusion to the
injury which Duncan affected to believe had driven the
Huron from his native tribe, a gleam of such ungovernable

* It has long been a practice with the whites to conciliate the important men of the
Indians by presenting medals, which are. worn in the place of their own rude orna
ments. Those given by the English generally bear the impression of the reigning
king, and those given by the Americans that of the president.

I2O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ferocity flashed from the other's eyes, as induced the adven
turous speaker to believe he had struck the proper chord
And by the time he reached the part where he so artfully
blended the thirst of vengeance with the desire of gain, he
had, at least, obtained a command of the deepest attention
of the savage The question put by Le Renard had been
calm, and with all the dignity of an Indian; but it was
quite apparently the thoughtful expression of the listener's
countenance, that the answer was most cunningly devised.
The Huron mused a few moments, and then laying his hand
on the rude bandages of his wounded shoulder, he said, with
some energy —

" Do friends make such marks? "

" Would ' La longue Carabine ' cut one so light on an
enemy ? "

" Do the Delawares crawl upon those they love like snakes,
twisting themselves to strike ? "

" Would ' Le gros Serpent ' have been heard by the ears
of one he wished to be deaf? "

" Does the white chief burn his powder in the faces of
his brothers ? "

" Does he ever miss his aim, when seriously bent to kill? "
returned Duncan, smiling with well-acted sincerity.

Another long and deliberate pause succeeded these sen«
tentious questions and ready replies. Duncan saw that the
Indian hesitated. In order to complete his victory, he was
in the act of recommencing the enumeration of the rewards,
when Magua made an expressive gesture, and said —

"Enough; Le Renard is a wise chief, and what he does
will be seen. Go, and keep the mouth shut. When Magua
speaks, it will be the time to answer."

Heyward, perceiving that the eyes of his companion were
warily fastened on the rest of the band, fell back immedi
ately, in order to avoid the appearance of any suspicious
confederacy with their leader. Magua approached the
horses, and affected to be well pleased with the diligence

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 121

and ingenuity of his comrades. He then signed to Hey-
ward to assist the sisters into the saddles, for he seldom
deigned to use the English tongue, unless urged by some
motive of more than usual moment.

There was no longer any plausible pretext for delay; and
Duncan was obliged, however reluctantly, to comply. As
he performed this office, he whispered his reviving hopes in
the ears of the trembling females, who, through dread of
encountering the savage countenances of their captors, sel
dom raised their eyes from the ground. The mare of David
had been taken with the followers of the large chief; in
consequence, its owner, as well as Duncan, were compelled
to journey on foot. The latter did not, however, so much
regret this circumstance, as it might enable him to retard
the speed of the party; for he still turned his longing looks
in the direction of Fort Edward, in the vain expectation of
catching some sound from that quarter of the forest which
might denote the approach of succor.

When all were prepared, Magua made the signal to pro
ceed, advancing in front to lead the party in person. Next
followed David, who was gradually coming to a true sense
of his condition, as the effects of the wound became less
and less apparent. The sisters rode in his rear, with Hey-
ward at their side, while the Indians flanked the party,
and brought up the close of the march, with a caution that
seemed never to tire.

In this manner they proceeded in uninterrupted silence,
except when Heyward addressed some solitary word of com
fort to the females, or David gave vent to the meanings of
his spirit, in piteous exclamations, which he intended should
express the humility of resignation. Their direction lay
toward the south, and in a course nearly opposite to the
road to William Henry. Notwithstanding this apparent
adherence in Ma^ua to the original determination of his
conquerors, Heyward could not believe his tempting bait
was so soon forgotten; and he knew the windings of an

122 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Indian path too well, to suppose that its apparent course
led directly to its object, when artifice was at all necessary.
Mile after mile was, however, passed through the boundless
woods in this painful manner, without any prospect of a
termination to their journey. Heyward watched the sun, as
he darted his meridian rays through the branches of the
trees, and pined for the moment when the policy of Magua
should change their route to one more favorable to his hopes.
Sometimes he fancied the wary savage, despairing of pass
ing the army of Montcalm in safety, was holding his way
toward a well-known border settlement, where a distin
guished officer of the crown, and a favored friend of the Six
Nations, held his large possessions, as well as his usual
residence. To be delivered into the hands of Sir William
Johnson was far preferable to being led into the wilds of
Canada; but in order to effect even the former, it would be
necessary to traverse the forest for many weary leagues, each
step of which was carrying him further from the scene of
the war, and, consequently, from the post, not only of honor,
but of duty.

Cora alone remembered the parting injunctions of the
scout, and whenever an opportunity offered, she stretched
forth her arm to bend aside the twigs that met her hands.
But the vigilance of the Indians rendered this act of pre
caution both difficult and dangerous. She was often de
feated in her purpose, by encountering their watchful eyes,
when it became necessary to feign an alarm she did not feel,
and occupy the limb by some gesture of feminine apprehen
sion. Once, and once only, was she completely successful ;
when she broke down the bough of a large sumach, and, by
a sudden thought, let her glove fall at the same instant.
This sign, intended for those that might follow, was ob
served by one of her conductors, who restored the glove,
broke the remaining branches of the bush in such a manner
that it appeared to proceed from the struggling of some
beast in its branches, and then laid his hand on his toma-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 123

hawk, with a look so significant, that it put an effectual end
to these stolen memorials of their passage.

As there were horses, to leave the prints of their foot
steps, in both bands of the Indians, this interruption cut off
any probable hopes of assistance being conveyed through
the means of their trail.

Heyward would have ventured a remonstrance, had there
been anything encouraging in the gloomy reserve of Magua.
But the savage, during all this time, seldom turned to look
at his followers, and never spoke. With the sun for his
only guide, or aided by such blind marks as are only known
to the sagacity of a native, he held his way along the
barrens of pine, through occasional little fertile vales, across
brooks and rivulets, and over undulating hills, with the
accuracy of instinct, and nearly with the directness of a
bird. He never seemed to hesitate. Whether the path was
hardly distinguishable, whether it disappeared, or whether
it lay beaten and plain before him, made no sensible differ
ence in his speed or certainty. It seemed as if fatigue could
not affect him. Whenever the eyes of the wearied travellers
rose from the decayed leaves over which they trode, his dark
form was to be seen glancing among the stems of the trees
in front, his head immovably fastened in a forward position,
with the light plume on his crest fluttering in a current of
air, made solely by the swiftness of his own motion.

But all this diligence and speed were not without an ob
ject. After crossing a low vale, through which a gushing
brook meandered, he suddenly ascended a hill, so steep and
difficult of ascent, that the sisters were compelled to alight
in older to follow. When the summit was gained, they
found themselves on a level spot, but thinly covered with
trees, under one of which Magua had thrown his dark form,
as if willing and ready to seek that rest which was so much
needed by the whole party.

J24 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER XI.

" Cursed be my tribe

If I forgive him." SHYLOCK.

THE Indian had selected, for this desirable purpose, one
of those steep, pyramidal hills, which bear a strong re
semblance to artificial mounds, and which so frequently
occur in the valleys of America. The one in question was
high and precipitous; its top flattened, as usual; but with
one of its sides more than ordinarily irregular. It pos
sessed no other apparent advantage, for a resting-place, than
in its elevation and form, which might render defence easy,
and surprise nearly impossible. As Heyward, however, no
longer expected that rescue which time and distance now
rendered so improbable, he regarded these little peculiarities
with an eye devoid of interest, devoting himself entirely to
the comfort and condolence of his feebler companions. The
Narragansets were suffered to browse on the branches of the
trees and shrubs that were thinly scattered over the summit
of the hill, while the remains of their provisions were spread
under the shade of a beech, that stretched its horizontal
limbs like a canopy above them.

Notwithstanding the swiftness of their flight, one of the
Indians had found an opportunity to strike a straggling fawn
with an arrow, and had borne the more preferable fragments
of the victim, patiently on his shoulders, to the stopping-
place. Without any aid from the science of cookery, he
was immediately employed, in common with his fellows, in
gorging himself with this digestible sustenance. Magua
alone sat apart, without participating in the "revolting meal,
and apparently buried in the deepest thought.

This abstinence, so remarkable in an Indian, when he
possessed the means of satisfying hunger, at length attracted
the notice of Heyward. The young man willingly believed

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 125

that the Huron deliberated on the most eligible manner of
eluding the vigilance of his associates. With a view to
assist his plans, by any suggestion of his own, and to
strengthen the temptation, he left the beech, and straggled
as if without an object to the spot where Le Renard was
seated.

" Has not Magua kept the sun in his face long enough to
escape all danger from the Canadians? " he asked, as though
no longer doubtful of the good intelligence established be
tween them ; " and will not the chief of William Henry be
better pleased to see his daughters before another night
may have hardened his heart to their loss, to make him less
liberal in his reward? "

" Do the pale-faces love their children less in the morn
ing than at night? " asked the Indian, coldly.

" By no means," returned Heyward, anxious to recall
his error, if he had made one; "the white man may, and
does often, forget the burial-place of his fathers; he some
times ceases to remember those he should love, and has
promised to cherish; but the affection of a parent for his
child is never permitted to die."

"And is the heart of the white-headed chief soft, and
will he think of the babes that his squaws have given him?
He is hard to his warriors, and his eyes are made of stone! "

" He is severe to the idle and wicked, but to the sober
and deserving he is a leader, both just and humane. I have
known many fond and tender parents, but never have I seen
a man whose heart was softer toward his child. You have
seen the gray-head in front of his warriors, Magua; but I
have seen his eyes swimming in water, when he spoke of
those children who are now in your power! "

Heyward paused, for he knew not how to construe the re
markable expression that gleamed across the swarthy features
of the attentive Indian. At first it seemed as if the re
membrance of the promised reward grew vivid in his mind,
while he listened to the sources of parental feeling which

126 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

were to assure its possession; but as Duncan proceeded,
the expression of joy became so fiercely malignant, that it
was impossible not to apprehend it proceeded from some
passion more sinister than avarice.

"Go," said the Huron, suppressing the alarming exhibi
tion in an instant, in a death-like calmness of countenance;
" go to the dark-haired daughter, and say, Magua waits to
speak. The father will remember what the child prom
ises."

Duncan, who interpreted this speech to express a wish
for some additional pledge that the promised gifts should
not be withheld, slowly and reluctantly repaired to the place
where the sisters were now resting from their fatigue, to
communicate its purport to Cora.

" You understand the nature of an Indian's wishes," he
concluded, as he led her toward the place where she was
expected, " and must be prodigal of your offers of powder
and blankets. Ardent spirits are, however, the most prized
by such as he ; nor would it be amiss to add some boon from
your own hand, with that grace you so well know how to
practise. Remember, Cora, that on your presence of mind
and ingenuity even your life, as well as that of Alice, may
in some measure depend."

" Heyward, and yours ! "

"Mine is of little moment; it is already sold to my king,
and is a prize to be seized by any enemy who may possess
the power. I have no father to expect me, and but few
friends to lament a fate which I have courted with the un-
satiable longings of youth after distinction. But hush ; we
approach the Indian. Magua, the lady with whom you wish
to speak, is here."

The Indian rose slowly from his seat, and stood for near
a minute silent and motionless. He then signed with his
hand for Heyward to retire, saying coldly, —

" When the Huron talks to the women, his tribe shut their

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. I2/

Duncan still lingering, as if refusing to comply, Cora
said, with a calm smile, —

" You hear, Heyward, and delicacy at least should urge
you to retire. Go to Alice, and comfort her with our re
viving prospects."

She waited until he had departed, and then turning to the
native, with the dignity of her sex in her voice and manner,
she added, " What would Le Renard say to the daughter of
Munro?"

" Listen," said the Indian, laying his hand firmly upon
her arm, as if willing to draw her utmost attention to his
words; a movement that Cora as firmly but quietly repulsed,
by extricating the limb from his grasp — " Magua was born
a chief and a warrior among the red Hurons of the lakes;
he saw the suns of twenty summers make the snows of twenty
winters run off in the streams, before he saw a pale-face;
and he was happy! Then his Canada fathers came into the
woods, and taught him to drink the fire-water, and he be
came a rascal. The Hurons drove him from the graves of
his fathers, as they would chase the hunted buffalo. He
ran down the shores of the lakes, and followed their outlet
to the * city of cannon/ There he hunted and fished, till
the people chased him again through the woods into the
arms of his enemies. The chief, who was born a Huron,
was at last a warrior among the Mohawks! "

<k Something like this I had heard before," said Cora, ob
serving that he paused to suppress those passions which
began to burn with too bright a flame, as he recalled the
recollection of his supposed injuries.

" Was it the fault of Le Renard that his head was not
made of rock? Who gave him the fire-water? who made
him a villain? 'Twas the pale-faces, the people of your
own color."

" And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled
men exist, whose shades of countenance may resemble
mine? " Cora calmly demanded of the excited savage.

128 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"No; Magua is a man, and not a fool ; such as you never
open their lips to the burning stream: the Great Spirit has
given you wisdom! "

" What then have I to do, or say, in the matter of your
misfortunes, not to say of your errors ? " «

"Listen," repeated the Indian, resuming his earnest atti
tude; "when his English and French fathers dug up the
hatchet, Le Renard struck the war-post of the Mohawks, and
went out against his own nation. The pale-faces have
driven the red-skins from their hunting-grounds, and now,
when they fight, a white man leads the way. The old chief
at Horican, your father, was the great captain of our war-
party. He said to the Mohawks do this, and do that, and he
was minded. He made a law, that if an Indian swallowed
the fire-water, and came into the cloth wigwams of his
warriors, it should not be forgotten. Magua foolishly opened
his mouth, and the hot liquor led him into the cabin of
Munro. What did the gray-head? let his daughter say."

" He forgot not his words, and did justice, by punishing
the offender," said the undaunted daughter.

"Justice!" repeated the Indian, casting an oblique glance
of the most ferocious expression at her unyielding counte
nance; "is it justice to make evil, and then punish for it?
Magua was not himself, it was the fire-water that spoke and
acted for him! but Munro did not believe it. The Huron
chief was tied up before all the pale-faced warriors, and
whipped like a dog."

Cora remained silent, for she knew not how to palliate
this imprudent severity on the part of her father, in a man
ner to suit the comprehension of an Indian.

"See! " continued Magua, tearing aside the slight calico
that very imperfectly concealed his painted breast; "here
are scars given by knives and bullets -of these a warrior
may boast before his nation; but the gray-head has left
marks on the back of the Huron chief, that he must hide,
like a squaw, under this painted cloth of the whites."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 1 29

" I had thought," resumed Cora, " that an Indian warrior
was patient, and that his spirit felt not, and knew not, the
pain his body suffered ? "

"When the Chippewas tied Magua to the stake, and cut
this gash," said the other, laying his finger on a deep scar,
"the Huron laughed in their faces, and told them, Women
struck so light! His spirit was then in the clouds! But
when he felt the blows of Munro, his spirit lay under the
birch. The spirit of a Huron is never drunk; it remembers
for ever ! "

" But it may be appeased. If my father has done you
this injustice, show him how an Indian can forgive an in
jury, and take back his daughters. You have heard from
Major Heyward —

Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers
he so much despised.

"What would you have?" continued Cora, after a most
painful pause, while the conviction forced itself on her
mind, that the too sanguine and generous Duncan had been
crueily deceived by the cunning of the savage.

" What a Huron loves — good for good ; bad for bad ! "

" You would then revenge the injury inflicted by Munro
on his helpless daughters. Would it not be more like a
man to go before his face, and take the satisfaction of a
warrior? "

"The arms of the pale-faces are long, and their knives
sharp ! " returned the savage, with a malignant laugh : " why
should Le Renard go among the muskets of his warriors,
when he holds the spirit of the gray-head in his hand? "

"Name your intention, Magua," said Cora, struggling
with herself to speak with steady calmness. " Is it to lead
us prisoners to the woods, or do you contemplate even some
greater evil? Is there no reward, no means of palliating
the injury, and of softening your heart? At least, release
my gentle sister, and pour out all your malice on me. Pur
chase wealth by her safety and satisfy your revenge with a

130 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

single victim. The loss of both his daughters might bring
the aged man to his grave, and where would then be the
satisfaction of Le Renard ? "

" Listen," said the Indian again. " The light eyes can
go back to the Horican, and tell the old chief what has
been done, if the dark-haired woman will swear by the Great
Spirit of her fathers to tell no lie."

"What must I promise?" demanded Cora, still main
taining a secret ascendency over the fierce native, by the
collected and feminine dignity of her presence.

" When Magua left his people, his wife was given to an
other chief; he has now made friends with the Hurons, and
will go back to the graves of his tribe, on the shores of the
great lake. Let the daughter of the English chief follow,
and live in his wigwam for ever."

However revolting a proposal of such a character might
prove to Cora, she retained, notwithstanding her powerful
disgust, sufficient self-command to reply, without betraying
the weakness.

"And what pleasure would Magua find in sharing his
cabin with a wife he did not love, one who would be of a
nation and color different from his own? It would be
better to take the gold of Munro, and buy the heart of some
Huron maid with his gifts."

The Indian made no reply for near a minute, but bent his
fierce looks on the countenance of Cora, in such wavering
glances, that her eyes sank with shame, under an impression,
that, for the first time, they had encountered an expression
that no chaste female might endure. While she was shrink
ing within herself, in dread of having her ears wounded by
some proposal still more shocking than the last, the voice
of Magua answered, in its tones of deepest malignancy —

"When the blows scorched the back of the Huron, he
would know where to find a woman to feel the smart. The
daughter of Munro would draw his water, hoe his corn, and
cook his venison. The body of the gray-head would sleep

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 13!

among his cannon, but his heart would lie within reach of
the knife of Le Subtil."

" Monster ! well dost thou deserve thy treacherous name ! "
cried Cora, in an ungovernable burst of filial indignation.
"None but a fiend could meditate such a vengeance! But
thou over-ratest thy power! You shall find it is, in truth,
the heart of Munro you hold, and that it will defy your
utmost malice! "

The Indian answered this bold defiance by a ghastly
smile, that showed an unaltered purpose, while he motioned
her away, as if to close the conference for ever. Cora, al
ready regretting her precipitation, was obliged to comply;
for Magua instantly left the spot, and approached his glut
tonous comrades. Heyward flew to the side of the agitated
female, and demanded the result of a dialogue, that he had
watched at a distance with so much interest. But unwilling
to alarm the fears of Alice, she evaded a direct reply, be
traying only by her countenance her utter want of success,
and keeping her anxious looks fastened on the slightest
movements of their captors. To the reiterated and earnest
questions of her sister, concerning their probable destina
tion, she made no other answer than by pointing toward
the dark group, with an agitation she could not control, and
murmuring, as she folded Alice to her bosom —

"There, there, read our fortunes in their faces; we shall
see; we shall see! "

The action, and the choked utterance of Cora, spoke more
impressively than any words, and quickly drew the attention
of her companions on that spot, where her own was riveted
with an intenseness that nothing but the importance of the
stake could create.

When Magua reached the cluster of lolling savages, who,
gorged with their disgusting meal, lay stretched on the earth
in brutal indulgence, he commenced speaking with the
dignity of an Indian chief. The first syllables he uttered
had the effect to cause his listeners to raise themselves in

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

attitudes of respectful attention. As the Huron used his
native language, the prisoners, notwithstanding the caution
of the natives had kept them within the swing of their toma
hawks, could only conjecture the substance of his harangue,
from the nature of those significant gestures with which an
Indian always illustrates his eloquence.

At first, the language, as well as the action of Magua,
appeared calm and deliberative. When he had succeeded
in sufficiently awakening the attention of his comrades,
Heyward fancied, by his pointing so frequently toward the
direction of the great lakes, that he spoke of the land of
their fathers, and of their distant tribe. Frequent indica
tions of applause escaped the listeners, who, as they uttered
the expressive " Hugh! " looked at each other in commenda
tion of the speaker. Le Renard was too skilful to neglect
his advantage. He now spoke of the long and painful route
by which they had left those spacious grounds and happy
villages, to come and battle against the enemies of their
Canadian fathers. He enumerated the warriors of the party ;
their several merits; their frequent services to the nation;
their wounds, and the number of the scalps they had taken.
Whenever he alluded to any present (and the subtle Indian
neglected none), the dark countenance of the flattered indi
vidual gleamed with exultation, nor did he even hesitate
to assert the truth of the words, by gestures of applause and
confirmation. Then the voice of the speaker fell, and lost
the loud, animated tones of triumph with which he had
enumerated their deeds of success and victory. He de
scribed the cataract of Glenn's; the impregnable position
of its rocky island, with its caverns, and its numerous rapids
and whirlpools; he named the name of "La longue Cara
bine," and paused until the forest beneath them had sent
up the last echo of a loud and long yell, with which the
hated appellation was received. He pointed toward the
youthful military captive, and described the death of a
favorite warrior, who had been precipitated into the deep

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 133

ravine by his hand. He not only mentioned the fate of him
who, hanging between heaven and earth, had presented such
a spectacle of horror to the whole band, but he acted anew
the terrors of his situation, his resolution and his death, on
the branches of a sapling; and, finally, he rapidly recounted
the manner in which each of their friends had fallen, never
failing to touch upon their courage and their most acknowl
edged virtues. When this recital of events was ended, his
voice once more changed, and became plaintive, and even
musical, in its low guttural sounds. He now spoke of the
wives and children of the slain; their destitution; their
misery, both physical and moral; their distance; and, at
last, of their unavenged wrongs. Then suddenly lifting
his voice to a pitch of terrific energy, he concluded by de
manding—

" Are the Hurons dogs to bear this?1 Who shall say to
the wife of Menowgua that the fishes have his scalp, and
that his nation have not taken revenge! Who will dare
meet the mother of Wassawattimie, that scornful woman,
with his hands clean! What shall be said to the old men
when they ask us for scalps, and we have not a hair from a
white head to give them! The women will point their
fingers at us. There is a dark spot on the names of the
Hurons, and it must be hid in blood!—

His voice was no longer audible in the burst of rage
which now broke into the air, as if the wood, instead of
containing so small a band, was filled with the nation. Dur
ing the foregoing address the progress of the speaker was
too plainly read by those most interested in his success,
through the medium of the countenances of the men he ad
dressed. They had answered his melancholy and mourning
by sympathy and sorrow; his assertions, by gestures of con
firmation; and his boastings, with the exultation of savages.
When he spoke of courage, their looks were firm and re
sponsive; when he alluded to their injuries, their eyes kin
dled with fury ; when he mentioned the taunts of the women,

134 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

they dropped their heads in shame ; but when he pointed
out their means of vengeance, he struck a chord which never
failed to thrill in the breast of an Indian. With the first
intimation that it was within their reach, the whole band
sprang upon their feet as one man ; giving utterance to their
rage in the most frantic cries, they rushed upon their pris
oners in a body with drawn knives and uplifted tomahawks.
Heyward threw himself between the sisters and the foremost,
whom he grappled with a desperate strength that for a mo
ment checked his violence. This unexpected resistance
gave Magua time to interpose, and with rapid enunciation
and animated gesture, he drew the attention of the band
again to himself. In that language he knew so well how
to assume, he diverted his comrades from their instant pur
pose, and invited them to prolong the misery of their vic
tims. His proposal was received with acclamations, and
executed with the swiftness of thought.

Two powerful warriors cast themselves on Heyward, while
another was occupied in securing the less active singing-
master. Neither of the captives, however, submitted with
out a desperate though fruitless struggle. Even David
hurled his assailant to the earth; nor was Heyward secured
until the victory over his companion enabled the Indians
to direct their united force to that object. He was then
bound and fastened to the body of the sapling, on whose
branches Magua had acted the pantomime of the falling
Huron. When the young soldier regained his recollection,
he had the painful certainty before his eyes that a common
fate was intended for the whole party. On his right was
Cora, in a durance similar to his own, pale and agitated,
but with an eye whose steady look still read the proceed
ings of their enemies. On his left, the withes which bound
her to a pine, performed that office for Alice which her
trembling limbs refused, and alone kept her fragile form
from sinking. Her hands were clasped before her in prayer,
but instead of looking upward toward that power which

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 135

alone could rescue them, her unconscious looks wandered
to the countenance of Duncan with infantile dependency.
David had contended, and the novelty of the circumstance
held him silent, in deliberation on the propriety of the
unusual occurrence.

The vengeance of the Hurons had now taken a new direc
tion, and they prepared to execute it with that barbarous
ingenuity with which they were familiarized by the practice
of centuries. Some sought knots, to raise the blazing pile;
one was riving the splinters of pine, in order to pierce the
flesh of their captives with the burning fragments; and
others bent the tops of two saplings to the earth, in order
to suspend Heyward by the arms between the recoiling
branches. But the vengeance of Magua sought a deeper
and a more malignant enjoyment.

While the less refined monsters of the band prepared, be
fore the eyes of those who were to suffer, these well-known
and vulgar means of torture, he approached Cora, and
pointed out, with the most malign expression of counte
nance, the speedy fate that awaited her—

"Ha!" he added, "what says the daughter of Munro?
Her head is too good to find a pillow in the wigwam of Le
Renard; will she like it better when it rolls about this hill
a plaything for the wolves? Her bosom cannot nurse the
children of a Huron; she will see it spit upon by In
dians!"

"What means the monster?" demanded the astonished
Heyward.

" Nothing! " was the firm reply. " He is a savage, a bar
barous and ignorant savage, and knows not what he does.
Let us find leisure, with our dying breath, to ask for him
penitence and pardon."

" Pardon ! " echoed the fierce Huron, mistaking, in his
anger, the meaning of her words; "the memory of an In
dian is longer than the arm of the pale-faces; his mercy
shorter than their justice! Say; shall I send the yellow

136 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

hair to her father, and will you follow Magua to the great
lakes, to carry his water, and feed him with corn ? "

Cora beckoned him away, with an emotion of disgust she
could not control.

" Leave me," she said, with a solemnity that for a mo
ment checked the barbarity of the Indian; "you mingle
bitterness in my prayers; you stand between me and my
God!"

The slight impression produced on the savage was, how
ever, soon forgotten, and he continued pointing, with taunt
ing irony, toward Alice.

"Look! the child weeps! She is young to die! Send
her to Munro, to comb his gray hairs, and keep life in the
heart of the old man."

Cora could not resist the desire to look upon her youth
ful sister, in whose eyes she met an imploring glance, that
betrayed the longings of nature.

"What says he, dearest Cora?" asked the trembling
voice of Alice. "Did he speak of sending me to our
father?"

For many moments the elder sister looked upon the
younger, with a countenance that wavered with powerful and
contending emotions. At length she spoke, though her tones
had lost their rich and calm fulness, in an expression of
tenderness that seemed maternal.

" Alice," she said, " the Huron offers us both life — nay,
more than both; he offers to restore Duncan — our invalu
able Duncan, as well as you, to our friends — to our father —
to our heart-stricken, childless father, if I will bow down
this rebellious, stubborn pride of mine, and consent

Her voice became choked, and clasping her hands, she
looked upward, as if seeking, in her agony, intelligence
from a wisdom that was infinite.

"Say on," cried Alice; "to what, dearest .Cora? Oh!
that the proffer were made to me ! to save you, to cheer our
aged father! to restore Duncan, how cheerfully could I die! n

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 137

"Die! " repeated Cora, with a calmer and a firmer voice.
" that were easy ! Perhaps the alternative may not be less
so. He would have me," she continued, her accents sink
ing under a deep consciousness of the degradation of the
proposal, " follow him to the wilderness; go to the habita
tions of the Hurons; to remain there: in short, to become
his wife! Speak, then, Alice, child of my affections! sister
of my love! And you, too, Major Heyward, aid my weak
reason with your counsel. Is life to be purchased by such
a sacrifice? Will you, Alice, receive it at my hands at such
a price? And you^ Duncan ; guide me; control me between
you; for I am wholly yours."

"Would I!" echoed the indignant and astonished youth.
"Cora! Cora! you jest with our misery! Name not the
horrid alternative again ; the thought itself is worse than
a thousand deaths."

" That such would be your answer, I well knew ! " ex
claimed Cora, her cheeks flushing, and her dark eyes once
more sparkling with the lingering emotions of a woman.
" What says my Alice? for her will I submit without another
murmur."

Although both Heyward and Cora listened with painful
suspense and the deepest attention, no sounds were heard
in reply. It appeared as if the delicate and sensitive form
of Alice would shrink into itself, as she listened to this pro
posal. Her arms had fallen lengthwise before her, the
fingers moving in slight convulsions; her head dropped
upon her hosom, and her whole person seemed suspended
against the tree, looking like some beautiful emblem of the
wounded delicacy of her sex, devoid of animation, and yet
keenly conscious. In a few moments, however, her head
began to move slowly, in a sign of deep, unconquerable
disapprobation.

"No, no, no; better that we die as we have lived, to
gether!"

"Then die! " shouted Magua, hurling his tomahawk with

138 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

violence at the unresisting speaker, and gnashing his teeth
with a rage that could no longer be bridled, at this sudden
exhibition of firmness in the one he believed the weakest of
the party. The axe cleaved the air in front of Heyward, and
cutting some of the flowing ringlets of Alice, quivered in
the tree above her head. The sight maddened Duncan to
desperation. Collecting all his energies in one effort, he
snapped the twigs which bound him, and rushed upon an
other savage, who was preparing, with loud yells, and a
more deliberate aim, to repeat the blow. They encountered,
grappled, and fell to the earth together. The naked body
of his antagonist afforded Heyward no means of holding his
adversary, who glided from his grasp, and rose again with
one knee on his chest, pressing him down with the weight
of a giant. Duncan already saw the knife gleaming in the
air, when a whistling sound swept past him, and was rather
accompanied, than followed, by the sharp crack of a rifle.
He felt his breast relieved from the load it had endured;
he saw the savage expression of his adversary's countenance
change to a look of vacant wildness, when the Indian fell
dead on the faded leaves by his side.

CHAPTER XII.

14 Clo. — I am gone, sir
And anon, sir,
I'll be with you again."

TWELFTH NIGHT.

THE Hurons stood aghast at this sudden visitation of death
on one of their band. But, as they regarded the fatal accu
racy of an aim which had dared to immolate an enemy at so
much hazard to a friend, the name of " La longue Carabine "
burst simultaneously from every lip, and was succeeded by
a wild and a sort of plaintive howl. The cry was answered
by a loud shout from a little thicket, where the incautious

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 139

party had piled their arms ; and, at the next moment, Hawk-
eye, too eager to load the rifle he had regained, was seen
advancing upon them, brandishing the clubbed weapon, and
cutting the air with wide and powerful sweeps. Bold and
rapid as was the progress of the scout, it was exceeded by
that of a light and vigorous form which, bounding past him,
leaped, with incredible activity and daring, into the very
centre of the Hurons, where it stood, whirling a tomahawk,
and flourishing a glittering knife, with fearful menaces,
in front of Cora. Quicker than the thoughts could fol
low these unexpected and audacious movements, an image,
armed in the emblematic panoply of death, glided before
their eyes, and assumed a threatening attitude at the other's
side. The savage tormentors recoiled before these war-like
intruders, and uttered as they appeared in such quick suc
cession the often-repeated and peculiar exclamation of sur
prise, followed by the well-known and dreaded appella
tions of—

" Le Cerf agile ! Le gros Serpent ! "

But the wary and vigilant leader of the Hurons was not
so easily disconcerted. Casting his keen eyes around the
little plain, he comprehended the nature of the assault at a
glance, and encouraging his followers by his voice as well
as by his example, he unsheathed his long and dangerous
knife, and rushed with a loud whoop upon the expecting
Chingachgook. It was the signal for a general combat.
Neither party had firearms, and the contest was to be de
cided in the deadliest manner; hand to hand, with weapons
of offence, and none of defence.

Uncas answered the whoop, and leaping on an enemy,
with a single, well-directed blow of his tomahawk, cleft him
to the brain. Hey ward tore the weapon of Magua from the
sapling, and rushed eagerly toward the fray. As the com
batants were now equal in number, each singled an oppo
nent from the adverse band. The rush and blows passed
with the fury of a whirlwind, and the swiftness of lightning.

140 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Hawk-eye soon got another enemy within reach of his arm,
and with one sweep of his formidable weapon he beat down
the slight and inartificial defences of his antagonist, crush
ing him to the earth with the blow. Heyward ventured to
hurl the tomahawk he had seized, too ardent to await the
moment of closing. It struck the Indian he had selected
on the forehead, and checked for an instant his onward
rush. Encouraged by this slight advantage, the impetuous
young man continued his onset, and sprang upon his enemy
with naked hands. A single instant was sufficient to assure
him of the rashness of the measure, for he immediately
found himself fully engaged, with all his activity and cour
age, in endeavoring to ward the desperate thrusts made with
the knife of the Huron. Unable longer to foil an enemy so
alert and vigilant, he threw his arms about him, and suc
ceeded in pinning the limbs of the other to his side, with
an iron grasp, but one that was far too exhausting to him
self to continue long. In this extremity he heard a voice
near him shouting —

" Extarminate the varlets! no quarter to an accursed
Mingo!"

At the next moment, the breech of Hawk-eye's rifle fell
on the naked head of his adversary, whose muscles appeared
to wither under the shock, as he sank from the arms of Dun
can, flexible and motionless.

When Uncas had brained his first antagonist, he turned,
like a hungry lion, to seek another. The fifth and only
Huron disengaged at the first onset had paused a moment,
and then seeing that all around him were employed in the
deadly strife, he had sought, with hellish vengeance, to
complete the baffled work of revenge. Raising a shout of
triumph, he sprang toward the defenceless Cora, sending his
keen axe as the dreadful precursor of his approach. The
tomahawk grazed her shoulder, and cutting the withes
which bound her to the tree, left the maiden at liberty to
fly. She eluded the grasp of the savage, and reckless of

THE LAST OF THE rfOHICANS. 141

her own safety, threw herself on the bosom of Alice, striv
ing, with convulsed and ill-directed fingers, to tear asunder
the twigs which confined the person of her sister. Any
other than a monster would have relented at such an act of
generous devotion to the best and purest affection ; but the
breast of the Huron was a stranger to sympathy. Seizing
Cora by the rich tresses whi h fell in confusion about her
form, he tore her from her frantic hold, and bowed her down
with brutal violence to her knees. The savage drew the
flowing curls through his hand, and raising them on high
with an outstretched arm, he passed the knife around the
exquisitely moulded head of his victim, with a taunting and
exulting laugh. But he purchased this moment of fierce
gratification with the loss of the fatal opportunity. It was
just then the sight caught the eye of Uncas. Bounding from
his footsteps, he appeared for an instant darting through the
air, and descending in a ball he fell on the chest of his'
enemy, driving him many yards from the spot, headlong
and prostrate. The violence of the exertion cast the young
Mohican at his side. They arose together, fought, and
bled, each in his turn. But the conflict was soon decided;
the tomahawk of Heyward and the rifle of Hawk-eye de
scended on the skull of the Huron, at the same moment that
the knife of Uncas reached his heart.

The battle was now entirely terminated, with the excep
tion of the protracted struggle between " Le Renard Subtil "
and " Le gros Serpent." Well did these barbarous warriors
prove that they deserved those significant names which had
been bestowed for deeds in former wars. When they en
gaged, some little time was lost in eluding the quick and
vigorous thrusts which had been aimed at their lives. Sud
denly darting on each other, they closed, and came to the
earth, twisted together like twining serpents, in pliant and
subtle folds. At the moment when the victors found them
selves unoccupied, the spot where these experienced and
desperate combatants lay could only be distinguished by a

142 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

cloud of dust and leaves which moved from the centre of
the little plain toward its boundary, as if raised by the pas
sage of a whirlwind. Urged by the different motives of filial
affection, friendship, and gratitude, Heyward and his com
panions rushed with one accord to the place, encircling the
little canopy of dust which hung above the warriors. In
vain did Uncas dart around the cloud, with a wish to strike
his knife into the heart of his father's foe; the threatening
rifle of Hawk-eye was raised and suspended in vain, while
Duncan endeavored to seize the limbs of the Huron with
hands that appeared to have lost their power. Covered, as
they were, with dust and blood, the swift evolutions of the
combatants seemed to incorporate their bodies into one.
The death-like looking figure of the Mohican, and the dark
form of the Huron, gleamed before their eyes in such quick
and confused succession, that the friends of the former knew
not where nor when to plant the succoring blow. It is true
there were short and fleeting moments, when the fiery eyes
of Magua were seen glittering, like the fabled organs of the
basilisk, through the dusty wreath by which he was envel
oped, ^nd he read by those short and deadly glances the
fate of the combat in the presence of his enemies; ere,
however, any hostile hand could descend on his devoted
head, its place was filled by the scowling visage of Chin-
gachgook. In this manner the scene of the combat was re
moved from the centre of the little plain to its verge. The
Mohican now found an opportunity to make a powerful
thrust with his knife; Magua suddenly relinquished his
grasp, and fell backward without motion, and seemingly
without life. His adversary leaped on his feet, making the
arches of the forest ring with the sounds of triumph.

" Well done for the Delawares! victory to the Mohican! "
cried Hawk-eye, once more elevating the butt of the long
and fatal rifle; "a finishing blow from a man without a
cross will never tell against his honor, nor rob him of his
right to the scalp."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 143

But, at the very moment when the dangerous weapon was
in the act of descending, the subtle Huron rolled swiftly
from beneath the danger, over the edge of the precipice, and
falling on his feet, was seen leaping, with a single bound,
into the centre of a thicket of low bushes, which clung along
its sides. The Delawares, who had believed their enemy
dead, uttered their exclamation of surprise, and were follow
ing with speed and clamor, like hounds in open view of the
deer, when a shrill and peculiar cry from the scout instantly
changed their purpose, and recalled them to the summit of
the hill.

" 'Twas like himself," cried the inveterate forester, whose
prejudices contributed so largely to veil his natural sense
of justice in all matters which concerned the Mingoes; "a
lying and deceitful varlet as he is. An honest Delaware
now, being fairly vanquished, would have lain still, and
been knocked on the head, but these knavish Maquas cling
to life like so many cats-o'-the-mountain. Let him go — let
him go; 'tis but one man, and he without rifle or bow, many
a long mile from his French commerades; and, like a rat
tler that has lost his fangs, he can do no farther mischief,
until such time as he, and we too, may leave the prints of
our moccasins over a long reach of sandy plain. See, Un-
cas," he added, in Delaware, "your father is flaying the
scalps already. It may be well to go round and feel the
vagabonds that are left, or we may have another of them
loping through the woods, and screeching like a jay that
has been winged."

So saying, the honest, but implacable scout made the cir
cuit of the dead, into whose senseless bosoms he thrust his
long knife, with as much coolness as though they had been
so many brute carcasses. He had, however, been anticipated
by the elder Mohican, who had already torn the emblems of
victory from the unresisting heads of the slain.

But Uncas, denying his habits, we had almost said his
nature, flew with instinctive delicacy, accompanied by Hey*

144 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ward, to the assistance of the females, and quickly releas
ing Alice, placed her in the arms of Cora. We shall not
attempt to describe the gratitude to the Almighty Disposer
of events which glowed in the bosoms of the sisters, who
were thus unexpectedly restored to life and to each other.
Their thanksgivings were deep and silent; the offerings of
their gentle spirits, burning brightest and purest on the
secret altars of their hearts; and their renovated and more
earthly feelings exhibiting themselves in long and fervent
though speechless caresses. As Alice rose from her knees,
where she had sunk by the side of Cora, she threw herself
on the bosom of the latter, and sobbed aloud the name of
their aged father, while her soft, dove-like eyes sparkled
with the rays of hope.

" We are saved ! we are saved ! " she murmured ; " to re
turn to the arms of our dear, dear father, and his heart will
not be broken with grief. And you too, Cora, my sister;
my more than sister, my mother; you too are spared. And
Duncan," she added, looking round upon the youth with a
smile of ineffable innocence, "even our own brave and
noble Duncan has escaped without a hurt."

To these ardent and nearly incoherent words, Cora made
no other answer than by straining the youthful speaker to
her heart, as she bent over her, in melting tenderness. The
manhood of Heyward felt no shame in dropping tears over
this spectacle of affectionate rapture; and Uncas stood,
fresh and blood-stained from the combat, a calm, and, ap
parently, an unmoved looker-on, it is true, but with eyes
that had already lost their fierceness, and were beaming
with a sympathy that elevated him far above the intelli
gence, and advanced him probably centuries before the
practices of his nation.

During this display of emotions so natural in their situa
tion, Hawk-eye, whose vigilant distrust had satisfied itself
that the Hurons, who disfigured the heavenly scene, no
longer possessed the power to interrupt its harmony, ap-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 145

preached David, and liberated him from the bonds he had,
until that moment, endured with the most exemplary pa
tience.

"There," exclaimed the scout, casting the last withe be
hind him, " you are once more master of your own limbs,
though you seem not to use them with much greater judg
ment than that in which they were first fashioned. If advice
from one who is not older than yourself, but who, having
lived most of his time in the wilderness, may be said to
have experience beyond his years, will give no offence,
you are welcome to my thoughts; and these are, to part
with the little tooting instrument in your jacket to the first
fool you meet with, and buy some useful we'pon with the
money, if it be only the barrel of a horseman's pistol. By
industry and care, you might thus come to some prefarment;
for by this time, I should think, your eyes would plainly
tell you that a carrion crow is a better bird than a mocking
thresher. The one will, at least, remove foul sights from
before the face of man, while the other is only good to brew
disturbances in the woods, by cheating the ears of all that
hear them."

" Arms and the clarion for the battle, but the song of
thanksgiving to the victory!" answered the liberated Da
vid. " Friend," he added, thrusting forth his lean, delicate
hand toward Hawk-eye, in kindness, while his eyes twin
kled and grew moist, " I thank thee that the hairs of my
head still grow where they were first rooted by Providence;
for, though those of other men may be more glossy and
curling, I have ever found mine own well suited to the brain
they shelter. That I did not join myself to the battle, was
less owing to disinclination, than to the bonds of the
heathen. Valiant and skilful hast thou proved thyself in
the conflict, and I hereby thank thee, before proceeding to
discharge other and more important duties, because thou
hast proved thyself well worthy of a Christian's praise."

" The thing is but a trifle, and what you may often see, if

146 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

you tarry long among us," returned the scout, a good deal
softened toward the man of song, by this unequivocal expres
sion of gratitude. "I have got back my old companion,
'kill-deer/" he added, striking his hand on the breech of
his rifle; "and that in itself is a victory. These Iroquois
are cunning, but they outwitted themselves when they placed
their firearms out of reach; and had Uncas or his father
been gifted with only their common Indian patience, we
should have come in upon the knaves with three bullets in
stead of one, and that would have made a finish of the whole
pack; yon loping varlet, as well as his commerades. But
'twas all tore-ordered, and for the best."

"Thou sayest well," returned David, "and hast caught
the true spirit of Christianity. He that is to be saved will
be saved, and he that is predestined to be damned will be
damned. This is the doctrine of truth, and most consoling
and refreshing it is to the true believer."

The scout, who by this time was seated, examining into
the state of his rifle with a species of parental assiduity,
now looked up at the other in a displeasure that he did not
affect to conceal, roughly interrupting further speech.

"Doctrine or no doctrine," said the sturdy woodsman,
"'tis the belief of knaves, and the curse of an honest man.
I can credit that yonder Huron was to fall by my hand, for
with my own eyes I have seen it; but nothing short of
being a witness will cause me to think he has met with any
reward, or that Chingachgook, there, will be condemned at
the final day."

" You have no warranty for such an audacious doctrine,
nor any covenant to support it," cried David, who was
deeply tinctured with the subtle distinctions which, in his
time, and more especially in his province, had been drawn
around the beautiful simplicity of revelation, by endeavor
ing to penetrate the awful mystery of the divine nature,
supplying faith by self-sufficiency, and by consequence in
volving those who reasoned from such human dogmas in

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 147

absurdities and doubt; "your temple is reared on the sands,
and the first tempest will wash away its foundation. I de
mand your authorities for such an uncharitable assertion "
(like other advocates of a system, David was not always
accurate in his use of terms). " Name chapter and verse ; in
which of the holy books do you find language to support you ?"

"Book! " repeated Hawk-eye, with singular and ill-con
cealed disdain ; " do you take me for a whimpering boy at
the apron-string of one of your old gals; and this good rifle
on my knee for the feather of a goose's wing, my ox's horn
for a bottle of ink, and my leathern pouch for a cross-barred
handkercher to carry my dinner? Book! what have such as
I, who am a warrior of the wilderness, though a man with
out a cross, to do with books? I never read but in one, and
the words that are written there are too simple and too plain
to need much schooling, though I may boast that of forty
long and hard-working years."

"What call you the volume?'1 said David, misconceiv
ing the other's meaning.

"'Tis open before your eyes," returned the scout; "and
he who owns it is not a niggard of its use. I have heard
it said that there are men who read in books to convince
themselves there is a God. I know not but man may so de
form his works in the settlements, as to leave that which is
so clear in the wilderness a matter of doubt among traders
and priests. If any such there be, and he will follow me
from sun to sun, through the windings of the forest, he shali
see enough to teach him that he is a fool, and that the
greatest of his folly lies in striving to rise to the level of
one he can never equal, be it in goodness, or be it in power."

The instant David discovered that he battled with a dis
putant who imbibed his faith from the lights of nature, es
chewing all subtleties of doctrine, he willingly abandoned
a controversy, from which he believed neither profit nor
credit was to be derived. While the scout was speaking,

he had also seated himself, and producing the ready little
G- Vol. 4

148 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

volume and the iron-rimmed spectacles, he prepared to dis
charge a duty, which nothing but the unexpected assault he
had received in his orthodoxy could have so long suspended.
He was, in truth, a minstrel of the western continent — of a
much later day, certainly, than those gifted bards, who for
merly sang the profane renown of baron and prince, but after
the spirit of his own age and country; and he was now pre
pared to exercise the cunning of his craft, in celebration of,
or rather in thanksgiving for, the recent victory. He waited
patiently for Hawk-eye to cease, then lifting his eyes, to
gether with his voice, he said, aloud —

" I invite you, friends, to join in praise for this signal
deliverance from the hands of barbarians and infidels, to
the comfortable and solemn tones of the tune, called * North
ampton.' "

He next named the page and verse where the rhymes se
lected were to be found, and applied the pitch-pipe to his
lips, with the decent gravity that he had been wont to use
in the temple. This time he was, however, without any ac
companiment, for the sisters were just then pouring out those
tender effusions of affection which have been already alluded
to. Nothing deterred by the smallness of his audience,
which, in truth, consisted only of the discontented scout,
he raised his voice, commencing and ending the sacred song
without accident or interruption of any kind. .

Hawk-eye listened, while he coolly adjusted his flint and
reloaded his rifle; but the sounds, wanting the extraneous
assistance of scene and sympathy, failed to awaken his
slumbering emotions. Never minstrel, or by whatever more
suitable name David should be known, drew upon his tal
ents in the presence of more insensible auditors ; though
considering the singleness and sincerity of his motive, it is
probable that no bard of profane song ever uttered notes
that ascended so near to that throne where all homage and
praise is due. The scout shook his head, and muttering
some unintelligible words, among which "Throat" and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 149

" Iroquois " were alone audible, he walked away, to collect,
and to examine into, the state of the captured arsenal of the
Hurons. In this office he was now joined by Chingach-
gook, who found his own, as well as the rifle of his son,
among the arms. Even Heyward and David were furnished
with weapons; nor was ammunition wanting to render them
all effectual.

When the foresters had made their selection, and distrib
uted their prizes, the scout announced that the hour had ar
rived when it was necessary to move. By this time the song
of Gamut had ceased, and the sisters had learned to still
the exhibition of their emotions. Aided by Duncan and
the younger Mohican, the two latter descended the precipi
tous sides of that hill which they had so lately ascended
under so very different auspices, and whose summit had so
nearly proved the scene of their massacre. At the foot,
they found the Narragansets browsing the herbage of the
bushes, and having mounted, they followed the movements
of a guide, who, in the most deadly straits, had so often
proved himself their friend. The journey was, however,
short. Hawk-eye, leaving the blind path that the Hurons
had followed, turned short to his right, and entering the
thicket, he crossed a babbling brook, and halted in a narrow
dell, under the shade of a few water-elms. Their distance
from the base of the fatal hill was but a few rods, and the
steeds had been serviceable only in crossing the shallow
stream.

The scout and the Indians appeared to be familiar with
the sequestered place where they now were; for, leaning
their rifles against the trees, they commenced throwing aside
the dried leaves, and opening the blue clay, out of which a
clear and sparkling spring of bright, glancing water quickly
bubbled. The white man then looked about him, as though
seeking for some object, which was not to be found as read
ily as he expected —

"Them careless imps, the Mohawks, with their Tuscarora

150 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

and Onondaga brethren, have been here slaking their thirst,"
he muttered, "and the vagabonds have thrown away the
gourd! This is the way with benefits, when they are be
stowed on such disremembering hounds! Here has the
Lord laid his hand, in the midst of the howling wilderness,
for their good, and raised a fountain of water from the bow
els of the 'arth, that might laugh at the richest shorx of
apothecary's ware in all the colonies , and see ! the knaves
have trodden in the clay, and deformed the cleanliness of
the place, as though they were brute beasts, instead of hu
man men."

Uncas silently extended toward him the desired gourd,
which the spleen of Hawk-eye had hitherto prevented him
from observing, on a branch of an elm. Filling it with
water, he retired a short distance, to a place where the
ground was more firm and dry, here he coolly seated him
self, and after taking a long and, apparently, a grateful
draught, he commenced a very strict examination of the
fragments of food left by the Hurons, which had hung in a
wallet on his arm.

"Thank you, lad!" he continued, returning the empty
gourd to Uncas , " now we will see how these rampaging
Hurons lived, when outlying in ambushments. Look at
this! The varlets know the better pieces of the deer, and
one would think they might carve and roast a saddle, equal
to the best cook in the land ! But everything is raw, for the
Iroquois are thorough savages. Uncas, take my steel, and
kindle a fire, a mouthful of a tender broil will give natur*
a helping hand, after so long a trail."

Heyward, perceiving that their guides now set about their
repast in sober earnest, assisted the ladies to alight, and
placed himself at their side, not unwilling to enjoy a few
moments of grateful rest, after the bloody scene he had just
gone through While the culinary process was in hand,
curiosity induced him to inquire into the circumstances
which had led to their timely and unexpected rescue —

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ff How is it that we see you so soon, my generous friend,"
he asked, "and without aid from the garrison of Edward? "

" Had we gone to the bend in the river, we might have
been in time to rake the leaves over your bodies, but too
late to have saved your scalps," coolly answered the scout.
"No, no, instead of throwing away strength and opportu
nity by crossing to the fort, we lay by, under the bank of
the Hudson, waiting to watch the movements of the Hurons."

" You were, then, witnesses of all that passed? "

" Not of all , for Indian sight is too keen to be easily
cheated, and we kept close. A difficult matter it was, too,
to keep this Mohican boy snug in the ambushment. Ah!
Uncas, Uncas, your behavior was more like that of a curi
ous woman than of a warrior on his scent."

Uncas permitted his eyes to turn for an instant on the
sturdy countenance of the speaker, but he neither spoke nor
gave any indication of repentance. On the contrary, Hey-
ward thought the manner of the young Mohican was disdain
ful, if not a little fierce, and that he suppressed passions
that were ready to explode, as much in compliment to the
listeners, as from the deference he usually paid to his white
associate.

" You saw our capture? " Hey ward next demanded.

"We heard it," was the significant answer. "An Indian
yell is plain language to men who have passed their days
in the woods. But when you landed, we were driven to
crawl, like sarr>ents, beneath the leaves; and then we lost
sight of you entirely, until we placed eyes on you again,
trussed to the trees, and ready bound for an Indian mas
sacre."

" Our rescue was the deed of Providence. It was nearly
a miracle that you did not mistake the path, for the Hurons
divided, and each band had its horses."

" Aye ! there we were thrown off the scent, and might, in
deed, have lost the trail, had it not been for Uncas ; we took
the path, however, that led into the wilderness; for we

152 THE LAST OF THE- MOHICANS.

judged, and judged rightly, that the savages would hold that
course with their prisoners. But when we had followed it
for many miles, without finding a single twig broken, as I
had advised, my mind misgave me; especially as all the
footsteps had the prints of moccasins."

"Our captors had the precaution to see us shod like
themselves," said Duncan, raising a foot, and exhibiting the
buckskin he wore.

" Aye ! 'twas judgmatical, and like themselves : though we
were too expart to be thrown from a trail by so common an
invention."

" To what, then, are we indebted for our safety ? "

" To what, as a white man who has no taint of Indian
blood, I should be ashamed to own; to the judgment of
the young Mohican, in matters which I should know better
than he, but which I can now hardly believe to be true,
though my own eyes tell me it is so."

" JTis extraordinary ! Will you not name the reason ? "

" Uncas was bold enough to say, that the beasts ridden
by the gentle ones," continued Hawk-eye, glancing his eyes,
not without curious interest, on the fillies of the ladies,
" planted the legs of one side on the ground at the same
time, which is contrary to the movements of all trotting
four-footed animals of my knowledge, except the bear.
And yet here are horses that always journey in this manner,
as my own eyes have seen, and as their trail has shown for
twenty long miles."

"Tis the merit of the animal! They come from the
shores of Narraganset Bay, in the small province of Provi
dence Plantations, and are celebrated for their hardihood,
and the ease of this peculiar movement; though other horses
are not unfrequently trained to the same."

" It may be — it may be," said Hawk-eye, who had lis
tened with singular attention to this explanation; "though
I am a man who has the full blood of the whites, my judg
ment in deer and beaver is greater than in beasts of burdea

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 153

Major Efrmgham has many noble chargers, but I have never
seen one travel after such a sideling gait."

"True; for he would value the animals for very different
properties. Still is this a breed highly esteemed, and, as
you witness, much honored with the burdens it is often des
tined to bear."

The Mohicans had suspended their operations about the
glimmering fire, to listen ; and when Duncan had done, they
looked at each other significantly, the father uttering the
never-failing exclamation of surprise. The scout rumi
nated, like a man digesting his newly acquired knowledge,
and once more stole a curious glance at the horses.

" I dare to say there are even stranger sights to be seen
in the settlements!" he said, at length; "natur'is sadly
abused by man, when he once gets the mastery. But, go
sideling or go straight, Uncas had seen the movement, and
their trail led us on to the broken bush. The outer branch,
near the prints of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a
lady breaks a flower from its stem, but all the rest were
ragged and broken down, as if the strong hand of a man had
been tearing them! So I concluded, that the cunning var
ments had seen the twig bent, and had torn the rest, to make
us believe a buck had been feeling the boughs with his
antlers."

"I do believe your sagacity did not deceive you; for
some such thing occurred ! "

" That was easy to see," added the scout, in no degree
conscious of having exhibited any extraordinary sagacity;
" and a very different matter it was from a waddling horse !
It then struck me the Mingoes would push for this 'spring,
for the knaves well know the vartue of its waters! "

"Is it, then, so famous?" demanded Hey ward, examin
ing, with a more curious eye, the secluded dell, with its bub
bling fountain, surrounded, as it was, by earth of a deep
dingy brown.

" Few red-skins, who travel south and east of the great

154 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

lakes, but have heard of its qualities. Will you taste for
yourself ? "

Heyward took the gourd, and after swallowing a little of
the water, threw it aside with grimaces of discontent. The
scout laughed in his silent, but heartfelt manner, and shook
his head with vast satisfaction.

"Ah! you want the flavor that one gets by habit; the
time was when I liked it as little as yourself; but I have
come to my taste, and I now crave it, as a deer does the
licks.* Your high-spiced wines are not better liked than a
red-skin relishes this water; especially when his natur' is
ailing. But Uncas has made his fire, and it is time we
think of eating, for our journey is long, and all before us."

Interrupting the dialogue by this abrupt transition, the
scout had instant recourse to the fragments of food which
had escaped the voracity of the Hurons. A very summary
process completed the simple cookery, when he and the
Mohicans commenced their humble meal, with the silence
and characteristic diligence of men who ate in order to
enable themselves to endure great and unremitting toil.

When this necessary, and, happily, grateful duty had
been performed, each of the foresters stooped and took a
long and parting draught, at that solitary and silent spring, f
around which and its sister fountains, within fifty years, the
wealth, beauty, and talents of a hemisphere were to assem
ble in throngs, in pursuit of health and pleasure. Then
Hawk-eye announced his determination to proceed. The
sisters resumed their saddles; Duncan and David grasped
their rifles, and followed on their footsteps; the scout lead
ing the advance, and the Mohicans bringing up the rear.
The whole party moved swiftly through the narrow path,

* Many of the animals of the American forests resort to those spots where salt springs
are found. These are called "licks " or "salt licks," in the language of the country,
from the circumstance that the quadruped is often obliged to lick the earth, in order
to obtain the saline particles. These licks are great places of resort with the hunters,
who waylay their game near the paths that lead to them.

t The scene of the foregoing incidents is on the spot where the village of Ballstoa
now stands ; one of the two principal watering places of America.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 155

toward the north, leaving the healing waters to mingle
unheeded with the adjacent brook, and the bodies of the
dead to fester on the neighboring mount, without the rites
of sepulture ; a fate but too common to the warriors of the
woods, to excite either commiseration or comment.

CHAPTER XIII.

" I'll seek a readier path."

PARNKLL.

THE route taken by Hawk-eye lay across those sandy
plains, relieved by occasional valleys and swells of land,
which had been traversed by their party on the morning of
the same day, with the baffled Magua for their guide. The
sun had now fallen low toward the distant mountains; and
as their journey lay through the interminable forest, the
heat was no longer oppressive. Their progress, in conse
quence, was proportionate; and long before the twilight
gathered about them, they had made good many toilsome
miles on their return.

The hunter, like the savage whose place he filled, seemed
to select among the blind signs of their wild route, with a
species of instinct, seldom abating his speed, and never
pausing to deliberate. A rapid and oblique glance at the
moss on the trees, with an occasional upward gaze toward
the setting sun, or a steady but passing look at the direc
tion of the numerous watercourses, through which he
waded, were sufficient to determine his path, and remove
his greatest difficulties. In the mean time, the forest began
to change its hues, losing that lively green which had em
bellished its arches, in the graver light which is the usual
precursor of the close of day.

While the eyes of the sisters were endeavoring to catch
glimpses through the trees of the flood of golden glory
which formed a glittering halo around the sun, tinge ing here

156 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

and there with ruby streaks, or bordering with narrow edg
ings of shining yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled at
no great distance above the western hills, Hawk-eye turned
suddenly, and pointing upward toward the gorgeous heav
ens, he spoke —

" Yonder is the signal given to man to seek his food and
natural rest," he said ; " better and wiser would it be, if he
could understand the signs of nature, and take a lesson
from the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the fields! Our
night, however, will soon be over; for, with the moon, we
must be up and moving again. I remember to have fou't
the Maquas, hereaways, in the first war in which I ever
drew blood from man ; and we threw up a work of blocks,
to keep the ravenous varments from handling our scalps.
If my marks do not fail me, we shall find the place a few
rods further to our left."

Without waiting for an assent, or, indeed, for any reply,
the sturdy hunter moved boldly into a dense thicket of
young chestnuts, shoving aside the branches of the exuber
ant shoots which nearly covered the ground, like a man who
expected, at each step, to discover some object he had
formerly known. The recollection of the scout did not
deceive him. After penetrating through the brush, matted
as it was with briers, for a few hundred feet, he entered an
open space, that surrounded a low, green hillock, which
was crowned by the decayed block -house in question. This
rude and neglected building was one of those deserted
works, which, having been thrown up on an emergency,
had been abandoned with the disappearance of danger,
and was now quietly crumbling in the solitude of the for
est, neglected, and nearly forgotten, like the circumstances
which had caused it to be reared. Such memorials of the
passage and struggles of man are yet frequent throughout
the broad barrier of wilderness which once separated the
hostile provinces, and form a -species of ruins that are inti
mately associated with the recollections of colonial history,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 157

and whicn. are in appropriate keeping with the gloomy char
acter of the surrounding scenery.* The roof of bark had
long since fallen, and mingled with the soil; but the huge
logs of pine, which had been hastily thrown together, still
preserved their relative positions, though one angle of the
work had given way under the pressure, and threatened a
speedy downfall to the remainder of the rustic edifice.
While Heyward and his companions hesitated to approach
a building so decayed, Hawk-eye and the Indians entered
within the low walls, not only without fear, but with obvious
interest. While the former surveyed the ruins, both inter
nally and externally, with the curiosity of one whose recol
lections were reviving at each moment, Chingachgook re
lated to his son, in the language of the Delawares, and with
the pride of a conqueror, the brief history of the skirmish
which had been fought, in his youth, in that secluded spot.
A strain of melancholy, however, blended with his triumph,
rendering his voice, as usual, soft and musical.

In the mean time, the sisters gladly dismounted, and pre
pared to enjoy their halt in the coolness of the evening, and
in a security which they believed nothing but the beasts of
the forest could invade.

" Would not our resting-place have been more retired, my
worthy friend," demanded the more vigilant Duncan, per
ceiving that the scout had already finished his short survey,
"had we chosen a spot less known, and one more rarely
visited than this?"

* Some years since, the writer was shooting in the vicinity of the ruins of Fort Os-
wego, which stands on the shores of Lake Ontario. His game was deer, and his chase
a forest that stretched, with little interruption, fifty miles inland. Unexpectedly he
came upon six or eight ladders lying in the woods within a short distance of each
other. They were rudely made and much decayed. Wondering what could have
assembled so many of these instruments in such a place, he sought an old man who
resided near for the explanation.

During the war of 1776 Fort Oswego was held by the British. An expedition had
been sent two hundred miles through the wilderness to surprise the fort. It appears
that the Americans, on reaching the spot named, which was within a mile or two of
the fort, first learned that they were expected, and in great danger of being cut off.
They threw away their scaling-ladders, and made a rapid retreat. These ladders had
lain unmolested thirty years, in the spot where they had thus been cast.

158 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Few live who know the block-house was ever raised,"
was the slow and musing answer ; " 'tis not often that books
are made, and narratives written, of such a skrimmage as
was here fou't atween the Mohicans and the Mohawks, in a
war of their own waging. I was then a younker, and went
out with the Delawares, because I know'd they were a scan
dalized and wronged race. Forty days and forty nights
did the imps crave our blood around this pile of logs, which
I designed and partly reared, being, as you'll remember, no
Indian myself, but a man without a cross. The Delawares
lent themselves to the work, and we made it good, ten to
twenty, until our numbers were nearly equal, and then we
sallied out upon the hounds, and not a man of them ever
got back to tell the fate of his party. Yes, yes; I was
then young, and new to the sight of blood; and not relish
ing the thought that creatures who had spirits like myself
should lay on the naked ground, to be torn asunder by
beasts, or to bleach in the rains, I buried the dead with my
own hands, under that very little hillock where you have
placed yourselves; and no bad seat does it make neither,
though it be raised by the bones of mortal men."

Heyward and the sisters arose, on the instant, from the
grassy sepulchre; nor could the two latter, notwithstanding
the terrific scenes they had so recently passed through, en
tirely suppress an emotion of natural horror, when they
found themselves in such familiar contact with the grave of
the dead Mohawks. The gray light, the gloomy little area
of dark grass, surrounded by its border of brush, beyond
which the pines rose, in breathing silence, apparently, into
the very clouds, and the deathlike stillness of the vast
forest, were all in unison to deepen such a sensation.

"They are gone, and they are harmless," continued
Hawk-eye, waving his hand, with a melancholy smile, at
their manifest alarm : " they'll never shout the war-whoop
nor strike a blow with the tomahawk again ! And of all
those who aided in placing them where they lie, Chingach-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 159

gook and I only are living. The brothers and family of
the Mohican formed our war-party; and you see before you
all that are now left of his race."

The eyes of the listeners involuntarily sought the forms
of the Indians, with a compassionate interest in their deso
late fortune. Their dark persons were still to be seen
within the shadows of the block-house, the son listening
to the relation of his father with that sort of intenseness
which would be created by a narrative that redounded so
much to the honor of those whose names he had long revered
for their courage and savage virtues.

"I had thought the Delawares a pacific people," said
Duncan, "and that they never waged war in person; trust
ing the defence of their lands to those very Mohawks that
you slew ! "

" 'Tis true in part," returned the scout, " and yet, at the
bottom, His a wicked lie. Such a treaty was made in ages
gone by, through the deviltries of the Dutchers, who wished
to disarm the natives that had the best right to the country,
where they had settled themselves. The Mohicans, though
a part of the same nation, having to deal with the English,
never entered into the silly bargain, but kept to their man
hood; as in truth did the Delawares, when their eyes were
opened to their folly. You see before you a chief of the
great Mohican Sagamores! Once- his family could chase
their deer over tracts of country wider than that which
belongs to the Albany Patteroon, without crossing brook or
hill that was not their own; but what is left to their de
scendant! He may find his six feet of earth when God
chooses, and keep it in peace, perhaps, if he has a friend
who will take the pains to sink his head so low, that the
ploughshares cannot reach it! "

" Enough ! " said Heyward, apprehensive that the subject
might lead to a discussion that would interrupt the harmony
so necessary to the preservation of his fair companions:
" we have journeyed far, and few among us are blessed with

160 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

forms like that of yours, which seems to know neither
fatigue nor weakness."

" The sinews and bones of a man carry me through it
all," said the hunter, surveying his muscular limbs with a
simplicity that betrayed the honest pleasure the compliment
afforded him : " there are larger and heavier men to be found
in the settlements, but you might travel many days in a city
before you could meet one able to walk fifty miles without
stopping to take breath, or who has kept the hounds within
hearing during a chase of hours. However, as flesh and
blood are not always the same, it is quite reasonable to sup
pose that the gentle ones are willing to rest, after all they
have seen and done this day. Uncas, clear out the spring,
while your father and I make a cover for their tender heads
of these chestnut shoots, and a bed of grass and leaves."

The dialogue ceased, while the hunter and his compan
ions busied themselves in preparations for the comfort and
protection of those they guided. A spring, which many
long years before had induced the natives to select the
place for their temporary fortification, was soon cleared of
leaves, and a fountain of crystal gushed from the bed,
diffusing its waters over the verdant hillock. A corner of
the building was then roofed in such a manner as to ex
clude the heavy dew of the climate, and piles of sweet
shrubs and dried leaves were laid beneath it for the sisters
to repose on.

While the diligent woodsmen were employed in this man
ner, Cora and Alice partook of that refreshment which duty
required much more than inclination prompted them to ac
cept. They then retired within the walls, and first offering
up their thanksgivings for past mercies, and petitioning for
a continuance of the Divine favor throughout the coming
night, they laid their tender forms on the fragrant couch,
and in spite of recollections and forebodings, soon sank
into those slumbers which nature so imperiously demanded,
and which were sweetened by hopes for the morrow. Dun-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. l6l

can had prepared himself to pass the night in watchfulness
near them, just without the ruin, but the scout, perceiving
his intention, pointed toward Chingachgook, as he coolly
disposed his own person on the grass, and said —

"The eyes of a white man are too heavy and too blind
for such a watch as this! The Mohican will be our senti
nel, therefore let us sleep."

" I proved myself a sluggard on my post during the past
night," said Heyward, " and have less need of repose than
you, who did more credit to the character of a soldier. Let
all the party seek their rest, then, while I hold the guard."

"If we lay among the white tents of the 6oth, and in
front of an enemy like the French, I could not ask for a
better watchman," returned the scout; "but in the darkness
and among the signs of the wilderness your judgment would
be like the folly of a child, and your vigilance thrown away.
Do then, like Uncas and myself, sleep, and sleep in safety."

Heyward perceived, in truth, that the younger Indian had
thrown his form on the side of the hillock while they were
talking, like one who sought to make the most of the time
allotted to rest, and that his example had been followed by
David, whose voice literally "clove to his jaws" with the
fever of his wound, heightened, as it was, by their toilsome
march. Unwilling to prolong a useless discussion, the
young man affected to comply, by posting his back against
the logs of the block-house, in a half-recumbent posture,
though resolutely determined, in his own mind, not to close
an eye until he had delivered his precious charge into the
arms of Munro himself. Hawk-eye, believing he had pre
vailed, soon fell asleep, and a silence as deep as the soli
tude in which they had found it pervaded the retired spot.

For many minutes Duncan succeeded in keeping his
senses on the alert, and alive to every moaning sound that
arose from the forest. His vision became more acute as
the shades of evening settled on the place; and even after
the stars were glimmering above his head, he was able to

1 62 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

distinguish the recumbent forms of his companions, as they
lay stretched on the grass, and to note the person of Chin-
gachgook, who sat upright and motionless as one of the
trees which formed the dark barrier on every side of them.
He still heard the gentle breathings of the sisters, who lay
within a few feet of him, and not a leaf was ruffled by the
passing air, of which his ear did not detect the whispering
sound. At length, however, the mournful notes of a whip-
poor-will became blended with the meanings of an owl;
his heavy eyes occasionally sought the bright rays of the
stars, and then he fancied he saw them through the fallen
lids. At instants of momentary wakefulness he mistook a
bush for his associate sentinel; his head next sank upon
his shoulder, which, in its turn, sought the support of the
ground; and, finally, his whole person became relaxed and
pliant, and the young man sank into a deep sleep, dreaming
that he was a knight of ancient chivalry, holding his mid
night vigils before the tent of a recaptured princess, whose
favor he did not despair of gaining, by such a proof of de
votion and watchfulness.

How long the tired Duncan lay in this insensible state he
never knew himself, but his slumbering visions had been
long lost in total forgetfulness, when he was awakened by
a light tap on the shoulder. Aroused by this signal, slight
as it was, he sprang upon his feet with a confused recollec
tion of the self-imposed duty he had assumed with the com
mencement of the night —

"Who comes?" he demanded, feeling for his sword, at
the place where it was usually suspended. "Speak! friend
or enemy? "

"Friend," replied the low voice of Chingachgook ; who,
pointing upward at the luminary which was shedding its
mild light through the opening in the trees, directly on
their bivouac, immediately added, in his rude English,
"rooon comes, and white man's fort far — far off; time to
move, when sleep shuts both eyes of the Frenchman ! "

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 163

"You say true! call up your friends, and bridle the
horses, while I prepare my own companions for the march! "

" We are awake, Duncan," said the soft, silvery tones of
Alice within the building, " and ready to travel very fast,
after so refreshing a sleep; but you have watched through
the tedious night in our behalf, after having endured so
much fatigue the livelong day ! "

" Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous
eyes betrayed me; twice have I proved myself unfit for the
trust I bear/'

" Nay, Duncan, deny it not," interrupted the smiling
Alice, issuing from the shadows of the building into the
light of the moon, in all the loveliness of her freshened
beauty ; " I know you to be a heedless one, when self is the
object of your care, and but too vigilant in favor of others.
Can we not tarry here a little longer, while you find the rest
you need? Cheerfully, most cheerfully, will Cora and I
keep the vigils, while you, and all these brave men, en
deavor to snatch a little sleep! "

" If shame could cure me of my drowsiness, I should
never close an eye again," said the uneasy youth, gazing at
the ingenuous countenance of Alice, where, however, in its
sweet solicitude, he read nothing to confirm his half-awak
ened suspicion. " It is but too true, that after leading you
into danger by my heedlessness, I .have not even the merit
of guarding your pillows as should become a soldier."

" No one but Duncan himself should accuse Duncan of
such a weakness. Go, then, and sleep; believe me, neither
of us, weak girls as we are, will betray our watch."

The young man was relieved from the awkwardness of
making any further protestations of his own demerits, by an
exclamation from Chingachgook, and the attitude of riveted
attention assumed by his son.

" The Mohicans hear an enemy ! " whispered Hawk-eye,
who, by this time, in common with the whole party, was
awake and stirring. "They scent danger in the wind! "

1 64 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" God forbid ! " exclaimed Heyward. " Surely we have
had enough of bloodshed."

While he spoke, however, the young soldier seized his
rifle, and advancing toward the front, prepared to atone for
his venial remissness, by freely exposing his life in defence
of those he attended.

" 'Tis some creature of the forest prowling around us in
quest of food," he said, in a whisper, as soon as the low,
and apparently distant sounds, which had startled the Mo
hicans, reached his own ears.

"Hist!" returned the attentive scout; "'tis man; even
I can now tell his tread, poor as my senses are when com
pared to an Indian's! That scampering Huron has fallen
in with one of Montcalm's outlying parties, and they have
struck upon our trail. I shouldn't like, myself, to spill
more human blood in this spot," he added, looking around
with anxiety in his features, at the dim objects by which he
was surrounded ; " but what must be, must ! Lead the
horses into the block-house, Uncas; and, friends, do you
follow to the same shelter. Poor and old as it is, it offers
a cover, a'hd has rung with the crack of a rifle afore to-night ! "

He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans leading the Nar-
ragansets within the ruin, whither the whole party repaired,
with the most guarded silence.

The sounds of approaching footsteps were now too dis
tinctly audible, to leave any doubts as to the nature of the
interruption. They were soon mingled with voices calling
to each other in an Indian dialect, which the hunter, in a
whisper, affirmed to Heyward was the language of the Hu-
rons. When the party reached the point where the horses
had entered the thicket which surrounded the block-house,
they were evidently at fault, having lost those marks which,
until that moment, had directed their pursuit.

It would seem by the voices that twenty men were soon
collected at that one spot, mingling their different opinions
and advice in noisy clamor.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 165

" The knaves know our weakness," whispered Hawk-eye,
who stood by the side of Heyward, in deep shade, looking
through an opening in the logs, " or they wouldn't indulge
their idleness in such a squaw's march. Listen to the rep
tiles! each man among them seems to have two tongues,
and but a single leg."

Duncan, brave as he was in the combat, could not, in
such a moment of painful suspense, make any reply to
the cool and characteristic remark of the scout. He only
grasped his rifle more firmly, and fastened his eyes upon
the narrow opening, through which he gazed upon the
moonlight view with increasing anxiety. The deeper tones
of one who spoke as having authority were next heard, amid
a silence that denoted the respect with which his orders, or
rather advice, was received. After which, by the rustling
of leaves, and cracking of dried twigs, it was apparent the
savages were separating in pursuit of the lost trail. For
tunately for the pursued, the light of the moon, while it shed
a flood of mild lustre upon the little area around the ruin,
was not sufficiently strong to penetrate the deep arches of
the forest, where the objects still lay in deceptive shadow.
The search proved fruitless; for so short and sudden had
been the passage from the faint path the travellers had
journeyed into the thicket, that every trace of their footsteps
was lost in the obscurity of the woods.

It was not long, however, before the restless savages were
heard beating the brush, and gradually approaching the
inner edge of that dense border of young chestnuts which
encircled the little area.

" They are coming," muttered Heyward, endeavoring to
thrust his rifle through the chink in the logs; "let us fire
on their approach."

" Keep everything in the shade," returned the scout; "the
snapping of a flint, or even the smell of a single karnel of
the brimstone, would bring the hungry varlets upon us in a
body. Should it please God that we must give battle for

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the scalps, trust to the experience of men who know the
ways of the savages, and who are not often backward when
the war-whoop is howled."

Duncan cast his eyes behind him, and saw that the trem
bling sisters were cowering in the far corner of the building,
while the Mohicans stood in the shadow, like two upright
posts, ready, and apparently willing, to strike, when the
blow should be needed. Curbing his impatience, he again
looked out upon the area, and awaited the result in silence.
At that instant the thicket opened, and a tall and armed
Huron advanced a few paces into the open space. As he
gazed upon the silent block-house, the moon fell full upon
his swarthy countenance, and betrayed its surprise and
curiosity. He made the exclamation which usually accom
panies the former emotion in an Indian, and, calling in a
low voice, soon drew a companion to his side.

These children of the woods stood together for several
moments pointing at the crumbling edifice, and conversing
in the unintelligible language of their tribe. They then
approached, though with slow and cautious steps, pausing
every instant to look at the building, like startled deer,
whose curiosity struggled powerfully with their awakened
apprehensions for the mastery. The foot of one of them
suddenly rested on the mound, and he stooped to examine
its nature. At this moment, Heyward observed that the
scout loosened his knife in its sheath, and lowered the muz
zle of his rifle. Imitating these movements, the young man
prepared himself for the struggle, which now seemed in
evitable.

The savages were so near, that the least motion in one of
the horses, or even a breath louder than common, would
have betrayed the fugitives. But, in discovering the char
acter of the mound, the attention of the Hurons appeared
directed to a different object. They spoke together, and the
sounds of their voices were low and solemn, as if influenced
by a reverence that was deeply blended with awe. Then

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. l6/

they drew wearily back, keeping their eyes riveted on the
ruin, as if they expected to see the apparitions of the dead
issue from its silent walls, until having reached the boun
dary of the area, they moved slowly into the thicket, and
disappeared.

Hawk-eye dropped the breech of his rifle to the earth,
and drawing a long, free breath, exclaimed in an audible
whisper —

" Ay ! they respect the dead, and it has this time saved
their own lives, and it may be, the lives of better men too."

Heyward lent his attention, for a single moment, to his
companion, but without replying, he again turned toward
those who just then interested him more. He heard the
two Hurons leave the bushes, and it was soon plain that all
the pursuers were gathered about them, in deep attention to
their report. After a few minutes of earnest and solemn
dialogue, altogether different from the noisy clamor with
which they had first collected about the spot, the sounds
grew fainter and more distant, and finally were lost in the
depths of the forest.

Hawk-eye waited until a signal from the listening Chin-
gachgook assured him that every sound from the retiring
party was completely swallowed by the distance, when he
motioned to Heyward to lead forth the horses, and to assist
the sisters into their saddles. The instant this was done,
they issued through the broken gateway, and stealing out by
a direction opposite to the one by which they had entered,
they quitted the spot, the sisters casting furtive glances at
the silent grave and crumbling ruin, as they left the soft
light of the moon, to bury themselves in the gloom of the
woods.

1 68 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER XIV.

Guard.— Qui est la ?

Puc. — Paisans, pauvres gens de France.

KING HENRY VI.

DURING the rapid movement from the block-house, and until
the party was deeply buried in the forest, each individ
ual was too much interested in the escape, to hazard a
word even in whispers. The scout resumed his post in the
advance, though his steps, after he had thrown a safe dis
tance between himself and his enemies, were more deliber
ate than in their previous march, in consequence of his
utter ignorance of the localities of the surrounding woods.
More than once he halted to consult with his confederates,
the Mohicans, pointing upward at the moon, and examining
the barks of the trees with care. In these brief pauses,
Heyward and the sisters listened, with senses rendered
doubly acute by the danger, to detect any symptoms which
might announce the proximity of their foes. At such mo
ments, it seemed as if a vast range of country lay buried in
eternal sleep; not the least sound arising from the forest,
unless it was the distant and scarcely audible rippling of a
water-course. Birds, beasts, and man, appeared to slumber
alike, if, indeed, any of the latter were to be found in that
wide tract of wilderness. But the sounds of the rivulet,
feeble and murmuring as they were, relieved the guides at
once from no trifling embarrassment, and toward it they
immediately held their way.

When the banks of the little stream were gained, Hawk-
eye made another halt; and, taking the moccasins from his
feet, he invited Heyward and Gamut to follow his example.
He then entered the water, and for near an hour they
travelled in the bed of the brook, leaving no trail. The
moon had already sunk into an immense pile of black
clouds, which lay impending above the western horizon,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 169

when they issued from the low and devious water-course to
rise again to the light and level of the sandy but wooded
plain. Here the scout seemed to be once more at home, for
he held on his way with the certainty and diligence of a
man who moved in the security of his own knowledge.
The path soon became more uneven, and the travellers could
plainly perceive that the mountains drew nigher to them on
each hand, and that they were, in truth, about entering one
of their gorges. Suddenly Hawk-eye made a pause, and
waiting until he was joined by the whole party, he spoke,
though in tones so low and cautious, that they added to the
solemnity of his words, in the quiet and darkness of the
place.

" It is easy to know the pathways, and to find the licks
and water-courses of the wilderness," he said; " but who that
saw this spot could venture to say, that a mighty army was
at rest among yonder silent trees and barren mountains? "

"We are then at no great distance from William Henry?"
said Heyward, advancing nigher to the scout.

" It is yet a long and weary path, and when and where to
strike it, is now our greatest difficulty. See," he said,
pointing through the trees toward a spot where a little basin
of water reflected the stars from its placid bosom, " here is
the 'bloody pond'; and I am on ground that I have not
only often travelled, but over which I have fou't the enemyt
from the rising to the setting sun."

"Ha! that sheet of dull and dreary water, then, is the
sepulchre of the brave men who fell in the contest. I have
heard it named, but never have I stood on its banks before."

"Three battles did we make with the Dutch-Frenchman1
in a day," continued Hawk-eye, pursuing the train of his
own thoughts, rather than replying to the remark of Dun
can. " He met us hard by, in our outward march to ambush

* Baron Dieskau, a German, in the service of France. A few years previously to
the period of the tale, this officer was defeated by Sir William Johnson of Johnstown,
New York, on the shores of Lake George.

I/O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

his advance, and scattered us, like driven deer, through the
defile, to the shores of Horican. Then we rallied behind
our fallen trees, and made head against him, under Sir
William — who was made Sir William for that very deed;
and well did we pay him for the disgrace of the morning.
Hundreds of Frenchmen saw the sun that day for the last
time; and even their leader, Dieskau himself, fell into our
hands, so cut and torn with the lead, that he has gone back
to his own country, unfit for further acts in war."

"'Twas a noble repulse!" exclaimed Hey ward, in the
heat of his youthful ardor; "the fame of it reached us
early, in our southern army."

"Ay! but it did not end there. I was sent by Major
Efrmgham, at Sir William's own bidding, to outflank the
French, and carry the tidings of their disaster across the
portage, to the fort on the Hudson. Just hereaway, where
you see the trees rise into a mountain swell, I met a party
coming down to our aid, and I led them where the enemy
were taking their meal, little dreaming that they had not
finished the bloody work of the day."

"And you surprised them? "

" If death can be a surprise to men who are thinking only
of the cravings of their aopetites. We gave them but little
breathing time, for they had borne hard upon us in the fight
of the morning, and there were few in our party who had
not lost friend or relative by their hands. When all was
over, the dead, and some say the dying, were cast into that
little pond. These eyes have seen its waters colored with
blood, as natural water never yet flowed from the bowels
of the 'arth."

" It was a convenient, and, I trust, will prove a peaceful
grave for a soldier. You have, then, seen much service on
this frontier?"

" I ! " said the scout, erecting his tall person with an air
of military pride- "there are not many echoes among these
kills that haven't rung with the crack of my rifle, nor is there

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. I /I

the space of a square mile atwixt Horican and the river,
that * Kill-deer ' hasn't dropped a living body on, be it an en
emy or be it a brute beast. As for the grave there being as
quiet as you mention, it is another matter. There are them
in the camp who say and think, man, to lie still, should not
be buried while the breath is in the body; and certain it is
that in the hurry of that evening the doctors had but little
time to say who was living and who was dead. Hist! see
you nothing walking on the shore of the pond? "

" 'Tis not probable that any are as houseless as ourselves,
in this dreary forest."

" Such as he may care but little for house or shelter, and
night dew can never wet a body that passes its days in the
water," returned the scout, grasping the shoulder of Hey-
ward with such convulsive strength as to make the young
soldier painfully sensible how much superstitious terror had
got the mastery of a man usually so dauntless.

"By Heaven! there is a human form, and it approaches!
Stand to your arms, my friends; for we know not whom we
encounter."

"Qui vive?" demanded a stern, quick voice, which
sounded like a challenge from another world, issuing out of
that solitary and solemn place.

"What says it? " whispered the scout; " it speaks neither
Indian nor English! "

"Qui vive? " repeated the same voice, which was quickly
followed by the rattling of arms, and a menacing attitude.

"France!" cried Heyward, advancing from the shadow
of the trees to the shore of the pond, within a few yards of
the sentinel.

" D'oii venez-vous — ou allez-vous, d'aussi bonne heure? "
demanded the grenadier, in the language and with the ac
cent of a man from old France.

" Je viens de la de'couverte, et je vais me coucher."

" Etes-vous officier du roi ? "

" Sans doute, mon camarade ; me prends-tu pour un pro-

H Vol. 4

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

vincial! Je suis capitaine de chasseurs (Heyward well
knew that the other was of a regiment in the line) — j'ai ici,
avec moi, les filles du commandant de la fortification.
Aha! tu en as entendu parler! je les ai fait prisonnieres
pres de 1'autre fort, et je les conduis au general."

"Ma foil mesdames; j'en suis fache* pour vous," ex
claimed the young soldier, touching his cap with grace;
"mais — fortune de guerre! vous trouverez notre general un
brave homme, et bien poli avec les dames."

" C'est le caractere des gens de guerre," said Cora, with
admirable self-possession. " Adieu, mon ami ; je vous sou-
haiterais un devoir plus agreable a remplir."

The soldier made a low and humble acknowledgment for
her civility; and Heyward adding a "bonne nuit, mon
camarade," they moved deliberately forward, leaving the
sentinel pacing the banks of the silent pond, little suspect
ing an enemy of so much effrontery, and humming to him
self those words, which were recalled to his mind by the
sight of women, and perhaps by recollections of his own
distant and beautiful France —

"Vive le vin, vive 1'amour," etc. etc.

" Tis well you understood the knave ! " whispered the
scout when they had gained a little distance from the place,
and letting his rifle fall into the hollow of his arm again;
" I soon saw that he was one of them uneasy Frenchers ; and
well for him it was that his speech was friendly and his
wishes kind, or a place might have been found for his bones
amongst those of his countrymen."

He was interrupted by a long and heavy groan which
arose from the little basin, as though, in truth, the spirits
of the departed lingered about their watery sepulchre.

" Surely it was of flesh ! " continued the scout ; " no spirit
could handle its arms so steadily ! "

" It was of flesh; but whether the poor fellow still be
longs to this world may well be doubted," said Heyward,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 1/3

glancing his eyes around him, and missing Chingachgook
from their little band. Another groan more faint than the
former was succeeded by a heavy and sullen plunge into
the water, and all was as still again as if the borders of the
dreary pool had never been awakened from the silence of
creation. While they yet hesitated in uncertainty, the form
of the Indian was seen gliding out of the thicket. As the
chief rejoined them, with one hand he attached the reeking
scalp of the unfortunate young Frenchman to his girdle, and
with the other he replaced the knife and tomahawk that had
drunk his blood. He then took his wonted station, with the
air of a man who believed he had done a deed of merit.

The scout dropped one end of his rifle to the earth, and
leaning his hands on the other, he stood musing in pro
found silence. Then shaking his head in a mournful man
ner, he muttered —

" 'Twould have been a cruel and an unhuman act for a
white-skin; but 'tis the gift and natur' of an Indian, and I
suppose it should not be denied. I could wish, though, it
had befallen an accursed Mingo, rather than that gay young
boy from the old countries."

"Enough!" said Heyward, apprehensive the unconscious
sisters might comprehend the nature of the detention, and
conquering his disgust by a train of reflections very much
like that of the hunter; " 'tis done; 'and though better it
were left undone, cannot be amended. You see we are, too
obviously, within the sentinels of the enemy; what course
do you propose to follow? "

"Yes," said Hawk-eye, rousing himself again, "'tis as
you say, too late to harbor further thoughts about it. Ay,
the French have gathered around the fort in good earnest,
and we have a delicate needle to thread in passing them."

" And but little time to do it in," added Heyward, glanc
ing his eyes upward, toward the bank of vapor that con
cealed the setting moon.

" And little time to do it in ! " repeated the scout. " The

1/4 THE LAST °F THE MOHICANS.

thing may be done in two fashions, by the help of Provi
dence, without which it may not be done at all."

" Name them quickly, for time presses."

" One would be to dismount the gentle ones, and let their
beasts range the plain ; by sending the Mohicans in front,
we might then cut a lane through their sentries, and enter
the fort over the dead bodies."

" It will not do — it will not do ! " interrupted the generous
Hey ward; "a soldier might force this way in this manner,
but never with such a convoy."

" 'T would be, indeed, a bloody path for such tender feet
to wade in," returned the equally reluctant scout; "but I
thought it befitting my manhood to name it. We must then
turn on our trail, and get without the line of their lookouts,
when we will bend short to the west, and enter the moun
tains; where I can hide you, so that all the devil's hounds
in Montcalm's pay would be thrown off the scent for months
to come."

" Let it be done, and that instantly."

Further words were unnecessary; for Hawk-eye, merely
uttering the mandate to "follow," moved along the route by
which they had just entered their present critical and even
dangerous situation. Their progress, like their late dia
logue, was guarded, and without noise; for none knew at
what moment a passing patrol, or a crouching picket, of the
enemy, might rise upon their path. As they held their
silent way along the margin of the pond, again Heyward
and the scout stole furtive glances at its appalling dreari
ness. They looked in vain for the form they had so re
cently seen stalking along its silent shores, while a low and
regular wash of the little waves, by announcing that the
waters were not yet subsided, furnished a frightful memorial
of the deed of blood they had just witnessed. Like all that
passing and gloomy scene, the low basin, however, quickly
melted in the darkness, and became blended with the mass
of black objects, in the rear of the travellers.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Hawk-eye soon deviated from the line of their retreat,
and striking off toward the mountains which form the west
ern boundary of the narrow plain, he led his followers, with
swift steps, deep within the shadows that were cast from their
high and broken summits. The route was now painful ; lying
over ground ragged with rocks, and intersected with ravines,
and their progress proportionately slow. Bleak and black
hills lay on every side of them, compensating in some de-
gree for the additional toil of the march, by the sense of
security they imparted. At length the party began slowly
to rise a steep and rugged ascent, by a path that curiously
wound among rocks and trees, avoiding the one, and sup
ported by the other, in a manner that showed it had been
devised by men long practised in the arts of the wilderness,
As they gradually rose from the level of the valleys, the
thick darkness which usually precedes the approach of day
began to disperse, and objects were seen in the plain and
palpable colors with which they had been gifted by nature.
When they issued from the stunted woods which clung to
the barren sides of the mountain, upon a flat and mossy
rock that formed its summit, they met the morning, as it
came blushing above the green pines of a hill that lay on
the opposite side of the valley of the Horican.

The scout now told the sisters to dismount; and taking
the bridles from the mouths, and the -saddles off the backs
of the jaded beasts, he turned them loose, to glean a scanty
subsistence among the shrubs and meagre herbage of that
elevated region.

" Go," he said, " and seek your food where natur' gives it
you; and beware that you become not food to ravenous
wolves yourselves, among these hills."

" Have we no further need of them ? " demanded Hey-
ward.

" See, and judge with your own eyes," said the scout, ad
vancing toward the eastern brow of the mountain, whither he
beckoned for the whole party to follow : " if it was as easy to

1/6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

look into the heart of man as it is to spy out the nakedness
of Montcalm's camp from this point, hypocrites would grow
scarce, and the cunning of a Mingo might prove a losing
game, compared to the honesty of a Delaware."

When the travellers reached the verge of the precipice,
they saw, at a glance, the truth of the scout's declaration,
and the admirable foresight with which he had led them to
their commanding station.

The mountain on which they stood, elevated, perhaps, a
thousand feet in the air, was a high cone that rose a little
in advance of that range which stretches for miles along the
western shores of the lake, until meeting its sister piles, be
yond the water, it ran off toward the Canadas, in confused
and broken masses of rock thinly sprinkled with evergreens.
Immediately at the feet of the party, the southern shore of
the Horican swept in a broad semicircle, from mountain to
mountain, marking a wide strand, that soon rose into an
uneven and somewhat elevated plain. To the north,
stretched the limpid, and, as it appeared from that dizzy
height, the narrow sheet of the " holy lake," indented with
numberless bays, embellished by fantastic headlands, and
dotted with countless islands. At the distance of a few
leagues, the bed of the waters became lost among moun
tains, or was wrapped in the masses of vapor that came
slowly rolling along their bosom, before a light morning
air. But a narrow opening between the crests of the hills
pointed out the passage by which they found their way still
further north, to spread their pure and ample sheets again,
before pouring out their tribute into the distant Champlain.
To the south stretched the defile, or rather broken plain, so
often mentioned. For several miles in this direction, the
mountains appeared reluctant to yield their dominion, but
within reach of the eye they diverged, and finally melted
into the level and sandy lands, across which we have ac
companied our adventurers in their double journey. Along
both ranges of hills, which bounded the opposite sides of

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 177

the lake and valley, clouds of light vapor were rising in
spiral wreaths from the uninhabited woods, looking like the
smokes of hidden cottages; or rolled lazily down the de
clivities, to mingle with the fogs of the lower land. A sin
gle, solitary, snow-white cloud floated above the valley, and
marked the spot beneath which lay the silent pool of the
"bloody pond."

Directly on the shore of the lake, and nearer to its west
ern than to its eastern margin, lay the extensive earthen
ramparts and low buildings of William Henry. Two of the
sweeping bastions appeared to rest on the water which
washed their bases, while a deep ditch and extensive mo
rasses guarded its other sides and angles. The land had
been cleared of wood for a reasonable distance around the
work, but every other part of the scene lay in the green liv
ery of nature, except where the limpid water mellowed the
view, or the bold rocks thrust their black and naked heads
above the undulating outline of the mountain ranges. In
its front might be seen the scattered sentinels, who held a
weary watch against their numerous foes; and within the
walls themselves, the travellers looked down upon men still
drowsy with a night of vigilance. Toward the southeast,
but in immediate contact with the fort, was an entrenched
camp, posted on a rocky eminence, that would have been far
more eligible for the work itself, in which Hawk-eye pointed
out the presence of those auxiliary regiments that had so re
cently left the Hudson in their company. From the woods,
a little further to the south, rose numerous dark and lurid
smokes, that were easily to be distinguished from the purer
exhalations of the springs, and which the scout also showed
to Heyward, as evidences that the enemy lay in force in that
direction.

But the spectacle which most concerned the young soldier
was on the western bank of the lake, though quite near to its
southern termination. On a strip of land, which appeared,
from his stand, too narrow to contain such an army, but

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

which, in truth, extended many hundreds of yards from the
shores of the Horican to the base of the mountain, were to
be seen the white tents and military engines of an encamp
ment of ten thousand men. Batteries were already thrown
up in their front, and even while the spectators above them
were looking down, with such different emotions, on a scene
which lay like a map beneath their feet, the roar of artillery
rose from the valley, and passed off in thundering echoes,
along the eastern hills.

" Morning is just touching them below," said the delib
erate and musing scout, " and the watchers have a mind to
wake up the sleepers by the sound of cannon. We are a
few hours too late! Montcalm has already filled the woods
with his accursed Iroquois."

"The place is, indeed, invested," returned Duncan, "but
is there no expedient by which we may enter? capture in
the works would be far preferable to falling again into the
hands of roving Indians."

" See ! " exclaimed the scout, unconsciously directing the
attention of Cora to the quarters of her own father, " how
that shot has made the stones fly from the side of the com
mandant's house! Ay! these Frenchers will pull it to
pieces faster than it was put together, solid and thick though
it be."

" Heyward, I sicken at the sight of danger that I cannot
share," said the undaunted, but anxious daughter. " Let us
go to Montcalm, and demand admission : he dare not deny
a child the boon."

" You would scarce find the tent of the Frenchman with
the hair on your head," said the blunt scout. " If I had
but one of the thousand boats which lie empty along that
shore, it might be done. Ha! here will soon be an end of
the firing, for yonder comes a fog that will turn day to night,
and make an Indian arrow more dangerous than a moulded
cannon. Now, if you are equal to the wrork, and will fol
low, I will make a push; for I long to get down into that

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

camp, if it be only to scatter some Mingo dogs that I see
lurking in the skirts of yonder thicket of birch."

" We are equal/'7 said Cora, firmly : " on such an errand
we will follow to any danger."

The scout turned to her with a smile of honest and cordial
approbation, as he answered —

" I would I had a thousand men, of brawny limbs and
quick eyes, that feared death as little as you! I'd send
them jabbering Frenchers back into their den again, afore
the week was ended, howling like so many fettered hounds
or hungry wolves. But stir," he added, turning from her to
the rest of the party, "the fog comes rolling down so fast,
we shall have but just the time to meet it on the plain, and
use it as a cover. Remember, if any accident should befall
me, to keep the air blowing on your left cheeks — or, rather,
follow the Mohicans; they'd scent their way, be it in day
or be it at night."

He then waved his hand for them to follow, and thre^
himself down the steep declivity, with free, but careful foot
steps. Heyward assisted the sisters to descend, and in a
few minutes they were all far down a mountain whose sides
they had climbed with so much toil and pain.

The direction taken by Hawk-eye soon brought the trav
ellers to the level of the plain, nearly opposite to a sally
port in the western curtain of the fort, which lay, itself, at
the distance of about half a mile from the point where he
halted to allow Duncan to come up with his charge. In
their eagerness, and favored by the nature of the ground
they had anticipated the fog, which was rolling heavil}
down the lake, and it became necessary to pause, until the
mists had wrapped the camp of the enemy in their fleecy
mantle. The Mohicans profited by the delay, to steal out
of the woods, and to make a survey of surrounding objects.
They were followed at a little distance by the scout, with a
view to profit early by their report, and to obtain some faint
knowledge for himself of the more immediate localities.

180 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

In a very few moments he returned, his face reddened
with vexation, while he muttered his disappointment in
words of no very gentle import.

" Here has the cunning Frenchman been posting a picket
directly in our path," he said; "red-skins and whites; and
we shall be as likely to fall into their midst as to pass them
in the fog!"

" Cannot we make a circuit to avoid the danger," asked
Hey ward, " and come into our path again when it is
passed?"

"Who that once bends from the line of his march in a
fog can tell when or how to turn to find it again ! The mists
of Horican are not like the curls from a peace-pipe, or the
smoke which settles above a mosquito fire."

He was yet speaking, when a crashing sound was heard,
and a cannon-ball entered the thicket, striking the body of
a sapling, and rebounding to the earth, its force being much
expended by previous resistance. The Indians followed
instantly like busy attendants on the terrible messenger,
and Uncas commenced speaking earnestly, and with much
action, in the Delaware tongue.

" It may be so, lad," muttered the scout, when he had
ended ; " for desperate fevers are not to be treated like a
toothache. Come then, the fog is shutting in."

" Stop ! " cried Hey ward ; " first explain your expecta
tions."

" 'Tis soon done, and a small hope it is ; but it is better
than nothing. This shot that you see," added the scout,
kicking the harmless iron with his foot, "has ploughed the
'arth in its road from the fort, and we shall hunt for the
furrow it has made, when all other signs may fail. No more
words, but follow, or the fog may leave us in the middle of
our path, a mark for both armies to shoot at."

Heyward perceiving that, in fact, a crisis had arrived,
when acts were more required than words, placed himself
between the sisters, and drew them swiftly forward, keeping

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. l8l

the dim figure of their leader in his eye. It was soon ap
parent that Hawk-eye had not magnified the power of the
fog, for before they had proceeded twenty yards, it was
difficult for the different individuals of the party to distin
guish each other, in the vapor.

They had made their little circuit to the left, and were
already inclining again toward the right, having, as Hey-
\vard thought, got over nearly half the distance to the
friendly works, when his ears were saluted with the fierce
summons, apparently within twenty feet of them, of —

"Qui va la?"

" Push on ! " whispered the scout, once more bending to
the left.

"Push on!" repeated Heyward; when the summons was
renewed by a dozen voices, each of which seemed charged
with menace.

" C'est moi," cried Duncan, dragging, rather than leading
those he supported, swiftly onward.

"Bete!— qui?— moi!"

" Ami de la France."

" Tu m'as plus 1'air d'un ennemi de la France; arrete! ou,
pardieu, je te ferai ami du diable. Non! feu; camarades,
feu!"

The order was instantly obeyed, and the fog was stirred
by the explosion of fifty muskets. Happily, the aim was
bad, and the bullets cut the air in a direction a little dif
ferent from that taken by the fugitives; though still so
nigh them, that to the unpractised ears of David and the
two females, it appeared as if they whistled within a few
inches of the organs. The outcry was renewed, and the
order, not only to fire again, but to pursue, was too plainly
audible. When Heyward briefly explained the meaning of
the words they heard, Hawk-eye halted, and spoke with
quick decision and great firmness.

"Let us deliver our fire," he said; " they will believe it a
sortie, and give way, or they will wait for reinforcements."

1 82 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

The scheme was well conceived, but failed in its effect.
The instant the French heard the pieces, it seemed as if
the plain was alive with men, muskets rattling along its
whole extent, from the shores of the lake to the furthest
boundary of the woods.

"We shall draw their entire army upon us, and bring on
a general assault," said Duncan : " lead on, my friend, for
your own life, and ours."

The scout seemed willing to comply; but, in the hurry of
the moment, and in the change of position, he had lost the
direction. In vain he turned either cheek toward the light
air; they felt equally cool. In this dilemma, Uncas lighted
on the furrow of the cannon-ball, where it had cut the ground
in three adjacent ant-hills.

" Give me the range ! " said Hawk-eye, bending to catch
a glimpse of the direction, and then instantly moving on
ward.

Cries, oaths, voices calling to each other, and the reports
of muskets, were now quick and incessant, and, apparently,
on every side of them. Suddenly, a strong glare of light
flashed across the scene, the fog rolled upwards in thick
wreaths, and several cannon belched across the plain, and
the roar was thrown heavily back from the bellowing echoes
of the mountain.

"'Tis from the fort! " exclaimed Hawk-eye, turning short
on his tracks; "and v/e, like stricken fools, were rushing to
the woods, under the very knives of the Maquas."

The instant their mistake was rectified, the whole party
retraced the error with the utmost diligence. Duncan will
ingly relinquished the support of Cora to the arm of Uncas,
and Cora as readily accepted the welcome assistance. Men,
hot and angry in pursuit, were evidently on their footsteps,
and each instant threatened their capture, if not their de
struction.

" Point de quartier aux coquins! " cried an eager pursuer,
who seemed to direct the operations of the enemy.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 183

"Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant 6oths! " suddenly
exclaimed a voice above them, "wait to see the enemy;
fire low, and sweep the glacis."

"Father! Father!" exclaimed a piercing cry from out
the mist; " it is I! Alice! thy own Elsie! spare, oh! save
your daughter! "

"Hold! " shouted the former speaker, in the awful tones
of parental agony, the sound reaching even to the woods,
and rolling back in solemn echo. "'Tis she! God has re
stored me my children! Throw open the sally-port; to the
field, 6oths, to the field; pull not a trigger, lest ye kill my
lambs ! Drive off these dogs of France with your steel."

Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and dart
ing to the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line
of dark-red warriors, passing swiftly toward the glacis. He
knew them for his own battalion of the Royal Americans,
and, flying to their head, soon swept every trace of his pur
suers from before the works.

For an instant, Cora and Alice had stood trembling and
bewildered by this unexpected desertion , but, before either
had leisure for speech, or even thought, an officer qf gigan
tic frame, whose locks were bleached with years and service,
but whose air of military grandeur had been rather softened
than destroyed by time, rushed out of the body of the mist,
and folded them to his bosom, while large scalding tears
rolled down his pale and wrinkled cheeks, and he exclaimed,
in the peculiar accent of Scotland—

"For this I thank thee, Lord! Let danger come as it
will, thy servant is now prepared!"

1 84 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER XV.

Then go we in, to know his embassy ;
Which I could, with ready guess, declare,
Before the Frenchman speak a word of it.

KING HENRY V.

A FEW succeeding days were passed amid the privations,
the uproar, and the dangers of the siege, which was vigor
ously pressed by a power against whose approaches Munro
possessed no competent means of resistance. It appeared as
if Webb, with his army, which lay slumbering on the banks
of the Hudson, had utterly forgotten the strait to which his
countrymen were reduced. Montcalm had filled the woods
of the portage with his savages, every yell and whoop from
whom rang through the British encampment, chilling the
hearts of men who were already but too much disposed to
magnify the danger.

Not so, however, with the besieged. Animated by the
words, and stimulated by the examples, of their leaders,
they had found their courage, and maintained their ancient
reputation, with a zeal that did justice to the stern charac
ter of their commander. As if satisfied with the toil of
marching through the wilderness to encounter his enemy,
the French general, though of approved skill, had neglected
to seize the adjacent mountains; whence the besieged might
have been exterminated with impunity, and which, in the
more modern warfare of the country, would not have been
neglected for a single hour. This sort of contempt for emi
nences, or rather dread of the labor of ascending them, might
have been termed the besetting weakness of the warfare of
the period. It originated in the simplicity of the Indian
contests, in which, from the nature of the combats, and the
density of the forests, fortresses were rare, and artillery next
to useless. The carelessness engendered by these usages
descended even to the war of the Revolution, and lost the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 185

states the important fortress of Ticonderoga, opening a way
for the army of Burgoyne into what was then the bosom of
the country. We look back at this ignorance, or infatua
tion, whichever it may be called, with wonder, knowing that
the neglect of an eminence, whose difficulties, like those of
Mount Defiance, have been so greatly exaggerated, would,
at the present time, prove fatal to the reputation of the engi
neer who had planned the works at their base, or to that of
the general whose lot it was to defend them.

The tourist, the valetudinarian, or the amateur of the
beauties of nature, who, in the train of his four-in-hand, now
rolls through the scenes we have attempted to describe, in
quest of information, health, or pleasure, or floats steadily
toward his object on those artificial waters which have
sprung up under the administration of a statesman * who
has dared to stake his political character on the hazardous
issue, is not to suppose that his ancestors traversed those
hills or struggled with the same currents with equal facil
ity. The transportation of a single heavy gun was often
considered equal to a victory gained, if, happily, the d*ffi-
culties of the passage had not so far separated it from Ls
necessary concomitant, the ammunition, as to render it no
more than an useless tube of unwieldy iron.

The evils of this state of things pressed heavily on the
fortunes of the resolute Scotsman who now defended Wil
liam Henry. Though his adversary neglected the hills, he
had planted his batteries with judgment on the plain, and
caused them to be served with vigor and skill. Against
this assault, the besieged could only oppose the imperfect
and hasty preparations of a fortress in the wilderness.

It was in the afternoon of the fifth day of the siege, and
the fourth of his own service in it, that Major Hey ward
profited by a parley that had just been beaten, by repairing
to the ramparts of one of the water bastions, to breathe the
cool air from the lake, and to take a survey of the progress

' Evidently the late De Witt Clinton, who died governor of Kew York, ia 1828.

1 86 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

of the siege. He was alone, if the solitary sentinel who
paced the mound be excepted; for the artillerists had hast
ened also to profit by the temporary suspension of their ar
duous duties. The evening was delightfully calm, and the
light air from the limpid water fresh and soothing. It
seemed as if, with the termination to the roar of artillery
and the plunging of shot, nature had also seized the mo
ment to assume her mildest and most captivating form. The
sun poured down his parting glory on the scene, without
the oppression of those fierce rays that belong to the climate
and the season. The mountains looked green, and fresh,
and lovely; tempered with the milder light, or softened in
shadow, as thin vapors floated between them and the sun.
The numerous islands rested on the bosom of the Horican,
some low and sunken, as if imbedded in the waters, and
others appearing to hover above the element, in little hil
locks of green velvet; among which the fishermen of the
beleaguering army peacefully rowed their skiffs, or floated
at rest on the glassy mirror, in quiet pursuit of their em
ployment.

The scene was at once animated and still. All that per
tained to nature was sweet, or simply grand; while those
parts which depended on the temper and movements of man
were lively and playful.

Two little spotless flags were abroad, the one on a salient
angle of the fort, and the other on the advanced battery of
the besiegers; emblems of the truce which existed, not only
to the acts, but it would seem, also, to the enmity of the
combatants.

Behind these, again, swung, heavily opening and closing
in silken folds, the rival standards of England and France.

A hundred gay and thoughtless young Frenchmen were
drawing a net to the pebbly beach, within dangerous prox
imity to the sullen but silent cannon of the fort, while the
eastern mountain was sending back the loud shouts and gay
merriment that attended their sport. Some were rushing

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. l8/

eagerly to enjoy the aquatic games of the lake, and others
were already toiling their way up the neighboring hills, with
the restless curiosity of their nation. To all these sports
and pursuits, those of the enemy who watched the besieged,
and the besieged themselves, were, however, merely the
idle, though sympathizing spectators. Here and there a
picket had, indeed, raised a song, or mingled in a dance,
which had drawn the dusky savages around them, from their
lairs in the forest. In short, everything wore rather the
appearance of a day of pleasure, than of an hour stolen from
the dangers and toil of a bloody and vindictive warfare.

Duncan had stood in a musing attitude, contemplating
this scene a few minutes, when his eyes were directed to the
glacis in front of the sally-port already mentioned, by the.
sounds of approaching footsteps. He walked to an angle
of the bastion, and beheld the scout advancing, under the
custody of a French officer, to the body of the fort. The
countenance of Hawk-eye was haggard and careworn, and
his air dejected, as though he felt the deepest degradation
at having fallen into the power of his enemies. He was
without his favorite weapon, and his arms were even bound
behind him with thongs, made of the skin of a deer. The
arrival of flags, to cover the messengers of summons, had
occurred so often of late, that when Heyward first threw his
careless glance on this group, he expected to see another of
the officers of the enemy, charged with a similar office; but
the instant he recognized the tall person, and still sturdy,
though downcast, features of his friend, the woodsman, he
started with surprise, and turned to descend from the bas
tion into the bosom of the work.

The sounds of other voices, however, caught his attention,
and for a moment caused him to forget his purpose. At
the inner angle of the mound he met the sisters, walking
along the parapet, in search, like himself, of air and relief
from confinement. They had not met since that painful
moment when he deserted them on the plain, only to assure

1 88 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

their safety. He had parted from them worn with care, and
jaded with fatigue ; he now saw them refreshed and bloom
ing, though timid and anxious. Under such an inducement
it will cause no surprise that the young man lost sight, for a
time, of other objects in order to address them. He was,
however, anticipated by the voice of the ingenuous and
youthful Alice.

"Ah! thou truant! thou recreant knight! he who aban
dons his damsels in the very lists! " she cried; "here have
we been days, nay, ages, expecting you at our feet, implor
ing mercy and forgetfulness of your craven backsliding, or,
I should rather say, back-running — for verily you fled in a
manner that no stricken deer, as our worthy friend the scout
would say, could equal! "

" You know that Alice means our thanks and our bless
ings," added the graver and more thoughtful Cora. " In
truth, we have a little wondered why you should so rigidly
absent yourself from a place where the gratitude of the
daughters might receive the support of a parent's thanks."

" Your father himself could tell you, that though absent
from your presence, I have not been altogether forgetful of
your safety," returned the young man; "the mastery of yon
der village of huts," pointing to the neighboring entrenched
camp, "has been keenly disputed; and he who holds it is
sure to be possessed of this fort, and that which it contains.
My days and my nights have all been passed there since we
separated, because I thought that duty called me thither.
But," he added with an air of chagrin, which he endeavored,
though unsuccessfully, to conceal, " had I been aware that
what I then believed a soldier's conduct could be so con
strued, shame would have been added to the list of reasons."

"Heyward! — Duncan!" exclaimed Alice, bending for
ward to read his half-averted countenance, until a lock of
her golden hair rested on her flushed cheek, and nearly con
cealed the tear that had started to her eye; "did I think
this idle tongue of mine had pained you, I would silence it

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 189

forever. Cora can say, if Cora would, how justly we have
prized your services, and how deep — I had almost said, how
fervent — is our gratitude."

"And will Cora attest the truth of this? '" cried Duncan,
suffering the cloud to be chased from his countenance by a
smile of open pleasure. "What says our graver sister?
Will she find an excuse for the neglect of the knight in the
duty of a soldier? "

Cora made no immediate answer, but turned her face tow
ards the water, as if looking on the sheet of the Horican.
When she did bend her dark eyes on the young man, they-
were yet filled with an expression of anguish that at once
drove every thought but that of kind solicitude from his
mind.

"You are not well, dearest Miss Munro! " he exclaimed;
"we have trifled while you are in suffering."

" 'Tis nothing," she answered, refusing his offered sup
port with feminine reserve. "That I cannot see the sunny
side of the picture of life, like this artless but ardent enthu
siast," she added, laying her hand lightly, but affectionately,
on the arm of her sister, " is the penalty of experience, and,
perhaps, the misfortune of my nature. See," she continued,
as if determined to shake off infirmity, in a sense of duty;
" look around you, Major Heyward, and tell me what a
prospect is this for the daughter of a soldier whose greatest
happiness is his honor and his military renown."

" Neither ought nor shall be tarnished by circumstances
over which he has had no control," Duncan warmly replied.
" But your words recall me to my own duty. I go now to
your gallant father, to hear his determination in matters of
the last moment to the defence. God bless you in every
fortune, noble — Cora — I may, and must call you." She
frankly gave him her hand, though her lip quivered, and
her cheeks gradually became of an ashy paleness. " In
every fortune, I know you will be an ornament and honor
to your sex. Alice, adieu " — his tone changed from admi-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ration to tenderness — " adieu, Alice ; we shall soon meet
again; as conquerors, I trust, and amid rejoicings! "

Without waiting for an answer from either, the young
man threw himself down the grassy steps of the bastion,
and moving rapidly across the parade, he was quickly in
the presence of their father. Munro was pacing his narrow
apartment with a disturbed air and gigantic strides as Dun
can entered.

"You have anticipated my wishes, Major Heyward," he
said; " I was about to request this favor."

" I am sorry to see, sir, that the messenger I so warmly
recommended has returned in custody of the French ! I
hope there is no reason to distrust his fidelity? "

"The fidelity of * The Long Rifle' is well known to me,"
returned Munro, " and is above suspicion ; though his usual
good fortune seems, at last, to have failed. Montcalm has
got him, and with the accursed politeness of his nation, he
has sent him in with a doleful tale, of * knowing how I val
ued the fellow, he could not think of retaining him/ A
Jesuitical way, that, Major Duncan Heyward, of telling a
man of his misfortunes! "

"But the general and his succor? — :

" Did ye look to the south as ye entered, and could ye
not see them?" said the old soldier, laughing bitterly.
"Hoot! hoot! you're an impatient boy, sir, and cannot give
the gentlemen leisure for their march ! "

"They are coming then? The scout has said as
much?"

" When ? and by what path ? for the dunce has omitted
to tell me this. There is a letter, it would seem, too ; and
that is the only agreeable part of the matter. For the cus
tomary attentions of your Marquis of Montcalm — I warrant
me, Duncan, that he of Lothian would buy a dozen such
marquisates — but, if the news of the letter were bad, the
gentility of this French monsieur would certainly compel
him to let us know it."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 19 1

" He keeps the letter, then, while he releases the mes
senger? "

"Ay, that does he, and aU for the sake of what you call
your * bonhommie.' I would venture, if the truth was known,
the fellow's grandfather taught the noble science of danc
ing."

"But what says the scout? he has eyes and ears, and a
tongue: what verbal report does he make? "

" Oh ! sir, he is not wanting in natural organs, and he is
free to tell all that he has seen and heard. The whole
amount is this; there is a fort of his majesty's on the banks
of the Hudson, called Edward, in honor of his gracious
highness of York, you'll know; and it is well filled with
armed men, as such a work should be."

" But was there no movement, no signs of any intention
to advance to our relief? "

" There were the morning and evening parades; and when
one of the provincial loons — you'll know, Duncan, you're
half a Scotsman yourself — when one of them dropped his
powder over his porretch, if it touched the coals, it just
burnt! " Then suddenly changing his bitter, ironical man
ner, to one more grave and thoughtful, he continued; "and
yet there might, and must be, something in that letter which
it would be well to know ! "

" Our decision should be speedy," said Duncan, gladly
availing himself of this change of humor, to press the more
important objects of their interview; "I cannot conceal
from you, sir, that the camp will not be much longer ten
able; and I am sorry to add, that things appear no better
in the fort; — more than half the guns are bursted."

"And how should it be otherwise? Some were fished
from the bottom of the lake; some have been rusting in the
woods since the discovery of the country; and some were
never guns at all — mere privateersmen's playthings! Do
you think, sir, you can have Woolwich Warren in the midst
of a wilderness, three thousand miles from Great Britain? "

1 92 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" The walls are crumbling about our ears, and provisions
begin to fail us," continued Heyward, without regarding
this new burst of indignation ; " even the men show signs
of discontent and alarm."

" Major Heyward," said Munro, turning to his youthful
associate with the dignity of his years and superior rank;
"I should have served his majesty for half a century, and
earned these gray hairs, in vain, were I ignorant of all you
say, and of the pressing nature of our circumstances ; still,
there is everything due to the honor of the king's arms and
something to ourselves. While there is hope of succor, this
fortress will I defend, though it be to be done with pebbles
gathered on the lake shore. It is a sight of the letter, there
fore, that we want, that we may know the intentions of the man
the Earl of Loudon has left among us as his substitute? "

" And can I be of service in the matter? "

" Sir, you can ; the Marquis of Montcalm has, in addition
to his other civilities, invited me to a personal interview
between the works and his own camp; in order, as he says,
to impart some additional information. Now, I think it
would not be wise to show any undue solicitude to meet
him, and I would employ you, an officer of rank, as my sub
stitute ; for it would but ill comport with the honor of Scot
land to let it be said one of her gentlemen was outdone in
civility by a native of any other country on earth."

Without assuming the supererogatory task of entering
into a discussion of the comparative merits of national cour
tesy, Duncan cheerfully assented to supply the place of the
veteran in the approaching interview. A long and confiden
tial communication now succeeded, during which the young
man received some additional insight into his duty, from
the experience and native acuteness of his commander, and
then the former took his leave.

As Duncan could only act as the representative of the
commandant of the fort, the ceremonies which should have
accompanied a meeting between the heads of the adverse

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 193

forces were of course dispensed with. The truce still ex
isted, and with a roll and beat of the drum, and covered by
a little white flag, Duncan left the sally-port, within ten
minutes after his instructions were ended. He was received
by the French officer in advance with the usual formalities,
and immediately accompanied to a distant marquee of the
renowned soldier who led the forces of France.

The general of the enemy received the youthful messen
ger, surrounded by his principal officers, and by a swarthy
band of the native chiefs, who had followed him to the field,
with the warriors of their several tribes. Heyward paused
short, when, in glancing his eyes rapidly over the dark
group of the latter, he beheld the malignant countenance of
Magua, regarding him with the calm but sullen attention
which marked the expression of that subtle savage. A
slight exclamation of surprise even burst from the lips of
the young man; but, instantly recollecting his errand, and
the presence in which he stood, he suppressed every appear
ance of emotion, and turned to the hostile leader, who had
already advanced a step to receive him.

The Marquis of Montcalm was, at the period of which we
write, in the flower of his age, and, it may be added, in the
zenith of his fortunes. But, even in that enviable situation,
he was affable, and distinguished as much for his attention
to the forms of courtesy, as for that chivalrous courage
which, only two short years afterward, induced him to throw
away his life on the plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turn
ing his eyes from the malign expression of Magua, suffered
them to rest with pleasure on the smiling and polished fea
tures, and the noble military air, of the French general.

"Monsieur," said the latter, "j'ai beaucoup de plaisir a
— bah! — ou est cet interprete? "

" Je crois, monsieur, qu'il ne sera pas necessaire," Hey
ward modestly replied; " je parle un peu Fran^ais."

"Ah! j'en suis bien aise," said Montcalm, taking Dun
can familiarly by the arm, and leading him deep into the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

marquee, a little out of ear-shot; " je deteste ces fripons-la;
on ne salt jamais sur quel pied on est avec eux. Eh, bien!
monsieur," he continued, still speaking in French; "though
I should have been proud of receiving your commandant, I
am very happy that he has seen proper to employ an officer
so distinguished, and who, I am sure, is so amiable, as
yourself."

Duncan bowed low, pleased with the compliment, in spite
of a most heroic determination to suffer no artifice to allure
him into forgetfulness of the interest of his prince; and
Montcalm, after a pause of a moment, as if to collect his
thoughts, proceeded —

"Your commandant is a brave man, and well qualified to
repel .my assault. Mais, monsieur, is it not time to begin
to take more counsel of humanity, and less of your courage?
The one as strongly characterizes the hero as the other."

"We consider the qualities as inseparable," returned
Duncan, smiling; "but while we find in the vigor of your
excellency every motive to stimulate the one, we can, as yet,
see no particular call for the exercise of the other."

Montcalm, in his turn, slightly bowed, but it was with
the air of a man too practised to remember the language of
flattery. After musing a moment, he added —

" It is possible my glasses have deceived me, and that
your works resist our cannon better than I had supposed.
You know our force ? "

"Our accounts vary," said Duncan, carelessly; "the
highest, however, has not exceeded twenty thousand men."

The Frenchman bit his lip, and fastened his eyes keenly
on the other as if to read his thoughts; then, with a readi
ness peculiar to himself, he continued, as if assenting to the
truth of an enumeration which quite doubled his army: —

" It is a poor compliment to the vigilance of us soldiers,
monsieur, that, do what we will, we never can conceal our
numbers. If it were to be done at all, one would believe it
might succeed in these woods. Though you think it too

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 195

soon to listen to the calls of humanity," he added, smiling
archly, " I may be permitted to believe that gallantry is not
forgotten by one so young as yourself. The daughters of
the commandant, I learn, have passed into the fort since it
was invested ? "

"It is true, monsieur; but, so far from weakening our
efforts, they set us an example of courage in their own for
titude. Were nothing but resolution necessary to repel so
accomplished a soldier as M. de Montcalm, I would gladly
trust the defence of William Henry to the elder of those
ladies."

" We have a wise ordinance in our Salique laws, which
says, * the crown of France shall never degrade the lance to
the distaff/ " said Montcalm, drily, and with a little hauteur;
but instantly adding, with his former frank and easy air,
"as all the nobler qualities are hereditary, I can easily
credit you; though, as I said before, courage has its limits,
and humanity must not be forgotten. I trust, monsieur, you
come authorized to treat for the surrender of the place? "

" Has your excellency found our defence so feeble as to
believe the measure necessary? "

" I should be sorry to have the defence protracted in such
a manner as to irritate my red friends there," continued
Montcalm, glancing his eyes at the group of grave and at
tentive Indians, without attending to the other's question;
" I find it difficult, even now, to limit them to the usages of
war."

Hey ward was silent; for a painful recollection of the
dangers he had so recently escaped came over his mind, and
recalled the images of those defenceless beings who had
shared in all his sufferings.

" Ces messieurs-la," said Montcalm, following up the ad
vantage which he conceived he had gained, " are most for
midable when baffled: and it is unnecessary to tell you with
what difficulty they are restrained in their anger. Eh bien,

monsieur! shall we speak of the terms! "

I Vol. 4

196 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"I fear your excellency has been deceived as to the
strength of William Henry, and the resources of its gar
rison ! "

" I have not sat down before Quebec, but an earthen
work, that is defended by twenty-three hundred gallant
men," was the laconic reply.

" Our mounds are earthen, certainly — nor are they seated
on the rocks of Cape Diamond; — but they stand oh that
shore which proved so destructive to Dieskau and his army.
There is also a powerful force within a few hours' march of
us, which we account upon as part of our means."

" Some six or eight thousand men," returned Montcalm,
with much apparent indifference, " whom their leader wisely
judges to be safer in their works than in the field."

It was now Heyward's turn to bite his lip with vexation,
as the other so coolly alluded to a force which the young
man knew to be overrated. Both mused a little while in
silence, when Montcalm renewed the conversation, in a way
that showed he believed the visit of his guest was solely to
propose terms of capitulation. On the other hand, Hey-
ward began to throw sundry inducements in the way of the
French general, to betray the discoveries he had made
through the intercepted letter. The artifice of neither, how
ever, succeeded; and after a protracted and .fruitless inter
view, Duncan took his leave, favorably impressed with an
opinion of the courtesy and talents of the enemy's captain,
but as ignorant of what he came to learn as when he ar
rived. Montcalm followed him as far as the entrance of the
marquee, renewing his invitations to the commandant of the
fort to give him an immediate meeting in the open ground,
between the two armies.

There they separated, and Duncan returned to the ad
vanced post of the French, accompanied as before; whence
he instantly proceeded to the fort and to the quarters of his
own commander.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER XVI.

Edg. — Before you fight the battle, ope this letter.

LEAR.

MAJOR HEYWARD found Munro attended only by his
daughters. Alice sate upon his knee, parting the grey hairs
on the forehead of the old man with her delicate fingers;
and, whenever he affected to frown on her trifling, appeas
ing his assumed anger by pressing her ruby lips fondly on
his wrinkled brow. Cora was seated nigh them, a calm
and amused looker-on ; regarding the wayward movements
of her more youthful sister, with that species of maternal
fondness which characterized her love for Alice. Not only
the dangers through which they had passed, but those which
still impended above them, appeared to be momentarily for
gotten, in the soothing indulgence of such a family meeting.
It seemed as if they had profited by the short truce, to de
vote an instant to the purest and best affections; the
daughters forgetting their fears, and the veteran his cares,
in the security of the moment. Of this scene, Duncan, who
in his eagerness to report his arrival had entered unan
nounced, stood many moments an unobserved and a de
lighted spectator. But the quick an4 dancing eyes of Alice
soon caught a glimpse of his figure reflected from a glass,
and she sprang blushing from her father's knee, exclaiming
aloud, —

"Major Heyward!"

"What of the lad? " demanded her father; "I have sent
him to crack a little with the Frenchman. Ha! sir, you
are young, and you're nimble! Away with you, ye baggage;
as if there were not troubles enough for a soldier, without
having his camp filled with such prattling hussies as your
self!"

Alice laughingly, followed her sister, who instantly led

IQ8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the way from an apartment where she perceived their pres
ence was no longer desirable. Munro, instead of demand
ing the result of the young man's mission, paced the room
for a few moments, with his hands behind his back, and
his head inclined toward the floor, like a man lost in
thought. At length he raised his eyes, glistening with a
father's fondness, and exclaimed —

"They are a pair of excellent girls, Heyward, and such
as any one may boast of."

" You are not now to learn my opinion of your daughters,
Colonel Munro."

"True, lad, true," interrupted the impatient old man;
"you were about opening your mind more fully on that
matter the day you got in ; but I did not think it becoming
in an old soldier to be talking of nuptial blessings and
wedding jokes when "the enemies of his king were likely to
be unbidden guests at the feast! But I was wrong, Duncan,
boy, I was wrong there; and I am now ready to hear what
you have to say."

" Notwithstanding the pleasure your assurance gives me,
dear sir, I have, just now, a message from Montcalm —

"Let the Frenchman and all his host go to the devil,
sir! " exclaimed the hasty veteran. " He is not yet master
of William Henry, nor shall he ever be, provided Webb
proves himself the man he should. No, sir! thank heaven,
we are not yet in such a strait that it can be said Munro is
too much pressed to discharge the little domestic duties of
his own family. Your mother was the only child of my
bosom friend, Duncan ; and I'll just give you a hearing,
though all the knights of St. Louis were in a body at the
sally-port, with the French saint at their head, craving to
speak a word under favor. A pretty degree of knighthood,
sir, is that which can be bought with sugar-hogsheads ! and
then your two-penny marquisates! The thistle is the order
for dignity and antiquity; the veritable * nemo me impune
lacessit' of chivalry! Ye had ancestors in that degree,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 199

Duncan, and they were an ornament to the nobles of Scot
land."

Heyward, who perceived that his superior took a mali
cious pleasure in exhibiting his contempt for the message of
the French general, was fain to humor a spleen that he
knew would be short-lived; he, therefore, replied with as
much indifference as he could assume on such a subject —

" My request, as you know, sir, went so far as to presume
to the honor of being your son."

"Ay, boy, you found words to make yourself very plainly
comprehended. But, let me ask ye, sir, have you been as
intelligible to the girl? "

"On my honor, no," exclaimed Duncan, warmly; "there
would have been an abuse of a confided trust, had I taken
advantage of my situation for such a purpose.''

" Your notions are those of a gentleman, Major Heyward,
and well enough in their place. But Cora Munro is a
maiden too discreet, and of a mind too elevated and im
proved, to need the guardianship even of a father."

"Cora!"

"Ay — Cora! we are talking of your pretensions to Miss
Munro, are we not, sir? "

"I — I — I was not conscious of having mentioned her
name," said Duncan, stammering.

" And, to marry whom, then, did you wish my consent,
Major Heyward? " demanded the old soldier, erecting him
self in the dignity of offended feeling.

"You have another, and not less lovely child."

"Alice!7' exclaimed the father in an astonishment equal
to that with which Duncan had just repeated the name of
her sister.

" Such was the direction of my wishes, sir."

The young man awaited in silence the result of the ex
traordinary effect produced by a communication which, as
it now appeared, was so unexpected. For several minutes
Munro paced the chamber with long and rapid strides, his

20O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

rigid features working convulsively, and every faculty
seemingly absorbed in the musings of his own mind. At
length, he paused directly in front of Heyward, and riveting
his eyes upon those of the other, he said, with a lip that
quivered violently, —

" Duncan Heyward, I have loved you for the sake of him
whose blood is in your veins; I have loved you for your
own good qualities; and I have loved you, because I
thought you would contribute to the happiness of my child.
But all this love would turn to hatred, were I assured that
what I so much apprehend is true."

" God forbid that any act or thought of mine should lead
to such a change!" exclaimed the young man, whose eye
never quailed under the penetrating look it encountered.
Without adverting to the impossibility of the other's com
prehending those feelings which were hid in his own bosom,
Munro suffered himself to be appeased by the unaltered
countenance he met, and with a voice sensibly softened, he
continued—

" You would be my son, Duncan, and you're ignorant of
the history of the man you wish to call your father. Sit ye
down, young man, and I will open to you the wounds of a
seared heart, in as few words as may be suitable."

By this time, the message of Montcalm was as much for
gotten by him who bore it as by the man for whose ears it
was intended. Each drew a chair, and while the veteran
communed a few moments with his own thoughts, appar
ently in sadness, the youth suppressed his impatience in a
look and attitude of respectful attention. At length the
former spoke —

"You'll know, already, Major Heyward, that my family
was both ancient and honorable," commenced the Scots
man; "though it might not altogether be endowed with
that amount of wealth that should correspond with its de
gree. I was, may be, such an one as yourself when I
plighted my faith to Alice Graham: the only child of a

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2OI

neighboring laird of some estate. But the connection was
disagreeable to her father, on more accounts than my
poverty. I did therefore what an honest man should — re
stored the maiden her troth, and departed the country in the
service of my king. I had seen many regions, and had shed
much blood in different lands, before duty called me to the
Islands of the West Indies. There it was my lot to form a
connection with one who in time became my wife, and the
mother of Cora. She was the daughter of a gentleman of
those isles, by a lady whose misfortune it was, if you will,"
said the old man, proudly, "to be descended, remotely, from
that unfortunate class who are so basely enslaved to admin
ister to the wants of a luxurious people. Ay, sir, that is a
curse entailed on Scotland by her unnatural union with a
foreign and trading people. But could I find a man among
them who would dare to reflect on my child, he should feel
the weight of a father's anger! Ha! Major Heyward, you
are yourself born at the south, where these unfortunate
beings are considered of a race inferior to your own."

"Tis most unfortunately true, sir," said Duncan, unable
any longer to prevent his eyes from sinking to the floor in
embarrassment.

"And you cast it on my child as a reproach! You scorn
to mingle the blood of the Heywards with one so degraded
— lovely and virtuous though she be?" fiercely demanded
the jealous parent.

" Heaven protect me from a prejudice so unworthy of my
reason!" returned Duncan, at the same time conscious of
such a feeling, and that as deeply rooted as if it had been
ingrafted in his nature. " The sweetness, the beauty, the
witchery of your younger daughter, Colonel Munro, might
explain my motives, without imputing to me this injustice."

" YP are right, sir," returned the old man, again changing
his tones to those of gentleness, or rather softness ; " the
girl is the image of what her mother was at her years, and
before she had become acquainted with grief. When death

2O2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

deprived me of my wife I returned to Scotland, enriched by
the marriage ; and would you think it, Duncan ! the suffer
ing angel had remained in the heartless state of celibacy
twenty long years, and that for the sake of a man who could
forget her ! She did more, sir ; she overlooked my want of
faith, and all difficulties being now removed, she took me
for her husband."

"And became the mother of Alice? " exclaimed Duncan,
with an eagerness that might have proved dangerous at a
moment when the thoughts of Munro were less occupied
than at present.

" She did, indeed," said the old man, " and dearly did she
pay for the blessing she bestowed. But she is a saint in
heaven, sir; and it ill becomes one whose foot rests on the
grave to mourn a lot so blessed. I had her but a single
year, though; a short term of happiness for one who had
seen her youth fade in hopeless pining."

There was something so commanding in the distress of
the old man, that Heyward did not dare to venture a sylla
ble of consolation. Munro sat utterly unconscious of the
other's presence, his features exposed and working with the
anguish of his regrets, while heavy tears fell from his eyes,
and rolled unheeded from his cheeks to the floor. At length
he moved, as if suddenly recovering his recollection ; when
he arose, and taking a single turn across the room, he ap
proached his companion with an air of military grandeur,
and demanded —

" Have you not, Major Heyward, some communication
that I should hear from the Marquis de Montcalm? "

Duncan started, in his turn, and immediately commenced,
in an embarrassed voice, the half-forgotten message. It is
unnecessary to dwell upon the evasive, though polite man
ner, with which the French general had eluded every attempt
of Heyward to worm from him the purport of the communi
cation he had proposed making, or on the decided though
still polished message, by which he now gave his enemy to

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2O3

understand, that unless he chose to receive it in person, he
should not receive it at all. As Munro listened to the detail
of Duncan, the excited feelings of the father gradually gave
way before the obligations of his station, and when the other
was done, he saw before him nothing but the veteran, swell
ing with the wounded feelings of a soldier.

" You have said enough, Major Hey ward! " exclaimed the
angry old man ; " enough to make a volume of commentary
on French civility. Here has this gentleman invited me to
a conference, and when I send him a capable substitute, for
ye're all that, Duncan, though your years are but few, he
answers me with a riddle."

" He may have thought less favorably of the substitute,
my dear sir; and you will remember that the invitation,
which he now repeats, was to the commandant of the works,
and not to his second."

"Well, sir, is not a substitute clothed with all the power
and dignity of him who grants the commission? He wishes
to confer with Munro! Faith, sir, I have much inclination
to indulge the man, if it should only be to let him behold
the firm countenance we maintain in spite of his numbers
and his summons. There might be no bad policy in such a
stroke, young man."

Duncan, who believed it of the last importance that they
should speedily come at the contents of the letter borne by
the scout, gladly encouraged this idea.

" Without doubt, he could gather no confidence by witness
ing our indifference," he said.

" You never said truer word. I could wish, sir, that h&
would visit the works in open day, and in the form of a
storming party: that is the least failing method of proving
the countenance of an enemy, and would be far preferable to
the battering system he has chosen. The beauty and man
liness of warfare has been much deformed, Major Heyward,
by the arts of your Monsieur Vauban. Our ancestors were
far above such scientific cowardice ! "

2O4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"It may be very true, sir; but we are now obliged to re
pel art by art. What is your pleasure in the matter of the
interview? "

" I will meet the Frenchman, and that without fear or de
lay; promptly, sir, as becomes a servant of my royal master.
Go, Major Heyward, and give them a flourish of the music;
and send out a messenger to let them know who is coming.
We will follow with a small guard, for such respect is due
to one who holds the honor of his king in keeping; and
hark'ee, Duncan," he added, in a half whisper, though they
were alone, " it may be prudent to have some aid at hand,
in case there should be treachery at the bottom of it all."

The young man availed himself of this order to quit the
apartment; and, as the day was fast coming to a close, he
hastened, without delay, to make the necessary arrangements.
A very few minutes only were necessary to parade a few
files, and to dispatch an orderly with a flag to announce the
approach of the commandant of the fort. When Duncan
had done both these he led the guard to the sally-port, near
which he found his superior ready, waiting his appearance.
As soon as the usual ceremonials of a military departure
were observed, the veteran and his more youthful compan
ion left the fortress, attended by the escort.

They had proceeded only a hundred yards from the works,
when the little array which attended the French general to
the conference, was seen issuing from the hollow way, which
formed the bed of a brook that ran between the batteries of
the besiegers and the fort. From the moment that Munro
left his own works to appear in front of his enemies, his air
had been grand, and his step and countenance highly mili
tary. The instant he caught a glimpse of the white plume
that waved in the hat of Montcalm, his eye lighted, and age
no longer appeared to possess any influence over his vast
and still muscular person.

" Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir," he said, in an
undertone, to Duncan ; " and to look well to their flints and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2O5

steel, for one is never safe with a servant of these Louis; at
the same time, we will show them the front of men in deep
security. Ye'll understand me, Major Heyward!"

He was interrupted by the clamor of a drum from the ap
proaching Frenchmen, which was immediately answered,
when each party pushed an orderly in advance, bearing a
white flag, and the wary Scotsman halted, with his guard
close at his back. As soon as this slight salutation had
passed, Montcalm moved toward them with a quick but
graceful step, baring his head to the veteran, and dropping
his spotless plume nearly to the earth in courtesy. If the
air of Munro was more commanding and manly, it wanted
both the ease and insinuating polish of that of the French
man. Neither spoke for a few moments, each regarding the
other with curious and interested eyes. Then, as became
his superior rank and the nature of the interview, Montcalm
broke the silence. After uttering the usual words of greet
ing, he turned to Duncan, and continued, with a smile of
recognition, speaking always in French — •

" I am rejoiced, monsieur, that you have given us the
pleasure of your company on this occasion. There will be
no necessity to employ an ordinary interpreter; for, in your
hands, I feel the same security as if I spoke your language
myself."

Duncan acknowledged the compliment, when Montcalm,
turning to his guard, which, in imitation of that of their
enemies, pressed close upon him, continued — •

"En arriere, mes enfants — il fait chaud; retirez-vous un
peu."

Before Major Heyward would imitate this proof of confi
dence, he glanced his eyes around the plain, and beheld
with uneasiness the numerous dusky groups of savages, who
looked out from the margin of the surrounding woods, curi
ous spectators of the interview.

"Monsieur de Montcalm will readily acknowledge the
difference in our situation," he said, with some embarrass-

2O6 * THE LAST OF TPIE MOHICANS.

ment, pointing at the same time toward those dangerous
foes, who were to be seen in almost every direction. " Were
we to dismiss our guard, we should stand here at the mercy
of our enemies."

" Monsieur, you have the plighted faith of * un gentil-
homme Fran5ais,' for your safety," returned Montcalm,
laying his hand impressively on his heart; " it should suf
fice."

" It shall. Fall back," Duncan added to the officer who
led the escort; "fall back, sir, beyond hearing, and wait
for orders."

Munro witnessed this movement with manifest uneasiness ;
nor did he fail to demand an instant explanation.

" Is it not our interest, sir, to betray no distrust? " retorted
Duncan. "Monsieur de Montcalm pledges his word for
our safety, and I have ordered the men to withdraw a little,
in order to prove how much we depend on his assurance."

" It may be all right, sir, but I have no overweening reli
ance on the faith of these marquesses, or marquis, as they
call themselves. Their patents of nobility are too common
to be certain that they bear the seal of true honor."

"You forget, dear sir, that we confer with an officer, dis
tinguished alike in Europe and America, for his deeds.
From a soldier of his reputation we can have nothing to
apprehend."

The old man made a gesture of resignation, though his
rigid features still betrayed his obstinate adherence to a
distrust, which he derived from a sort of hereditary contempt
of his enemy, rather than from any present signs which
might warrant so uncharitable a feeling. Montcalm waited
patiently until this little dialogue in demi-voice was ended,
when he drew nigher, and opened the subject of their con
ference. :

" I have solicited this interview from your superior, mon
sieur," he said, " because I believe he will allow himself to
be persuaded, that he has already done everything which is

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2O/

necessary for the honor of his prince, and will now listen to
the admonitions of humanity. I will forever bear testimony
that his resistance has been gallant, and was continued as
long as there was hope."

When this opening was translated to Munro, he answered
with dignity, but with sufficient courtesy — •

" However I may prize such testimony from Monsieur
Montcalm, it will be more valuable when it shall be better
merited."

The French general smiled, as Duncan gave him the pur
port of this reply, and observed —

" What is now so freely accorded to approved, courage,
may be refused to useless obstinacy. Monsieur would wish
to see my camp, and witness, for himself, our numbers, and
the impossibility of his resisting them with success? "

" I know that the King of France is well served," returned
the unmoved Scotsman, as soon as Duncan ended his trans
lation ; " but my own royal master has as many and as faith
ful troops."

" Though not at hand, fortunately for us," said Montcalm,
without waiting, in his ardor, for the interpreter. "There
is a destiny in war, to which a brave man knows how to sub
mit with the same courage that he faces his foes."

" Had I been conscious that Monsieur Montcalm was mas
ter of the English, I should have spared myself the trouble
of so awkward a translation," said the vexed Duncan, dryly;
remembering instantly his recent by-play with Munro.

"Your pardon, monsieur," rejoined the Frenchman, suf
fering a slight color to appear on his dark cheek-. " There
is a vast difference between understanding and speaking a
foreign tongue ; you will, therefore, please to assist me still."
Then after a short pause, he added, "These hills afford us
every opportunity of reconnoitring your works, messieurs,
and I am possibly as well acquainted with their weak con
dition as you can be yourselves."

" Ask the French general if his glasses can reach to the

2O8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Hudson," said Munro, proudly ; " and if he knows when
and where to expect the army of Webb."

" Let General Webb be his own interpreter," returned the
politic Montcalm, suddenly extending an open letter toward
Munro, as he spoke; "You will there learn, monsieur, that
his movements are not likely to prove embarrassing to my
army."

The veteran seized the offered paper, without waiting for
Duncan to translate the speech, and with an eagerness that
betrayed how important he deemed its contents. As his eye
passed hastily over the words, his countenance changed
from its look of military pride to one of deep chagrin : his
lip began to quiver; and, suffering the paper to fall from
his hand, his head dropped upon his chest, like that of a
man whose hopes were withered at a single blow. Duncan
caught the letter from the ground, and without apology for
the liberty he took, he read at a glance its cruel purport.
Their common superior, so far from encouraging them to
resist, advised a speedy surrender, urging in the plainest
language, as a reason, the utter impossibility of his sending
a single man to their rescue.

" Here is no deception ! " exclaimed Duncan, examining
the billet both inside and out; "this is the signature of
Webb, and must be the captured letter."

" The man has betrayed me ! " Munro at length bitterly
exclaimed: "he has brought dishonor to the door of one
where disgrace was never before known to dwell, and shame
has he heaped heavily on my grey hairs."

" Say not so," cried Duncan ; " we are yet masters of the
fort, and of our honor. Let us then sell our lives at such a
rate as shall make our enemies believe the purchase too
dear."

" Boy, I thank thee," exclaimed the old man, rousing
himself from his stupor; "you have, for once, reminded
Munro of his duty. We will go back, and dig our graves
behind those ramparts."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2OQ

" Messieurs," said Montcalm, advancing toward them a
step, in generous interest, "you little know Louis de St.
Ve'ran, if you believe him capable of profiting by this letter
to humble brave men, or to build up a dishonest reputation
for himself. Listen to my terms before you leave me."

"What says the Frenchman?" demanded the veteran,
sternly; " does he make a merit of having captured a scout,
with a note from head-quarters? Sir, he had better raise
this siege, to go and sit down before Edward if he wishes to
frighten his enemy with words."

Duncan explained the other's meaning.

"Monsieur de Montcalm, we will hear you," the veteran
added, more calmly, as Duncan ended.

"To retain the fort is now impossible," said his liberal
enemy : " it is necessary to the interests of my master that it
should be destroyed; but, as for yourselves, and your brave
comrades, there is no privilege dear to a soldier that shall
be denied."

"Our colors? " demanded Hey ward.

" Carry them to England, and show them to your king."

"Our arms?"

" Keep them ; none can use them better."

"Our march; the surrender of the place? "

" Shall all be done in a way most honorable to yourselves."

Duncan now turned to explain these proposals to his com
mander, who heard him with amazement, and a sensibility
that was deeply touched by so unusual and unexpected gen
erosity.

"Go you, Duncan," he said; "go with this marquess, as
indeed marquess he should be; go to his marquee, and ar
range it all. I have lived to see two things in my old age,
that never did I expect to behold. An Englishman afraid
to support a friend, and a Frenchman too honest to profit
by his advantage."

So saying, the veteran again dropped his head to his
chest, and returned slowly toward the fort, exhibiting, by

2IO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the dejection of his air, to the anxious garrison, a harbingei
of evil tidings.

From the shock of this unexpected blow the haughty feel
ings of Munro never recovered; but from that moment there
commenced a change in his determined character, which
accompanied him to a speedy grave. Duncan remained to
settle the terms of the capitulation. He was seen to re-
enter the works during the first watches of the night, and
immediately after a private conference with the command
ant, to leave them again. It was then openly announced,
that hostilities must cease — Munro having signed a treaty,
by which the place was to be yielded to the enemy, with the
morning; the garrison to retain their arms, their colors, and
their baggage, and consequently, according to military opin
ion, their honor.

CHAPTER XVII.

Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.
The web is wove. The work is done.

GRAY.

THE hostile armies, which lay in the wilds of the Horican,
passed the night of the ninth of August, 1757, much in the
manner they would had they encountered on the fairest field
of Europe. While the conquered were still, sullen, and de
jected, the victors triumphed. But there are limits, alike,
to grief and joy ; and long before the watches of the morn
ing came, the stillness of those boundless woods was only
broken by a gay call from some exulting young Frenchman
of the advanced pickets, or a menacing challenge from the
fort, which sternly forbade the approach of any hostile foot
steps before the stipulated moment. Even these occasional
threatening sounds ceased to be heard in that dull hour
which precedes the day, at which period a listener might
have sought in vain any evidence of the presence of those

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 211

armed powers that then slumbered on the shores of the
"holy lake."

It was during these moments of deep silence, that the
canvas which concealed the entrance to a spacious marquee
in the French encampment was shoved aside, and a man
issued from beneath the drapery into the open air. He was
enveloped in a cloak that might have been intended as a
protection from the chilling damps of the woods, but which
served equally well as a mantle, to conceal his person. He
was permitted to pass the grenadier, who watched over the
slumbers of the French commander, without interruption,
the man making the usual salute which betokens military
deference, as the other passed swiftly through the little city
of tents, in the direction of William Henry. Whenever this
unknown individual encountered one of the numberless sen
tinels who crossed his path, his answer was prompt, and as
it appeared satisfactory; for he was uniformly allowed to
proceed, without further interrogation.

With the exception of such repeated, but brief interrup
tions, he had moved, silently, from the centre of the camp,
to its most advanced outposts, when he drew nigh the sol
dier who held his watch nearest to the works of the enemy.
As he approached he was received with the usual chal
lenge — -

"Qui vive?"

" France," was the reply.

" Le mot d'ordre ? "

"La victoire," said the other, drawing so nigh as to be
heard in a loud whisper.

" C'est bien," returned the sentinel, throwing his musket
from the charge to his shoulder; " vous vous promenez bien
matin, monsieur! "

" II est necessaire d'etre vigilant, mon enfant," the other
observed, dropping a fold of his cloak, and looking the sol
dier close in the face, as he passed him, still continuing his
way toward the British fortification. The man started; his

212 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

arms rattled heavily, as he threw them forward, in the low
est and most respectful salute ; and when he had again re
covered his piece, he turned to walk his post, muttering
between his teeth —

" II f aut etre vigilant, en verite ! je crois que nous avons
la, un caporal qui ne dort jamais! "

The officer proceeded, without affecting to hear the words
which escaped the sentinel in his surprise; nor did he again
pause until he had reached the low strand, and in a some
what dangerous vicinity to the western water bastion of the
fort. The light of an obscure moon was just sufficient to
render objects, though dim, perceptible in their outlines.
He, therefore, took the precaution to place himself against
the trunk of a tree, where he leaned for many minutes, and
seemed to contemplate the dark and silent mounds of the
English works in profound attention. His gaze at the ram
parts was not that of a curious or idle spectator; but his
looks wandered from point to point, denoting his knowledge
of military usages, and betraying that his search was not un
accompanied by distrust. At length he appeared satisfied;
and having cast his eyes impatiently upward toward the
summit of the eastern mountain, as if anticipating the ap
proach of the morning, he was in the act of turning on his
footsteps, when a light sound on the nearest angle of the
bastion caught his ear and induced him to remain.

Just then a figure was seen to approach the edge of the
rampart, where it stood, apparently contemplating in its
turn the distant tents of the French encampment. Its head
was then turned toward the east, as though equally anxious
for the appearance of light, when the form leaned against
the mound, and seemed to gaze upon the glassy expanse of
the waters, which, like a submarine firmament, glittered
with its thousand mimic stars. The melancholy air, the
hour, together with the vast frame of the man who thus
leaned, in musing, against the English ramparts, left no
doubt as to his person, in the mind of the observant spec-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 213

tator. Delicacy, no less than prudence, now urged him to
retire; and he had moved cautiously round the body of the
tree for that purpose, when another sound drew his attention,
and once more arrested his footsteps. It was a low, and
almost inaudible movement of the water, and was succeeded
by a grating of pebbles one against the other. In a moment
he saw a dark form rise, as it were out of the lake, and steal
without further noise to the land, within a few feet of the
place where he himself stood. A rifle next slowly rose be
tween his eyes and the watery mirror; but before it could
be discharged his own hand was on the lock.

"Hugh!" exclaimed the savage, whose treacherous aim
was so singularly and so unexpectedly interrupted.

Without making any reply, the French officer laid his
hand on the shoulder of the Indian, and led him in pro
found silence to a distance from the spot, where their subse
quent dialogue might have proved dangerous, and where it
seemed that one of them, at least, sought a victim. Then,
throwing open his cloak, so as to expose his uniform and
the cross of St. Louis which was suspended at his breast,
Montcalm sternly demanded —

"What means this! does not my son know that the hatchet
is buried between the English and his Canadian father? "

"What can the Hurons do? " returned the savage, speak
ing also, though imperfectly, in the French language. " Not
a warrior has a scalp, and the pale-faces make friends! "

"Ha! Le Renard Subtil! Methinks this is an excess of
zeal for a friend who was so late an enemy ! How many
suns have set since Le Renard struck the war-post of the
English?"

" Where is that sun ! " demanded the sullen savage. " Be
hind the hill ; and it is dark and cold. But when he comes
again, it will be bright and warm. Le Subtil is the sun of
his tribe. There have been clouds, and many mountains
between him and his nation ; but now he shines, and it is
a clear sky ! "

214 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"That Le Renard has power with his people, 1 well
know," said Montcalm ; " for yesterday he hunted for their
scalps, and to-day they hear him at the council fire."

" Magua is a great chief."

" Let him prove it, by teaching his nation how to conduct
toward our new friends."

" Why did the chief of the Canadas bring his young men
into the woods, and fire his cannon at the earthen house? "
demanded the subtle Indian.

" To subdue it. My master owns the land, and your father
was ordered to drive off these English squatters. They
have consented to go, and now he calls them enemies no
longer."

"'Tis well. Magua took the hatchet to color it with
blood. It is now bright; when it is red, it shall be buried."

" But Magua is pledged not to sully the lilies of France.
The enemies of the great king across the salt lake are his
enemies; his friends, the friends of the Hurons."

"Friends!" repeated the Indian, in scorn. "Let his
father give Magua a hand."

Montcalm, who felt that his influence over the warlike
tribes he had gathered was to be maintained by concession
rather than by power, complied reluctantly with the other's
request. The savage placed the finger of the French com
mander on a deep scar in his bosom, and then exultingly
demanded—

" Does my father know that? "

"What warrior does not? 'tis where a leaden bullet has
cut."

"And this? " continued the Indian, who had turned his
naked back to the other, his body being without its usual
calico mantle.

"This! — my son has been sadly injured, here; who has
done this?"

"Magua slept hard in the English wigwams, and the
sticks have left their mark," returned the savage, with a hoi-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 21 5

low laugh, which did not conceal the fierce temper that
nearly choked him. Then recollecting himself, with sudden
and native dignity, he added — " Go; teach your young men,
it is peace. Le Renard Subtil knows how to speak to a
Huron warrior."

Without deigning to bestow further words, or to wait for
any answer, the savage cast his rifle into the hollow of his
arm, and moved silently through the encampment toward
the woods where his own tribe was known to lie. Every few
yards as he proceeded he was challenged by the sentinels;
but he stalked sullenly onward, utterly disregarding the
summons of the soldiers, who only spared his life because
they knew the air and tread no less than the obstinate dar
ing of an Indian.

Montcalm lingered long and melancholy on the strand,
where he had been left by his companion, brooding deeply
on the temper which his ungovernable ally had just discov
ered. Already had his fair fame been tarnished by one hor
rid scene, and in circumstances fearfully resembling those
under which he now found himself. As he mused he be
came keenly sensible of the deep responsibility they assume,
who disregard the means to attain their end, and of all the
danger of setting in motion an engine which it exceeds hu
man power to control. Then shaking off a train of reflec
tions that he accounted a weakness in such a moment of tri
umph, he retraced his steps toward his tent, giving the order
as he passed, to make the signal that should arouse the army
from its slumbers.

The first tap of the French drums was echoed from the
bosom of the fort, and presently the valley was filled with
the strains of martial music, rising long, thrilling, and
lively above the rattling accompaniment. The horns of the
victors sounded merry and cheerful flourishes, until the last
laggard of the camp was at his post; but the instant the
British fifes had blown their shrill signal, they became
mute. In the meantime the day had dawned, and when the

2l6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

line of the French army was ready to receive its general the
rays of a brilliant sun were glancing along the glittering
array. Then that success, which was already so well known,
was officially announced; the favored band who were se
lected to guard the gates of the fort were detailed, and
defiled before their chief; the signal of their approach was
given, and all the usual preparations for a change of masters
were ordered and executed directly under the guns of the
contested works.

A very different scene presented itself within the lines of
the Anglo-American army. As soon as the warning signal
was given, it exhibited all the signs of a hurried and forced
departure. The sullen soldiers shouldered their empty
tubes and fell into their places, like men whose blood had
been heated by the past contest, and who only desired the
opportunity to revenge an indignity which was still wound
ing to their pride, concealed as it was under all the observ
ances of military etiquette. Women and children ran from
place to place, some bearing the scanty remnants of their
baggage, and others searching in the ranks for those coun
tenances they looked up to for protection.

Munro appeared among his silent troops firm but dejected.
It was evident that the unexpected blow had struck deep
into his heart, though he struggled to sustain his misfortune
with the port of a man.

Duncan was touched at the quiet and impressive exhibi
tion of his grief. He had discharged his own duty, and he
now pressed to the side of the old man, to know in what
particular he might serve him.

" My daughters," was the brief but expressive reply.

" Good heavens ! are not arrangements already made for
their convenience? "

" To-day I am only a soldier, Major Heyward, " said the
veteran. " All that you see here, claim alike to be my chil
dren."

Duncan had heard enough. Without losing one of those

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2 1/

moments which had now become so precious, he flew toward
the quarters of Munroj in quest of the sisters. He found
them on the threshold of the low edifice, already prepared
to depart, and surrounded by a clamorous and weeping as
semblage of their own sex, that had gathered about the
place, with a sort of instinctive consciousness that it was the
point most likely to be protected. Though the cheeks of
Cora were pale, and her countenance anxious, she had lost
none of her firmness; but the eyes of Alice were inflamed,
and betrayed how long and bitterly she had wept. They
both, however, received the young man with undisguised
pleasure ; the former, for a novelty, being the first to speak.

"The fort is lost/7 she said, with a melancholy smile;
"though our good name, I trust, remains."

" 'Tis brighter than ever. But, dearest Miss Munro, it is
time to think less of others, and to make some provision for
yourself. Military usage — pride — that pride on which you
so much value yourself, demands that your father and I
should for a little while continue with the troops. Then
where to seek a proper protector for you against the confu
sion and chances of such a scene ? "

"None is necessary," returned Cora; "who will dare to
injure or insult the daughter of such a father, at a time like
this?"

" I would not leave you alone," continued the youth, look
ing about him in a hurried manner, " for the command of
the best regiment in the pay of the king. Remember, our
Alice is not gifted with all your firmness, and God only
knows the terror she might endure."

"You may be right," Cora replied, smiling again, but far
more sadly than before. "Listen; chance has already sent
us a friend when he is most needed."

Duncan did listen, and on the instant comprehended her
meaning. The low and serious sounds of the sacred music,
so well known to the eastern provinces, caught his ear, and
instantly drew him to an apartment in an adjacent building,

2l8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

which had already been deserted by its customary tenants.
There he found David, pouring out his pious feelings,
through the only medium in which he ever indulged. Dun
can waited, until, by the cessation of the movement of the
hand, he believed the strain was ended, when, by touching
his shoulder, he drew the attention of the other to himself,
and in a few words explained his wishes.

" Even so," replied the single-minded disciple of the King
of Israel, when the young man had ended; "I have found
much that is comely and melodious in the maidens, and it
is fitting that we who have consorted in so much peril, should
abide together in peace. I will attend them, when I have
completed my morning praise, to which nothing is now
wanting but the doxology. Wilt thou bear a part, friend?
The metre is common, and the tune * Southwell.' "

Then, extending the little volume, and giving the pitch of
the air anew with considerate attention, David recommenced
and finished his strains, with a fixedness of manner that it
was not easy to interrupt. Hey ward was fain to wait until
the verse was ended; when, seeing David relieving himself
from the spectacles, and replacing the book, he continued —

" It will be your duty to see that none dare to approach
the ladies with any rude intention, or to offer insult or taunt
at the misfortune of their brave father. In this task you will
be seconded by the domestics of their household."

"Even so."

" It is possible that the Indians and stragglers of the en
emy may intrude, in which case you will remind them of the
terms of the capitulation, and threaten to report their con
duct to Montcalm. A word will suffice."

" If not, I have that here which shall," returned David,
exhibiting his book, with an air in which meekness and
confidence were singularly blended. " Here are words
which, uttered, or rather thundered, with proper emphasis,
and in measured time, shall quiet the most unruly temper :—

" * Why rage the heathen furiously ! * " —

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 219

" Enough," said Heyward, interrupting the burst of his
musical invocation: "we understand each other; it is time
that we should now assume our respective duties."

Gamut cheerfully assented, and together they sought the
females. Cora received her new and somewhat extraordi
nary protector, courteously at least; and even the pallid
features of Alice lighted again with some of their native
archness as she thanked Heyward for his care. Duncan
took occasion to assure them he had done the best that cir
cumstances permitted, and, as he believed, quite enough for
the security of their feelings; of danger there was none.
He then spoke gladly of his intention to rejoin them the
moment he had led the advance a few miles toward the Hud
son, and immediately took his leave.

By this time the signal of departure had been given, and
the head of the English column was in motion. The sis
ters started at the sound, and glancing their eyes around,
they saw the white uniforms of the French grenadiers, who
had already taken possession of the gates of the fort. At
that moment, an enormous cloud seemed to pass suddenly
above their heads, and looking upward, they discovered that
they stood beneath the wide folds of the standard of France.

" Let us go," said Cora; " this is no longer a fit place for
the children of an English officer."

Alice clung to the arm of her sister, and together they left
the parade, accompanied by the moving throng that sur
rounded them.

As they passed the gates, the French officers, who had
learned their rank, bowed often and low, forbearing, how
ever, to intrude those attentions which they saw, with pe
culiar tact, might not be agreeable. As every vehicle and
each beast of burden was occupied by the sick and wounded,
Cora had decided to endure the fatigues of a foot march,
rather than interfere with their comforts. Indeed, many a
maimed and feeble soldier was compelled to drag his ex
hausted limbs in the rear of the columns, for the want of

J Vol. 4

22O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the necessary means of conveyance, in that wilderness. The
whole, however, was in motion; the weak and wounded,
groan ing, and in suffering ; their comrades, silent and sullen ;
and the women and children in terror, they knew not of what.

As the confused and timid throng left the protecting
mounds of the fort, and issued on the open plain, the whole
scene was at once presented to their eyes. At a little dis
tance on the right, and somewhat in the rear, the French
army stood to their arms, Montcalm having collected his
parties, so soon as his guards had possession of the works.
They were attentive but silent observers of the proceedings
of the vanquished, failing in none of the stipulated military
honors, and offering no taunt or insult, in their success, to
their less fortunate foes. Living masses of the English, to
the amount in the whole of near three thousand, were mov
ing slowly across the plain, toward the common centre, and
gradually approached each other, as they converged to the
point of their march, a vista cut through the lofty trees,
where the road to the Hudson entered the forest. Along the
sweeping borders of the woods, hung a dark cloud of sav
ages, eying the passage of their enemies, and hovering, at a
distance, like vultures, who were only kept from stooping
on their prey, by the presence and restraint of a superior
army. A few had straggled among the conquered columns,
where they stalked in sullen discontent; attentive, though,
as yet, passive observers of the moving multitude.

The advance, with Heyward at its head, had already
reached the defile, and was slowly disappearing, when the at
tention of Cora was drawn to a collection of stragglers, by
the sounds of contention. A truant provincial was paying
the forfeit of his disobedience, by being plundered of those
very effects which had caused him to desert his place in the
ranks. The man was of powerful frame, and too avaricious
to part with his goods without a struggle. Individuals from
either party interfered; the one side to prevent, and tha
other to aid in the robbery Voices grew loud and angry,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 221

and a hundred savages appeared, as it were by magic, where
a dozen only had been seen a minute before. It was then
that Cora saw the form of Magua gliding among his coun
trymen, and speaking with his fatal and artful eloquence.
The mass of women and children stopped, and hovered to
gether like alarmed and fluttering birds. But the cupidity
of the Indian was soon gratified, and the different bodies
again moved slowly onward.

The savages now fell back, and seemed content to let their
enemies advance without further molestation. But as the
female crowd approached them, the gaudy colors of a shawl
attracted the eyes of a wild and untutored Huron. He ad
vanced to seize it, without the least hesitation. The woman,
more in terror than through love of the ornament, wrapped
her child in the coveted article, and folded both more closely
to her bosom. Cora was in the act of speaking, with an in
tent to advise the woman to abandon the trifle, when the
savage relinquished his hold of the shawl, and tore the
screaming infant from her arms. Abandoning everything
to the greedy grasp of those around her, the mother darted,
with distraction in her mien, to reclaim her child. The
Indian smiled grimly, and extended one hand, in sign of a
willingness to exchange, while with the other he flourished
the babe over his head, holding it by the feet as if to en
hance the value of the ransom.

" Here — here — there — all — any — everything ! " exclaimed
the breathless woman; tearing the lighter articles of dress
from her person, with ill-directed and trembling fingers: — •
"take all, but give me my babe! "

The savage spurned the worthless rags, and perceiving
that the shawl had already become a prize to another, his
bantering but sullen smile changing to a gleam of ferocity,
he dashed the head of the infant against a rock, and cast its
quivering remains to her very feet. For an instant, the
mother stood, like a statue of despair, looking wildly down
at the unseemly object, which had so lately nestled in her

222 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

bosom and smiled in her face; and then she raised her eyes
and countenance toward heaven, as if calling on God to
curse the perpetrator of the foul deed. She was spared the
sin of such a prayer; for, maddened at his disappointment,
and excited at the sight of blood, the Huron mercifully
drove his tomahawk into her own brain. The mother sank
under the blow, and fell, grasping at her child, in death,
with the same engrossing love that had caused her to cherish
it when living.

At that dangerous moment Magua placed his hands to his
mouth, and raised the fatal and appalling whoop. The scat
tered Indians started at the well-known cry, as coursers
bound at the signal to quit the goal; and, directly, there
arose such a yell along the plain, and through the arches of
the wood, as seldom burst from human lips before. They
who heard it, listened with a curdling horror at the heart,
little inferior to that dread which may be expected to attend
the blasts of the final summons.

More than two thousand raving savages broke from the
forest at the signal, and threw themselves across the fatal
plain with instinctive alacrity. We shall not dwell on the
revolting horrors that succeeded. Death was everywhere,
and in his most terrific and disgusting aspects. Resistance
only served to inflame the murderers, who inflicted their
furious blows long after their victims were beyond the power
of their resentment. The flow of blood might be likened to
the outbreaking of a torrent; and as the natives became
heated and maddened by the sight, many among them even
kneeled to the earth, and drank freely, exultingly, hellishly,
of the crimson tide.

The trained bodies of the troops threw themselves quickly
into solid masses, endeavoring to awe their assailants by the
imposing appearance of a military front. The experiment
in some measure succeeded, though far too many suffered
their unloaded muskets to be torn from their hands, in the
vain hope of appeasing the savages.

THE LAST O? THE MOHICANS. 223

In such a scene none had leisure to note the fleeting mo
ments. It might have been ten minutes (it seemed an age),
that the sisters had stood riveted to one spot, horror-stricken,
and nearly helpless. When the first blow was struck, their
screaming companions had pressed upon them in a body,
rendering flight impossible; and now that fear or death had
scattered most, if not all, from around them, they saw no
avenue open, but such as conducted to the tomahawks of
their foes. On every side arose shrieks, groans, exhorta
tions, and curses. At this moment, Alice caught a glimpse
of the vast form of her father moving rapidly across the
plain in the direction of the French army. He was, in truth,
proceeding to Montcalm, fearless of every danger, to claim
the tardy escort, for which he had before conditioned. Fifty
glittering axes and barbed spears were offered unheeded at his
life, but the savages respected his rank and calmness, even
in their fury. The dangerous weapons were brushed aside
by the still nervous arm of the veteran, or fell of themselves,
after menacing an act that it would seem no one had courage
to perform. Fortunately, the vindictive Magua was searching
for his victim in the very band the veteran had just quitted.

"Father — father — we are here!" shrieked Alice, as he
passed, at no great distance, without appearing to heed them.
" Come to us, father, or we die ! "

The cry was repeated, and in terms and tones that might
have melted a heart of stone, but it was unanswered. Once,
indeed, the old man appeared to catch the sounds, for he
paused and listened; but Alice had dropped senseless on
the earth, and Cora had sunk at her side, hovering in untir
ing tenderness over her lifeless form. Munro shook his
head in disappointment, and proceeded, bent on the high
duty of his station.

" Lady," said Gamut, who, helpless and useless as he was,
had not yet dreamed of deserting his trust, " it is the jubilee
of the devils, and this is not a meet place for Christians to
tarry in. Let us up and fly."

224 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"Go," said Cora, still gazing at her unconscious sister;
" save thyself. To me thou canst not be of further use."

David comprehended the unyielding character of her reso
lution, by the simple but expressive gesture that accompanied
her words. He gazed, for a moment, at the dusky forms
that were acting their hellish rites on every side of him, and
his tall person grew more erect, while his chest heaved, and
every feature swelled, and seemed to speak with the power
of the feelings by which he was governed.

" If the Jewish boy might tame the evil spirit of Saul
by the sound of his harp, and the words of sacred song, it
may not be amiss," he said, " to try the potency of music
here."

Then raising his voice to its highest tones, he poured out
a strain so powerful as to be heard even amid the din of
that bloody field. More than one savage rushed toward them,
thinking to rifle the unprotected sisters of their attire, and
bear away their scalps; but when they found this strange
and unmoved figure riveted to his post, they paused to lis
ten. Astonishment soon changed to admiration, and they
passed on to other, and less courageous, victims, openly ex
pressing their satisfaction at the firmness with which the
white warrior sang his death song. Encouraged and de
luded by his success, David exerted all his powers to extend
what he believed so holy an influence. The unwonted
sounds caught the ears of a distant savage, who flew raging
from group to group, like one who, scorning to touch the
vulgar herd, hunted for some victim more worthy of his re
nown. It was Magua, who uttered a yell of pleasure when
he beheld his ancient prisoners again at his mercy.

" Come," he said, laying his soiled hands on. the dress of
Cora, " the wigwam of the Huron is still open. Is it not
better than this place? "

" Away! " cried Cora, veiling her eyes from his revolting
aspect.

The Indian laughed tauntingly, as he held up his reeking

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 225

hand, and answered — " It is red, but it comes from white
veins! "

" Monster] there is blood, oceans of blood, upon thy soul;
thy spirit has moved this scene."

"Magua is a great chief! " returned the exulting savage:
— "will the dark-hair go to his tribe? "

"Never! strike, if thou wilt, and complete thy revenge."

He hesitated a moment; and then catching the light and
senseless form of Alice in his arms, the subtle Indian moved
swiftly across the plain toward the woods.

"Hold!" shrieked Cora, following wildly on his foot
steps: "release the child! wretch! what is 't you do? "

But Magua was deaf to her voice; or rather he knew his
power, and was determined to maintain it.

" Stay — lady — stay," called Gamut, after the unconscious
Cora. "The holy charm is beginning to be felt, and soon
shalt thou see this horrid tumult stilled."

Perceiving that, in his turn, he was unheeded, the faith
ful David followed the distracted sister, raising his voice
again in sacred song, and sweeping the air to the measure,
with his long arm, in diligent accompaniment. In this man
ner they traversed the plain, through the flying, the wounded,
and the dead. The fierce Huron was, at any time, suffi
cient for himself and the victim that he bore ; though Cora
would have fallen, more than once, under the blows of her
savage enemies, but for the extraordinary being who stalked
in her rear, and who now appeared to the astonished natives
gifted with the protecting spirit of madness.

Magua, who knew how to avoid the more pressing dan
gers, and also to elude pursuit, entered the woods through a
low ravine, where he quickly found the Narragansetts, which
the travellers had abandoned so shortly before, awaiting his
appearance, in custody of a savage as fierce and as malign
in his expression as himself. Laying Alice on one of the
horses, he made a sign to Cora to mount the other.

Notwithstanding the horror excited by the presence of her

226 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

captor, there was a present relief in escaping from the bloody
scene enacting on the plain, to which Cora could not be
altogether insensible. She took her seat, and held forth her
arms for her sister, with an air of entreaty and love that
even the Huron could not deny. Placing Alice, then, on
the same animal with Cora, he seized the bridle, and com
menced his route by plunging deeper into the forest. David,
perceiving that he was left alone, utterly disregarded as a sub
ject too worthless even to destroy, threw his long limb across
the saddle of the beast they had deserted, and made such prog
ress in the pursuit as the difficulties of the path permitted.

They soon began to ascend ; but as the motion had a ten
dency to revive the dormant faculties of her sister, the atten
tion of Cora was too much divided between the tenderest
solicitude in her behalf, and in listening to the cries which
were still too audible on the plain, to note the direction in
which they journeyed. When, however, they gained the flat
tened surface of the mountain-top, and approached the east
ern precipice, she recognized the spot to which she had once
before been led under the more friendly auspices of the scout.
Here Magua suffered them to dismount; and, notwithstand
ing their own captivity, the curiosity which seems inseparable
from horror induced them to gaze at the sickening sight below.

The cruel work was still unchecked. On every side the
captured were flying before their relentless persecutors, while
the armed columns of the Christian king stood fast in an
apathy which has never been explained, and which has left
an immovable blot on the otherwise fair escutcheon of their
leader. Nor was the sword of death stayed until cupidity
got the mastery of revenge. Then, indeed, the shrieks of
the wounded and the yells of their murderers grew less fre
quent, until finally the cries of horror were lost to their ear,
or were drowned in the loud, long, and piercing whoops of
the triumphant savages.*

* The accounts of the number who fell in this unhappy affair, vary between five
and fifteen hundred.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 22/

CHAPTER XVIII.

Why, any thing :

An honorable murderer, if you will ;
For nought I did in hate, but all in honor.

OTHELLO.

THE bloody and inhuman scene rather incidentally men
tioned than described in the preceding chapter, is conspicu
ous in the pages of colonial history, by the merited title of
"The Massacre of William Henry." It so far deepened the
stain which a previous and very similar event had left upon
the reputation of the French commander, that it was not en
tirely erased by his early and glorious death. It is now
becoming obscured by time ; and thousands, who know that
Montcalm died like a hero on the plains of Abraham, have
yet to learn how much he was deficient in that moral courage
without which no man can be truly great. Pages might be
written to prove, from this illustrious example, the defects
of human excellence; to show how easy it is for generous
sentiments, high courtesy, and chivalrous courage, to lose
their influence beneath the chilling blight of selfishness,
and to exhibit to the world a man who was great in all the
minor attributes of character, but who was found wanting
when it became necessary to prove hov,r much principle is
superior to policy. But the task would exceed our preroga
tives; and, as history, like love, is so apt to surround her
heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness, it is
probable that Louis de Saint Ve'ran will be viewed by pos
terity only as the gallant defender of his country, while his
cruel apathy on the shores of the Oswego and of the Hori-
can will be forgotten. Deeply regretting this weakness on
the part of a sister muse, we shall at once retire, from her
sacred precincts, within the proper limits of our own hum
ble vocation.

The third day from the capture of the fort was drawing to

228 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

a close, but the business of the narrative must still detain
the reader on the shores of the " holy lake." When last
seen, the environs of the works were filled with violence and
uproar. They were now possessed by stillness and death.
The blood-stained conquerors had departed; and their
camp, which had so lately rung with the merry rejoicings of
a victorious army, lay a silent and deserted city of huts.
The fortress was a smouldering ruin; charred rafters, frag
ments of exploded artillery, and rent mason-work, covering
its earthen mounds in confused disorder.

A frightful change had also occurred in the season. The
sun had hid its warmth behind an impenetrable mass of
vapor, and hundreds of human forms, which had blackened
beneath the fierce heats of August, were stiffening in their
deformity, before the blasts of a premature November. The
curling and spotless mists, which had been seen sailing
above the hills toward the north, were now returning in an
interminable dusky sheet, that was urged along by the fury
of a tempest. The crowded mirror of the Horican was
gone ; and, in its place, the green and angry waters lashed
the shores, as if indignantly casting back its impurities to
the polluted strand. Still the clear fountain retained a por
tion of its charmed influence, but it reflected only the som
bre gloom that fell from the impending heavens. That
humid and congenial atmosphere which commonly adorned
the view, veiling its harshness, and softening its asperities,
had disappeared, and the northern air poured across the
waste of water so harsh and unmingled, that nothing was
left to be conjectured by the eye, or fashioned by the fancy.

The fiercer element had cropped the verdure of the plain,
which looked as though it were scathed by the consuming
lightning. But, here and there, a dark green tuft rose in
the midst of the desolation; the earliest fruits of a soil that
had been fattened with human blood. The whole landscape,
which, seen by a favoring light, and in a genial temperature,
had been found so lovely, appeared now like some pictured

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS 229

allegory of life, in which objects were arrayed in their harsh
est but truest colors, and without the relief of any shadow
ing.

The solitary and arid blades of grass arose from the pass
ing gusts fearfully perceptible; the bold and rocky moun
tains were too distinct in their barrenness, and the eye even
sought relief, in vain, by attempting to pierce the illimitable
void of heaven, which was shut to its gaze by the dusky
sheet of ragged and driving vapor.

The wind blew unequally; sometimes sweeping heavily
along the ground, seeming to whisper its meanings in the
cold ears of the dead, then rising in a shrill and mournful
whistling, it entered the forest with a rush that filled the air
with the leaves and branches it scattered in its path. Amid
the unnatural shower, a few hungry ravens struggled with
the gale; but no sooner was the green ocean of woods, which
stretched beneath them, passed, than they gladly stopped, at
random, to their hideous banquet.

In short, it was a scene of wildness and desolation; and
it appeared as if all who had profanely entered it had been
stricken, at a blow, by the relentless arm of death. But the
prohibition had ceased; and, for the first time since the per
petrators of those foul deeds which had assisted to disfigure
the scene, were gone, living human beings had now pre
sumed to approach the place.

About an hour before the setting of the sun, on the day
already mentioned, the forms of five men might have been
seen issuing from the narrow vista of trees, where the path
to the Hudson entered the forest, and advancing in the
direction of the ruined works. At first their progress was
slow and guarded, as though they entered with reluctance
amid the horrors of the spot, or dreaded the renewal of its
frightful incidents. A light figure preceded the rest of the
party, with the caution and activity of a native; ascending
every hillock to reconnoitre, and indicating, by gestures, to
his companions, the route he deemed it most prudent to pur-

23O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

sue. Nor were those in the rear wanting in every caution
and foresight known to forest warfare. One among them,
he also was an Indian, moved a little on one flank, and
watched the margin of the woods, with eyes long accustomed
to read the smallest sign of danger. The remaining three
were white, though clad in vestments adapted, both in qual
ity and color, to their present hazardous pursuit, — that of
hanging on the skirts of a retiring army in the wilderness.

The effects produced by the appalling sights that con
stantly arose in their path to the lake shore, were as different
as the characters of the respective individuals who com
posed the party. The youth in front threw serious but fur
tive glances at the mangled victims, as he stepped lightly
across the plain, afraid to exhibit his feelings, and yet too
inexperienced to quell entirely their sudden and powerful
influence. His red associate, however, was superior to such
a weakness. He passed the groups of dead with a steadi
ness of purpose, and an eye so calm, that nothing but long
and inveterate practice could enable him to maintain. The
sensations produced in the minds of even the white men
were different, though uniformly sorrowful. One, whose
gray locks and furrowed lineaments, blending with a mar
tial air and tread, betrayed, in spite of the disguise of a
woodman's dress, a man long experienced in scenes of war,
was not ashamed to groan aloud, whenever a spectacle of
more than usual horror came under his view. The young
man at his elbow shuddered, but seemed to suppress his
feelings in tenderness to his companion. Of them all, the
straggler who brought up the rear appeared alone to betray
his real thoughts, without fear of observation or dread cf
consequences. He gazed at the most appalling sight with
eyes and muscles that knew not how to waver, but with ex
ecrations so bitter and deep as to denote how much he de
nounced the crime of his enemies.

The reader will perceive, at once, in these respective
characters, the Mohicans, and their white friend, the scout;

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 23!

together with Munro and Hey ward. It was, in truth, the
father in quest of his children, attended by the youth who
felt so deep a stake in their happiness, and those brave and
trusty foresters who had already proved their skill and fidel
ity through the trying scenes related.

When Uncas, who moved in front, had reached the centre
of the plain, he raised a cry that drew his companions in a
body to the spot. The young warrior had halted over a
group of females who lay in a cluster, a confused mass of
dead. Notwithstanding the revolting horror of the exhibi
tion, Munro and Heyward flew toward the festering heap,
endeavoring, with a love that no unseemliness could extin
guish, to discover whether any vestiges of those they sought
were to be seen among the tattered and many-colored gar
ments. The father and the lover found instant relief in the
search; though each was condemned again to experience
the misery of an uncertainty that was hardly less insupport
able than the most revolting truth. They were standing,
silent and thoughtful, around the melancholy pile, when the
scout approached. Eying the sad spectacle with an angry
countenance, the sturdy woodsman, for the first time since
his entering the plain, spoke intelligibly and aloud—

" I have been on many a shocking field, and have followed
a trail of blood for weary miles," he said, "but never have
I found the hand of the devil so plain as it is here to be
seen ! Revenge is an Indian feeling, and all who know me
know that there is no cross in my veins; but this much will
I say — here, in the face of heaven, and with the power of
the Lord so manifest in this howling wilderness, — that
should these Frenchers ever trust themselves again within
the range of a ragged bullet, there is one rifle shall play its
part, so long as flint will fire or powder burn! — I leave the
tomahawk and knife to such as have a natural gift to use
them. What say you, Chingachgook," he added in Dela
ware; 'shall the Hurons boast of this to their women when
the deep snows come ? "

232 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

A dream of resentment flashed across the dark lineaments
of the Mohican chief: he loosened his knife in his sheath;
and then turning calmly from the sight, his countenance
settled into a repose as deep as if he never knew the insti
gation of passion.

" Montcalm ! Montcalm ! " continued the deeply resentful
and less self-restrained scout ; " they say a time must come,
when all the deeds done in the flesh will be seen at a single
look; and that by eyes cleared from mortal infirmities.
Woe betide the wretch who is born to behold this plain,
with the judgment hanging about his soul ! Ha — as I am a
man of white blood, yonder lies a red-skin, without the hair
of his head where nature rooted it! Look to him, Dela
ware; it may be one of your missing people; and he should
have burial like a stout warrior. I see it in your eye, Sag
amore: a Huron pays for this, afore the fall winds have
blown away the scent of the blood! "

Chingachgook approached the mutilated form, and turn
ing it over, he found the distinguishing marks of one of
those six allied tribes, or nations, as they were called, who,
while they fought in the English ranks, were so deadly hos
tile to his own people. Spurning the loathsome object with
his foot, he turned from it with the same indifference he
would have quitted a brute carcase. The scout compre
hended the action, and very deliberately pursued his own
way, continuing, however, his denunciations against the
French commander in the same resentful strain.

" Nothing but vast wisdom and onlimited power should
dare to sweep off men in multitudes," he added ; " for it is
only the one that can know the necessity of the judgment;
and what is there short of the other that can replace the creat
ures of the Lord? I hold it a sin to kill the second buck
afore the first is eaten, unless a march in the front, or an
ambushment, be contemplated. It is a different matter
with a few warriors in open and rugged fight, for 'tis their
gift to die with the rifle or the tomahawk in hand ; accord-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 233

ing as their natures may happen to be white or red. Uncas,
come this way, lad, and let the ravens settle upon the Mingo.
I know, from often seeing it, that they have a craving for
the flesh of an Oneida; and it is as well to let the bird fol
low the gift of its natural appetite."

" Hugh! " exclaimed the young Mohican, rising on the
extremities of his feet, and gazing intently in his front,
frightening the raven to some other prey, by the sound and
the action.

" What is it, boy? " whispered the scout, lowering his tall
form into a crouching attitude, like a panther about to take
his leap; "God send it be a tardy Frencher, skulking for
plunder. I do believe * Kill-deer ' would take an oncommon
range to-day! "

Uncas, without making any reply, bounded away from the
spot, and in the next instant he was seen tearing from a
bush, and waving in triumph, a fragment of the green rid
ing veil of Cora. The movement, the exhibition, and the
cry, which again burst from the lips of the young Mohican,
instantly drew the whole party about him.

"My child!" said Munro, speaking quick and wildly;
"give me my child! "

" Uncas will try," was the short and touching answer.

The simple but meaning assurance was lost on the father,
who seized the piece of gauze, and crushed it in his hand,
while his eyes roamed fearfully among the bushes, as if he
equally dreaded and hoped for the secrets they might reveal.

"Here are no dead," said Hey ward; "the storm seems
not to have passed this way."

" That's manifest; and clearer than the heavens above our
heads," returned the undisturbed scout; "but either she, or
they that have robbed her, have passed the bush; for I re
member the rag she wore to hide a face that all did love to
look upon. Uncas, you are right; the dark-hair has been
here, and she has fled, like a frighted fawn, to the wood;
none who could fly would remain to be murdered. Let us

234 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

search for the marks she left; for to Indian eyes, I some
times think even a humming-bird leaves his trail in the air."

The young Mohican darted away at the suggestion, and
the scout had hardly done speaking, before the former raised
a cry of success from the margin of the forest. On reaching
the spot, the anxious party perceived another portion of the
veil fluttering on the lower branch of a beech.

" Softly, softly," said the scout, extending his long rifle
in front of the eager Hey ward ; " we now know our work,
but the beauty of the trail must not be deformed. A step
too soon may give us hours of trouble. We have them
though; that much is beyond denial."

"Bless ye, bless ye, worthy man!" exclaimed Munro;
"whither, then, have they fled, and where are my babes? "

" The path they have taken depends on many chances.
If they have gone alone, they are quite as likely to move in
a circle as straight, and they may be within a dozen miles
of us; but if the Hurons, or any of the French Indians,
have laid hands on them, 'tis probable they are now near
the borders of the Canadas. But what matters that? " con
tinued the deliberate scout, observing the powerful anxiety
and disappointment the listeners exhibited; "here are the
Mohicans and I on one end of the trail, and, rely on it, we
find the other, though they should be a hundred leagues
asunder! Gently, gently, Uncas, you are as impatient as a
man in the settlements; you forget that light feet leave but
faint marks! "

"Hugh!" exclaimed Chingachgook, who had been occu
pied in examining an opening that had been evidently made
through the low underbrush, which skirted the forest; and
who now stood erect, as he pointed downward, in the attitude
and with the air of a man who beheld a disgusting serpent.

" Here is the palpable impression of the footstep of a
man," cried Hey ward, bending over the indicated spot:
" he has trod in the margin of this pool, and the mark can
not be mistaken. They are captives."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 235

" Better so than left to starve in the wilderness," returned
the scout; "and they will leave a wider trail. I would
wager fifty beaver skins against as many flints, that the Mo
hicans and I enter their wigwams within the month ! Stoop
to it, Uncas, and try what you can make of the moccasin ;
for moccasin it plainly is, and no shoe.'7

The young Mohican bent over the track, and removing
the scattered leaves from around the place, he examined it
with much of that sort of scrutiny that a money-dealer, in
these days of pecuniary doubts, would bestow on a suspected
due-bill. At length, he arose from his knees, satisfied with
the result of the examination.

"Well, boy," demanded the attentive scout, "what does
it say? can you make anything of the tell-tale? "

" Le Renard Subtil ! "

" Ha ! that rampaging devil again ! there never will be an
end of his loping, till * Kill-deer ' has said a friendly word
to him."

Heyward reluctantly admitted the truth of this intelli
gence, and now expressed rather his hopes than his doubts
by saying —

"One moccasin is so much like another, it is probable
there is some mistake."

"One moccasin like another! you may as well say that
one foot is like another; though we all know that some are
long, and others short; some broad, and others narrow;
some with high, and some with low, insteps; some in-toed,
and some out. One moccasin is no more like another than
one book is like another; though they who can read in one
are seldom able to tell the marks of the other. Which is all
ordered for the best, giving to every man his natural ad
vantages. Let me get down to it, Uncas ; neither book nor
moccasin is the worse for having two opinions, instead of
one." The scout stooped to the task, and instantly added,
"You are right, boy; here is the patch we saw so often in
the other chase. And the fellow will drink when he can get

236 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

an opportunity : your drinking Indian always learns to walk
with a wider toe than the natural savage, it being the gift oi
a drunkard to straddle, whether of white or red skin. 'Tis
just the length and breadth too! look at it, Sagamore: you
measured the prints more than once, when we hunted tht
varments from Glenn's to the health-springs."

Chingachgook complied; and after finishing his short
examination, he arose, and with a quiet demeanor, he merely
pronounced the word —

" Magua."

"Ay, 'tis a settled thing; here then have passed the dark-
hair and Magua."

"And not Alice? " demanded Heyward.

" Of her we have not yet seen the signs," returned the
scout, looking closely around at the trees, the bushes, and
the ground. "What have we there? Uncas, bring hither
the thing you see dangling from yonder thorn-bush."

When the Indian had complied, the scout received the
prize, and holding it on high, he laughed in his silent but
heartfelt manner.

" 'Tis the tooting we'pon of the singer! now we shall have
a trail a priest might travel," he said. " Uncas, look for
the marks of a shoe that is long enough to uphold six feet
two of tottering human flesh. I begin to have some hopes
of the fellow, since he has given up squalling to follow
some better trade."

" At least, he has been faithful to his trust," said Hey
ward; "and Cora and Alice are not without a friend."

" Yes," said Hawk-eye, dropping his rifle, and leaning on
It with an air of visible contempt, " he will do their sing
ing! Can he slay a buck for their dinner; journey by the
moss on the beeches, or cut the throat of a Huron? If not,
the first cat-bird* he meets is the cleverest of the two.
Well, boy, any signs of such a foundation ? "

* The powers of the American mocking-bird are generally known. But the trut
mocking-bird is not found so far north as the State of New York, where it has, however,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Here is something like the footstep of one who has
worn a shoe ; can it be that of our friend ? "

" Touch the leaves lightly, or you'll disconsart the forma
tion. That! that is the print of a foot, but 'tis the dark-
hair's; and small it is, too, for one of such a noble height
and grand appearance. The singer would cover it with his
heel."

"Where! let me look on the footsteps of my child," said
Munro, shoving the bushes aside, and bending fondly over
the nearly obliterated impression. Though the tread, which
had left the mark, had been light and rapid, it was still
plainly visible. The aged soldier examined it with eyes
that grew dim as he gazed; nor did he rise from his stoop
ing posture until Hey ward saw that he had watered the trace
of his daughter's passage with a scalding tear. Willing to
divert a distress which threatened each moment to break
through the restraint of appearances, by giving the veteran
something to do, the young man said to the scout —

"As we now possess these infallible signs, let us com
mence our march. A moment, at such a time, will appear
an age to the captives."

" It is not the swiftest leaping deer that gives the longest
chase," returned Hawk-eye, without moving his eyes from
the different marks that had come under his view; "we
know that the rampaging Huron has' passed — and the dark
hair — and the singer — but where is she of the yellow locks
and blue eyes? Though little, and far from being as bold
as her sister, she is fair to the view, and pleasant in dis
course. Has she no friend, that none care for her? "

"God forbid she should ever want hundreds! Are we
not now in her pursuit? for one, I will never cease the
search till she be found."

"In that case we may have to journey by different paths;

two substitutes of inferior excellence ; the cat-bird, so often named by the scout, and
the bird vulgarly called ground-thresher. Either of these two last birds is superior to
the nightingale, or the lark, though, in general, the American birds are less musical
than those of Europe.

238 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

for here she has not passed, light and little as her footstep
would be."

Heyward drew back, all his ardor to proceed seeming to
vanish on the instant. Without attending to this sudden
change in the other's humor, the scout, after musing a mo
ment, continued —

" There is no woman in this wilderness could leave such
a print as that, but the dark-hair or her sister. We know
that the first has been here, but where are the signs of the
other? Let us push deeper on the trail, and if nothing
offers, we must go back to the plain and strike another scent.
Move on, Uncas, and keep your eyes on the dried leaves.
I will watch the bushes, while your father shall run with a
low nose to the ground. Move on, friends; the sun is get
ting behind the hills."

"Is there nothing that I can do? " demanded the anxious
Heyward.

" You ! " repeated the scout, who, with his red friends, was
already advancing in the order he had prescribed; " yes, you
can keep in our rear, and be careful not to cross the trail."

Before they had proceeded many rods, the Indians stopped,
and appeared to gaze at some signs on the earth with more
than their usual keenness. Both father and son spoke quick
and loud, now looking at the object of their mutual admira
tion, and now regarding each other with the most unequivo
cal pleasure.

"They have found the little foot! " exclaimed the scout,
moving forward, without attending further to his own por
tion of the duty. "What have we here? An ambushment
has been planted in the spot! No, by the truest rifle on the
frontiers, here have been them one-sided horses again!
Now the whole secret is out, and all is plain as the north
star at midnight. Yes, here they have mounted. There
the beasts have been bound to a sapling, in waiting; and
yonder runs the broad path away to the north, in full sweep
for the Canadas."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 239

" But still there are no signs of Alice — of the younger
Miss Munro," — said Duncan.

" Unless the shining bauble Uncas has just lifted from
the ground should prove one. Pass it this way, lad, that we
may look at it."

Heyward instantly knew it for a trinket that Alice was
fond of wearing, and which he recollected, with the tena
cious memory of a lover, to have seen, on the fatal morning
of the massacre, dangling from the fair neck of his mistress.
He seized the highly prized jewel; and as he proclaimed
the fact, it vanished from the eyes of the wondering scout,
who in vain looked for it on the ground, long after it was
warmly pressed against the beating heart of Duncan.

"Pshaw!" said the disappointed Hawk-eye, ceasing to
rake the leaves with the breech of his rifle; "'tis a certain
sign of age, when the sight begins to weaken. Such a glit
tering gew-gaw, and not to be seen! Well, well, I can
squint along a clouded barrel yet, and that is enough to set
tle all disputes between me and the Mingoes. I should
like to find the thing too, if it were only to carry it to the
right owner, and that would be bringing the two ends of
what I call a long trail together — for by this time the broad
St. Lawrence, or, perhaps, the Great Lakes, themselves, are
atwixt us."

" So much the more reason why we* should not delay our
march," returned Heyward ; " let us proceed."

" Young blood and hot blood, they say, are much the same
thing. We are not about to start on a squirrel hunt, or to
drive a deer into the Horican, but to outlie for days and
nights, and to stretch across a wilderness where the feet of
men seldom go, and where no bookish knowledge would carry
you through harmless. An Indian never starts on such an
expedition without smoking over his council fire; and
though a man of white blood, I honor their customs in this
particular, seeing that they are deliberate and wise. We
will, therefore, go back, and light our fire to-night in the

24O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS,

ruins of the old fort, and in the morning we shall be fresh,
and ready to undertake our work like men, and not like
babbling women or eager boys."

Hey ward saw, by the manner of the scout, that altercation
would be useless. Munro had again sunk into that sort of
apathy which had beset him since his late overwhelming
misfortunes, and from which he was apparently to be roused
only by some new and powerful excitement. Making a
merit of necessity, the young man took the veteran by the
arm, and followed in the footsteps of the Indians and the
scout, who had already begun to retrace the path which con
ducted them to the plain.

CHAPTER XIX.

Salar. Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his flesh ; what'» that good
for?

Shy. To bait fish wi lial : if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.

SHAKSPEARE.

THE shades of evening had come to increase the dreariness
of the place, when the party entered the ruins of William
Henry. The scout and his comi anions immediately made
their preparations to pass the night there ; but with an earnest
ness and sobriety of demeanor, that betrayed how much the
unusual horrors they had just witnessed worked on even
their practised feelings. A few fragments of rafters were
reared against a blackened wall; and when Uncas had cov
ered them slightly with brush, the temporary accommoda
tions were deemed sufficient. The young Indian pointed
toward his rude hut, when his labor was ended; and Hey-
ward, who understood the meaning of the silent gesture,
gently urged Munro to enter. Leaving the bereaved old
man alone with his sorrows, Duncan immediately returned
into the open air, too much excited himself to seek the re
pose he had recommended to his veteran friend.

While Hawk-eye and the Indians lighted their fi.t, and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 24!

took their evening's repast, a frugal meal of dried bear's
meat, the young man paid a visit to that curtain of the di
lapidated fort which looked out on the sheet of the Horican.
The wind had fallen, and the waves were already rolling on
the sandy beach beneath him, in a more regular and tem
pered succession. The clouds, as if tired of their furious
chase, were breaking asunder; the heavier volumes, gather
ing in black masses about the horizon, while the lighter
scud still hurried above the water, or eddied among the tops
of the mountains, like broken flights of birds, hovering
around their roosts. Here and there, a red and fiery star
struggled through the drifting vapor, furnishing a lurid
gleam of brightness to the dull aspect of the heavens.
Within the bosom of the encircling hills, an impenetrable
darkness had already settled; and the plain lay like a vast
and deserted charnel-house, without omen or whisper to dis
turb the slumbers of its numerous and hapless tenants.

Of this scene, so chillingly iu accordance with the past,
Duncan stood for many minutes a rapt observer. His eyes
wandered from the bosom of the mound, where the foresters
were seated around their glimmering fire, to the fainter light
which still lingered in the skies, and then rested long and
anxiously on the embodied gloom, which lay like a dreary
void on that side of him where the dead reposed. He soon
fancied that inexplicable sounds arose from the place,
though so indistinct and stolen, as to render not only their
nature but even their existence uncertain. Ashamed of his
apprehensions the young man turned toward the water, and
strove to divert his attention to the mimic stars that dimly
glimmered on its moving surface. Still, his too conscious
ears performed their ungrateful duty, as if to warn him of
some lurking danger. At length a swift trampling seemed,
quite audibly, to rush athwart the darkness. Unable any
longer to quiet his uneasiness, Duncan spoke in a low voice
to the scout, requesting him to ascend the mound to the
place where he stood. Hawk-eye threw his rifle across an

242 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

arm, and complied, but with an air so unmoved and calm,
as to prove how much he counted on the security of their
position.

" Listen," said Duncan, when the other placed himself
deliberately at his elbow: "there are suppressed noises on
the plain which may show that Montcalm has 'not yet en
tirely deserted his conquest."

" Then ears are better than eyes," said the undisturbed
scout, who having just deposited a portion ^f a bear between
his grinders, spoke thick and slow, like one whose mouth
was doubly occupied. " I, myself, saw him caged in Ty,
with all his host; for your Frenchers, when they have done
a clever thing, like to get back, and have a dance, or a
merry-making with the women over their success."

"I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps in war, and
plunder may keep a Huron here, after his tribe has de
parted. It would be well to extinguish the fire, and have
a watch — Listen ! you hear the noise I mean ! "

" An Indian more rarely lurks about the graves. Though
ready to slay, and not over regardful of the means, he is
commonly content with the scalp, unless when blood is hot,
and temper up; but after the spirit is once fairly gone, he
forgets his enmity, and is willing to let the dead find their
natural rest. Speaking of spirits, Major, are you of opin
ion that the heaven of a redskin and of us whites will be
one and the same? "

" No doubt — no doubt. I thought I heard it again ! or
was it the rustling of the leaves in the top of the beech? "

"For my own part," continued Hawk-eye, turning his
face, for a moment, in the direction indicated by Heyward,
but with a vacant and careless manner, " I believe that par
adise is ordained for happiness; and that men will be in
dulged in it according to their dispositions and gifts. I
therefore judge a redskin is not far from the truth when he
believes he is to find them glorious hunting grounds of
which his traditions tell ; nor, for that matter, do I think it

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 243

would be any disparagement to a man without a cross to
pass his time "

"You hear it again? " interrupted Duncan.

"Ay, ay; when food is scarce, and when food is plenty, a
wolf grows bold," said the unmoved scout. " There would
be picking, too, among the skins of the devils, if there was
light and thne for the sport. But, concerning the life that is
to come, Major: I have heard preachers say, in the settle
ments, that heaven was a place of rest. Now men's minds
differ as to their ideas of enjoyment. For myself, and I
say it with reverence to the ordering of Providence, it would
be no great indulgence to be kept shut up in those mansions
of which they preach, having a natural longing for motion
and the chase."

Duncan, who was now made to understand the nature of
the noises he had heard, answered, with more attention to
the subject which the humor of the scout had chosen for dis
cussion, by saying —

" It is difficult to account for the feelings that may attend
the last great change."

" It would be a change, indeed, for a man who has passed
his days in the open air," returned the single-minded scout;
"and who has so often broken his fast on the headwaters
of the Hudson, to sleep within sound of the roaring Mo
hawk. But it is a comfort to know we serve a merciful
Master, though we do it each after his fashion, and
with great tracts of wilderness atween us — What goes
there?"

" Is it not the rushing of the wolves you have men
tioned? "

Hawk-eye slowly shook his head, and beckoned for Dun
can to follow him to a spot to which the glare from the fire
did not extend. When he had taken this precaution, the
scout placed himself in an attitude of intense attention, and
listened long and keenly for a repetition of the low sound
that had so unexpectedly startled him. His vigilance, how-

244 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ever, seemed exercised in vain ; for, after a fruitless pause,
he whispered to Duncan —

" We must give a call to Uncas. The boy has Indian
senses, and may hear what is hid from us; for being a
white-skin, I will not deny my nature."

The young Mohican, who was conversing in a low voice
with his father, started as he heard the moaning of an owl,
and springing on his feet, he looked toward the black
mounds, as if seeking the place whence the sounds pro
ceeded. The scout repeated the call, and in a few moments,
Duncan saw the figure of Uncas stealing cautiously along
the rampart, to the spot where they stood.

Hawk-eye explained his wishes in a very few words, which
were spoken in the Delaware tongue. So soon as Uncas was
in possession of the reason why he was summoned, he threw
himself flat on the turf; where, to the eyes of Duncan, he
appeared to lie quiet and motionless. Surprised at the im
movable attitude of the young warrior, and curious to observe
the manner in which he employed his faculties to obtain the
desired information, Heyward advanced a few steps, and
bent over the dark object, on which he had kept his eyes
riveted. Then it was he discovered that the form of Uncas
had vanished, and that he beheld only the dark outline of
an inequality in the embankment.

" What has become of the Mohican ? " he demanded of
the scout, stepping back in amazement : " it was here that I
saw him fall, and I could have sworn that here he yet re
mained."

" Hist! speak lower; for we know not what ears are open,
and the Mingoes are a quick-witted breed. As for Uncas,
he is out on the plain, and the Maquas, if any such are
about us, will find their equal."

" You think that Montcalm has not called off all his In
dians? Let us give the alarm to our companions, that we
may stand to our arms. Here are five of us, who are not
unused to meet an enemy."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 245

"Not a word to either, as you value life. Look at the
Sagamore, how like a grand Indian chief he sits by the fire.
If there are any skulkers out in the darkness, they will
never discover, by his countenance, that we suspect danger
at hand."

" But they may discover him, and it will prove his death.
His person can be too plainly seen by the light of that fire,
and he will become the first and most certain victim."

" It is undeniable that now you speak the truth," returned
the scout, betraying more anxiety than was usual; " yet what
can be done? A single suspicious look might bring on an
attack before we are ready to receive it. He knows, by the
call I gave to Uncas, that we have struck a scent: I will
tell him that we are on the trail of the Mingoes; his Indian
nature will teach him now to act."

The scout applied his fingers to his mouth, and raised a
low hissing sound, that caused Duncan, at first, to start
aside, believing that he heard a serpent. The head of
Chingachgook was resting on a hand, as he sat musing by
himself; but the moment he heard the warning of the ani
mal whose name he bore, it arose to an upright position,
and his dark eyes glanced swiftly and keenly on every side
of him. With this sudden and perhaps involuntary move
ment, every appearance of surp'rise or alarm ended. His
rifle lay untouched, and apparently unnoticed, within reach
of his hand. The tomahawk that he had loosened in his
belt for the sake of ease, was even suffered to fall from its
usual situation to the ground, and his form seemed to sink
like that of a man whose nerves and sinews were suffered
to relax for the purpose of rest. Cunningly resuming his
former position, though with a change of hands, as if the
movement had been made merely to relieve the limb, the
native awaited the result with a calmness and fortitude that
none but an Indian warrior would have known how to
exercise.

But Heyward saw, that while to a less instructed eye the

246 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS."

Mohican chief appeared to slumber, his nostrils were ex
panded, his head was turned a little to one side, as if to
assist the organs of hearing, and that his quick and rapid
glances ran incessantly over every object within the power
of his vision.

" See the noble fellow ! " whispered Hawk-eye, pressing
the arm of Hey ward ; " he knows that a look or a motion
might disconsart our schemes, and put us at the mercy of
them imps —

He was interrupted by the flash and report of a rifle.
The air was filled with sparks of fire, around that spot where
the eyes of Heyward were still fastened, with admiration
and wonder. A second look told him that Chingachgook
had disappeared in the confusion. In the meantime, the
scout had thrown forward his rifle, like one prepared for
service, and awaited impatiently the moment when an enemy
might rise to view. But with the solitary and fruitless at
tempt made on the life of Chingachgook, the attack ap
peared to have terminated. Once or twice the listeners
thought they could distinguish the distant rustling of bushes,
as bodies of some unknown description rushed through
them; nor was it long ^before Hawk-eye pointed out the
" scampering of the wolves," as they fled precipitately be
fore the passage of some intruder on their proper domains.
After an impatient and breathless pause, a plunge was
heard in the water, and it was immediately followed by the
report of another rifle.

" There goes Uncas ! " said the scout : " the boy bears a
smart piece ! I know its crack, as well as a father knows
the language of his child, for I carried the gun myself until
a better offered."

" What can this mean ? " demanded Duncan : " we are
watched, and, as it would seem, marked for destruction."

" Yonder scattered brand can witness that no good was
intended, and this Indian will testify that no harm has been
done," returned the scout, dropping his rifle across his arm

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 247

again, and following Chingachgook, who just then re-ap
peared within the circle of light, into the bosom of the
works. "How is it, Sagamore? Are the Mingoes upon us
in earnest, or is it only one of those reptiles who hang upon
the skirts of a war party, to scalp the dead, go in, and make
their boast among the squaws of the valiant deeds done on
the pale-faces? "

Chingachgook very quietly resumed his seat; nor did he
make any reply, until after he had examined the firebrand
which had been struck by the bullet that had nearly proved
fatal to himself. After which, he was content to reply,
holding a single finger up to view, with the English mono
syllable —

"One."

" I thought as much," returned Hawk-eye, seating him
self; "and as he had got the cover of the lake afore Uncas
pulled upon him, it is more than probable the knave will
sing his lies about some great ambushment, in which he
was outlying on the trail of two Mohicans and a white
hunter — for the officers can be considered as little better
than idlers in such a skrimmage. Well, let him — let him.
There are always some honest men in every nation, though
heaven knows, too, that they are scarce among the Maquas,
to look down an upstart when he brags ag'in the face of rea
son. The varlet sent his lead within whistle of your ears,
Sagamore."

Chingachgook turned a calm and incurious eye toward
the place where the ball had struck, and then resumed his
former attitude, with a composure that could not be dis
turbed by so trifling an incident. Just then Uncas glided
into the circle and seated himself at the fire, with the same
appearance of indifference as was maintained by his father.

Of these several movements Heyward was a deeply in
terested and wondering observer. It appeared to him as
though the foresters had some secret means of intelligence,
which had escaped the vigilance of his own faculties. la

248 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

place of that eager and garrulous narration with which a
white youth would have endeavored to communicate, and
perhaps exaggerate, that which had passed out in the dark
ness of the plain, the young warrior was seemingly content
to let his deeds speak for themselves. It was, in fact, nei
ther the moment nor the occasion for an Indian to boast of
his exploits; and it is probable, that had Hey ward neglected
to inquire, not another syllable would, just then, have been
uttered on the subject.

" What has become of our enemy, Uncas ? " demanded
Duncan : " we heard your rifle, and hoped you had not fired
in vain."

The young chief removed a fold of his hunting-shirt, and
quietly exposed the fatal tuft of hair, which he bore as the
symbol of victory. Chingachgook laid his hand on the
scalp, and considered it for a moment with deep attention.
Then dropping it,. with disgust depicted in his strong fea
tures, he ejaculated — •

"Oneida!"

"Oneida!" repeated the scout, who was fast losing his
interest in the scene, in an apathy nearly assimilated to that
of his red associates, but who now advanced with uncommon
earnestness to regard the bloody badge. " By the Lord, if
the Oneidas are outlying upon the trail, we shall be flanked
by devils on every side of us! Now, to white eyes there is
no difference between this bit of skin and that of any other
Indian, and yet the Sagamore declares it came from the poll
of a Mingo; nay, he even names the tribe of the poor devil
with as much ease as if the scalp was the leaf of a book, and
each hair a letter. What right have Christian whites to
boast of their learning, when a savage can read a language
that would prove too much for the wisest of them all!
What say you, lad; of what people was the knave? "

Uncas raised his eyes, to the face of the scout, and an
swered in his soft voice —

" Oneida."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 249

"Oneida, again! When one Indian makes a declaration
it is commonly true ; but when he is supported by his people,
set it down as gospel ! "

" The poor fellow has mistaken us for French," said Hey-
ward; " or he would not have attempted the life of a
friend."

'• He mistake a Mohican in his paint for a Huron! You
would be as likely to mistake the white-coated grenadiers of
Montcalm for the scarlet jackets of the * Royal Americans,' "
returned the scout. " Ne, no, the sarpent knew his errand;
nor was there any great mistake in the matter, for there is
but little love atween a Delaware and a Mingo, let their
tribes go out to fight for whom they may, in a white quar
rel. For that matter, though the Oneidas do serve his sa
cred majesty, who is my own sovereign lord and master, I
should not have deliberated long about letting off* Kill-deer'
at the imp myself, had luck thrown him in my way."

" That would have been an abuse of our treaties, and un
worthy of your character."

"When a man consorts much with a people," continued
Hawk-eye, " if they are honest and he no knave, love will
grow up atwixt them. It is true that white cunning has
managed to throw the tribes into great confusion, as respects
friends and enemies; so that the Hurons and the Oneidas,
who speak the same tongue, or what may be called the same,
take each other's scalps, and the Delawares are divided
among themselves; a few hanging about their great council
fire on their own river, and fighting on the same side with the
Mingoes, while the greater part are in the Canadas, out of
natural enmity to the Maquas — thus throwing everything into
disorder, and destroying all the harmony of warfare. Yet
a red natur* is not likely to alter with every shift of policy;
so that the love atwixt a Mohican and a Mingo is much like
the regard between a white man and a sarpent."

"I regret to hear it; for I had believed those natives
who dwelt within our boundaries had found us too just and

25O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

liberal, not to identify themselves fully with our quarrels."
"Why, I believe it is natur' to give a preference to one's
own quarrels before those of strangers. Now, for myself, I
do love justice; and therefore I will not say I hate a Mingo,
— for that may be unsuitable to my color and my religion,
—though I will just repeat, it may have been owing to the
night that * Kill-deer ' had no hand in the death of ythis
skulking Oneida."

Then, as if satisfied with the force of his own reasons,
whatever might be their effect on the opinions of the other
disputant, the honest but implacable woodsman turned from
the fire, content to let the controversy slumber. Heyward
withdrew to the rampart, too uneasy and too little accus
tomed to the warfare of the woods, to remain at ease under
the possibility of such insidious attacks. Not so, however,
with the scout and the Mohicans. Those acute and long-
practised senses, whose powers so often exceed the limits
of all ordinary credulity, after having detected the danger,
had enabled them to ascertain its magnitude and duration.
Not one of the three appeared in the least to doubt their
perfect security, as was indicated by the preparations that
were soon made to sit in council over their future proceed
ings.

The confusion of nations, and even of tribes, to which
Hawk-eye alluded, existed at that period in the fullest
force. The great tie of language, and, of course, of a com
mon origin, was severed in many places; and it was one of
its consequences, that the Delaware and the Mingo (as the
people of the Six Nations were called) were found fight
ing in the same ranks, while the latter sought the scalp
of the Huron, though believed to be the root of his own
stock. The Delawares were even divided among themselves.
Though love for the soil which had belonged to his ances
tors kept the Sagamore of the Mohicans, with a small band
of followers who were serving at Edward, under the banners
of the English king, by far the largest portion of his nation

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 25!

were known to be in the field as allies of Montcalm. The
reader probably knows, if enough has not already been
gleaned from this narrative, that the Delaware, or Lenape,
claimed to be the progenitors of that numerous people who
once were masters of most of the eastern and northern states
of America, of whom the community of the Mohicans was
an ancient and highly honored member.

It was, of course, with a perfect understanding of the
minute and intricate interests which had armed friend
against friend, and brought natural enemies to combat by
each other's side, that the scout and his companions now
disposed themselves to deliberate on the measures that were
to govern their future movements, amid so many jarring and
savage races of men. Duncan knew enough of Indian cus
toms to understand the reason that the fire was replenished,
and why the warriors, not excepting Hawk-eye, took their
seats within the curl of its smoke with so much gravity and
decorum. Placing himself at an angle of the works, where
he might be a spectator of the scene within, while he kept
a watchful eye against any danger from without, he awaited
the result with as much patience as he could summon.

After a short and impressive pause, Chingachgook lighted
a pipe whose bowl was curiously carved in one of the soft
stones of the country, and whose stem was a tube of wood,
and commenced smoking. When he' had inhaled enough of
the fragrance of the soothing weed, he passed the instrument
into the hands of the scout. In this manner the pipe had
made its rounds three several times, amid the most profound
silence, before either of the party opened his lips. Then
the Sagamore, as the oldest and highest in rank, in a few
calm and dignified words, proposed the subject for deliber
ation. He was answered by the scout; and Chingachgook
rejoined, when the other objected to his opinions. But the
youthful Uncas continued a silent and respectful listener,
until Hawk-eye, in complaisance, demanded his opinion.
Heyward gathered from the manners of the different speak-

252 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ers, that the father and son espoused one side of a disputed
question, while the white man maintained the other. The
contest gradually grew warmer until it was quite evident
the feelings of the speakers began to be somewhat enlisted
in the debate.

Notwithstanding the increasing warmth of the amicable
contest, the most decorous Christian assembly, not even ex
cepting those in which its reverend ministers are collected,
might have learned a wholesome lesson of moderation from
the forbearance and courtesy of the disputants. The words
of Uncas were received with the same deep attention as
those which fell from the maturer wisdom of his father;
and so far from manifesting any impatience, neither spoke
in reply, until a few moments of silent meditation were,
seemingly, bestowed in deliberating on what had already
been said.

The language of the Mohicans was accompanied by ges
tures so direct and natural, that Heyward had but little
difficulty in following the thread of their argument. On
the other hand, the scout was obscure ; because, from the
lingering pride of color, he rather affected the cold and arti
ficial manner which characterizes all classes of Anglo-
Americans, when unexcited. By the frequency with which
the Indians described the marks of a forest trail, it was evi
dent they urged a pursuit by land, while the repeated sweep
of Hawk-eye's arm toward the Horican denoted that he was
for a passage across its waters.

The latter was, to every appearance, fast losing ground,
and the point was about to be decided against him, when he
arose to his feet, and shaking off his apathy, he suddenly
assumed the manner of an Indian, and adopted all the arts
of native eloquence. Elevating an arm, he pointed out the
track of the sun, repeating the gesture for every day that
was necessary to accomplish their object. Then he deline
ated a long and painful path, amid rocks and watercourses.
The age and weakness of the slumbering and unconscious

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 253

Munro were indicated by signs too palpable to be mis
taken. Duncan perceived that even his own powers were
spoken lightly of, as the scout extended his palm, and men
tioned him by the appellation of the " Open Hand," — a
name his liberality had purchased of all the friendly tribes.
Then came a representation of the light and graceful move*
ments of a canoe, set in forcible contrast to the tottering
steps of one enfeebled and tired. He concluded by point
ing to the scalp of the Oneida, and apparently urging the
necessity of their departing speedily, and in a manner that
should leave no trail.

The Mohicans listened gravely, and with countenances
that reflected the sentiments of the speaker. Conviction
gradually wrought its influence, and toward the close of
Hawk-eye's speech, his sentences were accompanied by the
customary exclamation of commendation. In short, Uncaa
and his father became converts to his way of thinking,
abandoning their own previously expressed opinions with
a liberality and candor, that, had they been the representa
tives of some great and civilized people, would have infal
libly worked their political ruin, by destroying, forever, their
reputation for consistency.

The instant the matter in discussion was decided, the
debate, and everything connected with it, except the result,
appeared to be forgotten. Hawk-eye, without looking round
to read his triumph in applauding eyes, very composedly
stretched his tall frame before the dying embers, and closed
his own organs in sleep.

Left now in a measure to themselves, the Mohicans, whose
time had been so much devoted to the interests of others,
seized the moment to devote some attention to themselves.
Casting off, at once, the grave and austere demeanor of an
Indian chief, Chingachgook commenced speaking to his
son in the soft and playful tones of affection. Uncas
gladly met the familiar air of his father; and before the
hard breathing of the scout announced that he slept, a com-

254 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

plete change was effected in the manner of his two associ
ates.

It is impossible to describe the music of their language,
while thus engaged in laughter and endearments, in such a
way as to render it intelligible to those whose ears have
never listened to its melody. The compass of their voices,
particularly that of the youth, was wonderful, — extending
from the deepest bass to tones that were even feminine in
softness. The eyes of the father followed the plastic and
ingenious movements of the son with open delight, and he
never failed to smile in reply to the other's contagious, but
low laughter. While under the influence of these gentle
and natural feelings, no trace of ferocity was to be seen in
the softened features of the Sagamore. His figured panoply
of death looked more like a disguise assumed in mockery,
than a fierce annunciation of a desire to carry destruction
and desolation in his footsteps.

After an hour passed in the indulgence of their better
feelings, Chingachgook abruptly announced his desire to
sleep, by wrapping his head in his blanket, and stretching
his form on the naked earth. The merriment of Uncas in
stantly ceased; and carefully raking the coals in such a
manner that they should impart their warmth to his father's
feet, the youth sought his own pillow among the ruins of the
place.

Imbibing renewed confidence from the security of these
experienced foresters, Heyward soon imitated their exam
ple ; and long before the night had turned, they who lay in
the bosom of the ruined work, seemed to slumber as heavily
as the unconscious multitude whose bones were already be
ginning to bleach on the surrounding plain.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2$ 5

CHAPTER XX.

Land of Albania ! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men1.

CHILDE HAROLD.

THE heavens were still studded with stars, when Hawk-eye
came to arouse the sleepers. Casting aside their cloaks.
Munro and Heyward were on their feet, while the woods
man was still making his low calls, at the entrance of the
rude shelter where they had passed the night. When they
issued from beneath its concealment, they found the scout
awaiting their appearance nigh by, and the only salutation
between them was the significant gesture for silence, made
by their sagacious leader.

"Think over your prayers," he whispered, as they ap
proached him ; " for he, to whom you make them, knows all
tongues; that of the heart, as well as those of the mouth.
But speak not a syllable; it is rare for a white voice to pitch
itself properly in the woods, as we have seen by the exam
ple of that miserable devil, the singer. Come," he contin
ued, turning toward a curtain of the works; " let us get into
the ditch on this side, and be regardful to step on the stones
and fragments of wood as you go."

His companions complied, though to two of them the rea
sons of this extraordinary precaution were yet a mystery.
When they were in the low cavity that surrounded the
earthen fort on three of its sides, they found the passage
nearly choked by the ruins. With care and patience, howf-
ever, they succeeded in clambering after the scout, until they
reached the sandy shore of the Horican.

"That's a trail that nothing but a nose can follow," said
the satisfied scout, looking back along their difficult way;
"grass is a treacherous carpet for a flying party to tread on,
but wood and stone take no print from a moccasin. Had
you worn your armed boots, there might, indeed, have been

256 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

something to fear; but with the deer-skin suitably prepared,
a man may trust himself, generally, on rocks with safety.
Shove in the canoe nigher to the land, Uncas; this sand
will take a stamp as easily as the butter of the Jarmans on
the Mohawk. Softly, lad, softly; it must not touch the
beach, or the knaves will know by what road we have left
the place."

The young man observed the precaution; and the scout,
laying a board from the ruins to the canoe, made a sign for
the two officers to enter. When this was done, everything
was studiously restored to its former disorder; and then
Hawk-eye succeeded in reaching his little birchen vessel,
without leaving behind him any of those marks which he
appeared so much to dread. Heyward was silent, until the
Indians had cautiously paddled the canoe some distance
from the fort, and within the broad and dark shadow that
fell from the eastern mountain, on the glassy surface of the
lake; then he demanded —

"What need have we for this stolen and hurried de
parture ? "

" If the blood of an Oneida could stain such a sheet of
pure water as this we float on," returned the scout, "your
two eyes would answer your own question. Have you for
gotten the skulking reptyle that Uncas slew ? "

" By no means. But he was said to be alone, and dead
men give no cause for fear."

" Ay, he was alone in his deviltry ! but an Indian, whose
tribe counts so many warriors, need seldom fear his blood
will run, without the death-shriek coming speedily from
some of his enemies."

" But our presence — the authority of Colonel Munro
would prove a sufficient protection against the anger of our
allies, especially in a case where the wretch so well merited
his fate. I trust in Heaven you have not deviated a single
foot from the direct line of our course, with so slight a

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 257

" Do you think the bullet of that varlet's rifle would have
turned aside, though his sacred Majesty the King had stood
in its path? " returned the stubborn scout. "Why did not
the grand Frencher, he who is captain-general of the Cana-
das, bury the tomahawks of the Hurons, if a word from a
white can work so strongly on the natur' of an Indian? "

The reply of Hey ward was interrupted by a groan from
Munro; but after he had paused a moment, in deference to
the sorrow of his aged friend, he resumed the subject.

" The Marquis of Montcalm can only settle that error
with his God," said the young man solemnly.

" Ay, ay, now there is reason in your words, for they are
bottomed on religion and honesty. There is a vast differ
ence between throwing a regiment of white coats atwixt the
tribes and the prisoners, and coaxing an angry savage to
forget he carries a knife and a rifle, with words that must
begin with calling him ' your son/ No, no," continued the
scout, looking back at the dim shore of William Henry,
which was now fast receding, and laughing in his own si
lent but heartfelt manner; "I have put a trail of water
atween us; and unless the imps can make friends with the
fishes, and hear who has paddled across their basin, this
fine morning, we shall throw the length of the Horican be
hind us, before they have made up their minds which path
to take."

" With foes in front, and foes in our rear, our journey is
like to be one of danger."

" Danger 1" repeated Hawk-eye, calmly; "no, not abso
lutely of danger; for, with vigilant ears and quick eyes, we
can manage to keep a few hours ahead of the knaves; or, if
we must try the rifle, there are three of us who understand
its gifts as well as any you can name on the borders. No,
not of danger; but that we shall have what you may call a
brisk push of it, is probable; and it may happen, a brush,
a skrimmage, or some such divarsion, but always where
covers are good, and ammunition abundant."

258 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

It is possible that Heyward's estimate of danger differed
in some degree from that of the scout, for, instead of reply
ing, he now sat in silence, while the canoe glided over sev
eral miles of water. Just as the day dawned, they entered
the narrows of the lake,* and stole swiftly and cautiously
among their numberless little islands. It was by this road
that Montcalm had retired with his army, and the adventur
ers knew not but he had left some of his Indians in am
bush, to protect the rear of his forces, and collect the strag
glers. They, therefore, approached the passage with the
customary silence of their guarded habits.

Chingachgook laid aside his paddle; while Uncas and
the scout urged the light vessel through crooked and intri
cate channels, where every foot that they advanced exposed
them to the danger of some sudden rising on their progress.
The eyes of the Sagamore moved warily from islet to islet,
and copse to copse, as the canoe proceeded; and when a
clearer sheet of water permitted, his keen vision was bent
along the bald rocks and impending forests, that frowned
upon the narrow strait.

Heyward, who was a doubly interested spectator, as well
from the beauties of the place as from the apprehension natu
ral to his situation, was just believing that he permitted the
latter to be excited without sufficient reason, when the paddle
ceased moving,in obedience to a signal from Chingachgook.

* The beauties of Lake George are well known to every American tourist. In the
height of the mountains which surround it, and in artificial accessories, it is inferior to
the finest of the Swiss and Italian lakes, while in outline and purity of water it is fully
their equal ; and in the number and disposition of its isles and islets much superior to
them altogether. There are said to be some hundreds of islands in a sheet of water
less than thirty miles long. The narrows which connect what may be called, in truth,
two lakes, are crowded with islands to such a degree as to leave passages between them
frequently of only a few feet in width. The lake, itself, varies in breadth from one
to three miles.

The state of New York is remarkable for the number and beauty of its lakes. One
of its frontiers lies on the vast sheet of Ontario, while Champlain stretches nearly a
hundred miles along another. Oneida, Cayuga, Canandaigua, Seneca, and George,
are all lakes of thirty miles in length, while those of a size smaller are without number.
On most of these lakes, there are now beautiful villages, and on many of them steam*
boats.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2 59

"Hugh!" exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the moment that
the light tap his father had made on the side of the canoe
notified them of the vicinity of danger.

"What now?" asked the scout; " the lake is as smooth
as if the winds had never blown, and I can see along its
sheet for miles; there is not so much as the black head of
a loon dotting the water."

The Indian gravely raised his paddle, and pointed in the
direction in which his own steady look was riveted. Dun
can's eyes followed the motion. A few rods in their front
lay another of the low wooded islets, but it appeared as
calm and peaceful as if its solitude had never been disturbed
by the foot of man.

'•'I see nothing," he said, "but land and water; and a
lovely scene it is."

"Hist! " interrupted the scout. "Ay, Sagamore, there is
always a reason for what you do. 'Tis but a shade, and yet
it is not natural. You see the mist, Major, that is rising
above the island; you can't call it a fog, for it is more like
a streak of thin cloud—

" It is vapor from the water."

"That a child could tell. But what is the edging of
blacker smoke that hangs along its lower side, and which
you may trace down into the thicket of hazel? 'Tis from a
fire; but one that, in my judgment, has been suffered to
burn low."

" Let us then push for the place, and relieve our doubts,"
said the impatient Duncan ; " the party must be small that
can lie on such a bit of land."

" If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you find in
> books, or by white sagacity, they will lead you astray, if not
to your death," returned Hawk-eye, examining the signs of
the place with that acuteness which distinguished him. " If
I may be permitted to speak in this matter, it will be to say,
that we have but two things to choose between : the one is, to
return, and give up all thoughts of following the Hurons — "

26O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"Never!" exclaimed Hey ward, in a voice far too loud
for their circumstances.

" Well, well," continued Hawk-eye, making a hasty sign
to repress his impatience; "I am much of your mind my
self ; though I thought it becoming my experience to tell
the whole. We must then make a push, and if the Indians
or Frenchers are in the narrows, run the gauntlet through
these toppling mountains. Is there reason in my words,
Sagamore ? "

The Indian made no other answer than by dropping his
paddle into the water, and urging forward the canoe. As
he held the office of directing its course, his resolution was
sufficiently indicated by the movement. The whole party
now plied their paddles vigorously, and in a very few mo
ments they had reached a point whence they might command
an entire view of the northern shore of the island, the side
that had hitherto been concealed.

"There they are, by all the truth of signs," whispered the
scout; "two canoes and a smoke. The knaves haven't yet
got their eyes out of the mist, or we should hear the accursec
whoop. Together, friends — we are leaving them, and are
already nearly out of whistle of a bullet."

The well known crack of a rifle, whose ball came skip
ping along the placid surface of the strait, and a shrill yell
from the island interrupted his speech, and announced that
their passage was discovered. In another instant several
savages were seen rushing into the canoes, which. were soon
dancing over the water, in pursuit. These fearful precur
sors of a coming struggle produced no change in the coun
tenances and movements of his three guides, so far as Dun
can could discover, except that the strokes of their paddles
were longer and more in unison, and- caused the little bark
to spring forward like a creature possessing life and voli
tion.

" Hold them there, Sagamore," said Hawk-eye, looking
Coolly backward over his left shoulder, while he still plied

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 26l

his paddle; "keep them just there. Them Hurons have
never a piece in their nation that will execute at this dis
tance; but ' Kill-deer' has a barrel on which a man may
calculate."

The scout having ascertained that the Mohicans were
sufficient of themselves to maintain the requisite distance,
deliberately laid aside his paddle, and raised the fatal rifle.
Three several times lie brought the piece to his shoulder,
and when his companions were expecting its report, he as
often lowered it to request the Indians would permit their
enemies to approach a little nigher. At length his accurate
and fastidious eye seemed satisfied, and throwing out his
left arm on the barrel, he was slowly elevating the muzzle,
when an exclamation from Uncas, who sat in the bow, once
more caused him to suspend the shot.

"What now, lad?" demanded Hawk-eye; "you saved
a Huron from the death-shriek by that word; have you
reason for what you do? "

Uncas pointed toward the rocky shore a little in their
front, whence another war canoe was darting directly across
their course. It was too obvious now that their situation
was imminently perilous, to need the aid of language to con
firm it. The scout laid aside his rifle, and resumed the
paddle, while Chingachgook inclined the bows of the canoe
a little toward the western shore, in order to increase the
distance between them and this new enemy. In the mean
time they were reminded of the presence of those who pressed
upon their rear, by wild and exultant shouts. The stirring
scene awakened even Munro from his apathy.

" Let us make for the rocks on the main," he said, with
the mien of a tried soldier, " and give battle to the savages.
God forbid that I, or those attached to me and mine, should
ever trust again to the faith of any servant of the Louises! "

" He who wishes to prosper in Indian warfare," returned
the scout, " must not be too proud to learn from the wit of
a native. Lay her more along the land, Sagamore ; we are

262 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

doubling on the varlets, and perhaps they may try to stiike
our trail on the long calculation."

Hawk-eye was not mistaken; for when the Hurons found
their course was likely to throw them behind their chase,
they rendered it less direct, until, by gradually bearing more
and more obliquely, the two canoes were, ere long, gliding
on parallel lines, within two hundred yards of each other.
It now became entirely a trial of speed. So rapid was the
progress of the light vessels, that the lake curled in their
front, in miniature waves, and their motion became undu
lating by its own velocity. It was, perhaps, owing to this
circumstance, in addition to the necessity of keeping every
hand employed at the paddles, that the Hurons had not im
mediate recourse to their fire-arms. The exertions of the
fugitives were too severe to continue long, and the pursuers
had the advantage of numbers. Duncan observed, with un
easiness, that the scout began to look anxiously about him,
as if searching for some further means of assisting their
flight.

"Edge her a little more from the sun, Sagamore," said
the stubborn woodsman ; " I see the knaves are sparing a
man to the rifle. A single broken bone might lose us our
scalps. Edge more from the sun and we will put the island
between us."

The expedient was not without its use. A long, low isl
and lay at a little distance before them, and as they closed
with it, the chasing canoe was compelled to take a side op
posite to that on which the pursued passed. The scout and
his companions did not neglect this advantage, but the in
stant they were hid from observation by the bushes, they re
doubled efforts that before had seemed prodigious. The two
canoes came around the last low point, like two coursers at
the top of their speed, the fugitives taking the lead. This
change had brought them nigher to each other, howeveri
while it altered their relative positions.

" You showed knowledge in the shaping of birchen bark,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 263

Uncas, when you chose this from among the Huron canoes."
said the scout, smiling, apparently more in satisfaction at
their superiority in the race, than from that prospect of final
escape which now began to open a little upon them. "The
imps have put all their strength again at the paddles, and
we are to struggle for our scalps with bits of flattened wood,
instead of clouded barrels and true eyes. A long stroke,
and together, friends."

"They are preparing for a shot," said Hey ward; "and as
we are in a line with them, it can scarcely fail."

" Get you then into the bottom of the canoe," returned
the scout; "you and the colonel; it will be so much taken
from the size of the mark."

Heyward smiled, as he answered —

" It would be but an ill example for the highest in rank
to dodge, while the warriors were under fire! *

''Lord! Lord! that is now a white man's courage!'" ex
claimed the scout; "and like too many of his notions, not
to be maintained by reason. Do you think the Sagamore,
or Uncas, or even I, who am a man without a cross, would
deliberate about finding a cover in the skrimmage, when an
open body would do no good ? For what have the Frenchers
reared up their Quebec, if fig1 ting is always to be done in
the clearings?"

"All that you say is very true, my friend," replied Hey
ward; "still, our customs must prevent us from doing as
you wish."

A volley from the Hurons interrupted the discourse, and
as the bullets whistled about them, Duncan saw the head of
Uncas turned, looking back at himself and Munro. Not
withstanding the nearness of the enemy, and his own great
personal danger, the countenance of the young warrior ex
pressed no other emotion, as the former was compelled to
think, than amazement at finding men willing to encounter
so useless an exposure. Chingachgook was probably better
acquainted with the notions of white men, for he did not

264 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

even cast a glance aside from the riveted look his eye main
tained on the object by which he governed their course. A
ball soon struck the light and polished paddle from the
hands of the chief, and drove it through the air, far in the
advance. A shout rose from the Hurons, who seized the
opportunity to fire another volley. Uncas described an arc
in the water with his own blade, and as the canoe passed
swiftly on, Chingachgook recovered his paddle, and flourish
ing it on high, he gave the warwhoop of the Mohicans, and
then lent his strength and skill again to the important task.

The clamorous sounds of " Le gros Serpent!" "La
longue Carabine!" "Le Cerf agile!" burst at once from
the canoes behind, and seemed to give new zeal to the pur
suers. The scout seized "Kill-deer" in his left hand, and
elevating it above his head, he shook it in triumph at his
enemies. The savages answered the insult with a yell, and
immediately another volley succeeded. The bullets pattered
along the lake, and one even pierced the bark of their little
vessel. No perceptible emotion could be discovered in the
Mohicans during this critical moment, their rigid features
expressing neither hope nor alarm ; but the scout again
turned his head, and laughing in his own silent manner, he
said to Heyward —

"The knaves love to hear the sounds of their pieces; but
the eye is not to be found among the Mingoes that can cal
culate a true range in a dancing canoe! You see the dumb
devils have taken off a man to charge, and by the smallest
measurement that can be allowed, we move three feet to
their two!"

Duncan, who was not altogether as easy under this nice
estimate of distances as his companions, was glad to find,
however, that owing to their superior dexterity, and the di
version among their enemies, they were very sensibly obtain
ing the advantage. The Hurons soon fired again, and
a bullet struck the blade of Hawk-eye's paddle without
injury.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 265

"That will do," said the scout, examining the slight in
dentation with a curious eye; "it would not have cut the
skin of an infant, much less of men, who, like us, have been
blown upon by the Heavens in their anger. Now, Major,
if you will try to use this piece of flattened wood, I'll let
' Kill-deer ' take a part in the conversation."

Hey ward seized the paddle, and applied himself to the
work with an eagerness that supplied the place of skill,
while Hawk-eye was engaged in inspecting the priming of
his rifle. The latter then took swift aim, and fired. The
Huron in the bows of the leading canoe had risen with a
similar object, and he now fell backward, suffering his gun
to escape from his hands into the water. In an instant,
however, he recovered his feet, though his gestures were
wild and bewildered. At the same moment his companions
suspended their efforts, and the chasing canoes clustered
together, and became stationary. Chingachgook and Uncas
profited by the interval to regain their wind, though Duncan
continued to work with the most persevering industry. The
father and son now cast calm but inquiring glances at each
other, to learn if either had sustained any injury by the fire;
for both well knew that no cry or exclamation would, in
such a moment of necessity, have been permitted to betray
the accident. A few large drops of blood were trickling
down the shoulder of the Sagamore, who, when he perceived
that the eyes of Uncas dwelt too long on the sight, raised
some water in the hollow of his hand, and washing off the
stain, was content to manifest, in this simple manner, the
slightness of the injury.

" Softly, softly, Major," said the scout, who by this time
had reloaded his rifle; "we are a little too far already for
a rifle to put forth its beauties, and you see yonder imps are
holding a council. Let them come up within striking dis
tance — my eye may well be trusted in such a matter — and
I will trail the varlets the length of the Horican, guarantee
ing that not a shot of theirs shall, at the worst, more than

266 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

break the skin, while ' Kill-deer ' shall touch the life twic«
in three times."

" We forget our errand," returned the diligent Duncan.
" For God's sake let us profit by this advantage, and in
crease our distance from the enemy."

"Give me my children," said Munro, hoarsely; "trifle
no longer with a father's agony, but restore me my
babes."

Long and habitual deference to the mandates of his su
perior had taught the scout the virtue of obedience. Throw
ing a last and lingering glance at the distant canoes, he laid
aside his rifle, and relieving the wearied Duncan, resumed
the paddle, which he wielded with sinews that never tired.
His efforts were seconded by those of the Mohicans, and a
very few minutes served to place such a sheet of water be
tween them and their enemies, that Heyward once more
breathed freely.

The lake now began to expand, and their route lay along
a wide reach, that was lined, as before, by high and ragged
mountains. But the islands were few, and easily avoided.
The strokes of the paddles grew more measured and regu
lar, while they who plied them continued their labor, after
the close and deadly chase from which they had just re
lieved themselves, with as much coolness as though their
speed had been tried in sport, rather than under such press
ing, nay, almost desperate circumstances.

Instead of following the western shore, whither their er
rand led them, the wary Mohican inclined his course more
toward those hills behind which Montcalm was known to
have led his army into the formidable fortress of Ticon-
deroga. As the Hurons, to every appearance, had aban
doned the pursuit, there was no apparent reason for this
excess of caution. It was, however, maintained for hours,
until they had reached a bay, nigh the northern termination
of the lake. Here the canoe was driven upon the beach,
and the whole party landed. Hawk-eye and Heyward as-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 26/

cended an adjacent bluff, where the former, after consider
ing the expanse of water beneath him, pointed out to the
latter a small black object, hovering under a headland, at
the distance of several miles.

"Do you see it?" demanded the scout. "Now, what
would you account that spot, were you left alone to white
experience to find your way through this wilderness? "

" But for its distance and its magnitude, I should suppose
it a bird. Can it be a living object? "

11 'Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and paddled by fierce
and crafty Mingoes. Though Providence has lent to those
who inhabit the woods eyes that would be needless to men
in the settlements, where there are inventions to assist the
sight, yet no human organs can see all the dangers which at
this moment circumvent us. These varlets pretend to be
bent chiefly on their sun-down meal, but the moment it is
dark they will be on our trail, as true as hounds on the
scent. We must throw them off, or our pursuit of Le
Renard subtil may be given up. These lakes are useful
at times, especially when the game takes the water," contin
ued the scout, gazing about him with a countenance of con
cern ; " but they give no cover, except it be to the fishes.
God knows what the country would be, if the settlements
should ever spread far from the two rivers. Both hunting
and war would lose their beauty."

" Let us not delay a moment, without some good and
obvious cause."

"I little like that smoke, which you may see worming up
along the rock above the canoe," interrupted the abstracted
scout. " My life on it, other eyes than ours see it, and know
its meaning. Well, words will not mend the matter, and it
is time that we were doing."

(Hawk-eye moved away from the look-out, and descended,
musing profoundly, to the shore. He communicated the
; result of his observations to his companions, in Delaware,

and a short and earnest consultation succeeded. When it
L Vol. 4

268 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

terminated, the three instantly set about executing their new
resolutions.

The canoe was lifted from the water, and borne on the
shoulders of the party. They proceeded into the wood,
making as broad and obvious a trail as possible. They
soon reached a water-course, which they crossed, and con
tinued onward, until they came to an extensive and naked
rock. At this point, where their footsteps might be ex
pected to be no longer visible, they retraced their route to
the brook, walking backward, with the utmost care. They
now followed the bed of the little stream to the lake, into
which they immediately launched their canoe again. A
low point concealed them from the headland, and the mar
gin of the lake was fringed for some distance with dense
and over-hanging bushes. Under the cover of these natural
advantages, they toiled their way, with patient industry, un
til the scout pronounced that he believed it would be safe
once more to land.

The halt continued until evening rendered objects indis
tinct and uncertain to the eye. Then they resumed their
route, and, favored by the darkness, pushed silently and vig
orously toward the western shore. Although the rugged
outline of mountain, to which they were steering, presented
no distinctive marks to the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican
entered the little haven he had selected with the confidence
and accuracy of an experienced pilot.

The boat was again lifted and borne into the woods,
where it was carefully concealed under a pile of brush.
The adventurers assumed their arms and packs, and the
scout announced to Munro and Heyward that he and the
Indians were at last in readiness to proceed.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 269

CHAPTER XXI.

If you find a man there, he shall die a flea's death.

MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.

THE party had landed on the border of a region that is,
even to this day, less known to the inhabitants of the states,
than the deserts of Arabia, or the steppes of Tartary. It
was the sterile and rugged district which separates the trib
utaries of Champlain from those of the Hudson, the Mo
hawk, and the St. Lawrence. Since the period of our tale,
the active spirit of the country has surrounded it with a belt
of rich and thriving settlements, though none but the hunter
or the savage is ever known, even now, to penetrate its wild
recesses.

As Hawk-eye and the Mohicans had, however, often tra
versed the mountains and valleys of this vast wilderness,
they did not hesitate to plunge into its depths, with the free
dom of men accustomed to its privations and difficulties.
For many hours the travellers toiled on their laborious way,
guided by a star, or following the direction of some water
course, until the scout called a halt, and holding a short
consultation with the Indians, they lighted their fire, and
made the usual preparations to pass the remainder of the
night where they then were.

Imitating the example, and emulating the confidence, of
their more experienced associates, Munro and Duncan slept
without fear, if not without uneasiness. The dews were
suffered to exhale, and the sun had dispersed the mists, and
was shedding a strong and clear light in the forest, when
the travellers resumed their journey.

After proceeding a few miles, the progress of Hawkeye,
who led the advance, became more deliberate and watchful.
He often stopped to examine the trees ; nor did he cross a
rivulet, without attentively considering the quantity, the ve*

2/0 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

locity, and the color of its waters. Distrusting his own judg
ment, his appeals to the opinion of Chingachgook were
frequent and earnest. During one of these conferences,
Heyward observed that Uncas stood a patient and silent,
though, as he imagined, an interested listener. He was
strongly tempted to address the young chief, and demand
his opinion of their progress; but the calm and dignified
demeanor of the native induced him to believe that, like
himself, the other was wholly dependent on the sagacity and
intelligence of the seniors of the party. At last, the scout
spoke in English, and at once explained the embarrassment
of their situation.

"When I found that the home path of the Hurons run
north," he said, " it did not need the judgment of many
long years to tell that they would follow the valleys, and
keep atween the waters of the Hudson and the Horican, un
til they might strike the springs of the Canada streams, which
would lead them into the heart of the country of the Frenchers.
Yet here are we> within a short range of the Scaroon, and
not a sign of a trail have we crossed! Human natur' is
weak, and it is possible, we may not have taken the proper
scent."

"Heaven protect us from such an error!" exclaimed
Duncan. " Let us retrace our steps, and examine as we go,
with keener eyes. Has Uncas no counsel to offer in such a
strait?"

The young Mohican cast a glance at his father, but main
taining his quiet and reserved mien, he continued silent.
Chingachgook had caught the look, and motioning with his
hand, he bade him speak. The moment this permission
was accorded, the countenance of Uncas changed from
its grave composure to a gleam of intelligence and joy.
Bounding forward like a deer, he sprang up the side of a
little acclivity, a few rods in advance, and stood, exultingly,
over a spot of fresh earth, that looked as though it had been
recently upturned by the passage of some heavy animal

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2? I

The eyes of the whole party followed the unexpected move
ment, and read their success in the air of triumph that the
youth assumed.

"'Tis the trail!" exclaimed the scout, advancing to the
spot: "the lad is quick of sight and keen of wit for his
years."

" 'Tis extraordinary that he should have withheld his
knowledge so long," muttered Duncan, at his elbow.

" It would have been more wonderful had he spoken with
out a bidding. No, no; your young white, who gathers his
learning from books and can measure what he knows by the
page, may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs, outruns
that of his father; but where experience is the master, the
scholar is made to know the value of years, and respects
them accordingly."

" See! " said Uncas, pointing north and south, at the evi
dent marks of the broad trail on either side of him: "the
dark-hair has gone toward the frost."

" Hound never ran on a more beautiful scent," responded
the scout, dashing forward, at once, on the indicated route ;
" we are favored, greatly favored, and can follow with high
noses. Ay, here are both your waddling beasts: this Hu
ron travels like a white general. The fellow is stricken
with a judgment, and is mad ! Look sharp for wheels,
Sagamore," he continued, looking back, and laughing in
his newly awakened satisfaction; "we shall soon have the
fool journeying in a coach, and that with three of the best
pair of eyes on the borders, in his rear."

The spirits of the scout, and the astonishing success of
the chase, in which a circuitous distance of more than forty
miles had been passed, did not fail to impart a portion oE
hope to the whole party. Their advance was rapid; and
made with as much confidence as a traveller would proceed
along a wide highway. If a rock, or a rivulet, or a bit of
earth harder than common, severed the links of the clue
they followed, the true eye of the scout recovered them at a

2/2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

distance, and seldom rendered the delay of a single moment
necessary. Their progress was much facilitated by the cer
tainty that Magua had found it necessary to journey through
the valleys; a circumstance which rendered the general di
rection of the route sure. Nor had the Huron entirely neg
lected the arts uniformly practised by the natives when
retiring in front of an enemy. False trails, and sudden
turnings, were frequent, wherever a brook, or the formation
of the ground, rendered them feasible; but his pursuers were
rarely deceived, and never failed to detect their error, before
they had lost either time or distance on the deceptive track.

By the middle of the afternoon they had passed the Sca-
roon, and were following the route of the declining sun.
After descending an eminence to a low bottom, through
which a swift stream glided, they suddenly came to a place
where the party of Le Renard had made a halt. Extin
guished brands were lying around a spring, the offals of a
deer were scattered about the place, and the trees bore evi
dent marks of having been browsed by the horses. At a
little distance, Heyward discovered, and contemplated with
tender emotion, the small bower under which he was fain to
believe that Cora and Alice had reposed. But while the
earth was trodden, and the footsteps of both men and beasts
were so plainly visible around the place, the trail appeared
to have suddenly ended.

It was easy to follow the tracks of the Narragansetts, but
they seemed only to have wandered without guides, or any
other object than the pursuit of food. At length Uncas,
who, with his father, had endeavored to trace the route of
the horses, came upon a sign of their presence that was
quite recent. Before following the clew, he communicated
his success to his companions; and while the latter were
consulting on the circumstance, the youth reappeared, lead
ing the two fillies, with their saddles broken, and the hous
ings soiled, as though they had been permitted to run at
will for several days.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2/3

"What should this prove?" said Duncan, turning pale,
and glancing his eyes around him, as if he feared the brush
and leaves were about to give up some horrid secret.

" That our march is come to a quick end, and that we are
in an enemy's country," returned the scout. " Had the knave
been pressed, and the gentle ones wanted horses to keep up
with the party, he might have taken their scalps; but with
out an enemy at his heels, and with such rugged beasts as
these he would not hurt a hair of their heads. I know your
thoughts, and shame be it to our color, that you have reason
for them ; but he who thinks that even a Mingo would ill-
treat a woman, unless it be to tomahawk her, knows nothing
of Indian natur', or the laws of the woods. No, no; I have
heard that the French Indians had come into these hills, to
hunt the moose, and we are getting within scent of their
camp. Why should they not? the morning and evening
guns of Ty may be heard any day among these mountains;
for the Frenchers are running a new line atween the prov
inces of the King and the Canadas. It is true that the
horses are here, but the Hurons are gone ; let us then hunt
for the path by which they departed."

Hawk-eye and the Mohicans now applied themselves to
their task in good earnest. A circle of a few hundred feet
in circumference was drawn, and each of the party took a
segment for his portion. The examination, however, re
sulted in no discovery. The impressions of footsteps were
numerous, but they all appeared like those of men who had
wandered about the spot, without any design to quit it.
Again the scout and his companions made the circuit of the
halting-place, each slowly following the other, until they
assembled in the centre once more, no wiser than when
they started.

" Such cunning is not without its deviltry," exclaimed
Hawk-eye, when he met the disappointed looks of his as
sistants.

"We must get down to it, Sagamore, beginning at the

2/4 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

spring, and going over the ground by inches. The Huron
shall never brag in his tribe that he has a foot which leaves
no print."

Setting the example himself, the scout engaged in the
scrutiny with renewed zeal. Not a leaf was left unturned.
The sticks were removed, and the stones lifted — for Indian
cunning was known frequently to adopt these objects as
covers, laboring with the utmost patience and industry, to
conceal each footstep as they proceeded. Still no discov
ery was made. At length Uncas, whose activity had enabled
him to achieve his portion of the task the soonest, raked the
earth across the turbid little rill which ran from the spring,
and diverted its course into another channel. So soon as
its narrow bed below the dam was dry, he stooped over it
with keen and curious eyes. A cry of exultation immedi
ately announced the success of the young warrior. The
whole party crowded to the spot, where Uncas pointed out
the impression of a moccasin in the moist alluvion.

" The lad will be an honor to his people," said Hawk-eye,
regarding the trail with as much admiration as a naturalist
would expend on the tusk of a mammoth or the rib of a
mastodon ; " ay, and a thorn in the sides of the Hurons.
Yet that is not the footstep of an Indian ! the weight is too
much on the heel, and the toes are squared, as though one
of the French dancers had been in, pigeon-winging his
tribe! Run back, Uncas, and bring me the size of the
singer's foot. You will find a beautiful print of it just op-
posit yon rock, ag'in the hill side."

While the youth was engaged in this commission, the
scout and Chingachgook were attentively considering the
impressions. The measurements agreed, and the former
unhesitatingly pronounced that the footstep was that of
David, who had, once more, been made to exchange his
shoes for moccasins.

" I can now read the whole of it, as plainly as if I had
seen the arts of Le Subtil," he added; "the singer being a

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2?5

man whose gifts lay chiefly in his throat and feet, was made
to go first, and the others have trod in his steps, imitating
their formation."

" But," cried Duncan, " I see no signs of —

"The gentle ones," interrupted the scout; "the varlet has
found a way to carry them, until he supposed he had thrown
any followers off the scent. My life on it, we see their
pretty little feet again, before many rods go by."

The whole party now proceeded, following the course of
the rill, keeping anxious eyes on the regular impressions.
The water soon flowed into its bed again, but watching the
ground on either side, the foresters pursued their way, con
tent with knowing that the trail lay beneath. More than
half a mile was passed, before the rill rippled close around
the base of an extensive and dry rock. Here they paused
to make sure that the Hurons had not quitted the water.

It was fortunate they did so. For the quick and active
Uncas soon found the impression of a foot on a bunch of
moss, where it would seem an Indian had inadvertently
trodden. Pursuing the direction given by this discovery,
he entered the neighboring thicket, and struck the trail, as
fresh and obvious as it had been before they reached the
spring. Another shout announced the good fortune of the
youth to his companions, and at once terminated the search.

" Ay, it has been planned with Indian judgment," said
the scout, when the party was assembled around the place;
"and would have blinded white eyes."

"Shall we proceed? " demanded Heyward.

"Softly, softly: we know our path; but it is good to ex
amine the formation of things. This is my schooling, Ma
jor; and if one neglects the book, there is little chance of
learning from the open hand of Providence. All is plain
but one thing, which is the manner that the knave contrived
to get the gentle ones along the blind trail. Even a Huron
would be too proud to let their tender feet touch the water."

"Will this assist in explaining the difficulty?" said

2^6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Heyward, pointing toward the fragments of a sort of hand-
barrow, that had been rudely constructed of boughs, and
boynd together with withes, and which now seemed care
lessly cast aside as useless.

"'Tis explained!" cried the delighted Hawk-eye. "If
them varlets have passed a minute, they have spent hours
in striving to fabricate a lying end to their trail ! Well,
I've known them waste a day in the same manner, to as lit
tle purpose. Here we have three pair of moccasins, and
two of little feet. It is amazing that any mortal beings can
journey on limbs so small! Pass me the thong of buck
skin, Uncas, and let me take the length of this foot. By
the Lord, it is no longer than a child's, and yet the maidens
are tall and comely. That Providence is partial in its gifts,
for its own wise reasons, the best and most contented of us
must allow."

"The tender limbs of my daughters are unequal to these
hardships," said Munro, looking at the light footsteps of
his children, with a parent's love : " we shall find their
fainting forms in this desert."

" Of that there is little cause of fear," returned the scout,
slowly shaking his head: "this is a firm and straight,
though a light step, and not over long. See, the heel has
hardly touched the ground; and there the dark hair has
made a little jump, from root to root. No, no ; my knowl
edge for it, neither of them was nigh fainting, hereaway.
Now, the singer was beginning to be foot-sore and leg-
weary, as is plain by his trail. There, you see, he slipped;
here he has travelled wide, and tottered; and there, again,
it looks as though he journeyed on snow-shoes. Ay, ay, a
man who uses his throat altogether, can hardly give his legs
a proper training."

From such undeniable testimony did the practised woods
man arrive at the truth, with nearly as much certainty and
precision as if he had been a witness of all those events,
which his ingenuity so easily elucidated. Cheered by these

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

assurances, and satisfied by a reasoning that was so obvious,
while it was so simple, the party resumed its course, after
making a short halt, to take a hurried repast.

When the meal was ended, the scout cast a glance upward
at the setting sun, and pushed forward with a rapidity which
compelled Hey ward and the still vigorous Munro to exert
all their muscles to equal. Their route, now, lay along the
bottom which has already been mentioned. As the Hurons
had made no further efforts to conceal their footsteps, the
progress of the pursuers was no longer delayed by uncer
tainty. Before an hour had elapsed, however, the speed of
Hawk-eye sensibly abated, and his head, instead of main
taining its former direct and forward look, began to turn
suspiciously from side to side, as if he were conscious of
approaching danger. He soon stopped again and waited
for the whole party to come up.

" I scent the Hurons," he said, speaking to the Mohicans;
" yonder is open sky, through the tree-tops, and we are get
ting too nigh their encampment. Sagamore, you will take
the hillside, to the right; Uncas will bend along the brook
to the left, while I will try the trail. If anything should hap
pen, the call will be three croaks of a crow. I saw one of
the birds fanning himself in the air, just beyond the dead
oak — another sign that we are touching an encampment."

The Indians departed their several ways without reply,
while Hawk-eye cautiously proceeded-with the two gentle
men. Heyward soon pressed to the side of their guide,
eager to catch an early glimpse of those enemies he had
pursued with so much toil and anxiety. His companion
told him to steal to the edge of the wood, which, as usual,
was fringed with a thicket, and wait his coming, for he
wished to examine certain suspicious signs a little on one
side. Duncan obeyed, and soon found himself in a situa
tion to command a view which he found as extraordinary as
it was novel.

The trees of many acres had been felled, and the glow of

278 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

a mild summer's evening had fallen on the clearing, in
beautiful contrast to the gray light of the forest. A short
distance from the place where Duncan stood, the stream
had seemingly expanded into a little lake, covering most of
the low land, from mountain to mountain. The water fell
out of this wide basin, in a cataract so regular and gentle,
that it appeared rather to be the work of human hands, than
fashioned by nature. A hundred earthen dwellings stood
on the margin of the lake, and even in its water, as though
the latter had overflowed its usual banks. Their rounded
roofs, admirably moulded for defence against the weather,
denoted more of industry and foresight than the natives
were wont to bestow on their regular habitations, much less
on those they occupied for the temporary purposes of hunt
ing and war. In short, the whole village or town, which
ever it might be termed, possessed more of method and neat
ness of execution, than the white men had been accustomed
to believe belonged, ordinarily, to the Indian habits. It
appeared, however, to be deserted. At least, so thought
Duncan for many minutes; but, at length, he fancied he
discovered several human forms advancing toward him on
all fours, and apparently dragging in their train some heavy,
and as he was quick to apprehend, some formidable engine.
Just then a few dark-looking heads gleamed out of the
dwellings, and the place seemed suddenly alive with beings,
which, however, glided from cover to cover so swiftly, as to
allow no opportunity of examining their humors or pursuits.
Alarmed at these suspicious and inexplicable movements,
he was about to attempt the signal of the crows, when the
rustling of leaves at hand drew his eyes in another direction.
The young man started, and recoiled a few paces instinc
tively, when he found himself within a hundred yards of a
stranger Indian. Recovering his recollection on the in
stant, instead of sounding an alarm, which might prove fatal
to himself, he remained stationary, an attentive observer of
the other's motions.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 2/9

An instant of calm observation served to assure Duncan
that he was undiscovered. The native, like himself, seemed
occupied in considering the low dwellings of the village,
and the stolen movements of its inhabitants. It was impos
sible to discover the expression of his features, through the
grotesque mask of paint under which they were concealed;
though Duncan fancied it was rather melancholy than sav
age. His head was shaved, as usual, with the exception of
the crown, from whose tuft three or four faded feathers from
a Hawk's wing were loosely dangling. A ragged calico
mantle half encircled his body, while his nether garment
was composed of an ordinary shirt, the sleeves of which
were made to perform the office that is usually executed by
a much more commodious arrangement. His legs were
bare, and sadly cut and torn by briers. The feet were, how
ever, covered with a pair of good deer-skin moccasins. Al
together, the appearance of the individual was forlorn and
miserable.

Duncan was still curiously observing the person of his
neighbor, when the scout stole silently and cautiously to
his side.

" You see we have reached their settlement or encamp
ment," whispered the young man; "and here is one of the
savages himself, in a very embarrassing position for our
further movements."

Hawk-eye started, and dropped his rifle, when, directed
by the finger cf his companion, the stranger came under his
view. Then lowering the dangerous muzzle, he stretched
forward his long neck, as if to assist a scrutiny that was
already intensely keen.

"The imp is not a Huron," he said, "nor of any of the
Canada tribes; and yet you see, by his clothes, the knave
has been plundering a white. Ay, Montcalm has raked the
woods for his inroad, and a whooping, murdering set of var-
lets has he gathered together. Can you see where he has
put his rifle or his bow? "

28O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" He appears to have no arms ; nor does he seem to be
viciously inclined. Unless he communicate the alarm to
his fellows, who, as you see, are dodging about the water,
we have but little to fear from him."

The scout turned to Heyward, and regarded him a mo
ment with unconcealed amazement. Then opening wide
his mouth, he indulged in unrestrained and heartfelt laugh
ter, though in that silent and peculiar manner which danger
had so long taught him to practise.

Repeating the words, "fellows who are dodging about
the water!" he added, "so much for schooling and passing
a boyhood in the settlements! The knave has long legs,
though, and shall not be trusted. Do you keep him under
your rifle while I creep in behind, through the bush, and
take him alive. Fire on no account."

Heyward had already permitted his companion to bury
part of his person in the thicket, when, stretching forth an
arm, he arrested him, in order to ask —

" If I see you in danger, may I not risk a shot? "

Hawk-eye regarded him a moment, like one who knew
not how to take the question; then nodding his head, he
answered, still laughing, though inaudibly —

" Fire a whole platoon, Major."

In the next moment he was concealed by the leaves*
Duncan waited several minutes in feverish impatience, be
fore he caught another glimpse of the scout. Then he re
appeared, creeping along the earth, from which his dress
was hardly distinguishable, directly in the rear of his in
tended captive. Having reached within a few yards of the
latter, he arose to his feet, silently and slowly. At that in
stant, several loud blows were struck on the water, and Dun
can turned his eyes just in time to perceive that a hundred
dark forms were plunging, in a body, into the troubled little
sheet. Grasping his rifle, his looks were again bent on the
Indian near him. Instead of taking the alarm, the uncon
scious savage stretched forward his neck, as if he also watched

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 28 1

the movements about the gloomy lake, with a sort of silly
curiosity. In the meantime, the uplifted hand of Hawk-eye
was above him. But, without any apparent reason, it was
withdrawn, and its owner indulged in another long, though
still silent, fit of merriment. When the peculiar and hearty
laughter of Hawk-eye was ended, instead of grasping his
victim by the throat, he tapped him lightly on the shoulder,
and exclaimed aloud —

"How now, friend! have you a mind to teach the
beavers to sing? "

" Even so," was the ready answer. " It would seem that
the Being that gave them power to improve his gifts so well,
would not deny them voices to proclaim his praise."

CHAPTER XXII.

Bot. Are we all met ?
Qiti. Pat — pat; and here's a marvellous
Convenient place for our rehearsal.

SHAKSPEARK.

THE reader may better imagine, than we describe, the sur
prise of Heyward. His lurking Indians were suddenly
converted into four-footed beasts; his lake into a beaver
pond; his cataract into a dam, constructed by those indus
trious and ingenious quadrupeds; and a suspected enemy
into his tried friend, David Gamut, the master of psalmody.
The presence of the latter created so many unexpected
hopes relative to the sisters that, without a moment's hesi
tation, the young man broke out of his ambush, and sprang
forward to join the two principal actors in the scene.

The merriment of Hawk-eye was not easily appeased.
Without ceremony, and with a rough hand, he twirled the
supple Gamut around on his heel, and more than once af
firmed that the Hurons had done themselves great credit
in the fashion of his costume. Then seizing the hand of

282 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the other, he squeezed it with a gripe that brought the tears
into the eyes of the placid David, and wished him joy of his
new condition.

"You were about opening your throat-practysings among
the beavers, were ye?" he said. "The cunning devils
know half the trade already, for they beat the time with
their tails, as you heard just now; and in good time it was
too, or * Kill-deer ' might have sounded the first note among
them. I have known greater fools, who could read and
write, than an experienced old beaver; but as for squalling,
the animals are born dumb! — What think you of such a
song as this? "

David shut his sensitive ears, and even Heyward, ap
prised as he was of the nature of the cry, looked upward
in quest of the bird, as the cawing of a crow rang in the
air about them.

" See,'7 continued the laughing scout, as he pointed tow
ard the remainder of the party, who, in obedience to the
signal, were already approaching: "this is music, which
has its natural virtues; it brings two good rifles to my ^1-
bow, to say nothing of the knives and tomahawks. But we
see that you are safe; now tell us what has become of the
maidens."

" They are captives to the heathen," said David ; " and
though greatly troubled in spirit, enjoying comfort and
safety in the body."

"Both? " demanded the breathless Heyward.

" Even so. Though our wayfaring has been sore and our
sustenance scanty, we have had little other cause f r com
plaint, except the violence done our feelings, by being thus
led in captivity into a far land."

" Bless ye for these very words ! " exclaimed the trem
bling Munro; " I shall then receive my babes, spotless and
angel-like, as I lost them! "

" I know not that their delivery is at ham ," retur ed the
doubting David ; " the leader of truse Ravages is possessed

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 283

of an evil spirit that no power short of Omnipotence can
tame. I have tried him sleeping and waking, but neither
sounds nor language seem to touch his soul."

"Where is the knave? " bluntly interrupted the scout.

" He hunts the moose to-day, with his young men ; and
to-morrow, as I hear, they pass further into these forests,
and nigher to the borders of Canada. The elder maiden is
conveyed to a neighboring people, whose lodges are situate
beyond yonder black pinnacle of rock; while the younger
is detained among the women of the Hurons, whose dwell
ings are but two short miles hence, on a table land, where
the fire has done the office of the axe, and prepared the
place for their reception."

"Alice, my gentle Alice!" murmured Heyward; "she
has lost the consolation of her sister's presence! "

" Even so. But so far as praise and thanksgiving in
psalmody can temper the spirit in affliction, she has not
suffered."

"Has she then a heart for music? "

"Of the graver and more solemn character; though it
must be acknowledged that, in spite of ail my endeavors, the
maiden weeps oftener than she smiles. At such moments
I forbear to press the holy songs • but there are many sweet
and comfortable periods of satisfactory communication,
when the ears of the savages ar^ astounded with the uplift-
ings of our voices."

"And why are you permitted to go at large, unwatched? "

David composed his feat-re intc what he in ended should
express an air of modest humility, before he meekly re
plied—

" Little be the praise to such a worm as I. But, though
the power of psalmody was suspended in the terrible busi
ness of that field of blood through which we parsed, it has
recovered its influence even over the souls of the heathen,
and I am suffered to go and come at will."

The scout laughed, and tapping his own forehead signifv

284 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

cantly, he perhaps explained the singular indulgence more
satisfactorily when he said —

"The Indians never harm a non-composser. But why,
when the path lay open before your eyes, did you not strike
back on your own trail (it is not so blind as that which a
squirrel would make), and bring in the tidings to Edward? "

The scout, remembering only his own sturdy and iron
nature, had probably exacted a task that David, under no
circumstances, could have performed. But, without entirely
losing the meekness of his air, the latter was content to
answer — •

"Though my soul would rejoice to visit the habitations
of Christendom once more, my feet would rather follow the
tender spirits intrusted to my keeping, even into the idola
trous province of the Jesuits, than take one step backward,
while they pined in captivity and sorrow."

Though the figurative language of David was not very
intelligible, the sincere and steady expression of his eye,
and the glow on his honest countenance, were not easily
mistaken. Uncas pressed closer to his side, and regarded
the speaker with a look of commendation, while his father
expressed his satisfaction by the ordinary pithy exclama
tion of approbation. The scout shook his head as he
rejoined —

" The Lord never intended that the man should place all
his endeavors in his throat, to the neglect of other and better
gifts. But he has fallen into the hands of some silly wom
an, when he should have been gathering his education under
a blue sky, among the beauties of the forest. Here, friend;
I did intend to kindle a fire with this tooting whistle of
thine ; but as you value the thing, take it, and blow your
best on it!"

Gamut received his pitch-pipe with as strong an expres
sion of pleasure as he believed compatible with the grave
functions he exercised. After essaying its virtues repeat
edly, in contrast with his own voice, and satisfying himself

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 285

that none of its melody was lost, he made a very serious
demonstration toward achieving a few stanzas of one of the
longest effusions in the little volume so often mentioned.

Heyward, however, hastily interrupted his pious purpose,
by continuing questions concerning the past and present
condition of his fellow-captives, and in a manner more
methodical than had been permitted by his feelings in the
opening of their interview. David, though he regarded his
treasure with longing eyes, was constrained to answer: es
pecially as the venerable father took a part in the inteiroga-
tories, with an interest too imposing to be denied. Noi did
the scout fail to throw in a pertinent inquiry, whenever a
fitting occasion presented. In this manner, though with
frequent interruptions, which were filled with certain threat
ening sounds from the recovered instrument, the pursuers
were put in possession of such leading circumstances as
were likely to prove useful in accomplishing their great and
engrossing object — the recovery of the sisters. The narra
tive of David was simple, and the facts but few.

Magua had waited on the mountain until a safe moment
to retire presented itself, when he had descended, and taken
the route along the western side of the Horican, in the di
rection of the: Canadas. As the subtle Huron was familiar
with the paths, and well knew there was no immediate dan
ger of pursuit, their progress had been moderate, and far
from fatiguing. It appeared, from the unembellished state
ment of David, that his own presence had been rather en
dured than desired; though even Magua had not been en
tirely exempt from that veneration with which the Indians
regard those whom the Great Spirit has visited in- their
intellects. At night, the utmost care had been taken of the
captives, both to prevent injury from the damps of the
woods, and to guard against an escape. At the spring, the
horses were turned loose, as has been seen; and notwith-"
standing the remoteness and length of their trail, the arti
fices already named were resorted to, in order to cut off

286 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

every clue to their place of retreat. On their arrival at the
encampment of his people, Magua, in obedience to a policy
seldom departed from, separated his prisoners. Cora had
been sent to a tribe that temporarily occupied an adjacent
valley, though David was far too ignorant of the customs
and history of the natives, to be able to declare anything
satisfactory concerning their name or character. He only
knew that they had not engaged in the late expedition
against William Henry; that, like the Hurons themselves,
they were allies of Montcalm ; and that they maintained an
amicable, though a watchful intercourse with the warlike
and savage people, whom chance had, for a time, brought
in such close and disagreeable contact with themselves.

The Mohicans and the scout listened to his interrupted
and imperfect narrative, with an interest that obviously in
creased as he proceeded; and it was while attempting to
explain the pursuits of the community in which Cora was
detained, that the latter abruptly demanded—

"Did you see the fashion of their knives? were they of
English or French formation ? "

" My thoughts were bent on no such vanities, but rather
mingled in consolation with those of the maidens."

"The time may come when you will not consider the
knife of a savage such a despisable vanity," returned the
scout, with a strong expression of contempt for the other's
dulness. " Had they held their corn-feast — or can you say
anything of the totems of their tribe? "

" Of corn, we had many and plentiful feasts ; for the grain,
being in the milk, is both sweet to the mouth and comfort
able to the stomach. Of totem, I know not the meaning;
but if it appertaineth in anywise to the art of Indian music,
it need not be inquired after at their hands. They never
join their voices in praise, and it would seem that they are
among the profanest of the idolatrous."

"Therein you belie the nature of an Indian. Even the
Mingo adores but the true and living God. 'Tis a wicked

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

fabrication of the whites, and I say it to the shame of my
color, that would make the warrior bow down before images
of his own creation. It is true, they endeavor to make truces
with the wicked one — as who would not with an enemy he
cannot conquer! — but they look up for favor and assistance
to the Great and Good Spirit only."

"It may be so," said David; "but I have seen strange
and fantastic images drawn in their paint, of which their
admiration and care savored of spiritual pride; especially
one, and that, too, a foul and loathsome object."

" Was it a sarpent? " quickly demanded the scout.

" Much the same. It was in t!\e likeness of an abject and
creeping tortoise."

"Hugh!" exclaimed both the attentive Mohicans in a
breath; while the scout shook his head with the air of one
who had made an important, but by no means a pleasing
discovery. Then the father spoke, in the language of the
Delawares, and with a calmness and dignity that instantly
arrested the attention even of those to whom his words were
unintelligible. His gestures were impressive, and at times
energetic. Once he lifted his arm on high; and as it de
scended, the action threw aside the folds of his light mantle,
a finger resting on his breast, as if he would enforce his
meaning by the attitude. Duncan's eyes followed the
movement, and he perceived that the animal just mentioned
was beautifully, thought faintly, worked in a blue tint, on
the swarthy breast of the chief. All that he had ever heard
of the violent separation of the vast tribes of the Delawares
rushed across his mind, and he awaited the proper moment
to speak, with a suspense that was rendered nearly intoler
able, by his interest in the stake. His wish, however, was
anticipated by the scout, who turned from his red friend,
saying—

"We have found that which may be good or evil to us,
as Heaven disposes. The Sagamore is of the high blood
of the Delawares, and is the great chief of their Tortoises!

288 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

That some of this stock are among the people of whom the
singer tells us, is plain, by his words; and had he but spent
half the breath in prudent questions, that he has blown away
in making a trumpet of his throat, we might have known
how many warriors they numbered. It is, altogether, a dan
gerous path we move in ; for a friend whose face is turned
from you often bears a bloodier mind than the enemy who
seeks your scalp."

"Explain," said Duncan.

" Tis a long and melancholy tradition, and one I little
like to think of; for it is not to be denied, that the evil has
been mainly done by men with white skins. But it has
ended in turning the tomahawk of brother against brother,
and brought the Mingo and the Delaware to travel in the
same path."

" You then suspect it is a portion of that people among
whom Cora resides? "

The scout nodded his head in assent, though he seemed
anxious to waive the further discussion of a subject that
appeared painful. The impatient Duncan now made sev
eral hasty and desperate propositions to attempt the release
of the sisters. Munro seemed to shake off his apathy, and
listened to the wild schemes of the young man with a defer
ence that his gray hairs and reverend years should have de
nied. But the scout, after suffering the ardor of the lover
to expend itself a little, found means to convince him of the
folly of precipitation, in a matter than would require their
coolest judgment and utmost fortitude.

"It would be well," he added, "to let this man go in
again, as usual, and for him to tarry in the lodges, giving
notice to the gentle ones of our approach, until we call him
out, by signal, to consult. You know the cry of a crow,
friend, from the whistle of the whip-poor-will? "

' "Tis a pleasing bird," returned David, " and has a soft
and melancholy note ! though the time is rather quick and
ill-measured."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 289

" He speaks of the wish-ton-wish," said the scout : " well,
since you like his whistle, it shall be your signal. Remem
ber, then, when you hear the whip-poor-will's call three
times repeated, you are to come into the bushes where the
bird might be supposed — — "

"Stop," interrupted Heyward: "I will accompany him."

"You!7' exclaimed the astonished Hawk-eye; "are you
tired of seeing the sun rise and set? "

" David is a living proof that the Hurons can be mer
ciful."

" Ay, but David can use his throat, as no man in his
senses would pervart the gift."

"I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero; in short,
any or everything to rescue her I love. Name your objec
tions no longer: I am resolved."

Hawk-eye regarded the young man a moment in speech
less amazement. But Duncan, who, in deference to the
other's skill and services, had hitherto submitted somewhat
implicitly to his dictation, now assumed the superior, with
a manner that was not easily resisted. He waved his hand,
in sign of his dislike to all remonstrance, and then, in more
tempered language, he continued — •

"You have the means of disguise: change me; paint me
too, if you will; in short, alter me to anything — a fool."

" It is not for one like me to say that he who is already
formed by so powerful a hand as Providence, stands in need
of a change," muttered the discontented scout. " When you
send your parties abroad in war, you find it prudent, at
least, to arrange the marks and places of encampment, in
order that they who fight on your side may know when and
where to expect a friend."

"Listen," interrupted Duncan; "you have heard from
this faithful follower of the captives, that the Indians are
of two tribes, if not of different nations. With one, whom
you think to be a branch of the Delawares, is she you call
the * dark hair ' ; the other, and younger of the ladies, is

2QO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

undeniably with our declared enemies, the Hurons. It be
comes my youth and rank to attempt the latter adventure.
While you, therefore, are negotiating with your friends for
the release of one of the sisters, I will effect that of the
other, or die."

The awakened spirit of the young soldier gleamed in his
eyes, and his form became imposing under its influence.
Hawk-eye, though too much accustomed to Indian artifices
not to foresee the danger of the experiment, knew not well
how to combat this sudden resolution.

Perhaps there was something in the proposal that suited
his own hardy nature, and that secret love of desperate ad
venture, which had increased with his experience, until
hazard and danger had become, in some measure, necessary
to the enjoyment of his existence. Instead of continuing
to oppose the scheme of Duncan, his humor suddenly al
tered, and he lent himself to to its execution.

" Come," he said, with a good-humored smile; " the buck
that will take to the water must be headed, and not fol
lowed. Chingachgook has as many different paints as the
engineer officer's wife, who takes down natur' on scraps of
paper, making the mountains look like cocks of rusty hay,
and placing the blue sky in reach of your hand. The Saga
more can use them too. Seat yourself on the log; and my
life on it, he can soon make a natural fool of you, and that
well to your liking."

Duncan complied; and the Mohican, who had been an
attentive listener to the discourse, readily undertook the
office. Long practised in all the subtle arts of his race, he
drew with great dexterity and quickness, the fantastic shad
ow that the natives were accustomed to consider as the evi
dence of a friendly and jocular disposition. Every line that
could possibly be interpreted into a secret inclination for
war, was carefully avoided; while, on the other hand, he
studied those conceits that might be construed into amity.

In short, he entirely sacrificed every appearance of the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 29!

warrior to the masquerade of a buffoon. Such exhibitions
were not uncommon among the Indians; and as Duncan
was already sufficiently disguised in his dress, there cer
tainly did exist some reason for believing that, with his
knowledge of French, he might pass for a juggler from Ti-
conderoga, straggling among the allied and friendly tribes.

When he was thought to be sufficiently painted, the scout
gave him much friendly advice; concerted signals, and ap
pointed the place where they should meet, in the event of
mutual success. The parting between Munro and his young
friend was more melancholy; still, the former submitted to
the separation with an indifference that his warm and hon
est nature would never have permitted in a more healthful
state of mind. The scout led Heyward aside, and acquainted
him with his intention to leave the veteran in some safe
encampment, in charge of Chingachgook, while he and
Uncas pursued their inquiries among the people they had
reason to believe were Delawares. Then renewing his cau
tions and advice, he concluded, by saying, with a solemnity
and warmth of feeling, with which Duncan was deeply
touched —

"And now God bless you! You have shown a spirit that
I like; for it is the gift of youth, more especially one of
warm blood and a stout heart. But believe the warning of
a man who has reason to know all he. says to be true. You
will have occasion for your best manhood, and for a sharper
wit than what is to be gathered in books, afore you outdo
the cunning, or get the better of the courage of a Mingo.
God bless you! if the Hurons master your scalp, rely on the
promise of one who has two stout warriors to back him.
They shall pay for their victory, with a life for every hair
it holds. I say, young gentleman, may Providence bless
your undertaking, which is altogether for good; and remem
ber, that to outwit the knaves it is lawful to practise things
that may not be naturally the gift of a white skin."

Duncan shook his worthy and reluctant associate warmly
M Vol. 4

$92 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

$y the hand, once more recommended his aged friend to his
*are, and returning his good wishes, he motioned to David
to proceed. Hawk-eye gazed after the high-spirited and
adventurous young man for several moments, in open admi
ration; then shaking his head doubtingly, he turned, and
led his own division of the party into the concealment of
the forest.

The route taken by Duncan and David lay directly across
the clearing of the beavers, and along the margin of their
pond.

When the former found himself alone with one so sim
ple, and so litle qualified to render any assistance in des
perate emergencies, he first began to be sensible of the dif
ficulties of the task he had undertaken. The fading light
increased the gloominess of the bleak and savage wilder
ness that stretched so far on every side of him; and there
was even a fearful character in the stillness of those little
huts, that he knew were so abundantly peopled. It struck
him, as he gazed at the admirable structures and the won
derful precautions of their sagacious inmates, that even the
brutes of these vast wilds were possessed of an instinct
nearly commensurate with his own reason; and he could
not reflect, without anxiety, on the unequal contest that he
had so rashly courted. Then came the glowing image of
Alice; her distress; her actual danger; and all the peril of
his situation was forgotten. Cheering David, he moved on
with the light and vigorous step of youth and enterprise.

After making nearly a semicircle around the pond, they
diverged from the water-course, and began to ascend to the
level of a slight elevation in that bottom land, over which
they journeyed. Within half an hour they gained the mar
gin of another opening that bore all the signs of having been
also made by the beavers, and which those sagacious ani
mals had probably been induced, by some accident, to aban
don, for the more eligible position they now occupied. A
Very naturals ensation caused Duncan to hesitate a moment,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 293

unwilling to leave the cover of their bushy path, as a man
pauses to collect his energies before he essays any hazard
ous experiment, in which he is secretly conscious they will
all be needed. He profited by the halt, to gather such in
formation as might be obtained from his short and hasty
glances.

On the opposite side of the clearing, and near the point
where the brook tumbled over some rocks, from a still
higher level, some fifty or sixty lodges, rudely fabricated of
logs, brush, and earth intermingled, were to be discovered.
They were arranged without any order, and seemed to be
constructed with very little attention to neatness or beauty.
Indeed, so very inferior were they in the two latter particu
lars to the village Duncan had just seen, that he began to
expect a second surprise, no less astonishing than the for
mer. This expectation was in no degree diminished, when,
by the doubtful twilight, he beheld twenty or thirty forms
rising alternately from the cover of the tall, coarse grass,
in front of the lodges, and then sinking again from the
sight, as it were to burrow in the earth. By the sudden and
hasty glimpses that he caught of these figures, they seemed
more like dark glancing spectres, or some other unearthly
beings, than creatures fashioned with the ordinary and vul
gar materials of flesh and blood. A gaunt, naked form was
seen, for a single instant, tossi g its. arms wildly in the air,
and then the spot it had fil]ed was vacant; the figure ap
pearing suddenly in some other and distant place, or being
succeeded by another, possessing the same mysterious char
acter. David, observing that his companion lingered, pur
sued the direction of his gaze, and in some measure recalled
the recollection of Heyward, by speaking.

"There is much fruitful soil uncultivated here," he said;
"and I may add, without the sinful leaven of self-com
mendation, that since my short sojourn in these heathenish
abodes, much good seed has been scattered by the way*
side."

294 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" The tribes are fonder of the chase than of the arts of
men of labor," returned the unconscious Duncan, still gaz
ing at the objects of his wonder.

" It is rather joy than labor to the spirit, to lift up the
voice in praise; but sadly do these boys abuse their gifts.
Rarely have I found any of their age, on whom nature has
so freely bestowed the elements of psalmody; and surely,
surely, there are none who neglect them more. Three nights
have I now tarried here, and three several times have I as
sembled the urchins to join in sacred song; and as often
have they responded to my efforts with whoopings and
howlings that have chilled my soul ! "

" Of whom speak you ? "

"Of those children of the devil, who waste the precious
moments in yonder idle antics. Ah! the wholesome re
straint of discipline is but little known among this self-
abandoned people. In a country of birches, a rod is never
seen ; and it ought not to appear a marvel in my eyes, that
the choicest blessings of Providence are wasted in such
cries as these."

David closed his ears against the juvenile pack whose
yell just then rang shrilly through the forest; and Duncan,
suffering his lip to curl, as in mockery of his own supersti
tion, said firmly—

" We will proceed."

Without removing the safeguards from his ears, the mas
ter of song complied, and together they pursued their way
toward what David was sometimes wont to call " the tents
of the Philistines."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER XXIII.

But though the beast of game

The privilege of chase may claim ;
Though space and law the stag we lend,
Ere hound we slip, or bow we bend ;
Who ever recked, where, how, or when
The prowling fox was trapped or slain ?

LADY OF THE LAKE.

IT is unusual to find an encampment of the natives, like
those of the more instructed whites, guarded by the pres
ence of armed men. Well informed of the approach of
every danger, while it is yet at a distance, the Indian gen
erally rests secure under his knowledge of the signs of the
forest, and the long and difficult paths that separate him
from those he has most reason to dread. But the enemy
who, by any lucky concurrence of accidents, has found
means to elude the vigilance of the scouts, will seldom
meet with sentinels nearer home to sound the alarm. In
addition to this general usage, the tribes friendly to the
French knew too well the weight of the blow that had just
been struck, to apprehend any immediate danger from the
hostile nations that were tributary to the crown of Britain.

When Duncan and David, therefore, found themselves in
the centre of the children, who played the antics already
mentioned, it was without the least previous intimation of
their approach. But so soon as they were observed, the
whole of the juvenile pack raised, by common consent, a
shrill and warning whoop; and then sank, as it were, by
magic, from before the sight of their visitors. The naked,
tawny bodies of the crouching urchins blended so nicely, at
that hour, with the withered herbage, that at first it seemed
as if the earth had, in truth, swallowed up their forms;
though when surprise permitted Duncan to bend his look
more curiously about the spot, he found it everywhere met
by dark, quick, and rolling eye-balls.

296 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Gathering no encouragement, from this startling presage
of the nature of the scrutiny he was likely to undergo from
the more mature judgments of the men, there was an instant
when the young soldier would have retreated. It was, how
ever, too late to appear to hesitate. The cry of the children
had drawn a dozen warriors to the door of the nearest lodge,
where they stood clustered in a dark and savage group,
gravely awaiting the nearer approach of those who had un
expectedly come among them.

David, in some measure familiarized to the scene, led the
way with a steadiness that no slight obstacle was likely to
disconcert, into this very building. It was the principal
edifice of the village, though roughly constructed of the
bark and branches of trees; being the lodge in which the
tribe held its councils and public meetings during their
temporary residence on the borders of the English province.
Duncan found it difficult to assume the necessary appear
ance of unconcern, as he brushed the dark and powerful
frames of the savages who thronged its threshold ; but, con
scious that his existence depended on his presence of mind,
he trusted to the discretion of his companion, whose foot
steps he closely followed, endeavoring, as he proceeded, to
rally his thoughts for the occasion. His blood curdled when
he found himself in absolute contact with such fierce and
implacable enemies ; but he so far mastered his feelings as to
pursue his way into the centre of the lodge, with an exterior
that did not betray the weakness. Imitating the example
of the deliberate Gamut, he drew a bundle of fragrant brush
from beneath a pile that filled a corner of the hut, and
seated himself in silence.

So soon as their visitor had passed, the observant war
riors fell back from the entrance, and arranging themselves
about him, they seemed patiently to await the moment when
it might comport with the dignity of the stranger to speak.
By far the greater number stood leaning, in lazy, lounging
attitudes, against the upright posts that supported the crazy

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 297

building, while three or four of the oldest and most distin
guished of the chiefs placed themselves on the earth a little
.more in advance.

A flaring torch was burning in the place, and sent its red
glare from face to face and figure to figure, as it waved in
the currents of air. Duncan profited by its light to read
the probable character of his reception, in the countenances
of his hosts. But his ingenuity availed him little, against
the cold artifices of the people he had encountered. The
chiefs in front scarce cast a glance at his person, keeping
their eyes on the ground, with an air that might have been
intended for respect, but which it was quite easy to construe
into distrust. The men in shadow were less reserved. Dun
can soon detected their searching, but stolen looks, which,
in truth, scanned his person and attire inch by inch; leav
ing no emotion of the countenance, no gesture, no line of
the paint, nor even the fashion of a garment, unheeded, and
without comment.

At length one whose hair was beginning to be sprinkled
with grey, but whose sinewy limbs and firm tread announced
that he was still equal to th duties of manhood, advanced
out of the gloom of a corner, whither he had probably posted
himself to make his observations unseen, and spoke. He
used the language of the Wyandots, or Hurons, his words
were, consequently, unintelligibl to HLyward, though they
seemed, by the gestures that accompanied them, to be ut
tered more in courtesy than anger. The latter shook his
head, and made a gesture indicative of his inability to
reply.

" Do none of my brothers speak the French or the Eng
lish? " he said, in the former language, looking about him
from countenance to countenance, in hopes of finding a nod
of assent.

Though more than one had turned, as if to catch the
meaning of his words, they remained unanswered.

" I should be grieved to think," continued Duncan, speak-

298 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ing slowly, and using the simplest French of which he was
the master, " to believe that none of this wise and brave
nation understand the language that the * Grand Monarque '
uses when he talks to his children. His heart would be
heavy did he believe his red warriors paid him so little re
spect!"

A long and grave pause succeeded, during which no
movement of a limb, nor any expression of an eye, betrayed
the impression produced by his remark. Duncan, who knew
that silence was a virtue amongst his hosts, gladly had re
course to the custom, in order to arrange his ideas. At
length, the same warrior who had before addressed him,
replied, by drily demanding, in the language of the Can-
adas —

" When our Great Father speaks to his people, is it with
the tongue of a Huron ? "

" He knows no difference in his children, whether the
color of the skin be red, or black, or white," returned Dun
can, evasively; "though chiefly ?is he satisfied with the
brave Hurons."

" In what manner "will he speak," demanded the wary
chief, " when the runners count to him the scalps which five
nights ago grew on the heads of the Yengeese? "

"They were his enemies," said Duncan, shuddering in
voluntarily; "and doubtless, he will say, It is good — my
Hurons are very gallant."

" Our Canada father does not think it. Instead of look
ing forward to reward his Indians, his eyes are turned back
ward. He sees the dead Yengeese, but no Huron. What
can this mean? " i .

" A great chief, like him, has more thoughts than tongues.
He looks to see that no enemies are on his trail."

"The canoe of a dead warrior will not float on the Hori-
can," returned the savage, gloomily. " His ears are open
to the Delawares, who are not our friends, and they fill them
with lies."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 299

"It cannot be. See; he lias bid me, who am a man that
knows the art of healing, to go to his children, the red Hu-
rons of the great lakes, and ask if any are sick! "

Another silence succeeded this annunciation of the char
acter Duncan had assumed. Every eye was simultaneously
bent on his person, as if to inquire into the truth or false
hood of the declaration, \vith an intelligence and keenness
that caused the subject of their scrutiny to tremble for the
result. He was, however, relieved again by the former
speaker.

" Do the cunning men of the Canadas paint their skins? n
the Huron coldly continued; "we have heard them boast
that their faces were pale."

"When an Indian chief comes among his white fathers,"
returned Duncan, with great steadiness, "he lays aside his
buffalo robe, to carry the shirt that is offered him. My
brothers have given me paint, and I wear it."

A low murmur of applause announced that the compli
ment to the tribe was favorably received. The elderly chief
made a gesture of commendation, which was answered by
mostof his companions, who each threw forth a hand, and
littered a brief exclamation of pleasure. Duncan began to
breathe more freely, believing that the weight of his exami
nation was past; and as he had already prepared a simple
and probable tale to support his pretended occupation, his
hopes of ultimate success grew brighter.

After a silence of a few moments, as if adjusting his
thoughts, in order to make a suitable answer to the declara
tion their guest had just given, another warrior arose, and
placed himself in an attitude to speak. While his lips
were yet in the act of parting, a low but fearful sound arose
from the forest, and was immediately succeeded by a high,
shrill yell, that was drawn out, until it equalled the longest
and most plaintive howl of the wolf. The sudden and ter
rible interruption caused Duncan to start from his seat, un
conscious of everything but the effect produced by so fright-*

300 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ful a cry. At the same moment, the warriors glided in a
body from the lodge, and the outer air was filled with loud
shouts, that nearly drowned those awful sounds, which were
still ringing beneath the arches of the woods. Unable to
command himself any longer, the youth broke from the
place, and presently stood in the centre of a disorderly
throng, that included nearly everything having life, within
the limits of the encampment. Men, women, and children -
the aged, the infirm, the active, and the strong, were alike
abroad; some exclaiming aloud, others clapping their hands
with a joy that seemed frantic, and all expressing their sav
age pleasure in some unexpected event. Though astounded,
at first, by the uproar, Heywood was soon enabled to find
its solution by the scene that followed.

There yet lingered sufficient light in the heavens to ex-
hibit those bright openings among the tree-tops, where dif
ferent paths left the clearing to enter the depths of the wil
derness. Beneath one of them,_a line of warriors issued
from the woods, and advanced slowly toward the dwellings.
One in front bore a short pole, on which, as it afterward
appeared, were supended several human scalps. The start
ling sounds that Duncan had heard, were what the whites
have, not inappropriately, called the "death-hallo; " and
each repetition of the cry was intended to announce to the
tribe the fate of an enemy. Thus far the knowledge of
Heyward assisted him in the explanation; and as he now
knew that the interruption was caused by the unlooked-for
return of a successful war-party, every disagreeable sensa
tion was quieted in inward congratulations, for the oppor
tune relief and insignificance it conferred on himself.

When at the distance of a few hundred feet from the
lodges, the newly arrived warriors halted. Their plaintive
and terrific cry, which was intended to represent equally
the^ waitings of the dead and the triumph of the victors, had
entirely ceased. One of their number now called aloud, in'
words that were far from appalling, though not more Intel-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 30 1

ligible to those for whose ears they were intended, than
their expressive yells. It would be difficult to convey a
suitable idea of the savage ecstasy with which the news,
thus imparted, was received. The whole encampment, in a
moment, became a scene of the most violent bustle and com
motion. The warriors drew their knives, and flourishing
them, they arranged themselves in two lines, forming a lane
that extended from the war-party to the lodges. The squaws
seized clubs, axes, or whatever weapon of offence first of-
fered itself to their hands, and rushed eagerly to act their
part in the cruel game that was at hand. Even the chil
dren would not be excluded; but boys, little able to wield
the instruments, tore the tomahawks from the belts of their
fathers, and stole into the ranks, apt imitators of the savage
traits exhibited by their parents.

Large piles of brush lay scattered about the clearing, and
a wary and aged squaw was occupied in firing as many as
might serve to light the coming exhibition. As the flame
arose, its power exceeded that of the parting day, and as
sisted to render objects at the same time more distinct and
more hideous.' The whole scene formed a striking picture,
whose frame was composed of the dark and tall border of
pines. The, warriors just arrived 'were the most distant
figures. A little in advance stood two men, who were ap
parently selected from the rest, as the principal actors in
what was to follow. The light was not strong enough to
render their features distinct, though it was quite evident
that they were governed by very different emotions. While
one stood erect and firm, prepared to meet his fate like a
hero, the other bowed his head, as if palsied by terror or
stricken with shame. The high-spirited Duncan felt a pow
erful impulse of admiration and pity toward the former,
though no opportunity could offer to exhibit his generous
emotions. He watched his slightest movement, however,
with eager eyes; and as he traced the fine outline of his ad
mirably proportioned and active frame, he endeavored to per-

302 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

suade himself, that if the powers of man, seconded by such
noble resolution, could bear one harmless through so severe a
trial, the youthful captive before him might hope for success
in the hazardous race he was about to run. Insensibly the
young man drew nigher to the swarthy lines of the Hurons,
and scarcely breathed, so intense became his interest in the
spectacle. Just then the signal yell was given, and the mo
mentary quiet which had preceded it was broken by a burst
of cries, that far exceeded any before heard. The most ab
ject of the two victims continued motionless; but the other
bounded from the place at the cry, with the activity and
swiftness of a deer. Instead of rushing through the hostile
lines, as had been expected, he just entered the dangerous
defile, and before time was given for a single blow, turned
short, and leaping the heads of a row of children, he gained
at once the exterior and safer side of the formidable array.
The artifice was answered by a hundred voices raised in
imprecations; and the whole of the excited multitude broke
from their order, and spread themselves about the place in
wild confusion.

A dozen blazing piles now shed their lurid brightness on
the place, which resembled some unhallowed and supernat
ural arena, in which malicious demons had assembled to act
their bloody and lawless rites. The forms in the back
ground looked like unearthly beings, gliding before the eye,
and cleaving the air with frantic and unmeaning gestures;
while the savage passions of such as passed the flames, were
rendered fearfully distinct by the gleams that shot athwart
their inflamed visages.

It will easily be understood, that amid such a concourse
of vindictive enemies, no breathing time was allowed the
fugitive. There was a single moment when it seemed as if
he would have reached the forest, but the whole body of his
captors threw themselves before him, and drove him back
into the centre of his relentless persecutors. Turning like
a neaded deer, he shot, with the swiftness of an arrow,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 303

through a pillar of forked flame, and passing the whole mul
titude harmless, he appeared on the opposite side of the
clearing. Here too he was met and turned by a few of the
older and more subtle of the Huron s. Once more he tried
the throng, as if seeking safety in its blindness, and then
several moments succeeded, during which Duncan believed
the active and courageous young stranger was lost.

Nothing could be distinguished but a dark mass of human
forms tossed and involved in inextricable confusion. Arms,
gleaming knives, and formidable clubs, appeared above
them, but the blows were evidently given at random. The
awful effect was heightened by the piercing shrieks of the
women and the fierce yells of the warriors. Now and then
Duncan caught a glimpse of a light form cleaving the air
in some desperate bound, and he rather hoped than believed
that the captive yet retained the command of his astonish
ing powers of activity. Suddenly the multitude rolled back
ward, and approached the spot where he himself stood.
The heavy body in the rear pressed upon the women and
children in front, and bore them to the earth. The stran
ger re-appeared in the confusion. Human power could not,
however, much longer endure so severe a trial. Of this the
captive seemed conscious. Profiting by the momentary
opening, he darted from among the warriors, and made a
desperate, and, what seemed to Duncan, a final effort to gain
the wood. As if aware that no danger was to be appre
hended from the young soldier, the fugitive nearly brushed
his person in his flight. A tall and powerful Huron, who
had husbanded his forces, pressed close upon his heels, and
with an uplifted arm menaced a fatal blow. Duncan thrust
forth a foot, and the shock precipitated the eager savage
headlong, many feet in advance of his intended victim.
Thought itself is not quicker than was the motion with
which the latter profited by the advantage; he turned,
gleamed like a meteor again before the eyes of Duncan, and
at the next moment, when the latter recovered his recollec-

304 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

tion, and gazed around in quest of the captive, he saw him
quietly leaning against a small painted post, which stood
before the door of the principal lodge.

Apprehensive that the part he had taken in the escape
might prove fatal to himself, Duncan left the place without
delay. He followed the crowd, which drew nigh the lodges,
gloomy and sullen, like any other multitude that had been
disappointed in an execution. Curiosity, or perhaps a bet
ter feeling, induced him to approach the stranger. He
found him, standing with one arm cast about the protecting
post, and breathing thick and hard, after his exertions, but
disdaining to permit a single sign of suffering to escape.
His person was now protected by immemorial and sacred
usage, until the tribe in council had deliberated and deter
mined on his fate. It was not difficult, however, to foretell
the result, if any presage could be drawn from the feelings
of those who crowded the place.

There was no term of abuse known to the Huron vocabu
lary that the disappointed women did not lavishly expend
on the successful stranger. They flouted at his efforts, and
told him, with bitter scoffs, that his feet were better than
his hands; and that he merited wings, while he knew not
the use of an arrow or a knife. To all this the captive
made no reply ; but was content to preserve an attitude in
which dignity was singularly blended with disdain. Exas
perated as much by his composure as by his good-fortune,
their words became unintelligible, and were succeeded by
shrill piercing yells. Just then the crafty squaw, who had
taken the necessary precaution to fire the piles, made her
way through the throng, and cleared a place for herself in
front of the captive. The squalid and withered person of
this hag might well have obtained for her the character of
possessing more than human cunning. Throwing back her
light vestment, she stretched forth her long skinny arm, in
derision, and using the language of the Lenape, as more intel
ligible to the subject of her gibes, she commenced aloud,—

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 305

"Look you, Delaware!" she said, snapping her fingers
in his face; "your nation is a race of women, and the hoe
is better fitted to your hands than the gun. Your squaws
are the mothers of deer; but if a bear, or a wild cat, or a
serpent, were born among you, ye would flee. The Huron
girls shall make you petticoats, and we will find you a hus
band."

A burst of savage laughter succeeded this attack, during
which the soft and musical merriment of the younger fe
males strangely chimed with the cracked voice of their older
and more malignant companion. But the stranger was su
perior to all their efforts. His head was immovable; nor
did he betray the slightest consciousness that any were
present, except when his haughty eye rolled toward the
dusky forms of the warriors, who stalked in the background,
silent and sullen observers of the scene.

Infuriated at the self-command of the captive, the woman
placed her arms akimbo; and throwing herself into a pos
ture of defiance, she broke out anew, in a torrent of words
that no art of ours could commit successfully to paper.
Her breath was, however, expended in vain ; for, although
distinguished in her nation as a proficient in the art of
abuse, she was permitted to work herself into such a fury
as actually to foam at the mouth, without causing a muscle
to vibrate in the motionless figure of the stranger. The
effect of his indifference began to extend itself to the other
spectators; and a youngster, who was just quitting the con
dition of a boy, to enter the state of manhood, attempted to
assist the termagant, by flourishing his tomahawk before
their victim, and adding his empty boasts to the taunts of
the woman. Then, indeed, the captive turned his face tow
ard the light, and looked down on the stripling with an ex
pression that was superior to contempt. At the next moment
he resumed his quiet and reclining attitude against the post.
But the change of posture had permitted Duncan to ex
change glances with the firm and piercing eyes of Uncas.

306 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Breathless with amazement, and heavily oppressed with
the critical situation of his friend, Heyward recoiled before
the look, trembling lest its meaning might, in some un
known manner, hasten the prisoner's fate. There was not,
however, any instant cause for such an apprehension. Just
then a warrior forced his way into the exasperated crowd.
Motioning the women and children aside with a stern ges
ture, he took Uncas by the arm, and led him toward the
door of the council lodge. Thither all the chiefs, and most
of the distinguished warriors, followed; among whom the
anxious Heyward found means to enter without attracting
any dangerous attention to himself.

A few minutes were consumed in disposing of those pres
ent in a manner suitable to their rank and influence in the
tribe. An order very similar to that adopted in the preced
ing interview was observed; the aged and superior chiefs
occupying the area of the spacious apartment, within the
powerful light of a glaring torch, while their juniors and
inferiors were arranged in the background, presenting, a
dark outline of swarthy and marked visages. In the very
centre of the lodge, immediately under an opening that ad
mitted the twinkling light of one or two starss, tood Uncas,
—calm, elevated, and collected. His high and haughty
carriage was not lost on his captors, who often bent their
looks on his person, with eyes which, while they lost none
of their inflexibility of purpose, plainly betrayed their admi
ration of the stranger's daring.

The case was different with the individual whom Duncan
had observed to stand forth with his friend, previously to
the desperate trial of speed; and who, instead of joining in
the chase, had remained, throughout its turbulent uproar,
like a cringing statue, expressive of shame and disgrace.
Though not a hand had been extended to greet him, nor yet
an eye had condescended to watch his movements, he had
also entered the lodge, as though impelled by a fate to whose
decrees he submitted, seemingly, without a struggle. Hey-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 3O/

ward profited by the first opportunity to gaze in his face,
secretly apprehensive he might find the features of another
acquaintance; but they proved to be those of a stranger,
and, what was still more inexplicable, of one who bore all
the distinctive marks of a Huron warrior. Instead of min
gling with his tribe, however, he sat apart, a solitary being
in a multitude, his form shrinking into a crouching and
abject attitude, as if anxious to fill as little space as possi
ble. When each individual had taken his proper station,
and silence reigned in the place, the grey-haired chief
already introduced to the reader spoke aloud, in the lan
guage of the Lenni Lenape.

" Delaware," he said, " though one of a nation of women,
you have proved yourself a man. I would give you food ;
but he who eats with a Huron should become his friend.
Rest in peace till the morning sun, when our last words
shall be spoken."

" Seven nights, and as many summer days, have I fasted
on the trail of the Hurons," Uncas coldly replied; "the
children of the Lenape know how to travel the path of the
just without lingering to eat."

" Two of my young men are in pursuit of your compan
ion," resumed the other, without appearing to regard the
boast of his captive; "when they get back, then will our
wise men say to you * live or die.' "

"Has a Huron no ears?" scornfully exclaimed Uncas;
" twice, since he has been your prisoner, has the Delaware
heard a gun that he knows. Your young men will never
come back."

A short and sullen pause succeeded this bold assertion.
Duncan, who understood the Mohican to allude to the fatal
rifle of the scout, bent forward in earnest observation of the
effect it might produce on the conquerors; but the chief was
content with simply retorting, —

" If the Lenape are so skilful, why is one of their bravest
warriors here? "

308 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" He followed in the steps of a flying coward, and fell
into a snare. The cunning beaver may be caught."

As Uncas thus replied, he pointed with his finger toward
the solitary Huron, but without deigning to bestow any other
notice on so unworthy an object. The words of the answer
and the air of the speaker produced a strong sensation
among his auditors. Every eye rolled sullenly toward the
individual indicated by the simple gesture, and a low,
threatening murmur passed through the crowd. The omi
nous sounds reached the outer door, and the women and chil
dren pressing into the throng, no gaps had been left, between
shoulder and shoulder, that was not now filled with the
dark lineaments of some eager and curious human counte
nance.

In the mean time, the more aged chiefs, in the centre,
communed with each other in short and broken sentences.
Not a word was uttered that did not convey the meaning ot
the speaker, in the simplest and most energetic form.
Again, a long and deeply solemn pause took place. It was
known, by all present, to be the grave precursor of a weighty
and important judgment. They who composed the outer
circle of faces were on tiptoe to gaze; and even the culprit
for an instant forgot his shame in a deeper emotion, and
exposed his abject features, in order to cast an anxious and
troubled glance at the dark assemblage of chiefs. The
silence was finally broken by the aged warrior so often
named. He arose from the earth, and, moving past the im
movable form of Uncas, placed himself in a dignified atti
tude before the offender. At that moment the withered
squaw already mentioned moved into the circle, in a slow,
sideling sort of a dance, holding the torch, and muttering
the indistinct words of what might have been a species of
incantation. Though her presence was altogether an intru
sion, it was unheeded.

Approaching Uncas, she held the blazing brand in such a
manner as to cast its red glare on his person, and to expose

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 309

the slightest emotion of his countenance. The Mohican
maintained his firm and haughty attitude; and his eye, so
far from deigning to meet her inquisitive look, dwelt steadily
on the distance, as though it penetrated the obstacles which
impeded the view, and looked into futurity. Satisfied with
her examination, she left him, with a slight expression of
pleasure, and proceeded to practise the same trying experi
ment on her delinquent countryman.

The young Huron was in his war paint, and very little of
a finely moulded form was concealed by his attire. The
light rendered every limb and joint discernible, and Duncan
turned away in horror when he saw they were writhing in
irrepressible agony. The woman was commencing a low
and plaintive howl at the sad and shameful spectacle, when
the chief put forth his hand and gently pushed her aside.

" Reed-that-bends," he said, addressing the young culprit
by name, and in his proper language, "though the Great
Spirit has made you pleasant to the eyes, it would have been
better that you had not been born. Your tongue is loud in
the village, but in battle it is still. None of my young men
strike the tomahawk deeper into the war-post — none of them
so lightly on the Yengeese. The enemy know the shape of
your back, but they have never seen the color of your eyes.
Three times have they called on you to come, and as often
did you forget to answer. Your name will never be men
tioned again in your tribe — it is already forgotten."

As the chief slowly uttered these words, pausing impres
sively between each sentence, the culprit raised his face, in
deference to the other's rank and years. Shame, horror, and
pride struggled in its lineaments. His eye, which was con
tracted with inward anguish, gleamed on the persons of those
whose breath was his fame; and the latter emotion for an
instant predominated. He arose to his feet, and baring his
bosom, looked steadily on the keen, glittering knife, that
was already upheld by his inexorable judge. As the wea
pon passed slowly into his heart he even smiled, as if in

3IO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

joy at having found death less dreadful than he had antici
pated, and fell heavily on his face, at the feet of the rigid
and unyielding form of Uncas.

The squaw gave a loud and plaintive yell, dashed the
torch to the earth, and buried everything in darkness. The
whole shuddering group of spectators glided from the lodge,
like troubled sprites; and Duncan thought that he and the
yet throbbing body of the victim of an Indian judgment had
now become its only tenants.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Thus spoke the sage : the kings without delay
Dissolve the council, and their chief obey.

POPE'S ILIAD.

A SINGLE moment served to convince the youth that he
was mistaken. A hand was laid, with a powerful pressure,
on his arm, and the low voice of Uncas muttered in his
ears —

" The Hurons are dogs. The sight of a coward's blood
can never make a warrior tremble. The ' Grey Head ' and
the Sagamore are safe, and the rifle of Hawk-eye is not
asleep. Go — Uncas and the * Open hand ' are now stran
gers. It is enough."

Heyward would gladly have heard more, but a gentle push
from his friend urged him toward the door, and admonished
him of the danger that might attend the discovery of their
intercourse. Slowly and reluctantly yielding to the neces
sity, he quitted the place, and mingled with the throng that
hovered nigh. The dying fires in the clearing cast a dim
and uncertain light on the dusky figures that were silently
stalking to and fro; and occasionally a brighter gleam than
common glanced into the lodge, and exhibited the figure of
Uncas still maintaining its upright attitude near the dead
body of the Huron.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 311

A knot of warriors soon entered the place again, and re
issuing, they bore the senseless remains into the adjacent
woods. After this termination of the scene, Duncan wan
dered among the lodges, unquestioned and unnoticed, en
deavoring to find some trace of her in whose behalf he
incurred the risk he ran. In the present temper of the
tribe, it would have been easy to have fled and rejoined his
companions, had such a wish crossed his mind. But, in
addition to the never-ceasing anxiety on account of Alice, a
fresher, though feebler, interest in the fate of Uncas assisted
to chain him to the spot. He continued, therefore, to stray
from hut to hut, looking into each only to encounter addi
tional disappointment, until he had made the entire circuit
of the village. Abandoning a species of inquiry that proved
so fruitless, he retraced his steps to the council lodge, re
solved to seek and question David, in order to put an end
to his doubts.

On reaching the building which had proved alike the seat
of judgment and the place of execution, the young man
found that the excitement had already subsided. The war
riors had re-assembled, and were now calmly smoking, while
they conversed gravely on the chief incidents of their recent
expedition to the head of the Horican. Though the return
of Duncan was likely to remind them of his character, and
the suspicious circumstances of his visit, it produced no
visible sensation. So far, the terrible scene that had just
occurred proved favorable to his views, and he required no
other prompter than his own feelings to convince him of the
expediency of profiting by so unexpected an advantage.

Without seeming to hesitate, he walked into the lodge,
and took his seat with a gravity that accorded admirably
with the deportment of his hosts. A hasty but searching
glance sufficed to tell him that, though Uncas still remained
where he had left him, David had not reappeared. No other
restraint was imposed on the former than the watchful looks
of a young Huron, who had placed himself at hand; though

312 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

an armed warrior leaned against the post that formed one
side of the narrow door-way. In every other respect, the
captive seemed at liberty; still he was excluded from all
participation in the discourse, and possessed much more of
the air of some finely moulded statue than a man having life
and volition.

Heyward had too recently witnessed a frightful instance
df the prompt punishments of the people into whose hands
he had fallen, to hazard an exposure by any officious bold
ness. He would greatly have preferred silence and medita
tion to speech, when a discovery of his real condition might
prove so instantly fatal. Unfortunately for this prudent
resolution, his entertainers appeared otherwise disposed.
He had not long occupied the seat wisely taken a little in
the shade, when another of the elder warriors, who spoke the
French language, addressed him —

" My Canada father does not forget his children," said
the chief; "I thank him. An evil spirit lives in the wife
of one of my young men. Can the cunning stranger frighten
him away? "

Heyward possessed some knowledge of the mummery
practised among the Indians, in the cases of such supposed
visitations. He saw, at a glance, that the circumstance
might possibly be improved to further his own ends. It
would, therefore, have been difficult, just then, to have ut
tered a proposal that would have given him more satisfac
tion. Aware of the necessity of preserving the dignity of
his imaginary character, however, he repressed his feelings,
and answered with suitable mystery —

" Spirits differ ; some yield to the power of wisdom, while
others are too strong."

" My brother is a great medicine," said the cunning sav
age; "he will try?"

A gesture of assent was the answer. The Huron was con
tent with the assurance, and resuming his pipe, he awaited
the proper moment to move. The impatient Heyward, in-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 313

wardly execrating the cold customs of the savages, which
required such sacrifices to appearance, was fain to assume
an air of indifference, equal to that maintained by the chief,
who was, in truth, a near relative of th afflicted woman.
The minutes lingered, and the delay had seemed an hour
to the adventurer in empHci-m, \vhe~ the Huron laid aside
his pipe, and drew his robe across his breast, as if about to
lead the way to the lodge of the invalid. Just then, a war
rior of powerful frame darkened the door, and stalking
silently among the attentive group, he seated himself on
one end of the low pile of brush which sustained Duncan.
The latter cast an impatient look at his neighbor, and felt
his flesh creep with uncontrollable horror when he found
himself in actual contact with Magua.

The sudden return of this artful and dreaded chief caused
a delay in the departure of the Huron. Several pipes, that
had been extinguished, were lighted again ; while the new
comer, without speaking a word, drew his tomahawk from
his girdle, and filling the bowl on its head, began to inhale
the vapors of the weed through the hollow handle, with as
much indifference as if he had not been absent two weary
days on a long and toilsome hunt. Ten minutes, which
appeared so many ages to Duncan, might have passed in
this manner; and the warriors were fairly enveloped in a
cloud of white smoke before any of them spoke.

" Welcome ! " one at length uttered ; " has my friend found
the moose ? "

"The young men stagger under their burdens," returned
Magua. " Let * Reed-that-bend- ' go on the hunting path;
he will meet them."

A deep and awful silence succeeded the utterance of the
forbidden name. ' Each pipe dropped from the lips of its
owner as though all had inhaled an impurity at the same
instant. The smoke wreathed above their heads in little
eddies, and curling in a spiral form, it ascended swiftly
through the opening in the roof of the lodge, leaving the

314 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

place beneath clear of its fumes, and each dark visage dis
tinctly visible. The looks of most of the warriors were
riveted on the earth; though a few of the younger and less
gifted of the party suffered their wild and glaring eye-balls
to roll in the direction of a white-headed savage, who sat
between two of the most venerated chiefs of the tribe.
There was nothing in the air or attire of this Indian that
would seem to entitle him to such a distinction. The for
mer was rather depressed, than remarkable for the bearing
of the natives; and the latter was such as was commonly
worn by the ordinary men of the nation. Like most around
him, for more than a minute his look too was on the ground ;
but, trusting his eyes at length to steal a glance aside, he
perceived that he was becoming an object of general atten
tion. Then he arose and lifted his voice in the general
silence.

"It was a lie," he said; "I had no son. He who was
called by that name is forgotten; his blood was pale, and it
came not from the veins of a Huron; the wicked Chippewas
cheated my squaw. The Great Spirit has said, that the
family of Wiss-en-tush should end — he is happy who knows
that the evil of his race dies with himself. I have done."

The speaker, who was the father of the recreant young
Indian, looked round and about him, as if seeking commen
dation of his stoicism in the eyes of his auditors. But the
stern customs of his people had made too severe an exaction
of the feeble old man. The expression of his eye contra
dicted his figurative and boastful language, while every
muscle in his wrinkled visage was working with anguish.
Standing a single minute to enjoy his bitter triumph, he
turned away, as if sickening at the gaze of men, and veiling
his face in his blanket, he walked from the lodge with the
noiseless step of an Indian, seeking, in the privacy of his
own abode, the sympathy of one like himself, aged, forlorn,
and childless.

The Indians, who believe in the hereditary transmission

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 315

of virtues and defects in character, suffered him to depart
in silence. Then, with an elevation of breeding that many
in a more cultivated state of society might profitably emu
late, one of the chiefs drew the attention of the young men
from the weakness they had just witnessed, by saying, in a
cheerful voice, addressing himself in courtesy to Magua, as
the newest comer—

" The Delawares have been like bears after the honey-
pots, prowling around my village. But who has ever found
a Huron asleep? "

The darkness of the impending cloud which precedes a
burst of thunder was not blacker than the brow of Magua
as he exclaimed —

"The Delawares of the Lakes! "

" Not so. They who wear the petticoats of squaws, on
their own river. One of them has been passing the tribe/'

" Did my young men take his scalp? "

" His legs were good, though his arm is better for the hoe
than the tomahawk," returned the other, pointing to the
immovable form of Uncas.

Instead of manifesting any womanish curiosity to feast
his eyes with the sight of a captive from a people he was
known to have so much reason to hate, Magua continued to
smoke, with the meditative air that he usually maintained,
when there was no immediate call on his cunning or his
eloquence. Although secretly amazed at the facts com
municated by the speech of the aged father, he permitted
himself to ask no questions, reserving his inquiries for a
more suitable moment. It was only after a sufficient inter
val that he shook the ashes from his pipe, replaced the tom
ahawk, tightened his girdle, and arose, casting for the first
time a glance in the direction of the prisoner, who stood a
little behind him. The wary, though seemingly abstracted
Uncas, caught a glimpse of the movement, and turning sud
denly to the light, their looks met. Near a minute these
two bold and untamed spirits stood regarding one another
N Vol. 4

316 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

steadily in the eye, neither quailing in the least before the
fierce gaze he encountered. The form of Uncas dilated,
and his nostrils opened like those of a tiger at bay; but so
rigid and unyielding was his posture, that he might easily
have been converted by the imagination into an exquisite
and faultless representation of the warlike deity of his tribe.
The lineaments of the quivering features of Magua proved
more ductile; his countenance gradually lost its character
of defiance in an expression of ferocious joy, and heaving a
breath from the very bottom of his chest, he pronounced
aloud the formidable name of —

"Le Cerf agile!"

Each warrior sprang upon his feet at the utterance of the
well-known appellation, and there was a short period during
which the stoical constancy of the natives was completely
conquered by surprise. The hated and yet respected name
was repeated as by one voice, carrying the sound even be
yond the limits of the lodge. The women and children,
who lingered around the entrance, took up the words in an
echo, which was succeeded by another shrill and plaintive
howl. The latter was not yet ended, when the sensation
among the men liad entirely abated. Each one in presence
seated himself, as though ashamed of his precipitation ; but
it was many minutes before their meaning eyes ceased to
roll toward their captive, in curious examination of a war
rior who had so often proved his prowess on the best and
proudest of their nation. Uncas enjoyed his victory, but
was content with merely exhibiting his triumph by a quiet
smile — an emblem of scorn which belongs to all time and
every nation.

Magua caught the expression, and raising his arm, he
shook it at the captive — the light silver ornaments attached
to his bracelet rattling with the trembling agitation of the
limb, as, in a tone of vengeance, he exclaimed, in English —

" Mohican, you die ! "

"The healing waters will never bring the dead Hurons

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

to life," returned Uncas, in the music of the Delawares;
"the tumbling river washes their bones; their men are
squaws; their women owls. Go — call together the Huron
dogs, that they may look upon a warrior. My nostrils are
offended; they scent the blood of a coward."

The latter allusion struck deep, and the injury rankled.
Many of the Hurons understood the strange tongue in which
the captive spoke, among which number was Magua. This
cunning savage beheld, and instantly profited by his advan
tage. Dropping the light robe of skin from his shoulder,
he stretched forth his arm, and commenced a burst of his
dangerous and artful eloquence. However much his influ
ence among his people had been impaired by his occasional
and besetting weakness, as well as by his desertion of the
tribe, his courage and his fame as an orator were undeni
able. He never spoke without auditors, and rarely without
making converts to his opinions. On the present occasion,
his native powers were stimulated by the thirst of revenge.

He again recounted the events of the attack on the Island
at Glenn's; the death of his associates; and the escape of
their most formidable enemies. Then he described the na
ture and position of the mount whither he had led such cap
tives as had fallen into their hands. Of his own bloody
intentions toward the maidens, and of- his baffled malice he
made no mention, but passed rapidly on to the surprise of
the party by " La longue Carabine," and its fatal termina
tion. Here he paused, and looked about him, in affected
veneration for the departed, but, in truth, to note the effect
of his opening narrative. As usual, every eye was riveted
on his face. Each dusky figure seemed a breathing statue,
so motionless was the posture, so intense the attention of
the individual.

Then Magua dropped his voice, which had hitherto been
clear, strong, and elevated, and touched upon the merits of
the dead. No quality that was likely to command the sym
pathy of an Indian escaped his notice. One had never been

318 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

known to follow the chase in vain; another had been inde
fatigable on the trail of their enemies. This was brave, that
generous. In short, he so managed his allusions, that in a
nation which was composed of so few families, he contrived
to strike every chord that might find, in its turn, some breast
in which to vibrate.

" Are the bones of my young men," he concluded, " in the
burial-place of the Hurons ? You know they are not. Their
spirits are gone toward the setting sun, and are already cross
ing the great waters, to the happy hunting-grounds. But
they departed without food, without guns or knives, without
moccasins, naked and poor as they were born. Shall this
be? Are their souls to enter the land of the just like hun
gry Iroquois or unmanly Delawares; or shall they meet their
friends with arms in their hands and robes on their backs?
What will our fathers think the tribes of the Wyandots have
become? They will look on their children with a dark eye,
and say, Go ; a Chippewa has come hither with the name of
a Huron. Brothers, we must not forget the dead; a red
skin never ceases to remember. We will load the back of
this Mohican until he staggers under our bounty, and dis
patch him after my young men. They call to us for aid,
though our ears are not open; they say, Forget us not.
When they see the spirit of this Mohican toiling after them
with his burden, they will know we are of that mind. Then
will they go on happy; and our children will say, * So did
our fathers to their friends, so must we do to them.1 What
is a Yengee? we have slain many, but the earth is still pale.
A stain on the name of a Huron can only be hid by blood
that comes from the veins of an Indian. Let this Delaware
die."

The effect of such an harangue, delivered in the nervous
language and with the emphatic manner of a Huron orator,
could scarcely be mistaken. Magua had so artfully blended
the natural sympathies with the religious superstition of his
auditors, that their minds, already prepared by custom to

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 319

sacrifice a victim to the manes of their countrymen, lost
every vestige of humanity in a wish for revenge. One war
rior in particular, a man of wild and ferocious mien, had
been conspicuous for the attention he had given to the words
of the speakei. His countenance had changed with each
passing emotion, until it settled into a look of deadly mal
ice. As Magua ended he arose, and uttering the yell of a
demon, his polished little axe was seen glancing in the
torch-light as he whirled it above his head. The motion
and the cry were too sudden for words to interrupt his
bloody intention. It appeared as if a bright gleam shot
from his hand, which was crossed at the same moment by a
dark and powerful line. The former was the tomahawk in
its passage; the latter the arm that Magua darted forward
to divert its aim. The quick and ready motion of the chief
was not entirely too late. The keen weapon cut the war-
plume from the scalping tuft of Uncas, and passed through
the frail wall of the lodge as though it were hurled from
some formidable engine.

Duncan had seen the threatening action, and sprang upon
his feet, with a heart which, while it leaped into his throat,
swelled with the most generous resolution in behalf of his
friend. A glance told him that the blow had failed, and
terror changed to admiration. Uncas stood still, looking
his enemy in the eye with features that seemed superior to
emotion. Marble could not be colder, calmer, or steadier
than the countenance he put upon this sudden and vindic
tive attack. Then, as if pitying a want of skill which had
proved so fortunate to himself, he smiled, and muttered a
few words of contempt in his own tongue.

" No! " said Magua, after satisfying himself of the safety
of the captive; "the sun must shine on his shame; the
squaws must see his flesh tremble, or our revenge will be
like the play of boys. Go — take him where there is silence;
let us see if a Delaware can sleep at night, and in the morn
ing die."

32O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

The young men whose duty it was to guard the prisonef
instantly passed their ligaments of bark across his arms,
and led him from the lodge, amid a profound and ominous
silence. It was only as the figure of Uncas stood in the
opening of the door that his firm step hesitated. There he
turned, and, in the sweeping and haughty glance that he
threw around the circle of his enemies, Duncan caught a
look, which he was glad to construe into an expression that
he was not entirely deserted by hope.

Magua was content with his success, of too much occu
pied with his secret purposes to push his inquiries any fur
ther. Shaking his mantle, and folding it on his bosom, he
also quitted the place, without pursuing a subject which
might have proved so fatal to the individual at his elbow.
Notwithstanding his rising resentment, his natural firmness,
and his anxiety in behalf of Uncas, Heyward felt sensibly
relieved by the absence of so dangerous and so subtle a foe.
The excitement produced by the speech gradually subsided.
The warriors resumed their seats, and clouds of smoke once
more filled the lodge. For near half an hour, not a syllable
was uttered, or scarcely a look cast aside — a grave and medi
tative silence being in the ordinary succession to every scene
of violence and commotion amongst those beings, who were
alike so impetuous and yet so self -restrained.

When the chief who had solicited the aid of Duncan
finished his pipe, he made a final and successful movement
toward departing. A motion of a finger was the intimation
he gave the supposed physician to follow; and passing
through the clouds of smoke, Duncan was glad, on more ac
counts than one, to be able, at last, to breathe the pure air
of a cool and refreshing summer evening.

Instead of pursuing his way among those lodges where
Heyward had already made his unsuccessful search, his
companion turned aside, and proceeded directly toward the
base of an adjacent mountain, which overhung the tempo
rary village. A thicket of brush skirted its foot, and it be-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 32!

came necessary to proceed through a crooked and narrow
path. The boys had resumed their sports in the clearing,
and were enacting a mimic chase to the post among them
selves. In order to render their games as like the reality
as possible, one of the boldest of their number had conveyed
a few brands into some piles of tree-tops that had hitherto
escaped the burning. The blaze of one of these fires lighted
the way of the chief and Duncan, and gave a character of
additional wildness to the rude scenery. At a little dis
tance from a bald rock, and directly in its front, they en
tered a grassy opening, which they prepared to cross. Just
then fresh fuel was added to the fire, and a powerful light
penetrated even to that distant spot. It fell upon the white
surface of the mountain, and was reflected downward upon
a dark and mysterious-looking being that arose, unexpect
edly, in their path.

The Indian paused, as if doubtful whether to proceed, and
permitted his companion to approach his side. A large
black ball, which at first seemed stationary, now began to
move in a manner that to the latter was inexplicable. Again
the fire brightened, and its glare fell more distinctly on the
object. Then even Duncan knew it, by its restless and
sideling attitudes, which kept the upper part of its form in
constant motion, while the animal jtself appeared seated,
to be a bear. Though it growled loudly and fiercely, and
there were instants when its glistening eyeballs might be
seen, it gave no other indications of hostility. The Huron,
at least, seemed assured that the intentions of this singular
intruder were peaceable, for after giving it an attentive ex
amination, he quietly pursued his course.

Duncan, who knew that the animal was often domesti
cated among the Indians, followed the example of his com
panion, believing that some favorite of the tribe had found
its way into the thicket, in search of food. They passed it
unmolested. Though obliged to come nearly in contact
with the monster, the Huron, who had at first so warily de*

322 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

termined the character of his strange visitor, was now con-
tent with proceeding without wasting a moment in further
examination; but Hey ward was unable to prevent his eyes
from looking backward, in salutary watchfulness against
attacks in the rear. His uneasiness was in no degree di
minished when he perceived the beast rolling along their
path, and following their footsteps. He would have spoken,
but the Indian at that moment shoved aside a door of bark,
and entered a cavern in the bosom of the mountain.

Profiting by so easy a method of retreat, Duncan stepped
after him, and was gladly closing the slight cover to the
opening, when he felt it drawn from his hand by the beast,
whose shaggy form immediately darkened the passage.
They were now in a straight and long gallery, in a chasm
of the rocks, where retreat without encountering the animal
was impossible. Making the best of the circumstances, the
young man pressed forward, keeping as close as possible to
his conductor. The bear growled frequently at his heels,
and once or twice its enormous paws were laid on his per
son, as if disposed to prevent his further passage into the
den.

How long the nerves of Heyward would have sustained
him in this extraordinary situation, it might be difficult to
decide; for, happily, he soon found relief. A glimmer of
light had constantly been in their front, and they now ar
rived at the place whence it proceeded.

A large cavity in the rock had been rudely fitted to answer
the purposes of many apartments. The subdivisions were
simple but ingenious, being composed of stone, sticks, and
bark, intermingled. Openings above admitted the light by
day, and at night firss and torches supplied the place of the
sun. Hither the Hurons had brought mo^t of their valu
ables, especially those which more particularly pertained to
the nation; and hither, as it now appeared, the sick woman,
who was believed to be the victim of supernatural power,
had been transported also, under an impression that her

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 323

tormentor would find more difficulty in making his assaults
through walls of stone than through the leafy coverings of
the lodges. The apartment into which Duncan and his
guide first entered, had been exclusively devoted to her ac
commodation. The latter approached her bedside, which
was surrounded by females, in the centre of whom Heyward
was surprised to find his missing friend David.

A single look was sufficient to apprise the pretended leech
that the invalid was far beyond his powers of healing. She
lay in a sort of paralysis, indifferent to the objects which
crowded before her sight, and happily unconscious of suffer
ing. Heyward was far from regretting that his mummeries
were to be performed on one who was much too ill to take
an interest in their failure or success. The slight qualm of
conscience which had been excited by the intended decep
tion was instantly appeased, and he began to collect his
thoughts, in order to enact his part with suitable spirit,
when he found he was about to be anticipated in his skill
by an attempt to prove the power of music.

Gamut, who had stood prepared to pour forth his spirit in
song when the visitors entered, after delaying a moment,
drew a strain from his pipe, and commenced a hymn that
might have worked a miracle, had faith in its efficacy been
of much avail. He was allowed to. proceed to the close,
the Indians respecting his imaginary infirmity, and Duncan
too glad of the delay to hazard the slightest interruption.
As the dying cadence of his strains was falling on the, ears
of the latter, he started aside at hearing them repeated be
hind him, in a voice half human and half sepulchral. Look
ing around, he beheld the shaggy monster seated on end in
a shadow of the cavern, where, while his restless body
swung in the uneasy manner of the animal, it repeated, in a
sort of low growl, sounds, if not words, which bore some
slight resemblance to the melody of the singer.

The effect of so strange an echo on David may better be
imagined than described. His eyes opened as if he doubted

324 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

their truth; and his voice became instantly mute in excess
of wonder. A deep-laid scheme, of communicating some
important intelligence to Heyward, was driven from his
recollection by an emotion which very nearly resembled
fear, but which he was fain to believe was admiration.
Under its influence, he exclaimed aloud — " She expects you,
and is at hand " ; and precipitately left the cavern.

CHAPTER XXV.

Snug. Have you the lion's part written ? Pray you, if it be, give it me for I am
slow of study.

Quince. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

THERE was a strange blending of the ridiculous with that
which was solemn in this scene. The beast still continued
its rolling and apparently untiring movements, though its
ludicrous attempt to imitate the melody of David ceased the
instant the latter abandoned the field. The words of Gamut
were, as has been seen, in his native tongue ; and to Duncan
they seemed pregnant with some hidden meaning, though
nothing present assisted him in discovering the object of
their allusion. A speedy end was, however, put to every
conjecture on the subject, by the manner of the chief, who
advanced to the bedside of the invalid, and beckoned away
the whole group of female attendants that had clustered
there to witness the skill of the stranger. He was impli
citly, though reluctantly, obeyed; and when the low echo
which rang along the hdllow, natural gallery, from the dis
tant closing door, had ceased, pointing toward his insensible
daughter, he said —

" Now let my brother show his power."

Thus unequivocally called on to exercise the functions of
his assumed character, Heyward was apprehensive that the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 325

smallest delay might prove dangerous. Endeavoring then
to collect his ideas, he prepared to perform that species of
incantation, and those uncouth rites under which the Indian
conjurors are accustomed to conceal their ignorance and im-
potency. It is more than probable that, in the disordered
state of his thoughts, he would soon have fallen into some
suspicious, if not fatal error, had not his incipient attempts
been interrupted by a fierce growl from the quadruped.
Three several times did he renew his efforts to proceed, and
as often was he met by the same unaccountable opposition,
each interruption seeming more savage and threatening than
the preceding.

"The cunning ones are jealous,'"' said the Huron; "I go.
Brother, the woman is the wife of one of my bravest young
men; deal justly by her. Peace," he added, beckoning to
the discontented beast to be quiet; "I go."

The chief was as good as his word, and Duncan now
found himself alone in that wild and desolate abode, with
the helpless invalid, and the fierce and dangerous brute.
The latter listened to the movements of the Indian with
that air of sagacity that a bear is known to possess, until
another echo announced that he had also left the cavern,
when it turned and came waddling up to Duncan, before
whom it seated itself, in its natural attitude, erect like a
man. The youth looked anxiously about him for some
weapon, with which he might make a resistance against the
attack he now seriously expected.

It seemed, however, as if the humor of the animal had
suddenly changed. Instead of continuing its discontented
growls, or manifesting any further signs of anger, the whole
of its shaggy body shook violently, as if agitated by some
strange internal convulsion. The huge and unwieldy talons
pawed stupidly about the grinning muzzle, and while Hey-
ward kept his eyes riveted on its movements with jealous
watchfulness, the grim head fell on one side, and its place
appeared the honest, sturdy countenance of the scout, who

326 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

was indulging, from the bottom of his soul, in his own pe«
culiar expression of merriment.

" Hist! " said the wary woodsman, interrupting Heyward's
exclamation of surprise ; " the varlets are about the place,
and any sounds that are not natural to witchcraft would
bring them back upon us in a body."

"Tell me the meaning of this masquerade; and why you
have attempted so desperate an adventure ? "

" Ah ! reason and calculation are often outdone by acci
dent," returned the scout. " But as a story should always
commence at the beginning, I will tell you the whole in
order. After we parted I placed the commandant and the
Sagamore in an old beaver lodge, where they are safer from
the Hurons than they would be in the garrison of Edward;
for your high north-west Indians, not having as yet got the
traders among them, continue to venerate the beaver. After
which Uncas and I pushed for the other encampment, as
was agreed ; have you seen the lad ? "

"To my great grief! — he is captive, and condemned to
die at the rising of the sun."

" I had misgivings that such would be his fate," resumed
the scout, in a less confident and joyous tone. But soon
regaining his naturally firm voice, he continued — " His bad
fortune is the true reason of my being here, for it would
never do to abandon such a boy to the Hurons. A rare
time the knaves would have of it, could they tie ' The bound
ing Elk ' and ' The long Carabine/ as they call me, to the
same stake ! Though why they have given me such a name
I never knew, there being as little likeness between the
gifts of ' Kill-deer' and the performance of one of your real
Canada carabynes, as there is between the natur' of a pipe-
stone and a flint! "

" Keep to your tale," said the impatient Heyward ; " we
know not at what moment the Hurons may return."

"No fear of them. A conjuror must have his time, like
a straggling priest in the settlements. We are as safe from

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 327

interruption as a missionary would be at the beginning of
a two hours' discourse. Well, Uncas and I fell in with a
return party of the varlets ; the lad was much too forward
for a scout; nay, for that matter, being of hot blood, he was
not so much to blame; and, after all, one of the Hurons
proved a coward, and in fleeing led him into an ambush-
ment."

" And dearly has he paid for the weakness ! "

The scout significantly passed his hand across his own
throat, and nodded, as if he said, " I comprehend your
meaning." After which he continued, in a more audible
though scarcely more intelligible language —

" After the Loss of the boy I turned upon the Hurons, as
you may judge. There have been scrimmages atween one
or two of their outlyers and myself; but that is neither here
nor there. So, after I had shot the imps, I got in pretty
nigh to the lodges without further commotion. Then what
should luck do in my favor, but lead me to the very spot
where one of the most famous conjurors of the tribe was
dressing himself, as I well knew, for some great battle with
Satan — though why should I call that luck, which it now
seems was an especial ordering of Providence. So a judg
matical rap over the head stiffened the lying impostor for a
time, and leaving him a bit of walnut for his supper, to pre
vent an uproar, and stringing him up atween two saplings, I
made free with his finery, and took the part of the bear on
myself, in order that the operations might proceed."

"And admirably did you enact the character; the animal
itself might have been shamed by the representation."

'• Lord, major," returned the flattered woodsman, " I
should be but a poor scholar for one who has studied so
long in the wilderness, did I not know how to set forth the
movements and natur' of such a beast. Had it been now a
catamount or even a full-sized panther I would have embel
lished a performance for you worth regarding. But it is no
such marvellous feat to exhibit the feats of so dull a beast;

328 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

though, for that matter, too, a bear may be over-acted. Yes,
yes ; it is not every imitator that knows natur' may be out
done easier than she is equalled. But all our work is yet
before us: where is the gentle one?"

" Heavens knows ; I have examined every lodge in the
village, without discovering the slightest trace of her pres
ence in the tribe."

" You heard what the singer said, as he left us, — ' She is
at hand, and expects you.' "

" I have been compelled to believe he alluded to this
unhappy woman."

" The simpleton wa"s frightened, and blundered through
his message; but he had a deeper meaning. Here are walls
enough to separate the wh^le settlement. A bear ought to
climb; therefore will I take a look above them. There
may be honey-pots hid in these rocks, and I am a beast, you
know, that has a hankering for the sweets. "J

The scout looked behind him, laughing at his own con
ceit, while he clambered up the partition, imitating, as he
went, the clumsy motions of the beast he represented ; but
the instant the summit was gained he made a gesture for
silence, and slid down with the utmost precipitation.

" She is here," he whispered, " and by that door you will
find her. I would have spoken a word of comfort to the
afflicted soul; but the sight of such a monster might upset
her reason. Though for that matter, major, you are none of
the most inviting yourself in your paint."

Duncan, who had already sprung eagerly forward, drew
instantly back on hearing these discouraging words.

"Am I, then, so very revolting? " he demanded with an
air of chagrin.

" You might not startle a wolf, or turn the Royal Ameri
cans from a charge; but I have seen the time when you had
a better-favored look; your streaked countenances are not
ill-judged of by the squaws, but young women of white
blood give the preference to their own color. See," he

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 329

added, pointing to a place where the water trickled from a
rock, forming a little crystal spring before it found an issue
through the adjacent crevices: "you may easily get rid of
the Sagamore's daub, and when you come back I will try
my hand at a new embellishment. It's as common for a
conjuror to alter his paint as for a buck in the settlements
to change his finery."

The deliberate woodsman had little occasion to hunt for
arguments to enforce his advice. He was yet speaking when
Duncan availed himself of the water. In a moment every
frightful or offensive mark was obliterated, and the youth
appeared again in the lineaments with which he had been
gifted by nature. Thus prepared for an interview with his
mistress, he took a hasty leave of his companion, and disap
peared through the indicated passage. The scout witnessed
his departure with complacency, nodding his head after him,
and muttering his good wishes; after which he very coolly
set about an examination of the state of the larder, among
the Hurons — the cavern, among other purposes, being used
as a receptacle for the fruits of their hunts.

Duncan had no other guide than a distant glimmering
light, which served, however, the office of a polar star to the
lover. By its aid he was enabled to enter the haven of his
hopes, which was merely another apartment of the cavern,
that had been solely appropriated to the safe-keeping of so
important a prisoner as a daughter of the commandant of
William Henry. It was profusely strewed with the plunder
of that unlucky fortress. In the midst of this confusion he
found her he sought, pale, anxious, and terrified, but lovely.
David had prepared her for such a visit.

"Duncan!" she exclaimed, in a voice that seemed to
tremble at the sounds created by itself.

"Alice!" he answered, leaping carelessly among trunks,
boxes, arms, and furniture, until he stood at her side.

" I knew that you would never desert me," she said, look
ing up with a momentary glow on her otherwise dejected

33O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

countenance. " But you are alone ! grateful as it is to be
thus remembered, I could wish to think you are not entirely
alone."

Duncan observing that she trembled in a manner which
betrayed her inability to stand, 'gently induced her to be
seated while he recounted those leading incidents which it
has been our task to record. Alice listened with breathless
interest; and though the young man touched lightly on the
sorrows of the stricken father, taking care, however, not to
wound the self-love of his auditor, the tears ran as freely
down the cheeks of the daughter as though she had never
wept before. The soothing tenderness of Duncan, however,
soon quieted the first burst of her emotions, and she then
heard him to the close with undivided attention, if not with
composure.

"And now, Alice," he added, "you will see how much is
still expected of you. By the assistance of our experienced
and invaluable friend, the scout, we may find our way from
this savage people, but you will have to exert your utmost
fortitude. Remember that you fly to the arms of your ven
erable parent, and how much his happiness, as well as your
own, depends on those exertions."

" Can I do otherwise for a father who has done so much
forme?"

" And for me too," continued the youth, gently pressing
the hand he held in both his own.

The look of innocence and surprise which he received in re
turn convinced Duncan of the necessity of being more explicit.

"This is neither the place nor the occasion to detain you
with selfish wishes," he added ; " but what heart loaded like
mine would not wish to cast its burden? They say misery
is the closest of all ties ; our common suffering in your be
half left but little to be explained between your father and
myself."

" And dearest Cora, Duncan ; surely Cora was not for
gotten?"

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 331

"Not forgotten! no; regretted, as woman was seldom
mourned before. Your venerable father knew no difference
between his children ; but I — Alice, you will not be offended
when I say, that to me her worth was in a degree ob
scured —

"Then you knew not the merit of my sister,'' said Alice,
withdrawing her hand; "of you she ever speaks as of one
who is her dearest friend."

"I would gladly believe her such," returned Duncan,
hastily; "I could wish her to be even more; but with you,
Alice, I have the permission of your father to aspire to a
still nearer and dearer tie."

Alice trembled violently, and there was an instant during
which she bent her face aside, yielding to the emotions com
mon to her sex; but they quickly passed away, leaving her
mistress of her deportment, if not of her affections.

" Heyward," she said, looking him full in the face with a
touching expression of innocence and dependency, " give me
the sacred presence and the holy sanction of that parent be
fore you urge me further."

" Though more I should not, less I could not say," the
youth was about to answer, when he was interrupted by a
light tap on his shoulder. Starting to his feet, he turned,
and, confronting the intruder, his looks fell on the dark
form and malignant visage of Magua. The deep guttural
laugh of the savage sounded, at such a moment, to Duncan
like the hellish taunt of a demon. Had he pursued the
sudden and fierce impulse of the instant, he would have cast
himself on the Huron, and committed their fortunes to the
issue of a deadly struggle. But, without arms of any de
scription, ignorant of what succor his subtle enemy could
command, and charged with the safety of one who was just
then dearer than ever to his heart, he no sooner entertained
than he abandoned the desperate intention.

"What is your purpose? " said Alice, meekly folding her
arms on her bosom, and struggling to conceal an agony of

332 THE LAST OB THE MOHICANS.

apprehension in behalf of Hey ward, in the usual cold and dis
tant manner with which she received the visits of her captor.

The exulting Indian had resumed his austere counte
nance, though he drew warily back before the menacing
glance of the young man's fiery eye. He regarded both his
captives for a moment with a steady look, and then stepping
aside, he dropped a log of wood across a door different from
that by which Duncan had entered. The latter now com
prehended the manner of his surprise, and believing himself
irretrievably lost, he drew Alice to his bosom, and stood
prepared to meet a fate which he hardly regretted, since it
was to be suffered in such company. But Magua meditated
no immediate violence. His first measures were very evi
dently taken to secure his new captive ; nor did he even
bestow a second glance at the motionless forms in the centre
of the cavern, until he had completely cut off every hope of
retreat through the private outlet he had himself used. He
was watched in all his movements by Heyward, who, how
ever, remained firm, still folding the fragile form of Alice
to his heart, at once too proud and too hopeless to ask favor
of an enemy so often foiled. When Magua had effected his
object he approached his prisoners, and said in English —

" The pale-faces trap the cunning beavers ; but the red
skins know how to take the Yengeese."

"Huron, do your worst I " exclaimed the excited Hey*
-ward, forgetful that a double stake was involved in his life;
"you and your vengeance are alike despised."

" Will the white man speak these words at the stake ? "
asked Magua; manifesting, at the same time, how little
faith he had in the other's resolution by the sneer that ac
companied his words.

" Here ; singly to your face, or in the presence of your
nation."

"Le Renard subtil is, a great chief! " returned the Indian;
" he will go and bring his young men, to see how bravely a
pale-face can laugh at the tortures."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 333

He turned away while speaking, and was about to leave
the place through the avenue by which Duncan had ap
proached, when a growl caught his ear, and caused him to
hesitate. The figure of the bear appeared in the door, where
it sat, rolling from side to side in its customary restless
ness. Magua, like the father of the sick woman, eyed it
keenly for a moment, as if to ascertain its character. He
was far above the more vulgar superstitions of his tribe, and
so soon as he recognized the well-known attire of the con
juror, he prepared to pass it in cool contempt. But a
louder and more threatening growl caused him again to
pause. Then he seemed as if suddenly resolved to trifle
no longer, and moved resolutely forward. The mimic ani
mal, which had advanced a little, retired slowly in his front
until it arrived again at the pass, when rearing on its hinder
legs it beat the air with its paws, in the manner practised
by its brutal prototype.

"Fool!" exclaimed the chief, in Huron, "go play with
the children and squaws; leave men to their wisdom."

He once more endeavored to pass the supposed empiric,
scorning even the parade of threatening to use the knife, or
tomahawk, that was pendent from his belt. Suddenly the
beast extended its arms, or rather legs, and inclosed him in
a grasp that might have vied with the far-famed power of the
" bear's hug " itself. Hey ward had watched the whole pro
cedure, on the part of Hawk-eye, with breathless interest.
At first he relinquished his hold of Alice; then he caught
up a thong of buckskin, which had been used around some
bundle, and when he beheld his enemy with his two arms
pinned to his side by the iron muscles of the scout, he
rushed upon him, and effectually secured them there. Arms,
legs, and feet were encircled in twenty folds of the thong,
in less time than we have taken to record the circumstance.
When the formidable Huron was completely pinion d, the
scout released his hold, and Duncan laid his enemy on his
back, utterly helpless.

334 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Throughout the whole of this sudden and extraordinary
operation, Magua, though he had struggled violently, until
assured he was in the hands of one whose nerves were far
better strung than his own, had not uttered the slightest ex
clamation. But when Hawk-eye, by way of making a sum
mary explanation of his conduct, removed the shaggy jaws
of the beast, and exposed his own rugged and earnest coun
tenance to the gaze of thj Huron, the philosophy of the lat
ter was so far mastered as to permit him to utter the never-
failing —

"Hugh!"

"Ay! you've found your tongue," said his undisturbed
conqueror; "now, in order that you shall not use it to our
ruin, I must make free to stop your mouth."

As there was no time to be lost, the scout immediately
set about effecting so necessary a precaution ; and when he
had gagged the Indian, his enemy might safely have been
considered as " hors de combat."

"By what place did the imp enter? " asked the industri
ous scout, when his work was ended. " Not a soul has
passed my way since you left me."

Duncan pointed out the door by which Magua had come,
and which now presented too many obstacles to a quick re
treat.

" Bring on the gentle one then," continued his friend ;
" we must make a push for the woods by the other out
let."

" 'Tis impossible ! " said Duncan ; " fear has overcome
her, and she is helpless. Alice ! my sweet, my own Alice,
arouse yourself; now is the moment to fly. 'Tis in vain!
she hears, but is unable to follow. Go, noble and worthy
friend ; save yourself, and leave me to my fate ! "

" Every trail has its end, and every calamity Jbrings its
lesson ! " returned the scout. " There, wrap her in them
Indian cloths. Conceal all of her little form. Nay, that
foot has no fellow in the wilderness ; it will betray her. All,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 335

•very part. Now take her in your arms, and follow. Leave
the rest to me."

Duncan, as may be gathered from the words of his com
panion, was eagerly obeying; and as the other finished
speaking, he took the light person of Alice in his arms, and
followed on the footsteps of the scout. They found the
sick woman as they had left her, still alone, and passed
swiftly on, by the natural gallery, to the place of entrance.
As they approached the little door of bark, a murmur of
voices without announced that the friends and relatives of
the invalid were gathered about the place, patiently await
ing a summons to re-enter.

11 If I open my lips to speak," Hawk-eye whispered, " my
English, which is the genuine tongue of a white-skin, will
tell the varlets that an enemy is among them. You must
give 'em your jargon, major; and say that we have
shut the evil spirit in the cave, and are taking the
woman to the woods in order to find strengthening roots.
Practyse all your cunning, for it is a lawful under
taking."

The door opened a little, as if one without was listening
to the proceedings within, and compelled the scout to cease
his directions. A fierce growl repelled the eavesdropper,
and then the scout boldly threw open the covering of bark,
and left the place, enacting the character of the bear as he
proceeded. Duncan kept close at his heels, and soon found
himself in the centre of a cluster of twenty anxious relatives
and friends.

The crowd fell back a little, and permitted the father,
and one who appeared to be the husband of the woman, to
approach.

" Has my brother driven away the evil spirit? " demanded
the former. " What has he in his arms? "

" Thy child," returned Duncan, gravely ; " the disease has
gone out of her ; it is shut up in the rocks. I take the wo
man to a distance, where I will strengthen her against any

336 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

further attacks. She shall be in the wigwam of the young
man when the sun comes again."

When the father had translated the meaning of the stran
ger's words into the Huron language, a suppressed murmur
announced the satisfaction with which this intelligence was
received. The chief himself waved his hand for Duncan to
proceed, saying aloud, in a firm voice, and with a lofty
manner —

" Go — I am a man, and I will enter the rock and fight the
wicked one."

Heyward had gladly obeyed, and was already past the
little group, when these startling words arrested him.

"Is my brother mad!" he exclaimed; "is he cruel!
He will meet the disease, and it will enter him; or he will
drive out the disease, and it will chase his daughter into the
woods. No — let my children wait without, and if the spirit
appears beat him down with clubs. He is cunning, and will
bury himself in the mountain, when he sees how many are
ready to fight him."

This singular warning had the desired effect. Instead of
entering the cavern the father and husband drew their toma
hawks, and posted themselves in readiness to deal their ven
geance on the imaginary tormentor of their sick relative,
while the women and children broke branches from the
bushes, or seized fragments of the rock, with a similar in
tention. At this favorable moment the counterfeit conju
rors disappeared.

Hawk-eye, at the same time that he had presumed so far
on the nature of the Indian superstitions, was not ignorant
that they were rather tolerated than relied on by the wisest
of the chiefs. He well knew the value of time in the pres
ent emergency. Whatever might be the extent of the self-
delusion of his enemies, and however it had tended to assist
his schemes, the slightest cause of suspicion, acting on the
subtle nature of an Indian, would be likely to prove fatal.
Taking the path, therefore, that was most likely ^o avoid

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 337

observation, he rather skirted than entered the village.
The warriors were still to be seen in the distance, by the
fading light of the fires, stalking from lodge to lodge. But
the children had abandoned their sports for their beds of
skins, and the quiet of night was already beginning to pre
vail over the turbulence and excitement of so busy and im
portant an evening.

Alice revived under the renovating influence of the open
air, and as her physical rather than her mental powers had
been the subject of weakness, she stood in no need of any
explanation of that which had occurred.

" Now let me make an effort to walk," she said, when
they had entered the forest, blushing, though unseen, that
she had not been sooner able to quit the arms of Duncan;
" I am indeed restored."

" Nay, Alice, you are yet too weak."

The maiden struggled gently to release herself, and Hey-
wardwas compelled to part with his precious burden. The
representative of the bear had certainly been an entire
stranger to the delicious emotion of the lover while his
arms encircled his mistress; and he was, perhaps, a stran
ger also to the nature of that feeling of ingenuous shame
that oppressed the trembling Alice. But when he found
himself at a suitable distance from the lodges he made a
halt, and spoke on a subject of which he was thoroughly the
master.

"This path will lead you to the brook," he said; "fol
low its northern bank until you come to a fall ; mount the
hill on your right, and you will see the fires of the other
people. There you must go, and demand protection ; if they
are true Delawares, you will be safe. A distant flight with
that gentle one, just now, is impossible. The Hurons would
follow up our trail, and master our scalps, before we had got
a dozen miles. Go, and Providence be with you."

"And you!" demanded Heyward, in surprise; "surely
we part not here ? "

338 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"The Hurons hold the pride of the Delawares; the last
of the high blood of the Mohicans is in their power," re
turned the scout ; " I go to see what can be done in his fa
vor. Had they mastered your scalp, major, a knave should
have fallen for every hair it held, as I promised ; but if the
young Sagamore is to be led to the stake, the Indians shall
see also how a man without a cross can die."

Not in the least offended with the decided preference that
the sturdy woodsman gave to one who might, in some de
gree, be called the child of his adoption, Duncan still con
tinued to urge such reasons against so desperate an effort as
presented themselves. He was aided by Alice, who mingled
her entreaties with those of Heyward that he would abandon
a resolution that promised so much danger, with so little
hope of success. Their eloquence and ingenuity were ex
pended in vain. The scout heard them attentively, but im
patiently, and finally closed the discussion, by answering,
in a tone that instantly silenced Alice, while it told Hey
ward how fruitless any further remonstrances would be.

" I have heard," he said, " that there is a feeling in youth
which binds man to woman closer than the father is tied to
the son. It may be so. I have seldom been where women
of my color dwell; but such may be the gifts of nature in
the settlements. You have risked life, and all that is dear
to you, to bring off this gentle one, and I suppose that some
such disposition is at the bottom of it all. As for me, I
taught the lad the real character of a rifle; and well has he
paid me for it. I have fou't at his side in many a bloody
skrimmage; and so long as I could hear the crack of his
piece in one ear, and that of the Sagamore in the other, I
knew no enemy was on my back. Winters and summers,
nights and days, have we roved the wilderness in company,
eating of the same dish, one sleeping while the other
watched; and afore it shall be said thatUncas was taken to

the torment, and I at hand There is but a single ruler

of us all, whatever may be the color of the skin; and him I

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 339

call to witness — that before the Mohican boy shall perish
for the want of a friend, good faith shall depart the 'arth,
and ' Kill-deer ' becomes as harmless as the tooting we'pon
of the singer! "

Duncan released his hold on the arm of the scout, who
turned, and steadily retraced his steps toward the lodges.
After pausing a moment to gaze at his retiring form, the
successful and yet sorrowful Heyward, and Alice, took their
way together toward the distant village of the Delawares.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Bot. Let me play the lion too.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

NOTWITHSTANDING the high resolution of Hawk-eye, he fully
comprehended all the difficulties and dangers he was about
to incur. In his return to the camp, his acute and practised
intellects were intently engaged in devising means to coun
teract a watchfulness and suspicion on the part of his ene
mies, that he knew were, in no degree, inferior to his own.
Nothing but the color of his skin had saved the lives of
Magua and the conjuror, who would have been the first vic
tims sacrificed to his own security, had hot the scout believed
such an act, however congenial it might be to the nature of
an Indian, utterly unworthy of one who boasted a descent
from men that knew no cross of blood. Accordingly, he
trusted to the withes and ligaments with which he had
bound his captives, and pursued his way directly toward the
centre of the lodges.

As he approached the buildings, his steps became more
deliberate, and his vigilant eye suffered no sign, whether
friendly or hostile, to escape him. A neglected hut was a lit
tle in advance of the others, and appeared as if it had been
deserted when half completed — most probably on account of
O Vol. 4

340 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

failing in some of the more important requisites; such as
wood or water. A faint light glimmered through its cracks,
however, and announced that, notwithstanding its imperfect
structure, it was not without a tenant. Thither, then, the
scout proceeded, like a prudent general, who was about to
feel the advanced positions of his enemy, before he haz
arded the main attack.

Throwing himself into a suitable posture for the beast he
represented, Hawk-eye crawled to a little opening, where he
might command a view of the interior. It proved to be the
abiding-place of David Gamut. Hither the faithful singing-
master had now brought himself, together with all his sor*
rows, his apprehensions, and his meek dependence on the
protection of Providence. At the precise moment when his
ungainly person came under the observation of the scout, in
the manner just mentioned, the woodsman himself, though
in his assumed character, was the subject of the solitary
being's profoundest reflections.

However implicit the faith of David was in the perform
ance of ancient miracles, he eschewed the belief of any direct
supernatural agency in the management of modern morality.
In other words, while he had implicit faith in the ability of
Balaam's ass to speak, he was somewhat sceptical on the
subject of a bear's singing; and yet he had been assured of
the latter, on the testimony of his own exquisite organs.
There was something in his air and manner that betrayed
to the scout the utter confusion of the state of his mind.
He was seated on a pile of brush, a few twigs from which
occasionally fed his low fire, with his head leaning on his
arm, in a posture of melancholy musing. The costume of
the votary of music had undergone no other alteration from
that so lately described, except that he had covered his bald
head with the triangular beaver, which had not proved suffi
ciently alluring to excite the cupidity of any of his captors.

The ingenious Hawk-eye, who recalled the hasty manner
in which the other had abandoned his post at the bedside of

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 34!

the sick woman, was not without his suspicions concerning
the subject of so much solemn deliberation. First making
the circuit of the hut, and ascertaining that it stood quite
alone, and that the character of its inmate was likely to pro
tect it from visitors, he ventured through its low door into
the very presence of Gamut. The position of the latter
brought the fire between them ; and when Hawk-eye had
seated himself on end, near a minute elapsed, during which
the two remained regarding each other without speaking.
The suddenness and the nature of the surprise had nearly
proved too much for — we will not say the philosophy — but
for the faith and resolution of David. He fumbled for his
pitch-pipe, and arose with a confused intention of attempt
ing a musical exorcism.

"Dark and mysterious monster!" he exclaimed, while
with trembling hands he disposed of his auxiliary eyes, and
sought his never-failing resource in trouble, the gifted ver
sion of the Psalms; "I know not your nature nor intents ;
but if aught you meditate against the person and rights of
one of the humblest servants of the temple, listen to the in
spired language of the youth of Israel, and repent."

The bear shook his shaggy sides, and then a \vell-known
voice replied —

" Put up the tooting we'pon, and teach your throat mod
esty. Five words of plain and comprehendible English are
worth, just now, an hour of squalling."

" What art thou ? " demanded David, utterly disqualified to
pursue his original intention, and nearly gasping for breath.

"A man like yourself; and one whose blood is as little
tainted by the cross of a bear, or an Indian, as your own.
Have you so soon forgotten from whom you received the
foolish instrument you hold in your hand? "

"Can these things be? " returned David, breathing more
freely, as the truth began to dawn upon him. " I have
found many marvels during my sojourn with the heathen,
but surely nothing to excel this! "

342 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Come, come," returned Hawk-eye, uncasing his honest
countenance, the better to assure the wavering confidence of
his companion; "you may see a skin, which, if it be not as
white as one of the gentle ones, has no tinge of red to it that
the winds of the heaven and the sun have not bestowed.
Now let us to business."

" First tell me of the maiden, and of the youth who so
bravely sought her," interrupted David.

" Ay, they are happily freed from the tomahawks of these
varlets. But can you put me on the scent of Uncas? "

"The young man is in bondage, and much I fear his
death is decreed. I greatly mourn that one so well dis
posed should die in his ignorance, and I have sought a goodly
hymn "

" Can you lead me to him? "

" The task will not be difficult," returned David, hesi
tating, " though I greatly fear your presence would rather
increase than mitigate his unhappy fortunes."

" No more words, but lead on," returned Hawk-eye, con
cealing his face again, and setting the example in his own
person, by instantly quitting the lodge.

As they proceeded, the scout ascertained that his com
panion found access to Uncas, under privilege of his im
aginary infirmity, aided by the favor he had acquired with
one of the guards, who, in consequence of speaking a little
English, had been selected by David as the subject of a re
ligious conversion. How far the Huron comprehended the
intentions of his new friend, may well be doubted; but as
exclusive attention is as flattering to a savage as to a more
civilized individual, it had produced the effect we have
mentioned. It is unnecessary to repeat the shrewd manner
with which the scout extracted these particulars from the
simple David ; neither shall we dwell in this place on the
nature of the instructions he delivered, when completely
master of all the necessary facts; as the whole will be suffi
ciently explained to the reader in the course of the narrative.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 343

The lodge in which Uncas was confined was in the very
centre of the village, and in a situation, perhaps, more diffi
cult than any other to approach, or leave, without observa
tion. But it was not the policy of Hawk-eye to affect the
least concealment. Presuming on his disguise, and his
ability to sustain the character he had assumed, he took the
most plain and direct route to the place. The hour, how
ever, afforded him some little of that protection which he
appeared so much to despise. The boys were already buried
in sleep, and all the women, and most of the warriors, had
retired to their lodges for the night. Four or five of the
latter only lingered about the door of the prison of Uncas,
wary but close observers of the manner of their captive.

At the sight of Gamut, accompanied by one in the well-
known masquerade of their most distinguished conjuror,
they readily made way for them both. Still they betrayed
no intention to depart. On the other hand, they were evi
dently disposed to remain bound to the place by an addi
tional interest in the mysterious mummeries that they of
course expected from such a visit.

From the total inability of the scout to address the Hu-
rons in their own language, he was compelled to trust the
conversation entirely to David. Notwithstanding the sim
plicity of the latter, he did ample justice to the instructions
he had received, more than fulfilling the strongest hopes of
his teacher.

" The Delawares are women ! " he exclaimed, addressing
himself to the savage who had a slight understanding of the
language in which he spoke ; " the Yengeese, my foolish
countrymen, have told them to take up the tomahawk, and
strike their fathers in the Canadas, and they have forgotten
their sex. Does my brother wish to hear * Le Cerf agile ' ask
for his petticoats, and see him weep before the Hurons, at
the stake?"

The exclamation "hugh! " delivered in a strong tone of
assent, announced the gratification the savage would receive

344 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

in witnessing such an exhibition of weakness in an enemy
so long hated and so much feared.

"Then let him step aside, and the cunning man will blow
upon the dog! Tell it to my brothers."

The Huron explained the meaning of David to his fel
lows, who, in their turn, listened to the project with that
sort of satisfaction that their untamed spirits might be ex
pected to find in such a refinement in cruelty. They drew
back a little from the entrance, and motioned to the sup
posed conjuror to enter. But the bear, instead of obeying,
maintained the seat it had taken, and growled.

"The cunning man is afraid that his breath will blow
upon his brothers, and take away their courage too," con
tinued David, improving the hint he received ; " they must
stand further off."

The Hurons, who would have deemed such a misfortune
the heaviest calamity that could befall them, fell back in a
body, taking a position where they were out of earshot,
though at the same time they could command a view of the
entrance to the lodge. Then, as if satisfied of their safety,
the scout left his position, and slowly entered the place.
It was silent and gloomy, being tenanted solely by the cap
tive, and lighted by the dying embers of a fire, which had
been used for the purposes of cookery.

Uncas occupied a distant corner, in a reclining attitude,
being rigidly bound, both hands and feet, by strong and
painful withes. When the frightful object first presented
itself to the young Mohican, he did not deign to bestow a
single glance on the animal. The scout, who had left Da
vid at the door, to ascertain they were not observed, thought
it prudent to preserve his disguise until assured of their
privacy. Instead of speaking, therefore, he exerted himself '
to enact one of the antics of the animal he represented.
The young Mohican, who at first believed his enemies had
sent in a real beast to torment him, and try his nerves, de
tected, in those performances that to Hey ward had appeared

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 345

so accurate, certain blemishes, that at once betrayed the
counterfeit. Had Hawk-eye been aware of the low estima
tion in which the more skilful Uncas held his representa
tions, he would probably have prolonged the entertainment
a little in pique. But the scornful expression of the young
man's eye admitted of so many constructions, that the worthy
scout was spared the mortification of such a discovery. As
soon, therefore, as David gave the preconcerted signal, a
low hissing sound was heard in the lodge, in place of the
fierce growl ings of the bear.

Uncas had cast his body back against the wall of the
hut, and closed his eyes, as if willing to exclude so con
temptible and disagreeable an object from his sight. But
the moment the noise of the serpent was heard, he arose,
and cast his looks on each side of him, bending his head
low, and turning it inquiringly in every direction, until his
keen eye rested on the shaggy monster, where it remained
riveted, as though fixed by the power of a charm. Again
the same sounds were repeated, evidently proceeding from
the mouth of the beast. Once more the eyes of the youth
roamed over the interior of the lodge, and returning to their
former resting-place, he uttered, in a deep, suppressed
voice —

"Hawk-eye!"

" Cut his bands," said Hawk-eye to David, who just then
approached them.

The singer did as he was ordered, and Uncas found his
limbs released. At the same moment the dried skin of the
animal rattled, and presently the scout arose to his feet, in
proper person. The Mohican appeared to comprehend the
nature of the attempt his friend had made, intuitively;
neither tongue nor feature betraying another symptom of
surprise. When Hawk-eye had cast his shaggy vestment,
which was done by simply loosing certain thongs of skin,
he drew a long glittering knife, and put it in the hands of
Uncas.

346 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"The red Hurons are without," he said; "let us be
ready."

At the same time he laid his finger significantly on another
similar weapon, both being the fruits of his prowess among
their enemies during the evening.

"We will go/' said Uncas.

"Whither?"

"To the Tortoi&es; they are the children of my grand
fathers/'

"Ay, lad/' said the scout in English — a language he was
apt to use when a little abstracted in mind; "the same
blood runs in your veins, I believe; but time and distance
has a little changed its color. What shall we do with the
Mingoes at the door? They count six, and this singer is
as good as nothing."

"The Hurons are boasters," said Uncas scornfully; "their
'totem' is a moose, and they run like snails. The Dela-
wares are children of the tortoise, and they outstrip the deer."

"Ay, lad, there is truth in what you say; and I doubt not,
on a rush, you would pass the whole nation; and, in a
straight race of two miles, would be in, and get your breath
again, afore a knave of them all was within hearing of the
other village. But the gift of a white man lies more in his
arms than in his legs. As for myself, I can brain a Huron
as well as a better man; but when it comes to a race, the
knaves would prove too much for me."

Uncas, who had already approached the door, in readi
ness to lead the way, now recoiled; and placed himself,
once more, in the bottom of the lodge. But Hawk-eye, who
was too much occupied with his own thoughts to note the
movement, continued speaking more to himself than to his
companion.

"After all," he said, "it is unreasonable to keep one man
in bondage to the gifts of another. So, Uncas, you had
better take the leap, while I will put on the skin again, and
trust to cunning for want of speed."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 347

The young Mohican made no reply, but quietly folded his
arms, and leaned his body against one of the upright posts
that supported the wall of the hut.

"Well," said the scout, looking up at him, "why do you
tarry? There will be time enough for me, as the knaves
will give chase to you at first."

" Uncas will stay," was the calm reply.

"For what?"

"To fight with his father's brother, and die with the friend
of the Delawares."

"Ay, lad," returned Hawk-eye, squeezing the hand of
Uncas between his own iron fingers; "'twould have been
more like a Mingo than a Mohican had you left me. But I
thought I would make the offer, seeing that youth commonly
loves life. Well, what can't be done by main courage in
war must be done by circumvention. Put on the skin; I
doubt not you can play the bear nearly as well as myself."

Whatever might have been the private opinion of Uncas
of their respective abilities in this particular, his grave
countenance manifested no opinion of his own superiority.
He silently and expeditiously encased himself in the cover
ing of the beast, and then awaited such other movements as
his more aged companion saw fit to dictate.

"Now, friend/' said Hawk-eye, addressing David, "an
exchange of garments will be a great convenience to you,
inasmuch as you are but little accustomed to the makeshifts
of the wilderness. Here, take my hunting-shirt and cap,
and give me your blanket and hat. You must trust me with
the book and spectacles, as well as the tooter, too; if we
ever meet again, in better times, you shall have all back
again, with many thanks into the bargain."

David parted with the several articles named with a readi
ness that would have done great credit to his liberality, had
he not certainly profited, in many particulars, by the ex
change. Hawk-eye was not long in assuming his borrowed
garments ; and when his restless eyes were hid behind the

348 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

glasses, and his head was surmounted by the triangular
beaver, as their statures were not dissimilar, he might read
ily have passed for the singer by starlight. As soon as
these dispositions were made, the scout turned to David,
and gave him his parting instructions.

"Are you much given to cowardice? " he bluntly asked,
by way of obtaining a suitable understanding of the whole
case before he ventured a prescription.

"My pursuits are peaceful, and my temper, I humbly
trust, is greatly given to mercy and love," returned David,
a little nettled at so direct an attack on his manhood; "but
there are none who can say that I have ever forgotten my
faith in the Lord, even in the greatest straits."

" Your chiefest danger will be at the moment when the
savages find out that they have been deceived. If you are
not then knocked in the head, your being a non-composser
will protect you; and you'll then have good reason to expect
to die in your bed. If you stay, it must be to sit down here
in the shadow, and take the part of Uncas, until such times
as the cunning of the Indians discover the cheat, when, as I
have already said, your time of trial will come. So choose
for yourself, — to make a rush or tarry here."

" Even so," said David, firmly; " I will abide in the place
of the Delaware. Bravely and generously has he battled in
my behalf; and this, and more, will I dare in his service."

"You have spoken as a man, and like one who, under
wiser schooling, would have been brought to better things.
Hold your head down, and draw in your legs ; their forma
tion might tell the truth too early. Keep silent as long as
may be ; and it would be wise, when you do speak, to break
out suddenly in one of your shoutings, which will serve to
remind the Indians that you are not altogether as responsi
ble as men should be. If, however, they take your scalp, as
I trust and believe they will not, depend on it, Uncas and
I will not forget the deed, but revenge it as becomes true
warriors and trusty friends."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 349

" Hold! " said David, perceiving that with this assurance
they were about to leave him ; " I am an unworthy and hum
ble follower of one who taught not the damnable principle
of revenge. Should I fall, therefore, seek no victims to my
manes, but rather forgive my destroyers; and if you remem
ber them at all, let it be in prayers for the enlightening of
their minds, and for their eternal welfare."

The scout hesitated, and appeared to muse.

" There is a principle in that," he said, " different from
the law of the woods; and yet it is fair and noble to reflect
upon." Then, heaving a heavy sigh, probably among the
last he ever drew in pining for a condition he had so long
abandoned, he added — " It is what I would wish to practise
myself, as one without a cross of blood, though it is not
always easy to deal with an Indian as you would with a
fellow Christian. God bless you, friend; I do believe your
scent is not greatly wrong, when the matter is duly consid
ered, and keeping eternity before the eyes, though much de
pends on the natural gifts, and the force of temptation."

So saying, the scout returned and shook David cordially
by the hand; after which act of friendship he immediately
left the lodge, attended by the new representative of the
beast.

The instant Hawk-eye found himself under the observa
tion of the Hurons, he drew up his tall form in the rigid
manner of David, threw out his arm in the act of keeping
time, and commenced what he intended for an imitation of
his psalmody. Happily for the success of this delicate ad
venture, he had to deal with ears but little practised in the
concord of sweet sounds, or the miserable effort would infal
libly have been detected. It was necessary to pass within a
dangerous proximity of the dark group of the savages, and
the voice of the scout grew louder as they drew nigher.
When at the nearest point, the Huron who spoke the English
thrust out an arm, and stopped the supposed singing-master.

"The Delaware dog!" he said, leaning forward, and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

peering through the dim light to catch the expression of the
other's features; "is he afraid? will the Hurons hear his
groans ? "

A growl so exceedingly fierce and natural proceeded from
the beast, that the young Indian released his hold and
started aside, as if to assure himself that it was not a veri
table bear, and no counterfeit, that was rolling before him.
Hawk-eye, who feared his voice would betray him to his
subtle enemies, gladly profited by the interruption, to break
out anew in such a burst of musical expression as would,
probably, in a more refined state of society have been termed
" a grand crash." Among his actual auditors, however, it
merely gave him an additional claim to that respect which
they never withhold from such as are believed to be the sub
jects of mental alienation. The little knot of Indians drew
back in a body, and suffered, as they thought, the conjuror
and his inspired assistant to proceed.

It required no common exercise of fortitude in Uncas
and the scout, to continue the dignified and deliberate pace
they had assumed in passing the lodges ; especially as they
immediately perceived that curiosity had so far mastered
fear, as to induce the watchers to approach the hut, in order
to witness the effect of the incantations. The least injudi
cious or impatient movement on the part of David might
betray them, and time was absolutely necessary to insure the
safety of the scout. The loud noise the latter conceived it
politic to continue, drew many curious gazers to the doors
of the different huts as they passed; and once or twice a
dark-looking warrior stepped cross their path, led to the act
by superstition or watchfulness. They were not, however,
interrupted; the darkness of the hour, and the boldness of
the attempt, proving their principal friends.

The adventurers had got clear of the village, and were
now swiftly approaching the shelter of the woods, when a
loud and long cry arose from the lodge where Uncas had
been confined. The Mohican started on his feet, and shook

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 351

his shaggy covering, as though the animal he counterfeited
was about to make some desperate effort.

" Hold ! " said the scout, grasping his friend by the shoul
der, " let them yell again! 'Twas nothing but wonderment."

He had no occasion to delay, for at the next instant a
burst of cries filled the outer air, and ran along the whole ex
tent of the village. LJncas cast his skin, and stepped forth
in his own beautiful proportions. Hawk-eye tapped him
lightly on the shoulder, and glided ahead.

" Now let the devils strike our scent!" said the scout,
tearing two rifles, with all their attendent accoutrements,
from beneath a bush, and flourishing " Kill-deer " as he
handed Uncas his weapon; "two, at least, will find it to
their deaths."

Then throwing their pieces to a low trail, like sportsmen
in readiness for their game, they dashed forward, and were
soon buried in the sombre darkness of the forest.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Ant. I shall remember:

When Caesar says, Do this, it is performed.

JULIUS

THE impatience of the savages who lingered about the pris
on of Uncas, as has been seen, had overcome their dread of
the conjuror's breath. They stole cautiously, and with beat
ing hearts, to a crevice, through which the faint light of the
fire was glimmering. For several minutes they mistook the
form of David for that of their prisoner; but the very acci
dent which Hawk-eye had foreseen occurred. Tired of keep
ing the extremities of his long person so near together, the
singer gradually suffered the lower limbs to extend them
selves, until one of his misshapen feet actually came in
contact with and shoved aside the embers of the fire. At

352 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.,

first the Hurons believed the Delaware had been thus de
formed by witchcraft. But when David, unconscious of be
ing observed, turned his head, and exposed hi« simple, mild
countenance, in place of the haughty lineaments of their
prisoner, it would have exceeded the credulity of even a
native to have doubted any longer. They rushed together
into the lodge, and laying their hands, with but little cere
mony, on their captive, immediately detected the imposition.
Then arose the cry first heard by the fugitives. It was suc
ceeded by the most frantic and angry demonstrations of
vengeance. David, however firm in his determination to
cover the retreat of his friends, was compelled to believe that
his own final hour had come. Deprived of his book and
his pipe, he was fain to trust to a memory that rarely failed
him on such subjects ; and breaking forth in a loud and im
passioned strain, he endeavored to smoothe his passage into
the other world, by singing the opening verse of a funeral
anthem. The Indians were seasonably reminded of his in
firmity, and rushing into the open air, they aroused the vil
lage in the manner described.

A native warrior fights as he sleeps, without the protec
tion of anything defensive. The sounds of the alarm were,
therefore, hardly uttered, before two hundred men were
afoot, and ready for the battle or the chase, as either might
be required. The escape was soon known ; and the whole
tribe crowded, in a body, around the council lodge, impa
tiently awaiting the instruction of their chiefs. In such a
sudden demand on their wisdom, the presence of the cun
ning Magua could scarcely fail of being needed. His name
was mentioned, and all looked round in wonder that he did
not appear. Messengers were then despatched to his lodge,
requiring his presence.

In the mean time, some of the swiftest and most discreet
of the young men were ordered to make the circuit of the
clearing, under cover of the woods, in order to ascertain that
their suspected neighbors, the Delawares, designed no mis-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 353

chief. Women and children ran to and fro ; and, in short,
the whole encampment exhibited another scene of wild and
savage confusion. Gradually, however, these symptoms of
disorder diminished ; and in a few minutes the oldest and
most distinguished chiefs were assembled in the lodge, in
grave consultation.

The clamor of many voices soon announced that a party
approached, who might be expected to communicate some
intelligence that would explain the mystery of the novel sur
prise. The crowd without gave way, and several warriors
entered the place, bringing with them the hapless conjuror,
who had been left so long by the scout in duress.

Notwithstanding this man was held in very unequal esti
mation among the Hurons, some believing implicitly in his
power, and others deeming him an impostor, he was now
listened to by all with the deepest attention. When his
brief story was ended, the father of the sick woman stepped
forth, and, in a few pithy expressions, related, in his turn,
what he knew. These two narratives gave a proper direc
tion to the subsequent inquiries, which were now made with
the characteristic cunning of savages.

Instead of rushing in a confused and disorderly throng to
the cavern, ten of the wisest and firmest among the chiefs
were selected to prosecute the investigation. As no time
was to be lost, the instant the choice was made the indi
viduals appointed rose in a body, and left the place without
speaking. On reaching the entrance, the younger men in
advance made way for their seniors; and the whole pro
ceeded along the low, dark gallery, with the firmness of war
riors ready to devote themselves to the public good, though,
at the same time, secretly doubting the nature of the power
with which they were about to contend.

The outer apartment of the cavern was silent and gloomy.
The woman lay in her usual place and posture, though there
were those present who affirmed they had seen her borne to
the woods, by the supposed " medicine of the white men."

354 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Such a direct and palpable contradiction of the tale related
by the father, caused all eyes to be turned on him. Chafed
by the silent imputation, and inwardly troubled by so unac
countable a circumstance, the chief advanced to the side of
the bed, and stooping, cast an incredulous look at the fea
tures, as if distrusting their reality. His daughter was
dead.

The unerring feeling of nature for a moment prevailed,
and the old warrior hid his eyes in sorrow. Then recover
ing his self-possession, he faced his companions, and
pointing toward the corpse, he said, in the language of his
people —

"The wife of my young man has left us! the Great Spirit
is angry with his children."

The mournful intelligence was received in solemn silence.
After a short pause, one of the elder Indians was about to
speak, when a dark-looking object was seen rolling out of
an adjoining apartment, into the very centre of the room
where they stood. Ignorant of the nature of the beings they
had to deal with, the whole party drew back a little, and
gazed in admiration, until the object fronted the light, and
raising on end, exhibited the distorted, but still fierce and
sullen, features of Magua. The discovery was succeeded by
a general exclamation of amazement.

As soon, however, as the true situation of the chief was
understood, several ready knives appeared, and his limbs
and tongue were quickly released. The Huron arose, and
shook himself like a lion quitting his lair. Not a word
escaped him, though his hand played convulsively with the
handle of his knife, while his lowering eyes scanned the
whole party, as if they sought an object suited to the first
burst of his vengeance.

It was happy for Uncas and the scout, and even David,
that they were all beyond the reach of his arm at such a
moment; for, assuredly, no refinement in cruelty would then
have deferred their deaths, in opposition to the promptings

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 355

of the fierce temper that nearly choked him. Meeting every
where faces that he knew as friends, the savage grated his
teeth together like rasps of iron, and swallowed his passion
for want of a victim on whom to vent it. This exhibition
of anger was noted by all present ; and, from an apprehension
of exasperating a temper that was already chafed nearly to
madness, several minutes were suffered to pass before an
other word was uttered. When, however, suitable time had
elapsed, the oldest of the party spoke.

"My friend has found an enemy," he said. "Is he nigh,
that the Hurons may take revenge? "

"Let the Delaware die! " exclaimed Magua, in a voice of
thunder.

Another long and expressive silence was observed, and
was broken, as before, with due precaution, by the same in
dividual.

"The Mohican is swift of foot, and leaps far," he said;
"but my young men are on his trail."

"Is he gone?" demanded Magua in tones so deep and
guttural, that they seemed to proceed from his inmost chest.

" An evil spirit has been among us, and the Delaware has
blinded our eyes."

"An evil spirit!" repeated the other, mockingly; "'tis
the spirit that has taken the lives of so many Hurons. The
spirit that slew my young men at ' the tumbling river; ' that
took their scalps at the * healing spring; ' and who has, now,
bound the arms of Le Renard subtil! "

"Of whom does my friend speak? "

" Of the dog who carries the heart and cunning of a Hu
ron under a pale skin — La longue Carabine."

The pronunciation of so terrible a name produced the
usual effect among his auditors. But when time was given
for reflection, and the warriors remembered that their for
midable and daring enemy had even been in the bosom of
their encampment, working injury, fearful rage took the
place of wonder, and all those fierce passions with which

356 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the bosom of Magua had just been struggling were suddenly
transferred to his companions. Some among them gnashed
their teeth in anger, others vented their feelings in yells,
and some, again, beat the air as frantically as if the object
of their resentment were suffering under their blows. But
this sudden outbreaking of temper as quickly subsided in
the still and sullen restraint they most affected, in their mo
ments of inaction.

Magua, who had, in his turn, found leisure for reflection,
now changed his manner, and assumed the air of one who
knew how to think and act with a dignity worthy of so grave
a subject.

"Let us go to my people," he said; "they wait for us."

His companions consented in silence, and the whole of
the savage party left the cavern and returned to the council
lodge. When they were seated, all eyes turned on Magua,
who understood, from such an indication, that, by common
consent, they had devolved the duty of relating what had
passed on him. He arose, and told his tale, without duplic
ity or reservation. The whole deception practised by both
Duncan and Hawk-eye was, of course, laid naked ; and no
room was found, even for the most superstitious of the tribe,
any longer to affix a doubt on the character of the occur
rences. It was but too apparent that they had been insult
ingly, shamefully, disgracefully, deceived. When he had
ended, and resumed his seat, the collected tribe — for his
auditors, in substance, included all the fighting men of the
party — sat regarding each other like men astonished equally
at the audacity and the success of their enemies. The next
consideration, however, was the means and opportunities for
revenge.

Additional pursuers were sent on the trail of the fugitives;
and then the chiefs applied themselves, in earnest, to the
business of consultation. Many different expedients were
proposed by the elder warriors, in succession, to all of
which Magua was a silent and respectful listener. That sub-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 357

tie savage had recovered his artifice and self-command, and
now proceeded toward his object with his customary caution
and skill. It was only when each one disposed to speak
had uttered his sentiments, that he prepared to advance his
own opinions. They were given with additional weight
from the circumstance that some of the runners had already
returned, and reported that their enemies had been traced
so far as to leave no doubt of their having sought safety in
the neighboring camp of their suspected allies, the Dela-
wares. With the advantage of possessing this important
intelligence, the chief warily laid his plans before his fel
lows, and, as might have been anticipated from his eloquence
and cunning, they were adopted without a dissenting voice.
They were, briefly, as follows, both in opinions and in mo
tives.

It has been already stated that, in obedience to a policy
rarely departed from, the sisters were separated so soon as
they reached the Huron village. Magua had early discov
ered, that in retaining the person of Alice, he possessed the
most effectual check on Cora. When they parted, there
fore, he kept the former within reach of his hand, consign
ing the one he most valued to the keeping of their allies.
The arrangement was understood to be merely temporary,
and was made as much with a view to flatter his neighbors
as in obedience to the invariable rule of Indian policy.

While goaded incessantly by those revengeful impulses
that in a savage seldom slumber, the chief was still atten
tive to his more permanent personal interests. The follies
and disloyalty committed in his youth were to be expiated
by a long and painful penance ere he could be restored to
the full enjoyment of the confidence of his ancient people;
and without confidence there could be no authority in an
Indian tribe. In this delicate and arduous situation, the
crafty native had neglected no means of increasing his in
fluence ; and one of the happiest of his expedients had been,
• the success with which he had cultivated the favor of their

358 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

powerful and dangerous neighbors. The result of his ex
periment had answered all the expectations of his policy;
for the Hurons were in no degree exempt from that govern
ing principle of nature, which induces man to value his gifts
precisely in the degree that they are appreciated by others.

But, while he was making this ostensible sacrifice to gen
eral considerations, Magua never lost sight of his individual
motives. The latter had been frustrated by the unlooked-
for events which had placed all his prisoners beyond his
control; and he now found himself reduced to the necessity
of suing for favors to those whom it had so lately been his
policy to oblige.

Several of the chiefs had proposed deep and treacherous
schemes to surprise the Delawares, and, by gaining posses
sion of their camp, to recover their prisoners by the same
blow; for all agreed that their honor, their interests, and
the peace and happiness of their dead countrymen, imperi
ously required them speedily to immolate some victims to
their revenge. But plans so dangerous to attempt, and of
such doubtful issue, Magua found little difficulty in defeat
ing. He exposed their risk and fallacy with his usual skill ;
and it was only after he had removed every impediment, in
the shape of opposing advice, that he ventured to propose
his own projects.

He commenced by flattering the self-love of his auditors ;
a never-failing method of commanding attention. When he
had enumerated the many different occasions on which the
Hurons had exhibited their courage and prowess, in the
punishment of insults, he digressed in a high encomium on
the virtue of wisdom. He painted the qualij^y, as forming
the great point of difference between the beaver and other
brutes; between brutes and men; and, finally, between the
Hurons, in particular, and the rest of the human race. After
he had sufficiently extolled the property of discretion, he
undertook to exhibit in what manner its use was applicable
to the present situation of their tribe. On the one hand, he

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 359

said, was their great pale father, the governor of the Canadas,
who had looked upon his children with a hard eye, since
their tomahawks had been so red ; on the other, a people as
numerous as themselves, who spoke a different language,
possessed different interests, and loved them not, and who
would be glad of any pretence to bring them in disgrace with
the great white chief. Then he spoke of their necessities;
of the gifts they had a right to expect for their past ser
vices ; of their distance from their proper hunting-grounds
and native villages; and of the necessity of consulting
prudence more, and inclination less, in so critical circum
stances. When he perceived that, while the old men ap
plauded his moderation, many of the fiercest and most dis
tinguished of the warriors listened to these politic plans
with lowering looks, he cunningly led them back to the sub
ject which they most loved. He spoke openly of the fruits
of their wisdom, which he boldly pronounced would be a
complete and final triumph over their enemies. He even
darkly hinted that their success might be extended, with
proper caution, in such a manner as to include the destruc
tion of all whom they had reason to hate. In short, he so
blended the warlike with the artful, the obvious with the
obscure, as to flatter the propensities of both parties, and to
leave to each subject of hope, while neither could say it
clearly comprehended his intentions.

The orator, or the politician, who can produce such a state
of things, is commonly popular with his contemporaries,
however he may be treated by posterity. All perceived that
more was meant than was uttered, and each one believed
that the hidden meaning was precisely such as his own fac
ulties enabled him to understand, or his own wishes led him
to anticipate.

In this happy state of things, it is not surprising that the
management of Magua prevailed. The tribe consented to
act with deliberation, and with one voice they committed
the direction of the whole affair to the government of the

360 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

chief who had suggested such wise and intelligible expedi
ents.

Magua had now attained one great object of all his cun
ning and enterprise. The ground he had lost in the favor
of his people was completely regained, and he found him
self even placed at the head of affairs. He was, in truth,
their ruler; and, so long as he could maintain his popular
ity, no monarch could be more despotic, especially while
the tribe continued in a hostile country. Throwing off,
therefore, the appearance of consultation, he assumed the
grave air of authority necessary to support the dignity of
his office.

Runners were despatched for intelligence in different di
rections; spies were ordered to approach and feel the en
campment of the Delawares ; the warriors were dismissed to
their lodges, with an intimation that their services would
soon be needed ; and the women and children were ordered
to retire, with a warning that it was their province to be
silent. When these several arrangements were made, Ma
gua passed through the village, stopping here and thereto
pay a visit where he thought his presence might be flatter
ing to the indvidual. He confirmed his friends in their
confidence, fixed the wavering, and gratified all. Then he
sought his own lodge. The wife the Huron chief had aban
doned, when he was chased from among his people, was
dead. Children he had none; and he now occupied a hut,
without companion of any sort. It was, in fact, the dilapi
dated and solitary structure in which David had been dis
covered, and whom he had tolerated in his presence, on
those few occasions when they met, with the contemptuous
indifference of a haughty superiority.

Hither, then, Magua retired, when his labors of policy
were ended. While others slept, however, he neither knew
nor sought repose. Had there been one sufficiently curious
to have watched the movements of the newly elected chief, he
would have seen him seated in a corner of his lodge, musing

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 361

on the subject of his future plans, from the hour of his
retirement to the time he had appointed for the warriors to
assemble again. Occasionally the air breathed through the
crevices of the hut, and the low flame that fluttered about the
embers of the fire threw their wavering light on the person
of the sullen recluse. At such moments it would not have
been difficult to have fancied the dusky savage the Prince
of Darkness, brooding on his own fancied wrongs, and
plotting evil.

Long before the day dawned, however, warrior after war
rior entered the solitary hut of Magua, until they had col
lected to the number of twenty. Each bore his rifle, and all
the other accoutrements of war, though the paint was uni
formly peaceful. The entrance of these fierce-looking beings
was unnoticed ; some seating themselves in the shadows of
the place, and others standing like motionless statues, until
the whole of the designated band was collected.

Then Magua arose and gave the signal to proceed, march
ing himself in advance. They followed their leader singly,
and in that well-known order which has obtained the distin
guishing appellation of " Indian file." Unlike other men
engaged in the spirit-stirring business of war, they stole
from their camp unostentatiously and unobserved, resem
bling a band of gliding spectres, more than warriors seek
ing the bubble reputation by deeds of desperate daring.

Instead of taking the path which led directly toward the
camp of the Delawares, Magua led his party for some dis
tance down the windings of the stream, and along the little
artificial lake of the beavers. The day began to dawn as
they entered the clearing which had been formed by those
sagacious and industrious animals. Though Magua, who
had resumed his ancient garb, bore the outline of a fox on
the dressed skin which formed his robe, there was one chief
of his party who carried the beaver as his peculiar symbol,
or " totem." There would have been a species of profanity
in the omission, had this man passed so powerful a commu-

362 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

nity of his fancied kindred, without bestowing some evi
dence of his regard. Accordingly, he paused, and spoke in
words as kind and friendly as if he were addressing more
intelligent beings. He called the animals his cousins, and
reminded them that his protecting influence was the reason
they remained unharmed, while so many avaricious traders
were prompting the Indians to take their lives. He prom
ised a continuance of his favors, and admonished them to
be grateful. After which, he spoke of the expedition in
which he was himself engaged, and intimated, though with
sufficient delicacy and circumlocution, the expediency of
bestowing on their relative a portion of that wisdom for
which they were so renowned.*

During the utterance of this extraordinary address, the
companions of the speaker were as grave and as attentive
to his language as though they were all equally impressed
with its propriety. Once or twice black objects were seen
rising to the surface of the water, and the Huron expressed
pleasure, conceiving that his words were not bestowed in
vain. Just as he had ended his address, the head of a large
beaver was thrust from the door of a lodge, whose earthen
walls had been much injured, and which the party had be
lieved, from its situation, to be uninhabited. Such an ex
traordinary sign of confidence was received by the orator as
a highly favorable omen ; and though the animal retreated
a little precipitately, he was lavish of his thanks and com
mendations.

When Magua thought sufficient time had been lost in
gratifying the family affection of the warrior, he again made
the signal to proceed. As the Indians moved away in a
body, and with a step that would have been inaudible to the
ears of any common man, the same venerable-looking beaver
once more ventured his head from its cover. Had any of
the Hurons turned to look behind them, they would have

* These harangues of the beasts are frequent among the Indians. They often acU
dress their victims in this way, reproaching them for cowardice, or commending their
resolution, as they may happen to exhibit fortitude or the reverse in suffering.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 363

seen the animal watching their movements with an interest
and sagacity that might easily have been mistaken for rea
son. Indeed, so very distinct and intelligible were the de
vices of the quadruped, that even the most experienced ob
server would have been at a loss to account for its actions,
until the moment when the party entered the forest, when
the whole would have been explained by seeing the entire
animal issue from the lodge, uncasing, by the act, the grave
features of Chingachgook from his mask of fur.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Brief, I pray you ; for you see, 'tis a busy time with me.

Much Ado About Nothing.

THE tribe, or rather half tribe, of Delawares, which has been
so often mentioned, and whose present place of encampment
was so nigh the temporary village of the Hurons, could as
semble about an equal number of warriors with the latter
people. Like their neighbors, they had followed Montcalm
into the territories of the English crown, and were making
heavy and serious inroads on the hunting grounds of the
Mohawks ; though they had seen fit," with the mysterious
reserve so common among the natives, to withhold their
assistance at the moment when it was most required. The
French had accounted for this unexpected defection on the
part of their ally in various ways. It was the prevalent
opinion, however, that they had been influenced by venera
tion for the ancient treaty, that had once made them depen
dent on the Six Nations for military protection, and now
rendered them reluctant to encounter their former masters.
As for the tribe itself, it had been content to announce to
Montcalm, through his emissaries, with Indian brevity, that
their hatchets were dull, and time was necessary to sharpen

them. The politic Captain of the Canadas had deemed it
P Vol. 4

364 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

wiser to submit to entertain a passive friend, than by any
acts of ill-judged severity to convert him into an open
enemy.

On that morning when Magua led his silent party from
the settlement of the beavers into the forest, in the manner
described, the sun rose upon the Delaware encampment, as
if it had suddenly burst upon a busy people, actively em
ployed in all the customary avocations of high noon. The
women ran from lodge to lodge, some engaged in preparing
their morning's meal, a few earnestly bent on seeking the
comforts necessary to their habits, but more pausing to ex
change hasty and whispered sentences with their friends.
The warriors were lounging in groups, musing more than
they conversed ; and when a few words were uttered, speak
ing like men who deeply weighed their opinions. The
instruments of the chase were to be seen in abundance
among the lodges ; but none departed. Here and there a
warrior was examining his arms, with an attention that is
rarely bestowed on the implements, when no other enemy
than the beasts of the forest is expected to be encountered.
And, occasionally, the eyes of a whole group were turned
simultaneously toward a large and silent lodge in the centre
of the village, as if it contained the subject of their common
thoughts.

During the existence of this scene, a man suddenly ap
peared at the furthest extremity of a platform of rock which
formed the level of the village. He was without arms, and
his paint tended rather to soften than increase the natural
sternness of his austere countenance. When in full view of
the Delawares he stopped, and made a gesture of amity, by
throwing his arm upward toward heaven, and then letting it
fall impressively on his breast. The inhabitants of the vil
lage answered his salute by a low murmur of welcome, and
encouraged him to advance by similar indications of friend
ship. Fortified by these assurances, the dark figure left the
brow of the natural rocky terrace, where it had stood a mo-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 365

ment, drawn in a strong outline against the blushing morn
ing sky, and moved with dignity into the very centre of the
huts. As he approached, nothing was audible but the rat
tling of the light silver ornaments that loaded his arms and
neck, and the tinkling of the little bells that fringed his deer
skin moccasins. He made, as he advanced, many courteous
signs of greeting to the men he passed, neglecting to notice
the women, however, like one who deemed their favor, in
the present enterprise, of no importance. When he had
reached the group in which it was evident, by the haughti
ness of their common mien, that the principal chiefs were
collected, the stranger paused, and then the Delawares saw
that the active and erect form that stood before them was
that of the well-known Huron chief, Le Renard subtil.

His reception was grave, silent, and wary. The warriors
in front stepped aside, opening the way to their most ap
proved orator by the action; one who spoke all those lan
guages that were cultivated among the northern aborigines.

"The wise Huron is welcome," said the Delaware, in
the language of the Maquas ; " he is come to eat his * succa-
tash,' * with his brothers of the lakes."

" He is come," repeated Magua, bending his head \viththe
dignity of an Eastern prince.

The chief extended his arm, and taking the other by the
wrist, they once more exchanged friendly salutations. Then
the Delaware invited his guest to enter his own lodge, and
share his morning meal. The invitation was accepted; and
the two warriors, attended by three or four of the old men,
walked calmly away, leaving the rest of the tribe devoured
by a desire to understand the reasons of so unusual a visit,
and yet not betraying the least impatience by sign or word.

During the short and frugal repast that followed, the con
versation was extremely circumspect, and related entirely to
the events of the hunt, in which Magua had so lately been

* A dish composed of cracked corn and beans. It is much used also by the whites.
By corn is meant maize.

366 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

engaged. It would have been impossible for the most fin
ished breeding to wear more of the appearance of consider
ing the visit as a thing of course, than did his hosts, not
withstanding every individual present was perfectly aware
that it must be connected with some secret object, and that
probably of importance to themselves. When the appetites
of the whole were appeased, the squaws removed the trench
ers and gourds, and the two parties began to prepare them
selves for a subtle trial of their wits.

" Is the face of my great Canada father turned again to
ward his Huron children ? " demanded the orator of the
Delawares.

" When was it ever otherwise ? " returned Magua. " He
calls my people * most beloved.' ''

The Delaware gravely bowed his acquiescence to what he
knew to be false, and continued —

" The tomahawks of your young men have been very
red!"

" It is so ; but they are now bright and dull ; for the Yen-
geese are dead, and the Delawares are our neighbors."

The other acknowledged the pacific compliment by a ges
ture of the hand, and remained silent. Then Magua, as if
recalled to such a recollection by the allusion to the massa
cre, demanded —

"Does my prisoner give trouble to my brothers? "

" She is welcome."

"The path between the Hurons and the Delawares is
short, and it is open ; let her be sent to my squaws, if she
gives trouble to my brother."

" She is welcome," returned the chief of the latter nation,
still more emphatically.

The baffled Magua continued silent several minutes, ap
parently indifferent, however, to the repulse he had received
in this his opening effort to regain possession of Cora.

" Do my young men leave the Delawares room on the
mountains for their hunts ? " he at length continued.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 367

" The Lenape are rulers of their own hills," returned the
other, a little haughtily.

" It is well. Justice is the master of a red-skin ! Why
should they brighten their tomahawks, and sharpen their
knives against each other? Are not the pale-faces thicker
than the swallows in the season of flowers? "

"Good! " exclaimed two or three of his auditors at the
same time.

Magua waited a little, to permit his words to soften the
feelings of the Delawares, before he added—

"Have there not been strange moccasins in the woods?
Have not my brothers scented the feet of white men ? "

"Let my Canada father come," returned the other eva
sively; "his children are ready to see him."

" When the great chief comes, it is to smoke with the In
dians in their wigwams. The Hurons say, too, he is wel
come. But the Yengeese have long arms, and legs that
never tire! My young men dreamed they had seen the trail
of the Yengeese nigh the village of the Delawares! "

" They will not find the Lenape asleep."

"It is well. The warrior whose eye is open can see his
enemy," said Magua, once more shifting his ground, when
he found himself unable to penetrate the caution of his
companion. " I have brought gifts to my brother. His
nation would not go on the war-path, because they did not
think it well; but their friends have remembered where
they lived."

When he had thus announced his liberal intention, the
crafty chief arose, and gravely spread his presents before
the dazzled eyes of his hosts. They consisted principally
of trinkets of little value, plundered from the slaughtered
females of William Henry. In the division of the baubles
the cunning Huron discovered no less art than in their se
lection. While he bestowed those of greater value on the
two most distinguished warriors, one of whom was his host,
he seasoned his offerings to their inferiors with such well*

368 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

timed and apposite compliments, as left them no grounds of
complaint. In short, the whole ceremony contained such a
happy blending of the profitable with the flattering, that it
was not difficult for the donor immediately to read the effect
of a generosity so aptly mingled with praise, in the eyes cf
those he addressed.

This well-judged and politic stroke on the part of Magua
was not without instantaneous results. The Delawares lost
their gravity in a much more cordial expression ; and the
host, in particular, after contemplating his own liberal share
of the spoil for some moments with peculiar gratification,
repeated with strong emphasis, the words. —

" My brother is a wise chief. He is welcome."

" The Hurons love their friends the Delawares," returned
Magua. "Why should they not? they are colored by the
same sun, and their just men will hunt in the same grounds
after death. The red-skins should be friends, and look
with open eyes on the white men. Has not my brother
scented spies in the woods? "

The Delaware whose name in English signified "Hard
heart," an appellation that the French had translated into
" Le Cceur-dur," forgot that obduracy of purpose, which had
probably obtained him so significant a title. His counte
nance grew very sensibly less stern, and he now deigned to
answer more directly.

"There have been strange moccasins about my camp.
They have been tracked into my lodges."

" Did my brother beat out the dogs? " asked Magua, with
out adverting in any manner to the former equivocation of
the chief.

" It would not do. The stranger is always welcome to the
children of the Lenape."

" The stranger, but not the spy."

"Would the Yengeese send their women as spies? Did
not the Huron chief say he took women in the battle? "
"He told no lie. The Yengeese have sent out their

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

scouts. They have been in my wigwams, but they found
there no one to say welcome. Then they fled to the Dela-
wares — for, say they, the Delawares are our friends; their
minds are turned from their Canada father! "

This insinuation was a home thrust, and one that in a
more advanced state of society would have entitled Magua
to the reputation of a skilful diplomatist. The recent de
fection of the tribe had, as they well knew themselves, sub
jected the Delawares to much reproach among their French
allies; and they were now made to feel that their future
actions were to be regarded with jealousy and distrust.
There was no deep insight into causes and effects necessary
to foresee that such a situation of things was likely to prove
highly prejudicial to their future movements. Their dis
tant villages, their hunting grounds, and hundreds of their
women and children, together with a material part of their
physical force, were actually within the limits of the French
territory. Accordingly, this alarming annunciation was re
ceived, as Magua intended, with manifest disapprobation, if
not with alarm.

"Let my father look in my face," said Le Cceur-dur; "he
will see no change. It is true, my young men did not go
out on the war-path; they had dreams for not doing so. But
they love and venerate the great white chief."

" Will he think so when he hears that his greatest enemy
is fed in the camp of his children ? When he is told a
bloody Yengee smokes at your fire ? That the pale-face who
has slain so many of his friends goes in and out among
the Delawares? Go — -my great Canada father is not a
fool!"

" Where is the Yengee that the Delawares fear ? " returned
the other ; " who has slain my young men ? who is the mor
tal enemy of my Great Father! "

" La longue Carabine."

The Delaware warriors started at the well-known name,
betraying, by their amazement, that they now learnt, for the

370 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

first time, one so famous among the Indian allies of France
was within their power.

"What does my brother mean?" demanded Le Coeur-dur,
in a tone that, by its wonder, far exceeded the usual apathy
of his race.

"A Huron never lies !" returned Magua coldly, leaning
his head against the side of the lodge, and drawing his slight
robe across his tawny breast. "Let the Delawares count
their prisoners; they will find one whose skin is neither red
nor pale."

A long and musing pause succeeded. The chief con
sulted apart with his companions, and messengers were de
spatched to collect certain others of the most distinguished
men of the tribe.

As warrior after warrior dropped in, they were each made
acquainted, in turn, with the important intelligence that
Magua had just communicated. The air of surprise, and
the usual low, deep, guttural exclamation, were common to
them all. The news spread from mouth to mouth, until the
whole encampment became powerfully agitated. The women
suspended their labors, to catch such syllables as unguard
edly fell from the lips of the consulting warriors. The boys
deserted their sports, and, walking fearlessly among their
fathers, looked up in curious admiration, as they heard the
brief exclamations of wonder they so freely expressed at the
temerity of their hated foe. In short, every occupation
was abandoned for the time, and all other pursuits seemed
discarded, in order that the tribe might freely indulge, after
their own peculiar manner, in an open expression of feeling.

When the excitement had a little abated, the old men dis
posed themselves seriously to consider that which it became
the honor and safety of their tribe to perform, under cir
cumstances of so much delicacy and embarrassment. Dur
ing all these movements, and in the midst of the general
commotion, Magua had not only maintained his seat, but
the very attitude he had originally taken, against the side

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 371

of the lodge, where he continued as immovable, and, appar
ently, as unconcerned, as if he had no interest in the result.
Not a single indication of the future intentions of his hosts,
however, escaped his vigilant eyes. With his consummate
knowledge of the nature of the people with whom he had to
deal, he anticipated every measure on which they decided;
and it might almost be said, that, in many instances, he
knew their intentions, even before they became known to
themselves.

The council of the Delawares was short. When it was
ended, a general bustle announced, that it was to be be im
mediately succeeded by a solemn and formal assemblage of
the nation. As such meetings were rare, and only called on
occasions of the last importance, the subtle Huron, who still
sat apart, a wily and dark observer of the proceedings, now
knew that all his projects must be brought to their final
issue. He, therefore, left the lodge, and walked silently
forth to the place, in front of the encampment, whither the
warriors were already beginning to collect.

It might have been half an hour before each individual,
including even the women and children, was in his place.
The delay had been created by the grave preparations that
were deemed necessary to so solemn and unusual a con
ference. But when the sun was seen climbing above the
tops of that mountain, against whose bosom the Delawares
had constructed their encampment, most were seated ; and
as his bright rays darted from behind the outline f trees
that fringed the eminence, they fell upon as grave, as atten
tive, and as deeply interested a multitude, as was probably
ever before lighted by his morning beams. Its number some
what exceeded a thousand souls.

In a collection of so serious savages, there is never to be
found any impatient aspirant a'ter premature distinction,
standing ready to move his auditors to some hasty and, per
haps, injudicious discussion, in order that his own reputa
tion may be the gainer. An act of so much precipitancy

3/2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

and presumption would seal the downfall of precocious in
tellect for ever. It rested solely with the oldest and most
experienced of the men to lay the subject of the conference
before the people. Until such a one chose to make some
movement, no deeds in arms, no natural gifts, nor any re
nown as an orator, would have justified the slightest inter
ruption. On the present occasion, the aged warrior whose
privilege it was to speak, was silent, seemingly oppressed
with the magnitude of his subject. The delay had already
continued long beyond the usual deliberative pause that
always precedes a conference; but no sign of impatience or
surprise escaped even the youngest boy. Occasionally, an
eye was raised from the earth, where the looks of most were
riveted, and strayed toward a particular lodge, that was,
however, in no manner distinguished from those around it,
except in the peculiar care that had been taken to protect it
against the assaults of the weather.

At length, one of those low murmurs that are so apt to
disturb a multitude, was heard, and the whole nation arose
to their feet by a common impulse. At that instant the
door of the lodge in question opened, and three men, issuing
from it, slowly approached the place of consultation. They
were all aged, even beyond that period to which the oldest
present had reached; but one in the centre, who leaned on
his companions for support, had numbered an amount of
years to which the human race is seldom permitted to attain.
His frame, which had once been tall and erect, like the ce
dar, was now bending under the pressure of more than a
century. The elastic, light step of an Indian was gone, and
in its place he was compelled to toil his tardy way over the
ground, inch by inch. His dark, wrinkled countenance was
in singular and wild contrast with the long white locks
which floated on his shoulders, in such thickness as to an
nounce that generations had probably passed away since
they had last been shorn.

The dress of this patriarch — for such, considering his vast

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 373

age, in conjunction with his affinity and influence with his
people, he might very properly be termed — was rich and
imposing, though strictly after the simple fashions of the
tribe. His robe was of the finest skins, which had been
deprived of their fur, in order to admit of a hieroglyphical
representation of various deeds in arms, done in former ages.
His bosom was loaded with medals, some in massive silver,
and one or two even in gold, the gifts of various Christian
potentates during the long period of his life. He also wore
armlets, and cinctures above the ankles, of the latter pre
cious metal. His head, on the whole of which the hair had
been permitted to grow, the pursuits of war having so long
been abandoned, was encircled by a sort of plated diadem,
which, in its turn, bore lesser and more glittering ornaments,
that sparkled amid the glossy hues of three drooping ostrich
feathers, dyed a deep black, in touching contrast to the color
of his snow-white locks. His tomahawk was nearly hid in
silver, and the handle of his knife shone like a horn of solid
gold.

So soon as the first hum of emotion and pleasure, which
the sudden appearance of this venerated individual created,
had a little subsided, the name of " Tamenund " was whis
pered from mouth to mouth. Magua had often heard the
fame of this wise and just Delaware; a reputation that even
proceeded so far as to bestow on him the rare gift of hold
ing secret communion with the Great Spirit, and which has
since transmitted his name, with some slight alteration, to
the white usurpers of his ancient territory, as the imaginary
tutelar saint * of a vast empire. The Huron chief, therefore,
stepped eagerly out a little from the throng, to a spot whence
he might catch a nearer glimpse of the features of the man
whose decision was likely to produce so deep an influence
on his own fortunes.

*The Americans sometimes call their tutelar saint Tamenay, a corruption of the
name of the renowned chief here introduced. There are many traditions which speak
of the character and power of Tamenund.

374 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

The eyes of the old man were closed, as though the organs
were wearied with having so long witnessed the selfish work
ings of the human passions. The color of his skin differed
from that of most around him, being richer and darker, the
latter hue having been produced by certain delicate and
mazy lines of complicated and yet beautiful figures, which
had been traced over most of his person by the operation of
tattooing. Notwithstanding the -position of the Huron, he
passed the observant and silent Magua without notice, and
leaning on his two venerable supporters proceeded to the
high place of the multitude, where he seated himself in the
centre of his nation, with the dignity of a monarch and
the air of a father.

Nothing could surpass the reverence and affection with
which this unexpected visit from one who belonged rather
to another world than to this, was received by his people.
After a suitable and decent pause, the principal chiefs arose ;
and approaching the patriarch, they placed his hands rever
ently on their heads, seeming to entreat a blessing. The
younger men were content with touching his robe, or even
drawing nigh his person, in order to breathe in the atmos
phere of one so aged, so just, and so valiant. None but the
most distinguished among the youthful warriors even pre
sumed so far as to perform the latter ceremony ; the great
mass of the multitude deeming it a sufficient happiness to
look upon a form so deeply venerated, and so well beloved.
When these acts of affection and respect were performed, the
chiefs drew back again to their several places, and silence
reigned in the whole encampment.

After a short delay, a few of the young men, to whom in
structions had been whispered by one of the aged attendants
of Tamenund, arose, left the crowd, and entered the lodge
which has already been noted as the object of so much atten
tion throughout that morning. In a few minutes they reap
peared, escorting the individuals who had caused all these
solemn preparations toward the seat of judgment. The

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 3/5

crowd opened in a lane; and when the party had re-entered,
it closed in again, forming a large and dense belt of human
bodies, arranged in an open circle.

CHAPTER XXIX.

The assembly seated, rising o'er the rest,
Achilles thus the king of men addressed.

POPE'S HOMER.

CORA stood foremost among the prisoners, entwining her
arms in those of Alice, in the tenderness of sisterly love.
Notwithstanding the fearful and menacing array of savages
on every side of her, no apprehension on her own account
could prevent the noble-minded maiden from keeping her
eyes fastened on the pale and anxious features of the trem
bling Alice. Close at their side stood Heyward, with an
interest in both, that, at such a moment of intense uncer
tainty, scarcely knew a preponderance in favor of her whom
he most loved. Hawk-eye had placed himself a little in the
rear, with a deference to the superior rank of his compan
ions, that no similarity in the state of their present fortunes
could induce him to forget. Uncas was not there.

When perfect silence was again restored, and after the
usual long, impressive pause, one of the two aged chiefs
who sat at the side of the patriarch arose, and demanded
aloud, in very intelligible English —

"Which of my prisoners is La longue Carabine? "
Neither Duncan nor the scout answered. The former*
however, glanced his eyes around the dark and silent assem
bly, and recoiled a pace, when they fell on the malignant
visage of Magua. He saw, at once, that this wily savage
had some secret agency in their present arraignment before
the nation, and determined to throw every possible impedi
ment in the way of the execution of his sinister plans. He
had witnessed one instance of the summary punishments of

3/6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the Indians, and now dreaded that his companion was to be
selected for a second. In this dilemma, with little or no
time for reflection, he suddenly determined to cloak his in
valuable friend, at any or every hazard to himself. Before
he had time, however, to speak, the question was repeated
in a louder voice, and with a clearer utterance.

" Give us arms,'* the young man haughtily replied, " and
place us in yonder woods. Our deeds shall speak for us! "

" This is the warrior whose name has filled our ears ! " re
turned the chief, regarding Heyward with that sort of curi
ous interest which seems inseparable from man, when first
beholding one of his fellows to whom merit or accident, vir
tue or crime, has given notoriety. " What has brought the
white man into the camp of the Delawares? "

" My necessities. I come for food, shelter, and friends."

" It cannot be. The woods are full of game. The head
of a warrior needs no other shelter than a sky without
clouds; and the Delawares are the enemies, and not the
friends, of the Yengeese. Go — the mouth has spoken, while
the heart said nothing."

Duncan, a little at a loss in what manner to proceed, re
mained silent; but the scout, who had listened attentively
to all that passed, now advanced steadily to the front.

" That I did not answer to the call for La longue Cara
bine, was not owing either to shame or fear," he said ; " for
neither one nor the other is the gift of an honest man.
But I do not admit the right of the Mingoes to bestow a
name on one whose friends have been mindful of his gifts,
in this particular; especially as their title is a lie, * Kill-
deer ' being a grooved barrel and no carabyne. I am the
man, however, that got the name of Nathaniel from my kin;
the compliment of Hawk-eye from the Delawares, who live
on their own river ; and whom the Iroquois have presumed
to style the * Long Rifle/ without any warranty from him
who is most concerned in the matter."

The eyes of all present, which had hitherto been gravely

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. ^77

scanning the person of Duncan, were now turned, on the
instant, toward the upright iron frame of this new pretender
to the distinguished appellation. It was in no degree re
markable that there should be found two who were willing
to claim so great an honor, for impostors, though rare, were
not unknown amongst the natives; but it was altogether
material to the just and severe intentions of the Delawares,
that there should be no mistake in the matter. Some of
their old men consulted together in private, and then, as it
would seem, they determined to interrogate their visitor on
the subject.

" My brother has said that a snake crept into my camp,"
said the chief to Magua; "which is he? "

The Huron pointed to the scout.

"Will a wise Delaware believe the barking of a wolf? "
exclaimed Duncan, still more confirmed in the evil inten
tions of his ancient enemy: "a dog never lies, but when
was a wolf known to speak the truth ? "

The eyes of Magua flashed fire; but, suddenly recollect
ing the necessity of maintaining his presence of mind, he
turned away in silent disdain, well assured that the sagacity
of the Indians would not fail to extract the real merits of
the point in controversy. He was not deceived; for, after
another short consultation, the wary Delaware turned to
him again, and expressed the determination of the chiefs,
though in the most considerate language.

" My brother has been called a liar," he said, " and his
friends are angry. They will show that he has spoken the
truth. Give my prisoners guns, and let them prove which
is the man."

Magua affected to consider the expedient, which he well
knew proceeded from distrust of himself, as a compliment,
and made a gesture of acquiescence, well content that his
veracity should be supported by so skilful a marksman as
the scout. The weapons were instantly placed in the hands
of the friendly opponents, and they were bid to fire, over

378 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

the heads of the seated multitude, at an earthen vessel
which lay, by accident, on a stump, some fifty yards from
the place where they stood.

Heyward smiled to himself at the idea of a competition
with the scout, though he determined to persevere in the de
ception, until apprised of the real designs of Magua. Rais
ing his rifle with the utmost care, and renewing his aim
three several times, he fired. The bullet cut the wood
within a few inches of the vessel ; and a general exclama
tion of satisfaction announced that the shot was considered
a proof of great skill in the use of the weapon. Even Hawk-
eye nodded his head, as if he would say, it was better than
he had expected. But, instead of manifesting an intention
to contend with the successful marksman, he stood leaning
on his rifle for more than a minute, like a man who was
completely buried in thought. From this reverie he was,
however, awakened by one of the young Indians who had
furnished the arms, and who now touched his shoulder, say
ing, in exceedingly broken English —

"Can the pale-face beat it? "

" Yes, Huron ! " exclaimed the scout, raising the short
rifle in his right hand, and shaking it at Magua, with as
much apparent ease as if it were a reed; "yes, Huron, I
could strike you now, and no power of earth 'ould prevent
the deed! The soaring hawk is not more certain of the
dove than I am this moment of you, did I choose to send a
bullet to your heart! Why should I not? Why! — because
the gifts of my color forbid it, and I might draw down evil
on tender and innocent heads! If you know such a being
as God, thank him, therefore, in your inward soul — for you
have reason ! "

The flushed countenance, angry eye, and swelling figure
of the scout produced a sensation of secret awe in all that
heard him. The Delawares held their breath in expecta
tion ; but Magua himself, even while he distrusted the for
bearance of his enemy, remained immovable and calm,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 379

where he stood wedged in by the crowd, as one who grew to
the spot.

" Beat it," repeated the young Delaware at the elbow of
the scout.

"Beat what; fool!— what!" — exclaimed Hawk-eye, still
flourishing the weapon angrily above his head, though his
eye no longer sought the person of Magua.

" If the white man is the warrior he pretends," said the
aged chief, " let him strike nigher to the mark."

The scout laughed aloud — a noise that produced the star
tling effect of an unnatural sound on Heyward — then drop
ping the piece, heavily, into his extended left hand, it was
discharged, apparently by the shock, driving the fragments
of the vessel into the air, and scattering them on every side.
Almost at the same instant, the rattling sound of the rifle was
heard, as he suffered it to fall, contemptuously, to the earth.

The first impression of so strange a scene was engrossing
admiration. Then a low, but increasing murmur, ran
through the multitude, and finally swelled into sounds that
denoted a lively opposition in the sentiments of the specta
tors. While some openly testified their satisfaction at so
unexampled dexterity, by far the larger portion of the tribe
were inclined to believe the success -of the shot was the re
sult of accident. Heyward was not slow to confirm an
opinion that was so favorable to his own pretensions.

"It was chance \" he exclaimed; "none can shoot with
out an aim! "

" Chance ! " echoed the excited woodsman, wrho was now
stubbornly bent on maintaining his identity at every hazard,
and on whom the secret hints of Heyward to acquiesce in
the deception were entirely lost. " Does yonder lying Hu
ron, too, think it chance? Give him another gun, and place
us face to face, without cover or dodge, and let Providence,
and our own eyes, decide the matter atween us! I do not
make the offer to you, major; for our blood is of a colo&
and we serve the same master."

380 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

"That the Huron is a liar, is very evident," returned
Heyward, coolly; "you have yourself heard him assert you
to be La longue Carabine."

It were impossible to say what violent assertion the stub
born Hawk-eye would have next made, in his headlong wish
to vindicate his identity, had not the aged Delaware once
more interposed.

" The hawk which comes from the clouds can return when
he will," he said; "give them the guns."

This time the scout seized the rifle with avidity; nor had
Magua, though he watched the movement of the marksman
with jealous eyes, any further cause for apprehension.

" Now let it be proved, in the face of this tribe of Dela-
wares, which is the better man," cried the scout, tapping the
butt of his piece with that ringer which had pulled so many
fatal triggers. " You see the gourd hanging against yonder
tree, major; if you are a marksman fit for the borders, let
me see you break its shell ! "

Duncan noted the object, and prepared himself to renew
the trial. The gourd was one of the usual little vessels
used by the Indians, and it was suspended from a dead
branch of a small pine, by a thong of deer-skin, at the full
distance of a hundred yards. So strangely compounded is
the feeling of self-love, that the young soldier, while he
knew the utter worthlessness of the suffrages of his savage
umpires, forgot the sudden motives of the contest in a wish
to excel. It has been seen, already, that his skill was far
from being contemptible, and he now resolved to put forth
its nicest qualities. Had his life depended on the issue,
the aim of Duncan could not have been more deliberate or
guarded. He fired ; and three or four young Indians, who
sprang forward at the report, announced with a shout, that
the ball was in the tree, a very little on one side of the
proper object. The warriors uttered a common ejaculation
of pleasure, and then turned their eyes, inquiringly, on the
movements of his rival.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 381

"It may do for the Royal Americans! " said Hawk-eye,
laughing once more in his own silent, heartfelt manner;
" but had my gun often turned so much from the true line,
many a marten, whose skin is now in a lady's muff, would
still be in the woods; ay, and many a bloody Mingo, who
has departed to his final account, would be acting his devil
tries, at this very day, atween the provinces. I hope the
squaw who owns the gourd has more of them in her wigwam,
for this will never hold water again ! '"'

The scout had shook his priming, and cocked his piece,
while speaking; and, as he ended, he threw back a foot,
and slowly raised the muzzle from the earth : the motion
was steady, uniform, and in one direction. When on a per
fect level, it remained for a single moment, without tremor
or variation, as though both man and rifle were carved in
stone. During that stationary instant, it poured forth its
contents in a bright, glancing sheet of flame. Again the
young Indians bounded forward; but their hurried search
and disappointed looks announced that no traces of the bul
let were to be seen.

" Go," said the old chief to the scout, in a tone of strong
disgust; "thou art a wolf in the skin of a dog. I will talk
to the * Long Rifle ' of the Yengeese.'!

" Ahl had I that piece which furnished the name you use,
I would obligate myself to cut the thong, and drop the gourd
without breaking it! " returned Hawk-eye, perfectly undis
turbed by the other's manner. " Fools, if you would find
the bullet of a sharpshooter of these woods, you must look
in the object and not around it! "

The Indian youths instantly comprehended his meaning
— for this time he spoke in the Delaware tongue — and tear
ing the gourd from the tree, they held it on high with an
exulting shout, displaying a hole in its bottom, which had
been cut by the bullet, after passing through the usual ori
fice in the centre of its upper side. At this unexpected ex
hibition, a loud and vehement expression of pleasure burst

382 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

from the mouth of every warrior present. It decided the
question, and effectually established Hawk-eye in the pos
session of his dangerous reputation. Those curious and
admiring eyes which had been turned again on Heyward,
were finally directed to the weather-beaten form of the scout,
who immediately became the principal object of attention to
the simple and unsophisticated beings by whom he was sur
rounded. When the sudden and noisy commotion had a
little subsided, the aged chief resumed his examination.

" Why did you wish to stop my ears ? " he said, addressing
Duncan ; " are the Delawares fools, that they could not know
the young panther from the cat? "

" They will yet find the Huron a singing-bird," said Dun
can, endeavoring to adopt the figurative language of the
natives.

" It is good. We will know who can shut the ears of
men. Brother," added the chief, turning his eyes on Ma-
gua, " the Delawares listen."

Thus singled, and directly called on to declare his object,
the Huron arose; and advancing with great deliberation and
dignity, into the very centre of the circle, where he stood
confronted to the prisoners, he placed himself in an attitude
to speak. Before opening his mouth, however, he bent his
eyes slowly along the whole living boundary of earnest
faces, as if to temper his expressions to the capacities of
his audience. On Hawk-eye he cast a glance of respectful
enmity ; on Duncan, a look of inextinguishable hatred ; the
shrinking figure of Alice he scarcely deigned to notice ; but
when his glance met the firm, commanding, and yet. lovely
form of Cora, his eye lingered a moment, "with an expres
sion that it might have been difficult to define. Then, filled
with his own dark intentions, he' spoke in the language of
the Canadas, a tongue that he well knew was comprehended
by most of his auditors.

" The Spirit that made men colored them differently,"
commenced the subtle Huron. " Some are blacker than the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 383

sluggish bear. These he said should be slaves; and he
ordered them to work forever, like the beaver. You may
hear them groan, when the south wind blows, louder than
the lowing buffaloes, along the shores of the great salt lake,
where the big canoes come and go with them in droves.
Some he made with faces paler than the ermine of the for
ests: and these he ordered to be traders; dogs to their
women, and wolves to their slaves. He gave this people
the nature of the pigeon ; wings that never tire: young, more
plentiful than the leaves on the trees, and appetites to de
vour the earth. He gave them tongues like the false call
of the wild-cat; hearts like rabbits; the cunning of the hog
(but none of the fox), and arms longer than the legs of the
moose. With his tongue, he stops the ears of the Indians;
his heart teaches him to pay warriors to fight his battles;
his cunning tells him how to get together the goods of the
earth; and his arms inclose the land from the shores of the
salt-water to the islands of the great lake. His gluttony
makes him sick. God gave him enough, and yet he wants
all. Such are the pale-faces.

" Some the Great Spirit made with skins brighter and
redder than yonder sun," continued Magua, pointing im
pressively upward to the lurid luminary, which was strug
gling through the misty atmosphere of the horizon, "and
these did he fashion to his own mind. He gave them this
island as he had made it, covered with trees, and filled with
game. The wind made their clearings; the sun and rains
ripened their fruits; and the snows came to tell them to be
thankful. What need had they of roads to journey by!
They saw through the hills! When the beavers worked,
they lay in the shade, and looked on. The winds cooled
them in summer ; in winter, skins kept them warm. If they
fought among themselves, it was to prove that they were
men. They were brave; they were just; they were happy."

Here the speaker paused, and again looked around him,
to discover if his legend had touched the sympathies of his

384 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

listeners. He met everywhere with eyes riveted on his own,
heads erect, and nostrils expanded, as if each individual
present felt himself able and willing, singly, to redress the
wrongs of his race.

" If the Great Spirit gave different tongues to his red chil
dren," he continued, in a low, still melancholy voice, " it
was that all animals might understand them. Some he
placed among the snows, with their cousin the bear. Some
he placed near the setting sun, on the road to the happy
hunting grounds. Some on the lands around the great fresh
waters ; but to his greatest, and most beloved, he gave the
sands of the salt lake. Do my brothers know the name of
this favored people ? "

" It was the Lenape ! " exclaimed twenty eager voices, in
a breath.

" It was the Lenni Lenape," returned Magua, affecting to
bend his head in reverence to their former greatness. " It
was the tribes of the Lenape! The sun rose from water
that was salt, and set in water that was sweet, and never hid
himself from their eyes. But why should I, a Huron of the
woods, tell a wise people their own traditions? Why re-
mind them of their injuries; their ancient greatness; their
deeds; their glory; their happiness: — their losses; their
defeats; their misery? Is there not one among them who
has seen it all, and who knows it to be true ? I have done.
My tongue is still, for my heart is of lead. I listen."

As the voice of the speaker suddenly ceased, every face
and all eyes turned, by a common movement, toward the
venerable Tamenund. From the moment that he took his
seat, until the present instant, the lips of the patriarch had
not severed, and scarcely a sign of life had escaped him.
He sat bent in feebleness, and apparently unconscious of
the presence he was in, during the whole of that opening
scene, in which the skill of the scout had been so clearly
established. At the nicely graduated sounds of Magua's
voice, however, he betrayed some evidence of consciousness,

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 385

and once or twice he even raised his head, as if to listen.
But when the crafty Huron spoke of his nation by name, the
eyelids of the old man raised themselves, and he looked out
upon the multitude with that sort of dull unmeaning expres
sion which might be supposed to belong to the countenance
of a spectre. Then he made an effort to rise, and being
upheld by his supporters, he gained his feet, in a posture
commanding by its dignity, while he tottered with weak
ness.

"Who calls upon the children of the Lenape! " he said,
in a deep, guttural voice, that was rendered awfully audible
by the breathless silence of the multitude: who speaks of
things gone! Does not the egg become a worm — the worm
a fly, and perish? Why tell the Delawares of good that is
past? Better thank the Manitto for that which remains."

" It is a Wyandot," said Magua, stepping nigher to the
rude platform on which the other stood; "a friend of
Tamenund."

"A friend!" repeated the sage, on whose brow a dark
frown settled, imparting a portion of that severity which had
rendered his eye so terrible in middle age — " Are the Min-
goes rulers of the earth? What brings a Huron here? "

"Justice. His prisoners are with his brothers, and he
comes for his own."

Tamenund turned his head toward one of his supporters,
and listened to the short explanation the man gave. Then
facing the applicant, he regarded him a moment with deep
attention: after which he said, in a low and reluctant voice:

"Justice is the law of the great Manitto. My children,
give the stranger food. Then, Huron, take thine own and
depart."

On the delivery of this solemn judgment, the patriarch
seated himself, and closed his eyes again, as if better pleased
with the images of his own ripened experience than with the
visible objects of the world. Against such a decree there
was no Delaware sufficiently hardy to murmur, much less

386 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

oppose himself. The words were barely uttered when four
or five of the younger warriors, stepping behind Hey ward and
the scout, passed thongs so dexterously and rapidly around
their arms, as to hold them both in instant bondage. The
former was too much engrossed with his precious and nearly
insensible burden, to be aware of their intentions before
they were executed; and the latter, who considered even the
hostile tribes of the Delawares a superior race of beings,
submitted without resistance. Perhaps, however, the man
ner of the scout would not have been so passive, had he fully
comprehended the language in which the preceding dialogue
had been conducted.

Magua cast a look of triumph around the whole assembly
before he proceeded to the execution of his purpose. Per
ceiving that the men were unable to offer any resistance, he
turned his looks on her he valued most. Cora met his gaze
with an eye so calm and firm, that his resolution wavered.
Then recollecting his former artifice, he raised Alice from
the arms of the warrior against whom she leaned, and beck
oning Heyward to follow, he motioned for the encircling
crowd to open. But Cora, instead of obeying the impulse
he had expected, rushed to the feet of the patriarch, and
raising her voice, exclaimed aloud: —

" Just and venerable Delaware, on thy wisdom and power
we lean for mercy ! Be deaf to yonder artful and remorse
less monster, who poisons thy ears with falsehoods to feed
his thirst for blood. Thou that has lived long, and that
hast seen the evil of the world, should know how to temper
its calamities to the miserable."

The eyes of the old man opened heavily, and he once
more looked upward at the multitude. As the piercing
tones of the supplicant swelled on his ears, they moved
slowly in the direction of her person, and finally settled there
in a steady gaze. Cora had cast herself to her knees; and,
with hands clenched in each other and pressed upon her
bosom, she remained like a beauteous and breathing model

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 387

of her sex, looking up in his faded but majestic countenance,
with a species of holy reverence. Gradually the expression
of Tamenund's features changed, and losing their vacancy
in admiration, they lighted with a portion of that intelligence
which a century before had been wont to communicate his
youthful fire to the extensive bands of the Delawares. Ris
ing without assistance, and seemingly without an effort, he
demanded, in a voice that startled its auditors by its firm
ness —

"What art thou?"

" A woman. One of a hated race, if thou wilt — a Yengee.
But one who has never harmed thee, and who cannot harm
thy people, if she would; who asks for succor."

" Tell me, my children," continued the patriarch, hoarsely,
motioning to those around him, though his eyes still dwelt
upon the kneeling form of Cora, " where have the Delawares
camped ? "

"In the mountains of the Iroquois, beyond the clear
springs of the Horican."

" Many parching summers are come and gone," continued
the sage, " since I drank of the waters of my own river.
The children of Minquon* are the justest white men; but
they were thirsty, and they took it to themselves. Do they
follow us so far? "

" We follow none ; we covet nothing," answered Cora.
" Captives against our wills, have we been brought amongst
you ; and we ask but permission to depart to our own in
peace. Art thou not Tamenund — the father — the judge — I
had almost said, the prophet — of this people ? "

" I am Tamenund of many days."

" 'Tis now some seven years that one of thy people was

* William Penn was termed Minquon by the Delawares, and, as he never used vio
lence or injustice in his dealings with them, his reputation for probity passed into a
proverb. The American is justly proud of the origin of his nation, which is perhaps
unequalled in the history of the world ; but the Pennsylvanian and Jerseyman have
more reason to value themselves in their ancestors than the natives of any other State,
since no wrong was done the original owners of the soil.

Q v°l 4

388 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

at the mercy of a white chief on the borders of this province.
He claimed to be of the blood of the good and just Tame-
nund. * Go,' said the white man, * for thy parent's sake thou
art free.' Dost thou remember the name of that English
warrior? "

" I remember, that when a laughing boy," returned the pa
triarch, with the peculiar recollection of vast age, " I stood
upon the sands of the sea-shore, and saw a big canoe with
wings whiter than the swan's, and wider than many eagles,
come from the rising sun. "

" Nay, nay ; I speak not of a time so very distant, but of
favor shown to thy kindred by one of mine, within the mem
ory of thy youngest warrior."

"Was it when the Yengeese and the Dutchmanne fought
for the hunting grounds of the Delawares? Then Tame-
nund was a chief, and first laid aside the bow for the light
ning of the pale-faces — — "

" Nor yet then," interrupted Cora, " by many ages ; I speak
of a thing of yesterday. Surely, surely, you forget it not."

" It was but yesterday," rejoined the aged man with touch
ing pathos, " that the children of the Lenape were masters of
the world. The fishes of the salt lake, the birds, the beasts,
and the Mengwee of the woods, owned them for Sagamores."

Cora bowed her head in disappointment, and, for a bitter
moment, struggled with her chagrin. Then elevating her
rich features and beaming eyes, she continued, in tones
scarcely less penetrating than the unearthly voice of the
patriarch himself —

"Tell me, is Tamenund a father? "

The old man looked down upon her from his elevated
stand, with a benignant smile on his wasted countenance,
and then casting his eyes slowly over the whole assemblage,
he answered —

"Of a nation."

" For myself I ask nothing. Like thee and thine, vener
able chief," she continued, pressing her hands convulsively

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 389

on her heart, and suffering her head to droop until her burn
ing cheeks were nearly concealed in the maze of dark glossy
tresses that fell in disorder upon her shoulders, "the curse
of my ancestors has fallen heavily on their child. But yon
der is one who has never known the weight of Heaven's dis
pleasure until now. She is the daughter of an old and fail
ing man, whose days are near their close. She has many,
very many, to love her, and delight in her; and she is too
good, much too precious, to become the victim of that
villain."

" I know that the pale-faces are a proud and hungry race.
I know that they claim not only to have the earth, but that
the meanest of their color is better than the Sachems of the
red man. The dogs and crows of their tribes," continued
the earnest old chieftain, without heeding the wounded
spirit of his listener, whose head was nearly crushed to the
earth in shame, as he proceeded, " would bark and caw be
fore they would take a woman to their wigwams whose blood
was not of the color of snow. But let them not boast before
the face of the Manitto too loud. They entered the land at
the rising, and may yet go off at the setting sun. I have
often seen the locusts strip the leaves from the trees, but the
season of blossoms has always come again."

" It is so," said Cora, drawing a long breath, as if reviv
ing from a trance, raising her face, and shaking back her
shining veil, with a kindling eye, that contradicted the
death-like paleness of her countenance; "but why — it is
not permitted us to inquire. There is yet one of thine own
people who has not been brought before thee ; before thoii
lettest the Huron depart in triumph, hear him speak."

Observing Tamenund to look about him doubtingly, one
of his companions said —

" It is a snake — a red-skin in the pay of the Yengeese.
We keep him for the torture."

" Let him come," returned the sage.

Then Tamenund once more sank into his seat, and a

390 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

silence so deep prevailed, while the young men prepared to
obey his simple mandate, that the leaves, which fluttered in
the draught of the light morning air, were distinctly heard
rustling in the surrounding forest.

CHAPTER XXX.

If you deny me, fie upon your law !
There is no force in the decrees of Venice ;
I stand for judgment ; answer, shall I have it ?

SHAKESPEARE.

THE silence continued unbroken by human sounds for
many anxious minutes. Then the waving multitude opened
and shut again, and Uncas stood in the living circle. All
those eyes, which had been curiously studying the linea
ments of the sage, as the source of their own intelligence,
turned on the instant, and were now bent in secret admira
tion on the erect, agile, and faultless person of the captive.
But neither the presence in which he found himself, nor the
exclusive attention that he attracted, in any manner dis
turbed the self-possession of the young Mohican. He cast
a deliberate and observing look on every side of him, meet
ing the settled expression of hostility that lowered in the
visages of the chiefs, with the same calmness as the curious
gaze of the attentive children. But when, last in his
haughty scrutiny, the person of Tamenund came under his
glance, his eye became fixed, as though all other objects
were already forgotten. Then advancing with a slow and
noiseless step up the area, he placed himself immediately
before the footstool of the sage. Here he stood unnoted,
though keenly observant himself, until one of the chiefs ap
prised the latter of his presence.

" With what tongue does the prisoner speak to the Man-
itto? " demanded the patriarch, without unclosing his eyes.

" Like his fathers," Uncas replied; " with the tongue of a
Delaware."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 39!

At this sudden and unexpected annunciation, a low, fierce
yell ran through the multitude, that might not inaptly be
compared to the growl of the lion, as his choler is first
awakened — a fearful omen of the weight of his future anger.
The effect was equally strong on the sage, though differently
exhibited. He passed a hand before his eyes, as if to ex
clude the least evidence of so shameful a spectacle, while
he repeated, in his low, guttural tones, the words he had just
heard.

"A Delaware! I have lived to see the tribes of the Len-
ape driven from their council fires, and scattered, like brok
en herds of deer, among the hills of the Iroquois! I have
seen the hatchets of a strange people sweep woods from the
valleys, that the winds of Heaven had spared! The beasts
that run on the mountains, and the birds that fly above the
trees, have I seen living in the wigwams of men; but never
before have I found a Delaware so base as to creep, like a
poisonous serpent, into the camps of his nation."

"The singing-birds have opened their bills," returned
Uncas, in the softest notes of his own musical voice; "and
Tamenund has heard their song."

The sage started, and bent his head aside, as if to catch
the fleeting sounds of some passing. melody.

" Does Tamenund dream! " he exclaimed. "What voice
is at his ear! Have the winters gone backward! Will
summer come again to the children of the Lenape ! "

A solemn and respectful silence succeeded this incoher
ent burst from the lips of the Delaware prophet. His peo
ple readily construed his unintelligible language into one
of those mysterious conferences he was believed to hold so
frequently with a superior intelligence, and they awaited the
issue of the revelation in awe. After a patient pause, how
ever, one of the aged men, perceiving that the sage had lost
the recollection of the subject before them, ventured to re
mind him again of the presence of the prisoner.

" The false Delaware trembles lest he should hear the

392 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

words of Tamenund," he said. " 'Tis a hound that howls,
when the Yengeese show him a trail."

"And ye," returned Uncas, looking sternly around him,
11 are dogs that whine, when the Frenchman casts ye the
offals of his deer!"

Twenty knives gleamed in the air, and as many warriors
sprang to their feet, at this biting, and perhaps merited, re
tort; but a motion from one of the chiefs suppressed the
outbreaking of their tempers, and restored the appearance
of quiet. The task might probably have been more difficult,
had not a movement made by Tamenund indicated that he
was again about to speak.

"Delaware!" resumed the sage, "little art thou worthy
of thy name. My people have not seen a bright sun in many
winters ; and the warrior who deserts his tribe when hid in
clouds is doubly a traitor. The law of the Manitto is just.
It is so; while the rivers run and the mountains stand, while
the blossoms come and go on the trees, it must be so. He
is thine, my children ; deal justly by him."

Not a limb was moved, nor was a breath drawn louder and
longer than common, until the closing syllable of this final
decree had passed the lips of Tamenund. Then a cry of
vengeance burst at once, as it might be, from the united lips
of the nation; a frightful augury of their ruthless inten
tions. In the midst of these prolonged and savage yells, a
chief proclaimed, in a high voice, that the captive was con
demned to endure the dreadful trial of torture by fire. The
circle broke its order, and screams of delight mingled with
the bustle and tumult of preparation. Heyward struggled
madly with his captors; the anxious eyes of Hawk-eye be
gan to look around him, with an expression of peculiar
earnestness ; and Cora again threw herself at the feet of the
patriarch, once more a suppliant for mercy.

Throughout the whole of these trying moments, Uncas
had alone preserved his serenity. He looked on the prepa
rations with a steady eye, and when the tormenters came to

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 393

seize him, he met them with a firm and upright attitude.
One among them, if possible, more fierce and savage than
his fellows, seized the hunting shirt of the young warrior,
and at a single effort tore it from his body. Then, with a
yell of frantic pleasure, he leaped toward his unresisting
victim, and prepared to lead him to the stake. But, at that
moment, when he appeared most a stranger to the feelings
of humanity, the purpose of the savage was arrested as sud
denly as if a supernatural agency had interposed in the be
half of Uncas. The eye-balls of the Delaware seemed to
start from their sockets ; his mouth opened, and his whole
form became frozen in an attitude of amazement. Raising
his hand with a slow and regulated motion, he pointed with
a finger to the bosom of the captive. His companions
crowded about him in wonder, and every eye was, like his
own, fastened intently on the figure of a small tortoise, beau
tifully tattooed on the breast of the prisoner, in a bright
blue tint.

For a single instant Uncas enjoyed his triumph, smiling
calmly on the scene. Then motioning the crowd away with
a high and haughty sweep of his arm, he advanced in front
of the nation with the air of a king, and spoke in a voice
louder than the murmur of admiration that ran through the
multitude.

"Men of the Lenni Lenape! " he said, "my race upholds
the earth! Your feeble tribe stands on my shell! What
fire that a Delaware can light would burn the child of my
fathers ?'"' he added, pointing proudly to the simple blazonry
on his skin; "the blood that came from such a stock would
smother your flames! My race is the grandfather of na
tions! "

"Who art thou?" demanded Tamenund, rising at the
startling tones he heard, more than at any meaning conveyed
by the language of the prisoner.

" Uncas, the son of Chingachgook," answered the captive
modestly, turning from the nation, and bending his head in

394 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

reverence to the other's character and years ; " a son of the
great Unamis." *

"The hour of Tamenund is nigh! " exclaimed the sage;
"the day is come, at last, to the night! I thank the Man-
itto, that one is here to fill my place at the council-fire.
Uncas, the child of Uncas, is found! Let the eyes of a
dying eagle gaze on the rising sun."

The youth stepped lightly, but proudly, on the platform,
where he became visible to the whole agitated and wondering
multitude. Tamenund held him long at the length of his arm,
and read every turn in the fine lineaments of his countenance,
with the untiring gaze of one who recalled days of happiness.

"Is Tamenund a boy? " at length the bewildered prophet
exclaimed. " Have I dreamt of so many snows — that my
people were scattered like floating sands — of Yengeese,
more plenty than the leaves on the trees! The arrow of
Tamenund would not frighten the fawn ; his arm is withered
like the branch of a dead oak; the snail would be swifter
in the race ; yet is Uncas before him as they went to battle
against the pale-faces ! Uncas, the panther of his tribe, the
eldest son of the Lenape, the wisest Sagamore of the Mo
hicans! Tell me, ye Delawares, has Tamenund been a
sleeper for a hundred winters? "

The calm and deep silence which succeeded these words
sufficiently announced the awful reverence with which his
people received the communication of the patriarch. None
dared to answer, though all listened in breathless expecta
tion of what might follow. Uncas, however, looking in his
face with the fondness and veneration of a favored child,
presumed on his own high and acknowledged rank to reply.

" Four warriors of his race have lived, and died," he said,
"since the friend of Tamenund led his people in battle.
The blood of the turtle has been in many chiefs, but all
have gone back into the earth from whence they came ex
cept Chingachgook and his son."

•Turtle.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 395

"It is true — it is true," returned the sage — a flash of
recollection destroying all his pleasing fancies, and restoring
him at once to a consciousness of the true history of his na
tion. " Our wise men have often said that two warriors of
the unchanged race were in the hills of the Yengeese; why
have their seats at the council fires of the Delawares been
so long empty? "

At these words the young man raised his head, which he
had still kept bowed a little, in reverence; and lifting his
voice so as to be heard by the multitude, as if to explain at
once and for ever the policy of his family, he said aloud —

" Once \ve slept where we could hear the salt lake speak
in its anger. Then we were rulers and Sagamores over the
land. But when a pale-face was seen on every brook, we
followed the deer back to the river of our nation. The
Delawares were gone. Few warriors of them all stayed to
drink of the stream they loved. Then said my fathers,
* Here will we hunt. The waters of the river go into the salt
lake. If we go toward the setting sun, we shall find streams
that run into the great lakes of sweet water; there would a
Mohican die, like fishes of the sea, in the clear springs.
When the Manitto is ready, and shall say " come/' we will
follow the river to the sea, and take our own again.' Such,
Delawares, is the belief of the children of the Turtle. Our
eyes are on the rising, and not toward the setting sun. We
know whence he comes, but we know not whither he goes.
It is enough."

The men of the Lenape listened to his words with all the
respect that superstition could lend, finding a secret charm
even in the figurative language with which the young Saga
more imparted his ideas. Uncas himself watched the effect
of his brief explanation with intelligent eyes, and gradually
dropped the air of authority he had assumed, as he perceived
that his auditors were content. • Then permitting his looks
to wander over the silent throng that crowded around the
elevated seat of Tamenund, he first perceived Hawk-eye in

396 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

his bonds. Stepping eagerly from his stand, he made way
for himself to the side of his friend; and cutting his thongs
with a quick and angry stroke of his own knife, he motioned
to the crowd to divide. The Indians silently obeyed, and
once more they stood ranged in their circle, as before his
appearance among them. Uncas took the scout by the
hand, and led him to the feet of the patriarch.

" Father," he said, " look at this pale-face ; a just man,
and the friend of the Delawares."

" Is he a son of Minquon ? "

" Not so ; a warrior known to the Yengeese, and feared
by the Maquas."

" What name has he gained by his deeds? "

"We call him Hawk-eye," Uncas replied, using the Del
aware phrase; "for his sight never fails. The Mingoes
known him better by the death he gives their warriors : with
them he is ' The long Rifle.' "

" La longue Carabine ! " exclaimed Tamenund, opening
his eyes, and regarding the scout sternly. " My son has
not done well to call him friend."

" I call him so who proves himself such," returned the
young chief, with great calmness, but with a steady mien.
" If Uncas is welcome among the Delawares, then is Hawk-
eye with his friends."

"The pale-face has slain my young men; his name is
great for the blows he has struck the Lenape."

" If a Mingo has whispered that much in the ear of the
Delaware, he has only shown that he is a singing-bird,"
said the scout, who now believed that it was time to vindi
cate himself from such offensive charges, and who spoke in
the tongue of the man he addressed, modifying his Indian
figures, however, with his own peculiar notions. " That I
have slain the Maquas I am not the man to deny, even at
their own council fires; but that, knowingly, my hand has
ever harmed a Delaware, is opposed to the reason of my gifts,
which is friendly to them, and all that belongs to their nation."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 397

A low exclamation of applause passed among the war*
riors, who exchanged looks with each other like men that
first began to perceive their error.

"Where is the Huron?" demanded Tamenund. "Has
he stopped my ears ? "

Magua, whose feelings during that scene in which Uncas
had triumphed may be much better imagined than described,
answered to the call by stepping boldly in front of the
patriarch.

"The just Tamenund," he said, "will not keep what a
Huron has lent."

" Tell me, son of my brother," returned the sage, avoiding
the dark countenance of Le Subtil, and turning gladly to
the more ingenuous features of Uncas, " has the stranger a
conqueror's right over you? "

" He has none. The panther may get into snares set by
the women ; but he is strong, and knows how to leap through
them."

"La longue Carabine? "

"Laughs at the Mingoes. Go, Huron, ask your squaws
the color of a bear."

" The stranger and the white maiden that came into my
camp together? "

"Should journey on an open path."

"And the woman that Huron left with my warriors? "

Uncas made no reply.

" And the woman that the Mingo has brought into my
camp," repeated Tamenund, gravely.

" She is mine," cried Magua, shaking his hand in triumph
at Uncas. " Mohican, you know that she is mine."

" My son is silent," said Tamenund, endeavoring to read
the expression of the face that the youth turned from him
in sorrow.

" It is so," was the low answer.

A short and impressive pause succeeded, during which it
was very apparent with what reluctance the multitude act

398 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

mitted the justice of the Mingo's claim. At length the sage,
on whom alone the decision depended, said, in a firm
voice —

" Huron, depart."

"As he came, just Tamenund," demanded the wily Ma«
gua: "or with hands filled with the faith of the Delawares?
The wigwam of Le Renard subtil is empty. Make him
strong with his own."

The aged man mused with himself for a time ; and then
bending his head toward one of his venerable companions,
he asked —

"Are my ears open? "

" It is true."

"IsthisMingoachief?"

" The first in his nation."

"Girl, what wouldst thou? A great warrior takes thee
to wife. Go; thy race will not end."

" Better, a thousand times, it should," exclaimed the hor
ror-struck Cora, " than meet with such a degradation ! "

" Huron, her mind is in the tents of her fathers. An un
willing maiden makes an unhappy wigwam."

"She speaks with the tongue of her people," returned
Magua, regarding his victim with a look of bitter irony.
" She is of a race of traders, and will bargain for a bright
look. Let Tamenund speak the words."

" Take you the wampum, and our love."

" Nothing hence but what Magua brought hither."

" Then depart with thine own. The Great Manitto for
bids that a Delaware should be unjust."

Magua advanced, and seized his captive strongly by the
arm; the Delawares fell back, in silence; and Cora, as if
conscious that remonstrance would be useless, prepared to
submit to her fate without resistance.

"Hold, hold!" cried Duncan, springing forward; "Hu
ron, have mercy! her ransom shall make thee richer than
any of thy people were ever yet known to be."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 399

" Magua is a red-skin ; he wants not the beads of the pale
faces."

" Gold, silver, powder, lead — all that a warrior needs shall
be in thy wigwam ; all that becomes the greatest chief."

" Le Subtil is very strong," cried Magua, violently shak
ing the hand which grasped the unresisting arm of Cora;
" he has his revenge ! "

" Mighty Ruler of providence! " exclamed Hey ward, clasp
ing his hands together in agony, "can this be suffered! To
you, just Tamenund, I appeal for mercy."

" The words of the Delaware are said," returned the sage,
closing his eyes, and dropping back into his seat, alike
wearied with his mental and his bodily exertion. " Men
speak not twice."

" That a chief should not misspend his time in unsaying
what has once been spoken, is wise and reasonable," said
Hawk-eye, motioning to Duncan to be silent; "but it is
also prudent in every warrior to consider well before he
strikes his tomahawk into the head of his prisoner. Hu
ron, I love you not; nor can I say that any Mingo has ever
received much favor at my hands. It is fair to conclude, that,
if this war does not soon end, many more of your warriors
will meet me in the woods. Put it to your judgment, then,
whether you would prefer taking such a prisoner as that
into your encampment, or one like myself, who am a man
that it would greatly rejoice your nation to see with naked
hands."

"Will 'The long Rifle' give his life for the woman ? »
demanded Magua, hesitatingly; for he had already made a
motion toward quitting the place with his victim.

" No, no ; I have not said so much as that," returned
Hawk-eye, drawing back with suitable discretion, when he
noted the eagerness with which Magua listened to his pro
posal. " It would be an unequal exchange, to give a warrior,
in the prime of his age and usefulness, for the best woman
on the frontiers. I might consent to go into winter quar«

400 TOE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

ters, now — at least six weeks afore the leaves will turn — on
condition you will release the maiden."

Magua shook his head, and made an impatient sign for the
crowd to open.

" Well, then," added the scout, with the musing air of a
man who had not half made up his mind, " I will throw
' Kill-deer ' into the bargain. Take the word of an experi
enced hunter, the piece has not its equal atween the prov
inces."

Magua still disdained to reply, continuing his efforts to
disperse the crowd.

" Perhaps," added the scout, losing his dissembled cool
ness, exactly in proportion as the other manifested an in
difference to the exchange, " if I should condition to teach
your young men the real virtue of the we'pon, it would
smooth the little differences in our judgments."

Le Renard fiercely ordered the Delawares, who still lin
gered in an impenetrable belt around him, in hopes he
would listen to the amicable proposal, to open his path,
threatening, by the glance of his eye, another appeal to the
infallible justice of their " prophet."

" What is ordered must sooner or later arrive," continued
Hawk-eye, turning with a sad and humbled look to Uncas.
"The varlet knows his advantage, and will keep it! God
bless you, boy; you have found friends among your natural
kin, and I hope they will prove as true as some you have
met who had no Indian cross. As for me, sooner or later,
I must die; it is therefore fortunate there are but few to
make my death-howl. After all, it is likely the imps would
have managed to master my scalp, so a day or two will
make no great difference in the everlasting reckoning of
time. God bless you," added the rugged woodsman, bend
ing his head aside, and then instantly changing its direction
again, with a wistful look toward the youth ; " I loved both
you and your father, Uncas, though our skins are not alto
gether of a color, and our gifts are somewhat different. Tell

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 40!

the Sagamore I never lost sight of him in my greatest trou
ble; and, as for you, think of me sometimes when on a
lucky trail ; and depend on it, boy, whether there be one
heaven or two, there is a path in the other world by which
honest men may come together again. You'll find the rifle
in the place we hid it; take it, and keep it for my sake;
and harkee, lad, as your natural gifts don't deny you the use
of vengeance, use it a little freely on the Mingoes; it may
unburden grief at my loss, and ease your mind. Huron, I
accept your offer; release the woman. I am your prisoner."

A suppressed, but still distinct murmur of approbation,
ran through the crowd at this generous proposition ; even
the fiercest among the Delaware warriors manifesting pleas
ure at the manliness of the intended sacrifice. Magua
paused, and for an anxious moment, it might be said, he
doubted; then casting his eyes on Cora, with an expression
in which ferocity and admiration were strangely mingled,
his purpose became fixed for ever.

He intimated his contempt of the offer with a backward
motion of his head, and said, in a steady and settled voice —

"Le Renard subtil is a great chief; he has but one mind.
Come," he added, laying his hand too familiarly on the
shoulder of his captive to urge her onward ; " a Huron is no
tattler; we will go."

The maiden drew back in lofty womanly reserve, and her
dark eye kindled, while the rich blood shot, like the pass
ing brightness of the sun, into her very temples, at the in
dignity.

" I am your prisoner, and at a fitting time shall be ready
to follow, even to my death. But violence is unnecessary,"
she coldly said; and immediately turning to Hawk-eye,
added: "Generous hunter! from my soul I thank you.
Your offer is vain, neither could it be accepted; but still
you may serve me, even more than in your own noble in
tention. Look at that drooping, humbled child! Abandon
her not until you leave her in the habitations of civilized

4O2 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

men. I will not say," wringing the hard hand of the scout,
" that her father will reward you — for such as you are above
the rewards of men — but he will thank you, and bless you.
And, believe me, the blessing of a just and aged man has
virtue in the sight of Heaven. Would to God, I could hear
one from his lips at this awful moment! " Her voice be
came choked, and, for an instant, she was silent; then ad
vancing a step nigher to Duncan, who was supporting her
unconscious sister, she continued, in more subdued tones,
but in which feeling and the habits of her sex maintained a
fearful struggle : " I need not tell you to cherish the treas
ure you will possess. You love her, Hey ward ; that would
conceal a thousand faults, though she had them. She is
kind, gentle, sweet, good, as mortal may be. There is not
a blemish in mind or person at which the proudest of you
all would sicken. She is fair — oh! how surpassingly fair,"
laying her own beautiful, but less brilliant hand in melan
choly affection on the alabaster forehead of Alice, and part
ing the golden hair, which clustered about her brows ; " and
yet her soul is pure and spotless as her skin! I could say
much — more, perhaps than cooler reason would approve;
but I will spare you and myself — " Her voice became in
audible, and her face was bent over the form of her sister.
After a long and burning kiss, she arose, and with features
of the hue of death, but without even a tear in her feverish
eye, she turned away, and added, to the savage, with all her
former elevation of manner : " Now, sir, if it be your pleas
ure, I will follow."

" Ay, go," cried Duncan, placing Alice in the arms of an
Indian girl ; " go, Magua, go. These Delawares have their
laws, which forbid them to detain you ; but I — I have no such
obligation. Go, malignant monster — why do you delay? "

It would be difficult to describe the expression with which
Magua listened to this threat to follow. There was at first
a fierce and manifest display of joy, and then it was in
stantly subdued in a look of cunning coldness.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 403

" The woods are open," he was content with answering.
"'The open Hand ' can come."

" Hold," cried Hawk-eye, seizing Duncan by the arm, and
detaining him by violence; "you know not the craft of the
imp. He would lead you to an ambushment, and your
death—

" Huron," interrupted Uncas, who, submissive to the stern
customs of his people, had been an attentive and grave lis
tener to all that passed; "Huron, the justice of the Dela-
wares comes from the Manitto. Look at the sun. He is
now in the upper branches of the hemlock. Your path is
short and open. When he is seen above the trees, there will
be men on your trail."

" I hear a crow! " exclaimed Magua, with a taunting laugh.
" Go," he added, shaking his hand at the crowd, which had
slowly opened to admit his passage — " Where are the petti
coats of the Delawares! Let them send their arrows and
their guns to the Wyandots; they shall have venison to eat,
and corn to hoe. Dogs, rabbits, thieves — I spit on you."

His parting gibes were listened to in a dead, boding
silence; and with these biting words in his mouth, the tri
umphant Magua passed unmolested into the forest, followed
by his passive captive, and protected by the inviolable laws
of Indian hospitality.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Flue. Kill the poys and the luggage ! Tis expressly against the law of arms; 'tis
as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offered in the orld.

King Henry y.

So long as their enemy and his victim continued in sight,
the multitude remained motionless as beings charmed to the
place by some power that was friendly to the Huron ; but
the instant he disappeared, it became tossed and agitated
by fierce and powerful passion. Uncas maintained his ele-

404 THJE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

vated stand, keeping his eyes on the form of Cora, until the
colors of her dress were blended with the foliage of the for-
est; when he descended, and, moving silently through the
throng, he disappeared in that lodge from which he had so
recently issued. A few of the graver and more attentive
warriors, who caught the gleams of anger that shot from the
eyes of the young chief in passing, followed him to the
place he had selected for his meditations. After which,
Tamenund and Alice were removed, and the women and
children were ordered to disperse. During the momentous
hour that succeeded, the encampment resembled a hive of
troubled bees, who only awaited the appearance and exam«
pie of their leader to take some distant and momentous flight

A young warrior at length issued from the lodge of Uncas;
and moving deliberately, with a sort of grave march, toward
a dwarf pine that grew in the crevices of the rocky terrace§
he tore the bark from its body, and then returned whence he
came without speaking. He was soon followed by another,
who stripped the sapling of its branches, leaving it a naked
and blazed * trunk. A third colored the post with stripes of
a dark red paint; all which indications of a hostile design
in the leaders of the nation were received by the men with
out in a gloomy and ominous silence. Finally, the Mohican
himself reappeared, divested of all his attire except his gir
dle and leggings, and with one half of his fine features hid
under a cloud of threatening black.

Uncas moved with a slow and dignified tread toward the
post, which he immediately commenced encircling with a
measured step, not unlike an ancient dance, raising his
voice, at the same time, in the wild and irregular chant of
his war-song. The notes were in the extremes of human
sounds; being sometimes melancholy and exquisitely plain
tive, even rivalling the melody of birds— and then, by sud
den and startling transitions, causing the auditors to trem-

* A tree which has been partially or entirely stripped of its bark is said, in the lan
guage of the country, to be "blazed." The terra is strictly English: for a horse if
said to be blazed when it has a white mark.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 405

ble by their depth and energy. The words were few and
often repeated, proceeding gradually from a sort of invo
cation, or hymn to the Deity, to an intimation of the war
rior's object, and terminating as they commenced with an
acknowledgment of his own dependence on the Great Spirit.
If it were possible to translate the comprehensive and melo
dious language in which he spoke, the ode might read some
thing like the following: —

•* Manitto! Manitto! Manitto !
Thou art great, thou art good, thou ait wise

Manitto ! Manitto !
Thou art just.

**In the heavens, in the clouds, oh ! I see
Many spots — many dark, many red •.
In the heavens, oh ! I see
Many clouds.

MIn the woods, in the air, oh ! I bear
The whoop, the long yell, and the cry-
In the woods, oh ! I bear
The loud whoop !

* Manitto! Manitto! Manitto!
I am weak— thou art strong ; I am slow —
Manitto ! Manitto !
Give me aid."

At the end of what might bs called- each verse he made a
pause, by raising a note louder and longer than common,
that was peculiarly suited to the sentiment just expressed.
The first close was solemn, and intended to convey the idea
of veneration; the second descriptive, bordering on the
alarming; and the third was the well-known and terrific
war-whoop, which burst from the lips of the young warrior,
like a combination of all the frightful sounds of battle.
The last was like the first, humble and imploring. Three
times did he repeat this song, and as often did he encircle
the post in his dance.

At the close of the first turn, a grave and highly esteemed
chief of the Lenape followed his example, singing words of
his own, however, to music of a similar character. Warrior

406 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

after warrior enlisted in the dance, until all of any renown
and authority were numbered in its mazes. The spectacle
now became wildly terrific; the fierce-looking and menacing
visages of the chiefs receiving additional power from the
appalling strains in which they mingled their guttural tones.

Just then Uncas struck his tomahawk deep into the post,
and raised his voice in a shout, which might be termed his
own battle-cry. The act announced that he had assumed
the chief authority in the intended expedition.

It was a signal that awaked all the slumbering passions
of the nation. A hundred youths, who had hitherto been
restrained by the diffidence of their years, rushed in a fran
tic body on the fancied emblem of their enemy, and severed
it asunder, splinter by splinter, until nothing remained of
the trunk but its roots in the earth. During this moment of
tumult, the most ruthless deeds of war were performed on the
fragments of the tree, with as much apparent ferocity as if
they were the living victims of their cruelty. Some were
scalped; some received the keen and trembling axe; and
others suffered by thrusts from the fatal knife. In short,
the manifestations of zeal and fierce delight were so great
and unequivocal, that the expedition was declared to be a
war of the nation.

The instant Uncas had struck the blow, he moved out of
the circle, and cast his eyes up to the sun, which was just
gaining the point when the truce with Magua was to end.
The fact was soon announced by a significant gesture, ac
companied by a corresponding cry ; and the whole of the
excited multitude abandoned their mimic warfare, with shrill
yells of pleasure, to prepare for the more hazardous experi
ment of the reality.

The whole face of the encampment was instantly changed.
The warriors, who were already armed and painted, became
as still as if they were incapable of any uncommon burst of
emotion. On the other hand, the women broke out of the
lodges, with the songs of joy and those of lamentation, so

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 407

strangely mingled, that it might have been difficult to have
said which passion preponderated. None, however, were
idle. Some bore their choicest articles, others their young,
and some their aged and infirm, into the forest, which
spread itself like a verdant carpet of bright green against
the side of the mountain. Thither Tamenund also retired,
with calm composure, after a short and touching interview
with Uncas; from whom the sage separated with the reluc
tance that a parent would quit a long-lost and just recovered
child. In the meantime, Duncan saw Alice to a place of
safety, and then sought the scout, with a countenance that
denoted how eagerly he also panted for the approaching
contest.

But Hawk-eye was too much accustomed to the war-song
and the enlistments of the natives, to betray any interest in
the passing scene. He merely cast an occasional look at
the number and quality of the warriors, who, from time to
time, signified their readiness to accompany Uncas to the
field. In this particular he was soon satisfied ; for, as has
been already seen, the power of the young chief quickly
embraced every fighting man in the nation. After this ma
terial point was so satisfactorily decided, he despatched an
Indian boy in quest of " Kill-deer" and the rifle of Uncas,
to the place where they had deposited the weapons on ap
proaching the camp of the Delawares; a measure of double
policy, inasmuch as it protected the arms from their own
fate, if detained as prisoners, and gave them the advantage
of appearing among the strangers rather as sufferers than as
men provided with the means of defence and subsistence.
In selecting another to perform the office of reclaiming his
highly prized rifle, the scout had lost sight of none of his
habitual caution. He knew that Magua had not come un
attended, and he also knew that Huron spies watched the
movements of their new enemies, along -the whole boundary
of the woods. It would, therefore, have been fatal to him
self to have attempted the experiment; a warrior would have

4O8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

fared no better; but the danger of a boy would not be likely
to commence until after his object was discovered. When
Heyward joined him, the scout was coolly awaiting the re
sult of this experiment

The boy, who had been well instructed, and was suffi
ciently crafty, proceeded, with a bosom that was swelling
with the pride of such a confidence, and all the hopes of
young ambition, carelessly across the clearing to the wood,
which he entered at a point at some little distance from the
place where the guns were secreted. The instant, however,
he was concealed by the foliage of the bushes, his dusky
form was to be seen gliding, like that of a serpent, toward
the desired treasure. He was successful ; and in another
moment he appeared flying across the narrow opening that
skirted the base of the terrace on which the village stood,
with the velocity of an arrow, and bearing a prize in each
hand. He had actually gained the crags, and was leaping
up their sides with incredible activity, when a shot from the
woods showed how accurate had been the judgment of the
scout. The boy answered it with a feeble but contemptuous
shout, and immediately a second bullet was sent after him
from another part of the cover. At the next instant he ap
peared on the level above, elevating his guns in triumph,
while he moved with the air of a conqueror toward the
renowned hunter who had honored him by so glorious a
commission.

Notwithstanding the lively interest Hawk-eye had taken
in the fate of his messenger, he received " Kill-deer " with
a satisfaction that, momentarily, drove all other recollec
tions from his mind. After examining the piece with an
intelligent eye, and opening and shutting the pan some ten
or fifteen times, and trying sundry other equally important
experiments on the lock, he turned to the boy, and demanded,
with great manifestations of kindness, if he was hurt. The
urchin looked proudly up in his face, but made no reply.

"Ah! I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm!"

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 409

added the scout, taking up the limb of the patient sufferer,
across which a deep flesh wound had been made by one of
the bullets; "but a little bruised alder will act like a
charm. In the meantime I will wrap it in a badge of wam
pum ! You have commenced the business of a warrior early,
my brave boy, and are likely to bear a plenty of honorable
scars to your grave. I know many young men that have
taken scalps who cannot show such a mark as this. Go,"
having bound up the arm; "you will be a chief! "

The lad departed, prouder of his flowing blood than the
vainest courtier could be of his blushing riband ; and stalked
among the fellows of his age, an object of general admira
tion and envy.

But in a moment of so many serious and important duties,
this single act of juvenile fortitude did not attract the gen
eral notice and commendation it would have received under
milder auspices. It had, however, served to apprise the
Delawares of the position and the intentions of their enemies.
Accordingly a party of adventurers, better suited to the task
than the weak though spirited boy, was ordered to dislodge
the skulkers. The duty was soon performed , for most of
the Hurons retired of themselves when they found they had
been discovered. The Delawares foLlowed to a sufficient
distance from their own encampment, and then halted for
orders, apprehensive of being led into an ambush. As both
parties secreted themselves, the woods were again as still
and quiet as a mild summer morning and deep solitude
could render them.

The calm but still impatient Uncas now collected his
chiefs, and divided his power. He presented Hawk-eye as
a warrior, often tried, and always found deserving of confi
dence. When he found his friend met with a favorable re
ception, he bestowed on him the command of twenty men,
like himself active, skilful, and resolute. He gave the
Delawares to understand the rank of Heyward among the
troops of the Yengeese, and then tendered to him a trust of

4IO THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

equal authority. But Duncan declined the charge, profess
ing his readiness to serve as a volunteer by the side of the
scout. After this disposition, the young Mohican appointed
various native chiefs to fill the different situations of
responsibility, and the time pressing, he gave forth the word
to march. He was cheerfully, but silently, obeyed by more
than two hundred men.

Their entrance into the forest was perfectly unmolested;
nor did they encounter any living objects that could either
give the alarm, or furnish the intelligence they needed, un
til they came upon the lairs of their own scouts. Here a
halt was ordered, and the chiefs were assembled to hold a
"whispering council." At this meeting diverse plans of
operation were suggested, though none of a character to
meet the wishes of their ardent leader. Had Uncas fol
lowed the promptings of his own inclinations, he would
have led his followers to the charge without a moment's
delay, and put the conflict to the hazard of an instant issue ;
but such a course would have been in opposition to all the
received practices and opinions of his countrymen. He was,
therefore, fain to adopt a caution that in the present temper
of his mind he execrated, and to listen to advice at which
his fiery spirit chafed, under the vivid recollection of Cora's
danger and Magua's insolence.

After an unsatisfactory conference of many minutes, a
solitary individual was seen advancing from the side of the
enemy, with such apparent haste as to induce the belief he
might be a messenger charged with pacific overtures. When
within a hundred yards, however, of the cover behind which
the Delaware council had assembled, the stranger hesitated,
appeared uncertain what course to take, and finally halted.
All eyes were now turned on Uncas, as if seeking directions
how to proceed.

"Hawk-eye," said the young chief, in a low voice, "he
must never speak to the Hurons again."

" His time has come," said the laconic scout, thrusting

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 411

the long barrel of his rifle through the leaves, and taking
his deliberate and fatal aim. But, instead of pulling the
trigger, he lowered the muzzle again, and indulged himself
in a fit of his peculiar mirth. " I took the imp for a Mingo,
as I'm a miserable sinner! " he said; "but when my eye
ranged along his ribs for a place to get the bullet in — would
you think it, Uncas — I saw the musicianer's blower! and so,
after all, it is the man they call Gamut, whose death can
profit no one, and whose life, if his tongue can do anything
but sing, may be made serviceable to our own ends. If
sounds have not lost their virtue, I'll soon have a discourse
with the honest fellow, and that in a voice he'll find more
agreeable than the speech of ' Kill-deer.' )}

So saying, Hawk-eye laid aside his rifle; and crawling
through the bushes until within hearing of David, he at
tempted to repeat the musical effort, which had conducted
himself, with so much safety and e*clat, through the Huron
encampment. The exquisite organs of Gamut could not
readily be deceived (and, to say the truth, it would have
been difficult for any other than Hawk-eye to produce a sim
ilar noise), and consequently, having once before heard the
sounds, he now knew whence they proceeded. The poor
fellow appeared relieved from a state of great embarrass
ment; for pursuing the direction of the voice— a task that
to him was not much less arduous than it would have been
to have gone up in the face of a battery — he soon discovered
the hidden songster.

" I wonder what the Hurons will think of that! " said the
scout, laughing, as he took his companion by the arm, and
urged him toward the rear. " If the knaves lie within ear
shot, they will say there are two non-compossers instead of
one ! But here we are safe," he added, pointing to Uncas
and his associates. " Now give us the history of the Mingo
inventions in natural English, and without any ups and
downs of voice."

David gazed about him, at the fierce and wild-looking
R Vol. 4

412 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

chiefs, in mute wonder ; but assured by the presence of faces
that he knew, he soon rallied his faculties so far as to make
an intelligent reply.

" The heathen are abroad in goodly numbers," said David ;
" and, I fear, with evil intent. There has been much howl
ing and ungodly revelry, together with such sounds as it is
profanity to utter, in their habitations within the past hour;
so much so, in truth, that I have fled to the Delawares in
search of peace."

" Your ears might not have profited much by the exchange,
had you been quicker of foot," returned the scout a little
dryly. " But let that be as it may ; where are the Hurons? "

" They lie hid in the forest, between this spot and their
village, in such force that prudence would teach you in
stantly to return."

Uncas cast a glance along the range of trees which con
cealed his own band, and mentioned the name of —

"Magua?"

" Is among them. He brought in the maiden that had
sojourned with the Delawares, and leaving her in the cave,
has put himself, like a raging wolf, at the head of his sav
ages. I know not what has troubled his spirit so greatly ! "

" He has left her, you say, in the cave ! " interrupted Hey-
ward ; " 'tis well that we know its situation ! May not some
thing be done for her instant relief? "

Uncas looked earnestly at the scout, before he asked —

"What says Hawk-eye?"

" Give me my twenty rifles, and I will turn to the right,
along the stream; and passing by the huts of the beaver,
will join the Sagamore and the colonel. You shall then
hear the whoop from that quarter ; with this wind one may
easily send it a mile. Then, Uncas, do you drive in their
front; when they come within range of our pieces, we will
give them a blow that, I pledge the good name of an old
frontiersman, shall make their line bend like an ashen bow.
After which, we will carry their village, and take the woman

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 413

from the cave; when the affair may be finished with the
tribe, according to a white man's battle, by a blow and a
victory; or, in the Indian fashion, with dodge and cover.
There may be no great learning, major, in this plan, but
with courage and patience it can all be done."

" I like it much," cried Duncan, who saw that the release
of Cora was the primary object in the mind of the scout ;
" I like it much. Let it be instantly attempted."

After a short conference, the plan was matured, and ren
dered more intelligible to the several parties; the different
signals were appointed, and the chiefs separated, each to
his allotted station.

CHAPTER XXXII.

But plagues shall spread, and funeral fires increase,

Till the great king, without a ransom paid,

To her own Chrysa send the black-eyed maid. POPE.

DURING the time Uncas was making this disposition of
his forces, the woods were as still, and, with the exception
of those who had met in council, apparently as much unten-
anted, as when they came fresh from the hands of their Al
mighty Creator. The eye could range, in every direction,
through the long and shadowed vistas of the trees ; but no
where was any object to be seen that did not properly belong
to the peaceful and slumbering scenery. Here and there a
bird was heard fluttering among the branches of the beeches,
and occasionally a squirrel dropped a nut, drawing the
startled looks of the party, for a moment, to the place ; but
the instant the casual interruption ceased, the passing air was
heard murmuring above their heads, along that verdant and
undulating surface of forest, which spread itself unbroken,
unless by stream or lake, over such a vast region of country.
Across the tract of wilderness, which lay between the Dela-
wares and the village of their enemies, it seemed as if the

414 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

foot of man had never trodden, so breathing and deep was
the silence in which it lay. But Hawk-eye, whose duty led
him foremost in the adventure, knew the character of those
with whom he was about to contend too well to trust the
treacherous quiet.

When he saw his little band collected, the scout threw
"Kill-deer" into the hollow of his arm, and making a
silent signal that he would be followed, he led them many
rods toward the rear, into the bed of a little brook which
they had crossed in advancing. Here he halted, and after
waiting for the whole of his grave and attentive warriors to
close about him, he spoke in Delaware, demanding —

" Do any of my young men know whither this run will
lead us?"

A Delaware stretched forth a hand, with the two fingers
separated, and indicating the manner in which they were
joined at the root, he answered —

" Before the sun could go his own length, the little water
will be in the big.'7 Then he added, pointing in the direc
tion of the place he mentioned, " the two make enough for
the beavers."

" I thought as much," returned the scout, glancing his eye
upward at the opening in the tree-tops, " from the course it
takes, and the bearings of the mountains. Men, we will
keep within the cover of its banks till we scent the Hurons."

His companions gave the usual brief exclamation of
assent, but perceiving that their leader was about to lead
the way in person, one or two made signs that all was not
as it should be. Hawk-eye, who comprehended their mean
ing glances, turned, and perceived that his party had been
followed thus far by the singing master.

"Do you know, friend," asked the scout gravely, and
perhaps with a little of the pride of conscious deserving in
his manner, "that this is a band of rangers chosen for the
most desperate service, and put under the command of one
who, though another might say it with a better face, will

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 415

not be apt to leave them idle. It may not be five, it can
not be thirty, minutes before \ve tread on the body of a
Huron, living or dead."

" Though not admonished of your intentions in words/'
returned David, whose face was a little flushed, and whose
ordinarily quiet and unmeaning eyes glimmered with an
expression of unusual fire, "your men have reminded me of
the children of Jacob going out to battle against the Sheche-
mites, for wickedly aspiring to wedlock with a woman of
a race that was favored of the Lord. Now, I have journeyed
far, and sojourned much in good and evil with the maiden
ye seek; and though not a man of war, with my loins girded
and my sword sharpened, yet would I gladly strike a blow
in her behalf."

The scout hesitated, as if weighing the chances of such a
strange enlistment in his mind before he answered —

" You know not the use of any we'pon. You carry no
rifle; and believe me, what the Mingoes take they will
freely give again."

"Though not a vaunting and bloodily disposed Goliath,"
returned David, drawing a sling from beneath his parti-col
ored and uncouth attire, " I have not forgotten the example
of the Jewish boy. With this ancient instrument of war
have I practised much in my youth, and peradventure the
skill has not entirely departed from me."

"Ay! "said Hawk-eye, considering the deer-skin thong
and apron, with a cold and discouraging eye ; " the thing
might do its work among arrows, or even knives ; but these
Mengwe have been furnished by the Frenchers with a good
grooved barrel a man. However, it seems to be your gift to
go unharmed amid fire; and as you have hitherto been
favored — major, you have left your rifle at a cock; a sin
gle shot before the time would be just twenty scalps lost to
no purpose — singer, you can follow; we may find use for
you in the shoutings."

" I thank you, friend," returned David, supplying himself,

41 6 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

like his royal namesake, from among the pebbles of the
brook ; " though not given to the desire to kill, had you sent
me away my spirit would have been troubled."

" Remember," added the scout, tapping his own head sig
nificantly on that spot where Gamut was yet sore, " we come
to fight, and not to musickate. Until the general whoop is
given, nothing speaks but the rifle."

David nodded, as much as to signify his acquiescence
with the terms ; and then Hawk-eye, casting another observ
ant glance over his followers, made the signal to proceed.

Their route lay, for the distance of a mile, along the bed
of the water-course. Though protected from any great dan
ger of observation by the precipitous banks, and the thick
shrubbery which skirted the stream, no precaution known to
an Indian attack was neglected. A warrior rather crawled
than walked on each flank, so as to catch occasional glimpses
into the forest; and every few minutes the band came to a
halt, and listened for hostile sounds, with an acuteness of
organs that would be scarcely conceivable to a man in a
less natural state. Their march was, however, unmolested,
and they reached the point where the lesser stream was lost
in the greater, without the smallest evidence that their prog
ress had been noted. Here the scout again halted, to con
sult the signs of the forest.

" We are likely to have a good day for a fight," he said,
in English, addressing Heyward, and glancing his eye up
ward at the clouds, which began to move in broad sheets
across the firmament; "a bright sun and a glittering barrel
are no friends to true sight. Everything is favorable; they
have the wind, which will bring down their noises and their
smoke too, no little matter in itself; whereas, with us it will
be first a shot, and then a clear view. But here is an end
of our cover; the beavers have had the range of this stream
for hundreds of years, and what atween their food and their
dams, there is, as you see, many a girdled stub, but few liv
ing trees."

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 4 1/

Hawk-eye had, in truth, in these few words, given no bad
description of the prospect that now lay in their front. The
brook was irregular in its width, sometimes shooting through
narrow fissures in the rocks, and at others spreading over
acres of bottom land, forming little areas that might be
termed ponds. Everywhere along its banks were the moul
dering relics of dead trees, in all the stages of decay, from
those that groaned on their tottering trunks to such as had
recently been robbed of those rugged coats that so mysteri
ously contain their principle of life. A few long, low, and
moss-covered piles were scattered among them, like the
memorials of a former and long-departed generation.

All these minute particulars were noted by the scout, with
a gravity and interest that they probably had never before
attracted. He knew that the Huron encampment lay a short
half mile up the brook; and, with the characteristic anxiety
of one who dreaded a hidden danger, he was greatly troubled
at not finding the smallest trace of the presence of his en
emy. Once or twice he felt induced to give the order for a
rush, and to attempt the village by surprise; but his experi
ence quickly admonished him of the danger of so useless an
experiment. Then he listened intently, and with painful
uncertainty, for the sounds of hostility in the quarter where
Uncas was left; but nothing was audible except the sighing
of the wind, that began to sweep over the bosom of the forest
in gusts which threatened a tempest. At length, yielding
rather to his unusual impatience than taking counsel from
his knowledge, he determined to bring matters to an issue,
by unmasking his force, and proceeding cautiously, but
steadily, up the stream.

The scout had stood, while making his observations, shel
tered by a brake, and his companions still lay in the bed of the
ravine, through which the smaller stream debouched; but on
hearing his low, though intelligible signal, the whole party
stole up the bank, like so many dark spectres, and silently
arranged themselves around him. Pointing in the direction

41 8 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

he wished to proceed, Hawk-eye advanced, the band break-
ing off in single files, and following so accurately in his
footsteps, as to leave it, if we except Heyward and David,
the trail of but a single man.

The party was, however, scarcely uncovered before a vol
ley from a dozen rifles was heard in their rear; and a Dela
ware leaping high into the air, like a wounded deer, fell at
his whole length, perfectly dead.

" Ah ! I feared some deviltry like this ! " exclaimed the
scout, in English; adding, with the quickness of thought, in
his adopted tongue, " To cover, men, and charge ! "

The band dispersed at the word, and before Heyward had
well recovered from his surprise, he found himself standing
alone with David. Luckily, the Hurons had already fallen
back, and he was safe from their fire. But this state of things
was evidently to be of short continuance; for the scout set
the example of pressing on their retreat, by discharging his
rifle, and darting from tree to tree, as his enemy slowly
yielded ground.

It would seem that the assault had been made by a very
small party of the Hurons, which, however, continued to
increase in numbers, as it retired on its friends, until the
return fire was very nearly, if not quite, equal to that main
tained by the advancing Delawares. Heyward threw him
self among the combatants, and imitating the necessary cau
tion of his companions, he made quick discharges with his
own rifle. The contest now grew warm and stationary.
Few were injured, as both parties kept their bodies as much
protected as possible by the trees; never, indeed, exposing
any part of their persons except in the act of taking aim.
But the chances were gradually growing unfavorable to
Hawk-eye and his band. The quick-sighted scout perceived
his danger, without knowing how to remedy it. He saw it
was more dangerous to retreat than to maintain his ground ;
while he found his enemy throwing out men on his flank,
which rendered the task of keeping themselves covered so

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 419

very difficult to the Delawares, as nearly to silence their fire.
At this embarrassing moment, when they began to think the
whole of the hostile tribe was gradually encircling them, they
heard the yell of combatants, and the rattling of arms, echo
ing under the arches of the wood, at the place where Uncas
was posted; a bottom which, in a manner, lay beneath the
ground on which Hawk-eye and his party were contending.

The effects of this attack were instantaneous, and to the
scout and his friends greatly relieving. It would seem that,
while his own surprise had been anticipated, and had conse
quently failed, the enemy, in their turn, having been de
ceived in its object and in his numbers, had left too small
a force to resist the impetuous onset of the young Mohican.
This fact was doubly apparent, by the rapid manner in
which the battle in the forest rolled upward toward the vil
lage, and by an instant falling off in the number of their
assailants, who rushed to assist in maintaining the front,
and, as it now proved to be, the principal point of defence.

Animating his followers by his voice, and his own exam
ple, Hawk-eye then gave the word to bear down upon their
foes. The charge, in that rude species of warfare, consisted
merely in pushing from cover to cover, nigher to the enemy;
and in this manoeuvre he was instantly and successfully
obeyed. The Hurons were compelled to withdraw, and the
scene of the contest rapidly changed from the more open
ground on which it had commenced, to a spot where the as
sailed found a thicket to rest upon. Here the struggle was
protracted, arduous, and, seemingly, of doubtful issue; the
Delawares, though none of them fell, beginning to bleed
freely, in consequence of the disadvantage at which they
were held.

In this crisis Hawk-eye found means to get behind the
same tree as that which served for a cover to Hey ward;
most of his own combatants being within call, a little on
his right, where they maintained rapid, though fruitless, dis
charges on their sheltered enemies.

42O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" You are a young man, major," said the scout, dropping
the butt of " Kill-deer " to the earth, and leaning on the
barrel, a little fatigued with his previous industry ; " and it
may be your gift to lead armies, at some future day, ag'in
these imps, the Mingoes. You may here see the philosophy
of an Indian fight. It consists, mainly, in a ready hand, a
quick eye, and a good cover. Now, if you had a company
of the Royal Americans here, in what manner would you set
them to work in this business? "

" The bayonet would make a road."

" Ay, there is white reason in what you say ; but a man
must ask himself, in this wilderness, how many lives he can
spare. No — horse," * continued the scout, shaking his head,
like one who mused; "horse, I am ashamed to say, must,
sooner or later, decide these skrimmages. The brutes are
better than men, and to horse must we come at last. Put
a shodden hoof on the moccasin of a red-skin ; and if his
rifle be once emptied, he will never stop to load it again."

" This is a subject that might better be discussed another
time," returned Heyward; "shall we charge? "

" I see no contradiction to the gifts of any man, in pass
ing his breathing spells in useful reflections," the scout re
plied. "As to a rush I little relish such a measure; for a
scalp or two must be thrown away in the attempt. And
yet," he added, bending his head aside, to catch the sounds
-»f the distant combat, " if we are to be of use to Uncas, these
knaves in our front must be got rid of! "

Then turning, with a prompt and decided air, he called
aloud to his Indians, in their own language. His words
were answered by a shout ; and, at a given signal, each war-

*The American forest admits of the passage of horse, there being little underbrush
and few tangled brakes. The plan of Hawk-eye is the one which has always proved
the most successful in the battles between the whites and the Indians. Wayne, in his
celebrated campaign on the Miami, received the fire of his enemies in line ; and then
causing his dragoons to wheel round his flanks, the Indians were driven from their
covers before they had time to load. One of the most conspicuaus of the chiefs who
fought in the battle of Miami assured the writer, that the red men could not fight the
warriors with "long knives and leather stockings ; M meaning the dragoons with their
sabres and boots.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 421

rior made a swift movement around his particular tree.
The sight of so many dark bodies, glancing before their
eyes at the same instant, drew a hasty, and consequently an
ineffectual, fire from the Hurons. Without stopping to
breathe, the Delawares leaped, in long bounds, toward the
wood, like so many panthers springing upon their prey.
Hawk-eye was in front, brandishing his terrible rifle, and
animating his followers by his example. A few of the older
and more cunning Hurons, who had not been deceived by
the artifice which had been practised to draw their fire, now
made a close and deadly discharge of their pieces, and jus
tified the apprehensions of the scout, by felling three of his
foremost warriors. But the shock was in sufficient to repel
the impetus of the charge. The Delawares broke into the
cover with the ferocity of their natures, and swept away
every trace of resistance by the fury of the onset.

The combat endured only for an instant, hand to hand,
and then the assailed yielded ground rapidly, until they
reached the opposite margin of the thicket, where they clung
to the cover, with the sort of obstinacy that is so often wit
nessed in hunted brutes. At this critical moment, when the
success of the struggle was again becoming doubtful, the
crack of a rifle was heard behind the Hurons, and a bullet
came whizzing from among some beaver lodges, which were
situated in the clearing, in their rear, and was followed by
the fierce and appalling yell of the war-whoop.

" There speaks the Sagamore ! " shouted Hawk-eye, an
swering the cry with his own stentorian voice; "we have
them now in face and back ! "

The effect on the Hurons was instantaneous. Discour
aged by an assault from a quarter that left them no oppor
tunity for cover, their warriors uttered a common yell of dis
appointment, and breaking off in a body, they spread them
selves across the opening, heedless of every consideration
but flight. Many fell, in making the experiment, under the
bullets and the blows of the pursuing Delawares.

422 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

We shall not pause to detail the meeting between the
scout and Chingachgook, or the more touching interview
that Duncan held with Munro. A few brief and hurried
words served to explain the state of things to both parties ;
and then Hawk-eye pointing out the Sagamore to his band,
resigned the chief authority into the hands of the Mohican
chief. Chingachgook assumed the station to which his birth
and experience gave him so distinguished a claim, with the
grave dignity that always gives force to the mandates of a
native warrior. Following the footsteps of the scout, he led
the party back through the thicket, his men scalping the
fallen Hurons, and secreting the bodies of their own dead
as they proceeded, until they gained a point where the for
mer was content to make a halt.

The warriors, who had breathed themselves freely in the
preceding struggle, were now posted on a bit of level ground,
sprinkled with trees in sufficient numbers to conceal them.
The land fell away rather precipitately in front, and be
neath their eyes stretched, for several miles, a narrow, dark,
and wooded vale. It was through this dense and dark forest
that Uncas was still contending with the main body of the
Hurons.

The Mohican and his friends advanced to the brow of the
hill, and listened, with practised ears, to the sounds of the
combat. A few birds hovered over the leafy bosom of
the valley, frightened from their secluded nests ; and here
and there a light vapory cloud, which seemed already blend
ing with the atmosphere, arose above the trees, and indi
cated some spot where the struggle had been fierce and sta
tionary.

" The fight is coming up the ascent," said Duncan, point
ing in the direction of a new explosion of fire-arms ; " we
are too much in the centre of their line to be effective."

" They will incline into the hollow, where the cover is
thicker," said the scout, " and that will leave us well on their
flank. Go, Sagamore ; you will hardly be in time to give

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 423

the w-oop, and lead on the young men. I will fight this
skrimmage with warriors of my own color. You know me,
Mohican; not a Huron of them all shall cross the swell,
into your rear, without the notice of * Killdeer."1

The Indian chief paused another moment to consider the
signs of the contest, which was now rolling rapidly up the
ascent, a certain evidence that the Delawares triumphed;
nor did he actually quit the place until admonished of the
proximity of his friends, as well as enemies, by the bullets
of the former, which began to patter among the dried leaves
on the ground, like the bits of falling hail which precede
the bursting of the tempest. Hawk-eye and his three com
panions withdrew a few paces to a shelter, and awaited the
issue with calmness, that nothing but great practice could
impart in such a scene.

It was not long before the reports of the rifles began to
lose the echoes of the woods, and to sound like weapons dis
charged in the open air. Then a warrior appeared, here
and there, driven to the skirts of the forest, and rallying as
he entered the clearing, as at the place where the final stand
was to be made. These were soon joined by others, until a
long line of swarthy figures was to be seen clinging to the
cover with the obstinacy of desperation. Heyward began
to grow impatient, and turned his eyes anxiously in the di
rection of Chingachgook. The chief was seated on a rock,
with nothing visible but his calm visage, considering the
spectacle with an eye as deliberate as if he were posted there
merely to view the struggle.

" The time is come for the Delaware to strike ! " said
Duncan.

"Not so, not so," returned the scout; "when he scents
his friends, he will let them know that he is here. See, see;
the knaves are getting in that clump of pines, like bees set
tling after their flight. By the Lord, a squaw might put a
bullet into the centre of such a knot of dark skins! "

At that instant the whoop was given, and a dozen Hurons

I

424 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

fell by a discharge from Chingachgook and histand. The
shout that followed was answered by a single war-cry from
the forest, and a yell passed through the air that sounded
as if a thousand throats were united in a common effort.
The Hurons staggered, deserting the centre of their line,
and Uncas issued from the forest through the opening they
left, at the head of a hundred warriors.

Waving his hands right and left, the young chief pointed
out the enemy to his followers, who separated in pursuit.
The war now divided, both wings of the broken Hurons
seeking protection in the woods again, hotly pressed by the
victorious warriors of the Lenape. A minute might have
passed, but the sounds were already receding in different
directions, and gradually losing their distinctness beneath
the echoing arches of the woods. One little knot of Hu
rons, however, had disdained to seek a cover, and were re
tiring, like lions at bay, slowly and sullenly up the accliv
ity, which Chingachgook and his band had just deserted, to
mingle more closely in the fray. Magua was conspicuous
in his party, both by his fierce and savage mien, and by the
air of haughty authority he yet maintained.

In his eagerness to expedite the pursuit, Uncas had left
himself nearly alone; but the moment his eye caught the
figure of Le Subtil, every other consideration was forgotten.
Raising his cry of battle, which recalled some six or seven
warriors, and reckless of the disparity of their numbers, he
rushed upon his enemy. Le Renard, who watched the move
ment, paused to receive him with secret joy. But at the mo
ment when he thought the rashness of his impetuous young
assailant had left him at his mercy, another shout was given,
and La longue Carabine was seen rushing to the rescue, at
tended by all his white associates. The Huron instantly
turned, and commenced a rapid retreat up the ascent.

There was no time for greetings or congratulations; for
Uncas, though unconscious of the presence of his friends,
continued the pursuit with the velocity of the wind. In

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 425

rain Hawk-eye called to him to respect the covers; the
young Mohican braved the dangerous fire of his enemies,
and soon compelled them to a flight as swift as his own
headlong speed. It was fortunate that the race was of short
continuance, and that the white men were much favored by
their position, or the Delaware would soon have outstripped
all his companions, and fallen a victim of his own temerity.
But ere such a calamiry could happen, the pursuers and pur
sued entered the Wyandot village, within striking distance
of each other.

Excited by the presence of their dwellings, and tired of
the chase, the Hurons now made a stand, and fought around
their council lodge with the fury of despair. The onset and
the issue were like the passage and destruction of a whirl
wind. The tomahawk of Uncas, the blows of Hawk-eye,
and even the still nervous arm of Munro, were all busy for
that passing moment, and the ground was quickly strewed
with their enemies. Still Magua, though daring and much
exposed, escaped from every effort against his life, with
that sort of fabled protection that was made to overlook the
fortunes of favored heroes in the legends of ancient poetry*.
Raising a yell that spoke volumes of anger and disappoint
ment, the subtle chief, when he saw his comrades fallen,
darted away from the place, attended by his two only sur
viving friends, leaving the Delawares engaged in stripping
the dead of the bloody trophies of their victory.

But Uncas, who had vainly sought him in the melee,
bounded forward in pursuit ; Hawk-eye, Hey ward, and Da
vid still pressing on his footsteps. The utmost that the
scout could effect was to keep the muzzle of his rifle a lit
tle in advance of his friend, to whom, however, it answered
every purpose of a charmed shield. Once Magua appeared
disposed to make another and a final effort to revenge his
losses; but, abandoning his intention as soon as demon
strated, he leaped into a thicket of bushes, through which
he was followed by his enemies, and suddenly entered th«

426 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

mouth of the cave already known to the reader. Hawk-eye,
who had only forborne to fire in tenderness to Uncas, raised
a shout of success, and proclaimed aloud that now they
were certain of their game. The pursuers dashed into the
long and narrow entrance, in time to catch a glimpse of the
retreating forms of the Hurons. Their passage through
the natural galleries and subterraneous apartments of the
cavern was preceded by the shrieks and cries of hundreds
of women and children. The place, seen by its dim and
uncertain light, appeared like the shades of the infernal
regions, across which unhappy ghosts and savage demons
were flitting in multitudes.

Still Uncas kept his eye on Magua, as if life to him pos
sessed but a single object. Heyward and the scout still
pressed on his rear, actuated, though possibly in a less de
gree, by a common feeling. But their way was becoming
intricate, in those dark and gloomy passages, and the
glimpses of the retiring warriors less distinct and frequent;
and for a moment the trace was believed to be lost, when a
white robe was seen fluttering in the further extremity of a
passage that seemed to lead up the mountain.

" 'Tis Cora ! " exclaimed Heyward, in a voice in which
horror and delight were wildly mingled.

" Cora ! Cora ! " echoed Uncas, bending forward like a
deer.

" 'Tis the maiden! " shouted the scout. " Courage, lady;
we come ! — we come ! "

The chase was renewed with a diligence rendered tenfold
encouraging by this glimpse of the captive. But the way
was rugged, broken, and in spots nearly impassable. Un
cas abandoned his rifle, and leaped forward with headlong
precipitation. Heyward rashly imitated his example, though
both were, a moment afterward, admonished of its madness,
by hearing the bellowing of a piece, that the Hurons found
time to discharge down the passage in the rocks, the bullet
from which even gave the young Mohican a slight wound.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 427

"We must close! w said the scout, passing his friends by
a desperate leap; "the knaves will pick us all off at this
distance; and see, they hold the maiden so as to shield
themselves! "

Though his words were unheeded, or rather unheard, his
example was followed by his companions, who, by incred
ible exertions, got near enough to the fugitives to perceive
that Cora was borne along between the two warriors, while
Magua prescribed the direction and manner of their flight.
At this moment the forms of all four were strongly drawn
against an opening in the sky, and they disappeared.
Nearly frantic with disappointment, Uncas and Heyward
increased efforts that already seemed superhuman, and they
issued from the cavern on the side of the mountain, in time
to note the route of the pursued. The course lay up the
ascent, and still continued hazardous and laborious.

Encumbered by his rifle, and perhaps not sustained by
so deep an interest in the captive as his companions, the
scout suffered the latter to precede him a little, Uncas, in
his turn, taking the lead of Heyward. In this manner,
rocks, precipices, and difficulties were surmounted in an
incredibly short space, that at another time, and under other
circumstances, would have been deemed almost insuperable.
But the impetuous young men were rewarded by finding
that, encumbered with Cora, the Hurons were losing ground
in the race.

"Stay, dog of the Wyandots! " exclaimed Uncas, shaking
his bright tomahawk at Magua; "a Delaware girl calls
stay!"

" I will go no further," cried Cora, stopping unexpectedly
on a ledge of rocks, that overhung a deep precipice, at no
great distance from the summit of the mountain. " Kill me
if thou wilt, detestable Huron; I will go no further."

The supporters of the maiden raised their ready toma
hawks with the impious joy that fiends are thought to take
in mischief, but Magua stayed the uplifted arms. The

428 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Huron chief, after casting the weapons he had wrested from
his companions over the rock, drew his knife, and turned to
his captive, with a look in which conflicting passions fiercely
contended.

" Woman," he said, " choose ; the wigwam or the knife of
Le Subtil!"

Cora regarded him not, but dropping on her knees, she
raised her eyes and stretched her arms toward heaven, say
ing, in a meek and yet confiding voice — •

" I am thine I do with me as thou seest best! "

" Woman," repeated Magua, hoarsely, and endeavoring in
vain to catch a glance from her serene and beaming eye,
"choose!"

But Cora neither heard nor heeded his demand. The
form of the Huron trembled in every fibre, and he raised
his arm on high, but dropped it again with a bewildered
air, like one who doubted. Once more he struggled with
himself and lifted the keen weapon again — but just then a
piercing cry was heard above them, and Uncas appeared,
leaping frantically, from a fearful height, upon the ledge.
Magua recoiled a step; and one of his assistants, profiting
by the chance, sheathed his own knife in the bosom of
Cora.

The Huron sprang like a tiger on his offending and al
ready retreating countryman, but the falling form of Uncas
separated the unnatural combatants. Diverted from his ob
ject by this interruption, and maddened by the murder he
had just witnessed, Magua buried his weapon in the back
of the prostrate Delaware, uttering an unearthly shout as he
committed the dastardly deed. But Uncas arose from the
blow, as the wounded panther turns upon his foe, and struck
the murderer of Cora to his feet, by an effort in which the
last of his failing strength was expended. Then, with a
stern and steady look, he turned to Le Subtil, and indicated,
by the expression of his eye, all that he would do, had not
the power deserted him. The latter seized the nerveless

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 429

arm of the unresisting Delaware, and passed his knife into
his bosom three several times, before his victim, still keep
ing his gaze riveted on his enemy with a look of inextin
guishable scorn, fell dead at his feet.

"Mercy! mercy! Huron," cried Heyward, from above,
in tones nearly choked by horror; "give mercy, and thou
shalt receive it! "

Whirling the bloody knife up at the imploring youth, the
victorious Magua uttered a cry so fierce, so wild, and yet so
joyous, that it conveyed the sounds of savage triumph to the
ears of those who fought in the valley, a thousand feet be
low. He was answered by a burst from the lips of the
scout, whose tall person was just then seen moving swiftly
toward him, along those dangerous crags, with steps as
bold and reckless as if he possessed the power to move in
air. But when the hunter reached the scene of the ruthless
massacre, the ledge was tenanted only by the dead.

His keen eye took a single look at the victims, and then
shot its glances over the difficulties of the ascent in his
front. A form stood at the brow of the mountain, on the
very edge of the giddy height, with uplifted arms, in an aw
ful attitude of menace. Without stopping to consider his
person, the rifle of Hawk-eye was raised; but a rock, which
fell on the head of one of the fugitives below, exposed the
indignant and glowing countenance of the honest Gamut.
Then Magua issued from a crevice, and stepping with calm
indifference over the body of the last of his associates, he
leaped a wide fissure, and ascended the rocks at a point
where the arm of David could not reach him. A single
bound would carry him to the brow of the precipice, and
assure his safety. Before taking the leap, however, the
Huron paused, and shaking his hand at the scout, he
shouted —

" The pale-faces are dogs I the Delawares women ! Magua
leaves them on the rocks, for the crows! "

Laughing hoarsely, he made a desperate leap, and fell

43O THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

short of his mark; though his hands grasped a shrub on the
verge of the height. The form of Hawk-eye had crouched
like a beast about to take its spring, and his frame trembled
so violently with eagerness, that the muzzle of the half-
raised rifle played like a leaf fluttering in the wind. With
out exhausting himself with fruitless efforts, the cunning
Magua suffered his body to drop to the length of his arms,
and found a fragment for his feet to rest on. Then sum
moning all his powers, he renewed the attempt, and so far
succeeded as to draw his knees on the edge of the moun
tain. It was now, when the body of his enemy was most
collected together, that the agitated weapon of the scout was
drawn to his shoulder. The surrounding rocks, themselves,
were not steadier than the piece became, for the single in
stant that it poured out its contents. The arms of the Hu
ron relaxed, and his body fell back a little, while his knees
still kept their position. Turning a relentless look on his
enemy, he shook a hand in grim defiance. But his hold
loosened, and his dark person was seen cutting the air with
its head downward, for a fleeting instant, until it glided
past the fringe of shrubbery which clung to the mountain,
in its rapid flight to destruction.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

They fought — like brave men, long and well,

They piled that ground with Moslem slain.
They conquered — but Bozzans fell,

Bleeding at every vein.
His few surviving comrades saw
His smile when rang their proud hurrah,

And the red field was won ;
Then saw in death his eyelids close
Calmly, as to a night's repose

Like flowers at set of sun.

HALLECK.

THE sun found the Lenape, on the succeeding day, a
nation of mourners. The sounds of the battle were over,
and they had fed fat their ancient grudge, and had avenged

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 43!

their recent quarrel with the Mengwe, by the destruction of
a whole community. The black and murky atmosphere that
floated around the spot where the Hurons had encamped
sufficiently announced, of itself, the fate of that wandering
tribe; while hundreds of ravens, that struggled above the
bleak summits of the mountains, or swept, in noisy flocks,
across the wide ranges of the woods, furnished a frightful
direction to the scene of the combat. In short, any eye, at
all practised in the signs of a frontier warfare, might easily
have traced all those unerring evidences of the ruthless
results which attend an Indian vengeance.

Still, the sun rose on the Lenape a nation of mourners.
No shouts of success, no songs of triumph, were heard, in
rejoicings for their victory. The latest straggler had re
turned from his fell employment, only to strip himself of
the terrific emblems of his bloody calling, and to join in
the lamentations of his countrymen, as a stricken people.
Pride and exultation were supplanted by humility, and the
fiercest of human passions was already succeeded by the
most profound and unequivocal demonstrations of grief.

The lodges were deserted; but a broad belt of earnest
faces encircled a spot in their vicinity, whither everything
possessing life had repaired, and where all were now col
lected, in deep and awful silence. Though beings of every
rank and age, of both sexes, and of all pursuits, had united
to form this breathing wall of bodies, they were influenced
by a single emotion. Each eye was riveted on the centre
of that ring, which contained the objects of so much, and
of so common, an interest.

Six Delaware girls, with their long, dark, flowing tresses
falling loosely across their bosoms, stood apart, and only
gave proofs of their existence as they occasionally strewed
sweet-scented herbs and forest flowers on a litter of fragrant
plants, that, under a pall of Indian robes, supported all that
now remained of the ardent, high-souled, and generous
Cora. Her form was concealed in many wrappers of the

432 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

same simple manufacture, and her face was shut forever
from the gaze of men. At her feet was seated the desolate
Munro. His aged head was bowed nearly to the earth, in
compelled submission to the stroke of Providence; but a
hidden anguish struggled about his furrowed brow, that was
only partially concealed by the careless locks of gray that
had fallen, neglected, on his temples. Gamut stood at his
side, his meek head bared to the rays of the sun, while his
eyes, wandering and concerned, seemed to be equally di
vided between that little volume which contained so many
quaint but holy maxims, and the being in whose behalf his
soul yearned to administer consolation. Hey ward was also
nigh, supporting himself against a tree, and endeavoring to
keep down those sudden risings of sorrow that it required
his utmost manhood to subdue.

But sad and melancholy as this group may easily be im
agined, it was far less touching than another, that occupied
the opposite space of the same area. Seated as in life,
with his form and limbs arranged in grave and decent corn-
posure, Uncas appeared, arrayed in the most gorgeous orna
ments that the wealth of the tribe could furnish. Rich
plumes nodded above his head; wampum, gorgets, brace
lets, and medals, adorned his person in profusion ; though
his dull eye and vacant lineaments too strongly contradicted
the idle tale of pride they would convey.

Directly in front of the corpse Chingachgook was
placed, without arms5 paint, or adornment of any sort,
except the bright blue blazonry of his race, that was in
delibly impressed on his naked bosom. During the long
period that the tribe had been thus collected, the Mohican
warrior had kept a steady, anxious look on the cold and
senseless countenance of his son. So riveted and intense
had been that gaze, and so changeless his attitude, that
a stranger might not have told the living from the dead,
but for the occasional gleamings of a troubled spirit,
that shot athwart the dark visage of one, and the death-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 433

like calm that had forever settled on the lineaments of
the other.

The scout was hard by, leaning in a pensive posture on
his own fatal and avenging weapon; while Tamenund, sup
ported by the elders of his nation, occupied a high place at
hand, whence he might look down on the mute and sorrow
ful assemblage of his people.

Just within the inner edge of the circle stood a soldier,
in the military attire of a strange nation; and without it
was his war-horse, in the centre of a collection of mounted
domestics, seemingly in readiness to undertake some distant
journey. The vestments of the stranger announced him to
be one who held a responsible situation near the person of
the Captain of the Canadas; and who, as it would now
seem, finding his errand of peace frustrated by the fierce
impetuosity of his allies, was content to become a silent and
sad spectator of the fruits of a contest that he had arrived
too late to anticipate.

The day was drawing to the close of its first quarter, and
yet had the multitude maintained its breathing stillness
since its dawn. No sound louder than a stifled sob had
been heard among them, nor had even a limb been moved
throughout that long and painful period, except to perform
the simple and touching offerings that were made, from time
to time, in commemoration of the dead. The patience and
forbearance of Indian fortitude could alone support such an
appearance of abstraction, as seemed now to have turned
each dark and motionless figure into stone.

At length, the sage of the Delawares stretched forth an
arm, and leaning on the shoulders of his attendants, he arose
with an air as feeble as if another age had already inter
vened between the man who had met his nation the preced
ing day, and him who now tottered on his elevated stand.

" Men of the Lenape ! " he said, in hollow tones, that
sounded like a voice charged with some prophetic mission;
"the face of the Manitto is behind a cloud 1 his eye is

434 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

turned from you; his ears are shut; his tongue gives no
answer. You see him not; yet his judgments are before
you. Let your hearts be open, and your spirits tell no lie.
Men of the Lenape 1 the face of the Manitto is behind a
cloud."

As this simple and yet terrible annunciation stole on the
ears of the multitude, a stillness as deep and awful suc
ceeded, as .if the venerated spirit they worshipped had ut
tered the words without the aid of human organs ; and even
the inanimate Uncas appeared a being of life, compared
with the humbled and submissive throng by whom he was
surrounded. As the immediate effect, however, gradually
passed away, a low murmur of voices commenced a sort of
chant in honor of the dead. The sounds were those of fe
males, and were thrill ingly soft and wailing. The words
were connected by no regular continuation, but as one
ceased another took up the eulogy, or lamentation, which
ever it might be called, and gave vent to her emotions in
such language as was suggested by her feelings and the oc
casion. At intervals the speaker was interrupted by general
and loud bursts of sorrow, during which the girls around
the bier of Cora plucked the plants and flowers blindly from
her body, as if bewildered with grief. But, in the milder
moments of their plaint, these emblems of purity and sweet
ness were cast back to their places, with every sign of ten
derness and regret. Though rendered less connected by
many and general interruptions and outbreakings, a trans
lation of their language would have contained a regular Je-
scant, which, in substance, might have proved to possess a
train of consecutive ideas.

A girl, selected for the task by her rank and qualifica
tions, commenced by modest allusions to the qualities of
the deceased warrior, embellishing her expressions with
those oriental images that the Indians have probably brought
with them from the extremes of the other continent, and
which form of themselves a link to connect the ancient his-

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 435

tories of the two worlds. She called him the " panther of
his tribe;" and described him as one whose moccasin left
no trail on the dews; whose bound was like the leap of the
young fawn ; whose eye was brighter than a star in the dark
night; and whose voice, in battle, was loud as the thunder
of the Manitto. She reminded him of the mother who bore
him, and dwelt forcibly on the happiness she must feel in
possessing such a son. She bade him tell her, when they
met in the world of spirits, that the Delaware girls had shed
tears above the grave of her child, and had called her
blessed.

Then, they who succeeded, changing their tones to a
milder and still more tender strain, alluded, with the deli
cacy and sensitiveness of women, to the stranger maiden,
who had left the upper earth at a time so near his own de
parture, as to render the will of the Great Spirit too mani
fest to be disregarded. They admonished him to be kind
to her, and to have consideration for her ignorance of those
arts which were so necessary to the comfort of a warrior
like himself. They dwelt upon her matchless beauty, and
on her noble resolution, without the taint of envy, and as
angels may be thought to delight in a superior excellence,
adding, that these endowments should prove more than
equivalent for any little imperfections in her education.

After which, others again, in due succession, spoke to the
maiden herself, in the low, soft language of tenderness and
love. They exhorted her to be of cheerful mind, and to
fear nothing for her future welfare. A hunter would be her
companion, who knew how to provide for her smallest
wants; and a warrior was at her side who was able to pro
tect her against every danger. They promised that her
path should be pleasant, and her burden light. They cau
tioned her against unavailing regrets for the friends of her
youth, and the scenes where her fathers had dwelt; assuring
her that the " blessed hunting grounds of the Lenape " con
tained vales as pleasant, streams as pure, and flowers as
S Vol. 4

436 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

sweet, as the "Heaven of the pale-faces." They advised
her to be attentive to the wants of her companion, and never
to forget the distinction which the Manitto had so wisely
established between them. Then, in a wild burst of their
chant, they sang with united voices the temper of the Mohi
can's mind. They pronounced him noble, manly, and gen
erous ; all that became a warrior, and all that a maid might
love. Clothing their ideas in the most remote and subtle
images, they betrayed, that, in the short period of their in
tercourse, they had discovered, with the intuitive percep
tion of their sex, the truant disposition of his inclinations.
The Delaware girls had found no favor in his eyes ! He
was of a race that had once been lords on the shores of the
salt lake, and his wishes had led him back to a people who
dwelt about the graves of his fathers. Why should not such
predilection be encouraged 1 That she was of a blood purer
and richer than the rest of her nation, any eye might have
seen : that she was equal to the dangers and daring of a life
in the woods, her conduct had proved; and now, they added,
the " wise one of the earth " had transplanted her to a place
where she would find congenial spirits, and might be for
ever happy.

Then, with another transition in voice and subject, allu
sions were made to the virgin who wept in the adjacent
lodge. They compared her to flakes of snow; as pure, as
white, as brilliant, and as liable to melt in the fierce heats
of summer, or congeal in the frosts of winter. They doubted
not that she was lovely in the eyes of the young chief, whose
skin and whose sorrow seemed so like her own; but, though
far from expressing such a preference, it was evident they
deemed her less excellent than the maid they mourned.
Still they denied her no meed her rare charms might prop
erly claim. Her ringlets were compared to the exuberant
tendrils of the vine, her eye to the blue vault of the heav
ens, and the most spotless cloud, with its glowing flush of
the sun, was admitted to be less attractive than her bloom.

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 437

During these and similar songs nothing was audible but
the murmurs of the music; relieved, as it was, or rather
rendered terrible, by those occasional bursts of grief which
might be called its choruses. The Delawares themselves
listened like charmed men; and it was very apparent, by
the variations of their speaking countenances, how deep and
true was their sympathy. Even David was not reluctant to
lend his ears to the tones of voices so sweet; and long ere
the chant was ended, his gaze announced that his soul was
enthralled.

The scout, to whom alone, of all the white men, the words
were intelligible, suffered himself to be a little aroused from
his meditative posture, and bent his face aside, to catch
their meaning, as the girls proceeded. But when they spoke
of the future prospects of Cora and Uncas, he shook his
head, like one who knew the error of their simple creed, and
resuming his reclining attitude, he maintained it until the
ceremony — if that might be called a ceremony, in which
feeling was so deeply imbued — was finished. Happily for
the self-command of both Heyward and Munro, they knew
not the meaning of the wild sounds they heard.

Chingachgook was a solitary exception to the interest
manifested by the native part of the audience. His look
never changed throughout the whole of the scene, nor did a
muscle move in his rigid countenance, even at the wildest
or the most pathetic parts of the lamentation. The cold
and senseless remains of his son was all to him, and every
other sense but that of sight seemed frozen, in order that
his eyes might take their final gaze at those lineaments he
had so long loved, and which were now about to be closed
forever from his view.

In this stage of the funeral obsequies, a warrior much
renowned for deeds in arms, and more especially for services
in the recent combat, a man of stern and grave demeanor,
advanced slowly from the crowd, and placed himself nigh
the person of the dead.

438 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

" Why hast thou left us, pride of the Wapanachki ? " he
said, addressing himself to the dull ears of Uncas, as if the
empty clay retained the faculties of the animated man;
" thy time has been like that of the sun when in the trees;
thy glory brighter than his light at noon-day. Thou art
gone, youthful warrior, but a hundred Wyandots are clear
ing the briers from thy path to the world of spirits. Who
that saw thee in battle would believe that thou couldst die?
Who before thee has ever shown Uttawa the way into the
fight? Thy feet were like the wings of eagles; thine arm
heavier than falling branches from the pine; and thy voice
like the Manitto when he speaks in the clouds. The tongue
of Uttawa is weak," he added, looking about him with a
melancholy gaze, " and his heart exceeding heavy. Pride
of the Wapanachki, why hast thou left us ? "

He was succeeded by others, in due order, until most of
the high and gifted men of the nation had sung or spoken
their tribute of praise over the manes of the deceased chief.
When each had ended, another deep and breathing silence
reigned in all the place.

Then a low, deep sound was heard, like the suppressed
accompaniment of distant music, rising just high enough
on the air to be audible, and yet so indistinctly, as to leave
its character, and the place whence it proceeded, alike mat
ters of conjecture. It was, however, succeeded by another
and another strain, each in a higher key, until they grew on
the ear, first in long drawn and often repeated interjections,
and finally in words. The lips of Chingachgook had so far
parted, as to announce that it was the monody of the father.
Though not an eye was turned toward him, nor the smallest
sign of impatience exhibited, it was apparent, by the man
ner in which the multitude elevated their heads to listen,
that they drank in the sounds with an intenseness of atten
tion, that none but Tamenund himself had ever before com
manded. But they listened in vain. The strains rose just
so loud as to become intelligible, and then grew fainter and

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 439

more trembling, until they finally sank on the ear, as if
borne away by a passing breath of wind. The lips of the
Sagamore closed, and he remained silent in his seat, look
ing, with his riveted eye and motionless form, like some
creature that had been turned from the Almighty hand with
the form but without the spirit of a man. The Delawares,
who knew by these symptoms that the mind of their friend
was not prepared for so mighty an effort of fortitude, re
laxed in their attention; and, with an innate delicacy,
seemed to bestow all their thoughts on the obsequies of the
stranger maiden.

A signal was given, by one of the elder chiefs, to the
women, who crowded that part of the circle near which the
body of Cora lay. Obedient to the sign, the girls raised
the bier to the elevation of their heads, and advanced with
slow and regulated steps, chanting, as they proceeded, an
other wailing song in praise of the deceased. Gamut, who
had been a close observer of rites he deemed so heathenish,
now bent his head over the shoulder of the unconscious
father, whispering —

"They move with the remains of thy child; shall we not
follow, and see them interred with Christian burial? "

Munro started, as if the last trumpet had sounded in his
ear, and bestowing one anxious and hurried glance around
him, he arose and followed in the simple train, with the
mien of a soldier, but bearing the full burden of a parent's
suffering. His friends pressed around him with a sorrow
that was too strong to be termed sympathy — even the young
Frenchman joining in the procession, with the air of a man
who was sensibly touched at the early and melancholy fate
of one so lovely. But when the last and humblest female
of the tribe had joined in the wild and yet ordered array,
the men of the Lenape contracted their circle, and formed
again around the person of Uncas, as silent, as grave, and
as motionless as before.

The place which had been chosen for the grave of Cora

44° THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

was a little knoll, where a cluster of young and healthful
pines had taken root, forming of themselves a melancholy
and appropriate shade over the spot. On reaching it the
girls deposited their burden, and continued for many min
utes waiting, with characteristic patience, and native timid
ity, for some evidence that they whose feelings were most
concerned were content with the arrangement. At length
the scout, who alone understood their habits, said, in their
own language —

" My daughters have done well ; the white men thank
them."

Satisfied with this testimony in their favor, the girls pro
ceeded to deposit the body in a shell, ingeniously and not
inelegantly fabricated of the bark of the birch; after which
they lowered it into its dark and final abode. The cere
mony of covering the remains, and concealing the marks
of the fresh earth, by leaves and other natural and cus
tomary objects, was conducted with the same simple and
silent forms. But when the labors of the kind beings who
had performed these sad and friendly offices were so far
completed, they hesitated, in a way to show that they knew
not how much further they might proceed. It was in this
stage of the rites that the scout again addressed them. —

" My young women have done enough," he said ; " the
spirit of a pale-face has no need of food or raiment — their
gifts being according to the heaven of their color. I see,"
he added, glancing an eye at David, who was preparing his
book in a manner that indicated an intention to lead the
way in sacred song, " that one who better knows the Chris
tian fashions is about to speak."

The females stood modestly aside, and, from having been
the principal actors in the scene, they now became the meek
and attentive observers of that which followed. During the
time David was occupied in pouring out the pious feelings
of his spirit in this manner, not a sign of surprise, nor a
look of impatience, escaped them. They listened like those

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 44!

who knew the meaning of the strange words, and appeared
as if they felt the mingled emotions of sorrow, hope, and
resignation they were intended to convey.

Excited by the scene he had just witnessed, and perhaps
influenced by his own secret emotions, the master of song
exceeded his usual efforts. His full, rich voice was not
found to suffer by a comparison with the soft tones of the
girls; and his more modulated strains possessed, at least
for the ears of those to whom they were peculiarly ad
dressed, the additional power of intelligence. He ended
the anthem, as he had commenced it, in the midst of a
grave and solemn stillness.

When, however, the closing cadence had fallen on the
ears of his auditors, the secret, timorous glances of the eyes,
and the general and yet subdued movement of the assem
blage, betrayed that something was expected from the father
of the deceased. Munro seemed sensible that the time was
come for him to exert what is, perhaps, the greatest effort of
which human nature is capable. He bared his gray locks,
and looked around the timid and quiet throng by which he
was encircled with a firm and collected countenance. Then
motioning with his hand for the scout to listen, he said — •

" Say to these kind and gentle females, that a heart
broken and failing man returns them his thanks. Tell
them, that the Being we all worship, under different names,
will be mindful of their charity ; and that the time shall
not be distant when we may assemble around his throne
without distinction of sex, or rank, or color."

The scout listened to the tremulous voice in which the
veteran delivered these words, and shook his head slowly
when they were ended, as one who doubted their efficacy.

" To tell them this," he said, " would be to tell them that
the snows come not in the winter, or that the sun shines
fiercest when the trees are stripped of their leaves."

Then turning to the women, he made such a communica
tion of the other's gratitude as he deemed most suited to the

442 THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

capacities of his listeners. The head of Munro had already
sunk upon his chest, and he was again fast relapsing into
melancholy, when the young Frenchman before named ven
tured to touch him lightly on the elbow. As soon as he had
gained the attention of the mourning old man, he pointed
toward a group of young Indians, who approached with a
light but closely covered litter, and then pointed upward
toward the sun.

" I understand you, sir," returned Munro, with a voice of
forced firmness; "I understand you. It is the will of
Heaven, and I submit. Cora, my child! if the prayers of a
heartbroken father could avail thee now, how blessed
shouldst thou be! Come, gentlemen," he added, looking
about him with an air of lofty composure, though the an
guish that quivered in his faded countenance was far too
powerful to be concealed, "our duty here is ended; let us
depart."

Heyward gladly obeyed a summons that took them from
a spot where, each instant, he felt his self-control was about
to desert him. While his companions were mounting, how
ever, he found time to press the hand of the scout, and to
repeat the terms of an engagement they had made, to meet
again within the posts of the British army. Then gladly
throwing himself into the saddle, he spurred his charger to
the side of the litter, whence low and stifled sobs alone an
nounced the presence of Alice. In this manner, the head
of Munro again dropping on his bosom, with Heyward and
David following in sorrowing silence, and attended by the
aide of Montcalm with his guard, all the white men, with
the exception of Hawk-eye, passed from before the eyes of
the Delawares, and were soon buried in the vast forests of
that region.

But the tie which, through their common calamity, had
united the feelings of these simple dwellers in the woods
with the strangers who had thus transiently visited them,
was not so easily broken. Years passed away before the

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 443

traditionary tale of the white maiden, and of the young war
rior of the Mohicans, ceased to beguile the long nights and
tedious marches, or to animate their youthful and brave
with a desire for vengeance. Neither were the secondary
actors in these momentous incidents forgotten. Through
the medium of the scout, who served for years afterward as
a link between them and civilized life, they learned, in an
swer to their inquiries, that the " Gray Head " was speedily
gathered to his fathers —borne down, as was erroneously
believed, by his military misfortunes; and that the "Open
Hand " had conveyed his surviving daughter far into the
settlements of the " pale-faces," where her tears had at last
ceased to flow, and had been succeeded by the bright smiles
which were better suited to her joyous nature.

But these were events of a time later than that which
concerns our tale. Deserted by all of his color, Hawk-eye
returned to the spot where his own sympathies led him,
with a force that no ideal bond of union could bestow. He
was just in time to catch a parting look of the features of
LJncas, whom the Delawares were already inclosing in his
last vestments of skins. They paused to permit the longing
and lingering gaze of the sturdy woodsman, and when it
was ended, the body was enveloped, never to be unclosed
again. Then came a procession like the other, and the
whole nation was collected about the temporary grave of the
chief — temporary, because it was proper that, at some future
day, his bones should rest among those of his own people.

The movement, like the feeling, had been simultaneous
and general. The same grave expression of grief, the same
rigid silence, and the same deference to the principal mourn
er, were observed around the place of interment as have
been already described. The body was deposited in an at
titude of repose, facing the rising sun, with the implements
of war and of the chase at hand, in readiness for the final
journey. An opening was left in the shell, by which it was
protected from the soil, for the spirit to communicate with

444 THE LAST OP- THE MOHICANS.

its earthly tenement, when necessary; and the whole was
concealed from the instinct, and protected from the ravages
of the beasts of prey, with an ingenuity peculiar to the na
tives. The manual rites then ceased, and all present re
verted to the more spiritual part of the ceremonies.

Chingachgook became once more the object of the com
mon attention. He had not yet spoken, and something con
solatory and instructive was expected from so renowned a
chief on an occasion of such interest. Conscious of the
wishes of the people, the stern and self -restrained warrior
raised his face, which had latterly been buried in his robe,
and looked about him with a steady eye. His firmly com
pressed and expressive lips then severed, and for the first
time during the long ceremonies his voice was distinctly
audible.

" Why do my brothers mourn ! " he said, regarding the
dark race of dejected warriors by whom he was environed ;
" why do my daughters weep ! that a young man has gone to
the happy hunting grounds; that a chief has filled his time
with honor ! He was good ; he was dutiful ; he was brave.
Who can deny it? The Manitto had need of such a war
rior, and he has called him away. As for me, the son and
the father of Uncas, I am a blazed pine, in a clearing of the
pale-faces. My race has gone from the shores of the salt
lake, and the hills of the Delawares. But who can say that
the serpent of his tribe has forgotten his wisdom ? I am
alone "

" No, no," cried Hawk-eye, who had been gazing with a
yearning look at the rigid features of his friend, with some
thing like his own self-command, but whose philosophy
could endure no longer; "no, Sagamore, not alone. The
gifts of our colors may be different, but God has so placed
us as to journey in the same path. I have no kin, and I
may also say, like you, no people. He was your son, and a
red-skin by nature; and it may be that your blood was
nearer — but if ever I forget the lad who has so often fou't

THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. 445

at my side in war, and slept at my side in peace, may He
who made us all, whatever may be our color or our gifts,
forget me! The boy has left us for a time; but, Sagamore,
you are not alone."

Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of
feeling, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and
in that attitude of friendship these two sturdy and intrepid
woodsmen bowed their heads together, while scalding tears
fell to their feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of
falling rain.

In the midst of the awful stillness with which such a
burst of feeling, coming, as it did, from the two most re
nowned warriors of that region, was received, Tamenund
lifted his voice to disperse the multitude.

" It is enough," he said. " Go, children of the Lenape,
the anger of the Manitto is not done. Why should Tame
nund stay? The pale-faces are masters of the earth, and
the time of the red-men has not yet come again. My day
has been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of Una-
mis happy and strong; and yet, before the night has come,
have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the
Mohicans."

THE END.

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