The last of the Mohicans; a narrative of 1757

C. E. WYNDHAM,

THE LAST

OF

THE MOHICANS;

NARRATIVE OF 1757.

BY THE AUTHOR OF « THE SPY," " THE PILOT,
" THE PIONEERS," &c. &c.

'' Mislike me not, for my complexion,

The shadowed livery of the burnished sun."

IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON:

JOHN MILLER, NEW BRIDGE STREET.

1826.

Sback*-',!, AiTowmintb, and Hedges, JohnsonV-eourt, F'

THE

LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

CHAPTER I.

«' I'll seek a readier path."— Parnell.

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 same1 day, with the baffled Magua for
their guide. The sun had now fallen Vow
towards the distant mountains, and as their
journey lay through the interminable forest,
the heat was no longer oppressive. Their
progress, in consequence, was proportion
ate, arid long before the twilight gathered

VOL. II. B

2 THE LAST OF

about them, they made good many toilsome
miles, on their return path.

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 in his speed, and
never pausing to deliberate. A rapid and
oblique glance at the moss on the trees,
with an occasional upward gaze towards
the setting sun, or a steady but passing
look at the direction of the numerous water
courses, 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 embellished its
arches, in the graver light, which is the
usual precursor of the close of day.

While the eyes of the sisters were en
deavouring to catch glimpses, through the
trees, of the flood of golden glory, which
formed a glittering halo around the sun,
tinging here and there, with ruby streaks,
or bordering with narrow edgings of shin
ing yellow, a mass of clouds that lay piled
at no great distance above the western hills,

THE MOHICANS. 3

Hawk-eye turned suddenly, and pointing
upward towards the gorgeous heavens, 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 remem
ber to have font the Maquas hereaways, in
the iirst 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 d^nse thicket of young ches-
nuts, shoving aside the branches of the ex
uberant shoots which nearly covered the
ground, like a man who expected, at each
step, to discover some object he had for
merly known. The recollection of the
B 2

4 THE LAST OF

scout did not deceive him. After pene
trating through the brush, matted as it was
with briars, for a few hundred feet, he
entered into an open space, that surround
ed d 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 forest, 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 intimately associated with
the recollections of colonial history, and
which are in appropriate keeping with the
gloomy character 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 rela-

THE MOHICANS. 5

tive 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 of such a decayed ap
pearance, Hawk-eye and the Indians enter
ed within the low walls, not only without
fear, but with obvious interest. While the
former surveyed the ruins, both internally,
and externally, with the curiosity of one
whose recollections were reviving at each
moment, Chingachgook related 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 dis
mounted, and prepared 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

6

THE LAST OF

inore retired, my worthy friend/1 demanded
the more vigilant Duncan, perceiving that
the scout had already finished his short
survey, " had we chosen a spot less known,
and one more rarely visited than this ?"

" 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 font 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 scandalized 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 Indi
an 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

THE MOHICANS. 7

relishing 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
either, though it be raised by the bones of
mortal men."

Heyward and the sisters arose on the
instant from the grassy sepulchre 5 nor
could the two latter, notwithstanding the
terrific scenes they had so recently passed
through, entirely 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 death-like
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

THE LAST OF

alarm ; " they'll never shout the warwhoop,
nor strike a blow with the tomahawk,
again ! And of all those who aided in
placing them where they lie, Chingach-
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 desolate
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 honour 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 ; trusting the
defence of their lands to those very Mo
hawks that you slew !"

" 'Tis true in part," returned the scout,
" and yet at the bottom, 'tis a wicked lie.

THE MOHICANS. 9

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 manhood ;
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
Accessary to the preservation of his fair
companions j we have journeyed far, and
B 3

10 THE LAST OF

few among us are blest with forms like that
of yours, which seems to know neither
fatigue nor weakness.7'

" The sinews and bones of a man carry
me through it all," said the hunter, sur
veying his muscular limbs with a simplicity
that betrayed the honest pleasure the com
pliment afforded -him ; "there are larger
and heavier men to be found in the settle
ments, but you might travel many days in
a city, before you could meet one able to
walk fifty miles without slopping 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 suppose, 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 companions busied themselves in
preparations for the comfort and protection
of those they guided. A spring, which

THE MOHICANS. 11

many long years before had induced the
natives to select the place for their tempo
rary 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
Jaid beneath it, for the sisters to repose on.
While the diligent woodsmen were em
ployed in this manner, Cora and Alice-
partook of that refreshment, which duty
required, much more than inclination
prompted, them to accept. They then
retired within the walls, and first offering
up their thanksgivings for past mercies,
and petitioning for a continuance of the
Divine favour throughout the coming
night, they laid their tender forms on the
fragrant couch, and in spite of recollections
and forebodings, soon sunk into those slum
bers which nature so imperiously demand
ed, and which were sweetened by hopes
for the morrow. Duncan had prepared
himself to pass the night in watchfulness,

12 THE LAST OF

near them, just without the ruin ; but the
scout, perceiving his intention, pointed to
wards 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 sentinel ; there
fore, let us sleep."

" I proved myself a sluggard on my post
during the past night," said Hey ward,
"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
60th, and in front of an enemy like the
French, I could not ask for a better watch
man," returned the scout; "but in the
darkness, and among the signs of the wil
derness, 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

THE MOHICANS. 13

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. Un
willing 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 re
solutely 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 solitude; 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 distinguish
the recumbent forms of his companions,
as they lay stretched on the grass, and. to

14 THE LAST OF

note the person of Chingachgook, 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 moan-
ings 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 as
sociate sentinel ; his head next sunk 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 sunk into a deep sleep,
dreaming that he was a knight of ancient
chivalry holding his midnight vigils before
the tent of a re-captured princess, whose
favour he did not despair of gaining, by
such a proof of devotion and watchfulness.
How long the tired Duncan lay in this

THE MOHICANS. 15

insensible state he never knew himself, but
his slumbering visions had been long lost
in total forgetfulness, when he was awaken
ed by a light tap on the shoulder. Aroused
by this signal, slight as it was, he sprang
upon his feet, with a confused recollection
of the self-imposed duty he had assumed
with the commencement 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, " moon comes,
and white man's fort far — far off; time to
move, when sleep shuts both eyes of the
Frenchman !"

" 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,

16 THE LAST OF

" 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
live-long 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/' interrupt
ed 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 favour 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, endeavour to snatch a little
sleep !"

" If shame could cure me of my drowsi
ness, I should never close an eye again,"
said the uneasy youth, gazing at the in
genuous countenance of Alice, where, how-

THE MOHICANS. 17

ever, in its sweet solicitude, he read nothing
to confirm his half awakened 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 weakness 1" return-
ed the confiding Alice ; who lent herself,
with all a woman's confidence to that
generous delusion which painted the per
fection of her youthful admirer. " Go,
then, and sleep ; believe me, neither of us,
weak girls as we are, will betray our
watch.'3

The young man was relieved from the
awkwardness of making any further pro
testations of his own demerits, by an ex
clamation from Chingachgook, and the at-
titude 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 some danger
in the wind !"

18 THE LAST OF

" God forbid !" exclaimed Hey ward.
" Surely, we have had enough of blood
shed !"

While he spoke, however, the young
soldier seized his rifle, and advancing
towards 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 prowl
ing around us in quest of food !'' he said,
in a whisper, as soon as the low, and ap
parently, distant sounds, which had startled
the Mohicans, reached his own ears.

" Hist I" returned the attentive scout ;
" 'tis man ; even I can now tell his tread,
poor as my senses are, when compared 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, look-
ing around with anxiety in his features, at
the dim objects by which he was surround
ed ; " but what must be, must ! Lead the
horses into the block-house, Uncas ; and,
friends, do you follow to the same shelter.

THE MOHICANS. 19

Poor and old as it is, it offers a cover,
and has rung with the crack of a rifle afore
to night !"

He was instantly obeyed, the Mohicans
leading the Narragansets within the
ruin, whither the whole party repaired, with
the most guarded silence.

The sounds of approaching footsteps
were now too distinctly audible, to leave
any doubts as to the nature of the interrup
tion. They were soon mingled with voices
calling to each other, in an Indian dialect,
which the hunter, in a whisper, affirmed to
Hey ward, was the language of the Hurons.
When the party reached the point where
the horses had entered the thicket which
surrounded the block-house, they were evi
dently 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 ad
vice, in noisy clamour.

" The knaves know our weakness," whis
pered Hawk-eye, who stood by the side of

20 THE LAST 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 reptiles ! each man
among them seems to have two tongues,
and but a single leg !"

Duncan, brave, and even fierce as he
sometimes was in the combat, could not,
in such a moment of painful suspense, make
any reply to the cool and characteristic re
mark 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 in
creasing intenseness. 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 ad
vice, 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

THE MOHICANS. 21

arches of the forest, where the objects still
Jay in dim and 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 chest
nuts, which encircled the little area.

" They are coming !" muttered Hey-
ward, endeavouring to thrust his rifle
through the chink in the logs ; " let us fire
on their approach !"

" Keep every thing in the shade/' re
turned 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 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."

22 THE LAST OP

Duncan cast his eyes anxiously behind
him, and saw that the trembling 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 in
stant the thicket opened, and a tall and
armed Huron advanced a few paces into
the open space. As he gazed upon the si
lent block-house, the moon fell full upon
his swarthy countenance, and betrayed its
surprise and curiosity. He made the ex
clamation, which usually accompanies 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 toge
ther 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,

THE MOHICANS. 23

whose curiosity struggled powerfully with
their awakened apprehensions for the mas
tery. The foot of one of them suddenly
rested on the mound, and he stooped to ex
amine its nature. At this moment, Hey-
ward observed that the scout loosened his
knife in its sheath, and lowered the muzzle
of his rifle. Imitating these movements,
the young man prepared himself for the
struggle, which now seemed inevitable.

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 character of the mound, the attention
of the Hurons appeared directed to a dif
ferent object. They spoke together, and
the sounds of their voices were low and so
lemn, as if influenced by a reverence that
was deeply blended with awe. They then
drew warily back, keeping their eyes rivet-
ted 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.

THE LAST OF

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 re
plying, he again turned towards those who
just then interested him more. He heard
the two Huron s leave the bushes, and it was
soon plain that all the pursuers were ga
thered about them, in deep attention to
their report. After a few minutes of earn
est and solemn dialogue, altogether differ
ent from the noisy clamour 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 Chingachgook 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

THE MOHICANS. 5

done, they issued through the broken gate
way, and stealing out by a direction oppo
site to the one by which they had entered,
they quilted 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
deep gloom of the woods.

i
'

VOL. ir.

THE JLAST OF

CHAPTER II.

Guard.— Qui est Ja ?

Pue. — 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 indi
vidual was too much interested in their
escape to hazard a word even in whispers.
The scout resumed his post in the ad
vance, though his steps, after he had
thrown a safe distance between himself
and his enemies, were more deliberate 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,

W THE MOHICANS. §7

the Mohicans, pointing upwards at the
moon, and examining the barks of the
trees with extraordinary care. In these
brief pauses, Heyward and the sisters lis
tened, with senses rendered doubly acute
by their danger, to detect any symptoms
which might announce the proximity of
their foes. At such moments, 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 towards it they
immediately held their silent and diligent
way.

When the banks of the little stream were
gained, Hawk-eye made another halt ; and,
taking the moccasins from his feet, he in
vited Heyward and Gamut to follow his
example. He then entered the water, and
c 2

28 THE LAST OF

for near an hour they travelled in the bed
of the brook, leaving no dangerous trail.
The moon had already sunk into an im
mense pile of black clouds, which lay im
pending above the western horizon, 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 travel
lers could plainly perceive that the moun
tains drew nigher to them on each hand,
and that they were, in truth, about enter
ing one of their widest 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 cau
tious, that they added to the solemnity of
his words, in the quiet and darkness of
the place.

" It is easy to know the path-ways, and
to find the licks and water-courses of the
wilderness," he said ; " but who that saw

THE MOHICANS. 29

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 Hey ward, advanc
ing, with interest, nigher to the scout.

" It is yet a long and weary path," was
the answer, " and when and where to strike
it, is now our greatest difficulty. " See,"
he said, pointing through the trees towards
a spot where a little basin of water reflected
the bright stars from its still and 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 enemy, 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 I"

"Three battles did we make with the
Dutch Frenchman in a day !" continued
Hawk-eye, pursuing the train of his own
thoughts, rather than replying to the re-

SO THE LAST OF

mark of Duncan. " He met us hard by,
in our outward march to ambush his ad
vance, 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 ! Hun
dreds 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
Heyward, in the heat of his youthful ar
dour ; " the fame of it reached us early
in our southern army."

" Ay ! but it did not end there. I was
sent by Major Effingham, at Sir William's
own bidding, to out-flank 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

THE MOHICANS. 31

eoming 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
appetites ! we gave them but little breath
ing 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 coloured
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 to 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 hills that
haven't rung with the crack of my rifle,
nor is there the space of a square mile

2 THE LAST OF

atwixt Horican and the river, that ' kill-
deer ' hasn't dropped a living body on> be
it an enemy, 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 now, 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 wa
ter!" returned the scout, grasping the
shoulder of Heyward, with such convul
sive strength, as to make the young soldier
painfully sensible how much superstitious
terror had gotten the mastery of a man who
was usually so dauntless.

" By heaven ! there is a human form,

THE MOHICANS. 33

and it approaches! stand to your arms,
my friends, for we know not whom we en
counter."

" Qui vive ?" demanded a stern and
deep voice, which sounded like a challenge
from another world, issuing out of that so
litary 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 Hey ward, advancing
from the shadow of the trees, to the shore
of the pond, within a few yards of the sen
tinel.

" D'ou venez-vous — ou allez-vous d'aussi
bonne heure ?" demanded the grenadier,
in the language, and with the accent of a
man from old France.

'• Je viens de la decouverte, et je vais
me couch er."

" Etes-vous officier du roi ?"

" Sans doute, moil camarade ; me prends-
tu pour un provincial ! Je suis capitaine de
cS

I

34. THE LAST or

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 conduit au general."

" Ma foi ! mesdames 5 j'en suis fache
pour vous," exclaimed the young soldier,
touching his cap with studious politeness,
and no little 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 ;
' A dieu, mon ami ; je vous souhaiterais un
devoir plus agr^able, a remplir."

The soldier made a low and humble ac
knowledgment for her civility j and Hey
ward adding, " a bonne nuit, mon coma-
rade,'5 they moved deliberately forward 5
leaving the sentinel pacing along the banks
of the silent pond, little suspecting an ene
my of so much effrontery, and humming
to himself those words which were recalled
to his mind by the sight of women, and,

THE MOHICANS. 36

perhaps, by the recollections of his own
distant and beautiful France—

" Vive le vin, vlve Tamour," £c. &c.

" 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 Trenchers, 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 belongs to this world, may well
be doubted," said Heyward, glancing his
€yes quickly around him, and missing

36 THE LAST OF

Chingachgook from their little bancL-—
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 an uncertainty,
that each moment served to render more
painful, the form of the Indian was seen
gliding out of the thicket, and rejoined
thern^ while 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 drank his blood. He then took
his wonted station, a little on one flank,
with the satisfied 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 a moment in pro
found silence. Then shaking his head in
a mournful manner, he muttered —

" 'Twould have been a cruel and an un-
human act for a white-skin ; but 'tis the
gift and natur of an Indian, and I suppose

THE MOHICANS. 37

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 conquer
ing his disgust by a train of reflections
very much like that of the hunter; "'tis
done, and though better it were left un
done, 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 harbour
further thoughts about it ! Aye, 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, glancing his eyes upward, to
wards the bank of vapour that concealed
the setting moon.

" And little time to do it in !" repeated
the scout. " The thing may be done in two

38 THE LAST OF

fashions, by the help of Providence, with
out 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 -!" inter
rupted the generous Hey ward ; " a soldier
might force his way in this manner, but
never writh such a convoy."

•* 'Twould 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 the thing.
We must then turn on our trail, and get
without the line of their look-outs, when
we will bend short to the west, and enter
the mountains, 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/' returned the impatient
young man, " and that instantly."

Further words were unnecessary 5 for

THE MOHICANS. 39

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 pro
gress, like their late dialogue, was guarded,
and without noise ; for none knew at what
moment a passing patrol, or a crouching
piquet, 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 dreariness. They looked in vain
for the form they had so recently seen
stalking along its silent shores, while a low
and regular wash of the little waves, by an
nouncing that the waters were not yet sub
sided, 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
active travellers.

Hawk-eye soon deviated from the line
of their retreat, and striking off towards
the mountains which form the western

40 THE LAST OF f

boundary of the narrow plain, he led his
followers, with swift steps, deep within the
dense shadows, that were cast from their
high and broken summits. Their 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 degree, 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 supported 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 colours with
which they had been gifted by nature.
When they issued from the stinted woods
which clung to the barren sides of the
mountain, upon a flat and mossy rock,

THE MOHICANS. 41

that formed its summit, they met the
morning, as it came blushing above the
green pines of a hill, that lay on the oppo
site side of the valley of the Horican.

The scout now told the sisters to dis
mount, 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 Heyward.

" See, and judge with your own eyes,"
said the scout, advancing towards the east
ern brow of the mountain, whither he
beckoned for the whole party to follow;
" if it was as easy to look into the heart of
man, as it is to spy out the nakedness of
Montcalm's camp from this spot, hypocrites
would grow scarce, and the cunning of a

42 THE LAST OF

Mingo might prove a losing game, compar
ed to the honesty of a Delaware."

When the travellers had 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 ele
vated perhaps a thousand feet in the air,
was a high cone, that rose a little in ad
vance of that range which reached for
miles along the western shores of the lake,
until meeting its sister piles beyond the
water, it ran off far towards the Canadas,
in confused and broken masses of rock,
which were thinly sprinkled with ever
greens. Immediately at the feet of the
party, the southern shore of the Horican
swept in a broad semi-circle, from moun
tain to mountain, marking a wide strand,
that soon rose into an uneven and some
what elevated plain. To the north stretch
ed the limpid, and, as it appeared from
that dizzy height, the narrow sheet of the
"holy lake/' indented with numberless

THE MOHICANS. 43

bays, embellished by fantastic head-lands,
and dotted with countless islands. At the
distance of a few leagues, the bed of the
waters became lost among mountains, or
was wrapped in the masses of vapour, 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 farther north, to
spread their pure and ample sheets again,
before pouring out their tribute into the
distant Champlain. To the south stretch
ed 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 accompanied our adven
turers in their double journey. Along
both ranges of hills, which bounded the
opposite sides of the lake and valley, clouds
of light vapour were rising in spiral wreaths
from the uninhabited woods, looking like
the smokes of hidden cottages, or rolled

44 .THE LAST OF

lazily down the declivities, to mingle with
the fogs of the lower land. A single,
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 western 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
morasses 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 livery of nature, except
where the limpid water mellowed the view,
or the bold rocks thrust their black and
naked heads above the undulating outlines
of the mountain ranges. In its front might
be seen the scattered sentinels, who held a
weary watch against thejr numerous foes j
and within the walls themselves, the tra
vellers looked down upon men still drowsy

THE MOHICANS. 45

with a night of vigilance. Towards the
south-east, 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
recently left the Hudson in their company.
From the woods a little farther 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 stripe of land, which
appeared, from its stand, too narrow to
contain such an army, but 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 for an encamp
ment often thousand men. Batteries were

46 THE LAST OF

already thrown up in their front, and even
while the spectators above them were look
ing down, with such different emotions, on
a scene, which lay like a map beneath their
feet, the roar of artillery rose from out the
valley, and passed off, in thundering echoes,
along the eastern hills.

" Morning is just touching them below,"
said the deliberate 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 Iro-
quois."

" The place is, indeed, invested," re
turned Duncan ; " but is there no expedient
by which we may enter ? capture in tke
works would be far preferable to falling,
again, into the hands of the roving In
dians."

" See !" exclaimed the scout, unconsci
ously 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
commandant's house ! Ay ! these Frenchers

THE MOHICANS. 47

will pull it to pieces faster than it was put
together, solid and thick though it be !"

" Heyward, I sicken at the sight of dan
ger, that I cannot share," said the undaunt
ed 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 work, and will fol
low, I will make a push ; for I long to get
down into that camp, if it be only to scat
ter some Mingo dogs that I see lurking in
the skirts of yonder thicket of birch.''

"•We are equal!'' said Cora, firmly;
" on such an errand we will follow to any
danger!"

The scout turned to her with a smile of

48 THE LAST OF

honest and cordial approbation, as he an
swered —

" I would I had a thousand men, of
brawny limbs and quick eyes, that feared
death as little as you ! I'd send them jab
bering Trenchers back into their den again,
afore the week was ended, howling like so
many fettered hounds, or hungry wolves.
But stir,5' he added, turning from her to
the rest of the party, " the fog comes roll
ing 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 Mohi
cans ; they'd scent their way, be it in day
or be it at night."

He then waved his hand for them to fol
low, and threw himself down the steep de
clivity, with free but careful footsteps.
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

THE MOHICANS. 49

brought the travellers to the level of the
plain, nearly opposite to a sally-port, in the
western curtain of the fort, which lay, it
self, 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 favoured by the nature
of the ground, they had anticipated the
fog, which was rolling heavily 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.

In a very few moments he returned, his
face reddened with vexation, while he mut
tered forth his disappointment in words of
no very gentle import.

" Here, has the cunning Frenchman
been posting a piquet directly in our path,"

VOL. II. D

50 THE LAST OF

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 Heyward, " and come into
our path again when it is past?"

" 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 Ho-
rican are not like the curls from a peace*
pipe, or the smoke which settles above a
mosquetoe fire!"

He was yet speaking, when a crashing
sound was heard, and a cannon-ball en
tered the thicket, striking the body of a
sapling, and rebounding to the earth,
its force being, much expended by previ
ous resistance. The Indians followed in
stantly like busy attendants on the terrible
messenger, and Uncas commenced speak
ing earnestly, and with much action, in
the Delaware tongue.

" It maybe so, lad," muttered the scout,
when he had ended , for desperate fevers
are not to-be treated like a tooth-ache.
Cpme, then, the fog is shutting in."

THE MOHICANS. 51

" Stop !'J cried Heyward; " first explain
your expectations."

" 'Tis soon done, and a small hope it is ;
but then it is better than nothing. This
shot that you see/' added the scout, kick
ing 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 dim figure of their leader in
his eye* It was soon apparent that Hawk-
eye had not magnified the power of the
fog, for before they had proceeded twenty
yards, it was difficult for the different indi
viduals of the party to distinguish each
other, in the vapour.

They had made their little circuit to the
left, and were already inclining again to-

D2

2 THE LAST OF

wards the right, having, as Keyword
thought, got over nearly half the distance
to the friendly works, when his ears were
saluted with the fierce summons, appar*
ently 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 writh
threatening menaces.

" C'est rnoi," cried Duncan, dragging,
rather than leading those he supported,
swiftly, onward.

" Bete ! qui ? moi !"

" Un ami de la France."

" Tu m'as plus Pair d'un ennemi de
la France ; arrete ! oti 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
different from that taken by the fugitives,

THE MOHICANS. 53

though still so nigh them, that to the un
practised ears of David and the two
maidens, 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 will wait for reinforcements.*5

The scheme was well conceived, but
failed in its effect. The instant the French
heard their 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 farthest 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 ;

64 THE LAST OF

but, in the hurry of the moment, and in
the change of position, he had lost the
direction. In vain he turned either cheek
towards 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 little adjacent
ant-hills.

" Give me the range !" said Hawk-eye,
bending to catch a glimpse of the direc
tion,- and then instantly moving onward.

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 upward 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 I" exclaimed Hawk,
eye, turning short on his tracks ; " and
we, like stricken fools, were rushing to
the woods, under the very knives of the
Maquas."

THE MOHICANS. 55

The instant their mistake was rectified,
the whole party retraced the error with the
utmost diligence. Duncan willingly relin
quished the support of Cora to the offered
arm of Uncas, and Cora as readily accepted
the welcome assistance. Men, hot and
angry in the pursuit, were evidently on
their footsteps, and each instant threatened
their capture, if not their destruction.

" Point de quartier, aux coquins !" cried
an eager pursuer, who seemed to direct the
operations of the enemy.

" Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant
60ths !" suddenly exclaimed a voice above
them, in the deep tones of authority;
" wait to see the enemy, fire low, and
sweep the glacis."

" Father ! father !" exclaimed a piercing
female cry from out the mist ; " it is I !
Alice ! thy own Elsie ! spare, oh ! save your
daughters !"

" 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 !

56 THE LAST OF

God has restored me my children ! Throw
open the sally-port ; to the field, (JOths, 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 darting to the spot, directed
by the sound, he met a long line of
dark-red warriors, passing swiftly to
wards the glacis. He knew them for his
own battalion of the royal Americans,
and flying to their head, soon swept
every trace of his pursuers 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 of gigantic 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

THE MOHICANS. -?

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
prepared !"

'

D 3

THE LAST OF

CHAPTER III.

" Then go we in, to know his embassy ;
Which I could, with a ready gness. declare,
Befoie the Frenchman sipeak a word of it."

King Henry V.

THE few succeeding days were passed
amid all the privations, the uproar, and
the dangers of the siege, which was vigo
rously pressed by a power, against whose
approaches Munro possessed no competent
means of resistance. * It appeared as if
Webb, with his army, which lay slumber
ing on the banks of the Hudson, had ut
terly forgotten the strait to which his
brethren were reduced. Montcalm had
filled the woods of the portage with his
savages, every yell and whoop from whom
rang through the British encampment,

THE MOHICANS. ,59

chilling the hearts of men, who were already
but too much disposed to magnify the
danger, with additional terror.

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 jus
tice to the stern character of their com
mander. As if satisfied with the toil of
marching through the wilderness to en
counter 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 eminences, or
rather dread of the labour of ascending
them, might have been termed the beset
ting 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

60 THE LAST OF

v ,

useless. The carelessness engendered by
these usages, descended even to the war of
the revolution, and lost the states the im
portant 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 infatuation,
which ever it may be called, with astonish
ment, knowing that the neglect of an emi
nence, whose difficulties, like those of
Mount Defiance, had been so greatly ex
aggerated, 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-handr now rolls
through the scenes we have attempted to
describe, in quest of information, health,
or pleasure, or floats steadily towards 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,

THE MOHICANS. 61

is not to suppose that his ancestors traver
sed those hills, or struggled with the same
currents with equal facility. The trans
portation of a single heavy gun, was often
considered equal to a victory gained ; if
happily the difficulties of the passage had
not so far separated it from its necessary
concomitants, the ammunition, as to render
it no more than an useless tube of un
wieldy iron.

The evils of this state of things pressed
heavily on the fortunes of the resolute
Scotsman, who now defended William
Henry. Though his adversary neglected
the hills, he had planted his batteries with
judgment on the plain, and caused them to
be served with vigour and skill. Against
this assault, the besieged could only oppose
the imperfect and hasty preparations of a
fortress in the wilderness, to whose mounds
those extended sheets of water, which
stretched into the Canadas, bore no friendly
aid, while they opened the way to their
more fortunate enemies.

It was on the afternoon of the fifth day
of the siege, and the fourth of his own ser-

62 THE LAST OF

vice in it, that Major Heyward profited by
a parley that had just been beaten, by re
pairing 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
of the siege. He was alone, if the solitary
sentinel who paced the mound be except-
ed ; for the artillerists had hastened also
to profit by the temporary suspension of
their arduous 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 moment 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 ; tem
pered with the milder light, or softened in
shadow, as thin vapours 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

THE MOHICANS. 63

waters, and others appearing to hover
above the element, in little hillocks 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 game.

The scene was at once animated and
still. All that pertained to nature was
sweet, or simply grand.; while those parts
which depended on the temper and move
ments of man, were in perfect unison.

Two little spotless flags were abroad, the
one on a salient angle of the fort, and the
other on the advanced battery of the be
siegers ; emblems of the truce which exist
ed, not only to the acts, but it would seem,
also, to the enmity of the combatants.
Behind these, again, swung, heavily open
ing 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 peb
bly beach, within dangerous proximity to
the sullen but silent cannon of the fort,
while the eastern mountain was sending
back the loud shouts and gay merriment

64< . THE LAST OF

that attended their sport. Some were
rushing eagerly to enjoy the aquatic game;;
of the lake, and others were already toiling
their way up the neighbouring 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 piquet 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 mute aston
ishment. In short, every thing 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 cus
tody of a French officer, to the body of the
fort. The countenance of Hawk-eye was

THE MOHICANS. 65

haggard and care-worn, and his air deject
ed, as though he felt the deepest degrada
tion at having fallen into the power of his
enemies. He was without his favourite
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 groupe,
he expected to see another of the officers
of the enemy, charged with a similar office j
but the instant he recognised the tall per
son, and still sturdy, though downcast, fea
tures of his friend, the woodsman, he start
ed with surprise, and turned to descend
from the bastion 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 sis
ters, walking along the parapet, in search,
like himself, of air and relief from confine
ment. They had not met since that pain
ful moment when he deserted them, on the

66 THE LAST OF

plain, only to assure their safety. He had
parted from them, worn with care, and
jaded with fatigue ; he now saw them
refreshed and blooming, though still 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, how
ever, anticipated by the voice of the ardent
and youthful Alice.

" Ah ! thou truant ! thou recreant
knight ! he who abandons his damsels in
the very lists, to abide the fortunes of the
fray!" she cried, in affected reproaches,
which her beaming eyes and extended
hands so flatteringly denied. " Here have
we been days, nay, ages, expecting you at
our feet, imploring mercy and forgetful-
ness 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 blessings," added the graver and
more thoughtful Cora. " In truth, we

THE MOHICANS. 6?

have a little wondered why you should so
rigidly absent yourself from a place, where
the gratitude of the daughters might re
ceive 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 yonder village of huts," point
ing to the neighbouring 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 endeavoured,
though unsuccessfully, to conceal, " had I
been aware, that what I then believed a
soldier's conduct, could be so construed,
shame would have been added to the list
of reasons.''

" Heyward ! —Duncan !" exclaimed Alice,
bending forward to read his half-averted
countenance, until a lock of her golden
hair rested in rich contrast on her flushed

68 THE LAST OF

cheek, and nearly concealed the tear that
had started to her anxious eye ; " did I
think this idle tongue of mine had pained
you, I would silence it for ever ! Cora can
say, if Cora would, how justly we have
prized your services, and how deep— I had
almost said, how fervent — is our grati
tude r

" 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 ne
glect of the knight, in the ardour of a sol
dier ?"

Cora made no immediate answer, but
turned her face towards the water, as if
looking on the plain 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 !"

THE MOHICANS. 69

" 'Tis nothing," she answered, gently
refusing his offered support, with feminine
reserve. " That I cannot see the sunny
side of the picture of life, like this artless
but ardent enthusiast," she added, laying
her hand lightly, but affectionately, on the
arm of her anxious sister, " is the penalty
of experience, and, perhaps, the misfortune
of my nature. See," she continued, with
an effort, as if determined to shake off
every 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
honour 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 mo
ment to our defence. God bless you in
every fortune, .noble— Cora — I may, and
must call you." She frankly gave him her
hand, though her lips quivered, and her
cheeks gradually became of an ashy pale-

70 THE LAST OF

ness. " In every fortune, I know you will
be an ornament and honour to your sex.
Alice, adieu" — his tones changed from ad
miration to tenderness — " adieu, Alice ;
we shall soon meet again ; as conquerors,
I trust, and amid rejoicings !"

Without waiting for an answer from
either of the maidens, the young man threw
himself down the grassy steps of the bas
tion, and moving rapidly across the parade,
he was quickly in the presence of their fa
ther. Munro was pacing his narrow apart
ment with a disturbed air, and gigantic
strides, as Duncan entered.

" You have anticipated my wishes, Ma
jor Hey ward," he said ; " I was about to
request — this favour."

" I am sorry to see, sir, that the messen
ger I so warmly recommended, has return
ed in custody of the French ! I hope there
is no reason to distrust his fidelity?"

" The fidelity of the ' Long Rifle' is
well known tome," returned Munro, "and
is above suspicion ; though his usual good
fortune seems, at last, to have failed.
Montcalm has got him, and with the ac-

THE MOHICANS. 71

cursed politeness of his nation, he has sent
him in with a doleful tale, of ' knowing
how I valued the fellow, he could not
think of retaining him.' A Jesuitical way,
that, Major Duncan Heyward, of telling a
man of liis misfortunes !"

" But the general and his succour? — "

" 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?7'

" 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 orfly agreeable part of the matter. For
the customary attentions of your Marquis
of Montcalm — I warrant me, Duncan, that
he of Lothian would buy a dozen such
marquessates — but, if the news of the letter
were bad, the gentility of this French
monsieur would certainly compel him to
let us know it !"

7? THE LAST OF

M He keeps the letter, then, sir, while he
releases the messenger ?'*

" Aye, that does he, and all 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 dancing !"

66 But what says the scout? he has eyes
and ears, and a tongue ! what verbal re
port 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 honour
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?5'

" There were the morning and evening
parades, and when one of the provincial
loons— you'll know, Duncan, your're half
a Scotsman yourself— when one of them
dropped his powder over his porretch, if it
touched the coals, it just burnt!" Then

THE MOHICANS. 73

suddenly changing his bitter, ironical
manner, 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 humour to press the more im
portant objects of their interview ; " I
cannot conceal from you, sir, that the
camp will not be much longer tenable ;
and I am sorry to add, that things appear
no better in the fort ; — more than half our
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 priva-
teersmen's playthings ! Do you think,
sir, you can have Woolwich Warren in the
midst of a wilderness ; three thousand
miles from Great Britain !"

" Our walls are crumbling about our
ears, and provisions begin to fail us," con
tinued Heyward, without regarding this

VOL. II. E

74 THE LAST OF

new burst of indignation ; " even the men
show signs of discontent and alarm/'

" Major Hey ward," said Munro, turning
to his youthful associate with all 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 all the
pressing nature of our circumstances ; slill,
there is every thing due to the honour of
the king's arms, and something to ourselves.
While there is hope of succour, 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, therefore,
that we want, that we may know the in
tentions of the man, the Earl of London
has left among us as his substitute?''

" And can I be of service in the matter."
*-* Sir, you can ; the Marquis of Mont-
calm has, in addition to his other civilities,
invited me to a personal interview between
these works and his own camp ; in order,
as he says, to impart some additional infor
mation. Now, I think it would not be
wise to show any undue solicitude to meet

THE MOHICANS.

him, and I would employ you, an officer of
rank, as my substitute ; for it would but
ill comport with the honour of Scotland, 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 courtesy,
Duncan cheerfully assented to supply the
place of the veteran, in the approaching
interview. A long and confidential com
munication 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 repre
sentative of the commandant of the fort,
the ceremonies which should have ac
companied a meeting between the heads
of the adverse forces, were of course dis
pensed with. The truce still existed, 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
E 2

76 THE LAST OF

instructions were ended. He was received
by the French officer in advance, with the
usual formalities, and immediately accom
panied to the distant marquee of the re
nowned soldier, who lead the forces of
France.

,The general of the enemy received the
youthful messenger, 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. Hey'ward paused short, when, in
glancing his eyes rapidly over the dark
groupe of the latter, he beheld the malig
nant 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, in
stantly recollecting his errand, and the
presence in which he stood, he suppressed
every appearance of emotion, and turned
to the hostile leader, who had already ad
vanced a step to receive him.

The Marquis of Montcalm was, at the
period of which wre write, in the flower of

THE MOHICANS. 77

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 afterwards,
induced him to throw away his life, on the
plains of Abraham. Duncan, in turning
his eyes from the malign expression of
Magua, suffered them to rest with pleasure
on the smiling and polished features,, and
the noble, military air of the French
general.

•c Monsieur," said the latter, " J'ai
beaucoup de plaisir a — bahi— ou est cet
interprete ?" i

" Je crois, monsieur, qu'il ne sera pas
necessaire," Heyward modestly replied $
" je parle un peu Fran<:ais."
: " Ah ! j'en suis bien aise," said Mont-
-calm, taking Duncan familiarly by the
arm, and leading him deep into the mar
quee, a little out of ear-shot ; " je deteste
ces fripons la ; on ne sait jamais sur quel
pie on est avec eux. Eh bien ! monsieur,"
he continued, still speaking in French ;

78 THE LAST OF

" though I should have been proud of re
ceiving 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 de
termination to suffer no artifice to lure him
into a forgetfulness of the interests of his
prince ; and Montcalm, after a pause of a
moment, as if to collect his thoughts, pro
ceeded —

" Your commandant is a brave man, and
well qualified to repel my assaults. Mais,
monsieur, is it not time to begin to take
more counsel of humanity, and less of your
own courage ? The one as strongly cha
racterizes the hero as the other !"

" We consider the qualities as inse
parable," returned Duncan, smiling; "but
while we find in the vigour of your ex
cellency 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 prac-

THE MOHICANS. 79

tised to remember the language of flattery.
After musing a moment, he added — •

"" It is possible my glasses have de
ceived 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 readiness
peculiar to himself, he continued, as if as
senting to the truth of an enumeration,
which he knew was not credited by his
visitor.

" It is a poor compliment to the vigi
lance 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 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

80 THE LAST OF

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 ex
ample of courage in their own fortitude.
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 descend the lance to
the distaff,' " said Montcalm, dryly, and
with a little hauteur ; but, instantly ad
ding, 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 authorised to treat for the sur
render of the place ?"

" Has your excellency found our de
fence so feeble as to believe the measure
necessary !"

" I should be sorry to have the defence

THE MOHICANS. 81

protracted in such a manner as to irritate
my red friends there," continued Mont-
calm, glancing his eyes at the group of
grave and attentive Indians, without at
tending to the other's question; " I find
it difficult, even now, to limit them to the
usages of war."

Heyward was silent, for a painful recol
lection 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 advantage which he con
ceived he had gained, " are most formi
dable when baffled ; and it is unnecessary
to tell you with what difficulty they are
restrained in their anger. Eh bien, mon
sieur ! shall we speak of the terms of the
surrender ?"

" I fear your excellency has been de
ceived as to the strength of William Henry,
and the resources of its garrison !"•

" I have not set down before Quebec,
but an earthen work, that is defended by
E 3

82 THE LAST OF

twenty-three hundred gallant men," was
the laconic, though polite reply.

" Our mounds are earthen, certainly —
nor are they seated on the rocks of Cape
Diamond ; — but they stand on that shore
which proved so destructive to Dieskau
and his brave army. There is also a power
ful force within a few hours march of us,
which we account upon as part of our
means of defence."

" 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, Heyward began to throw sun
dry inducements in the way of the French

THE MOHICANS. 83

general, to betray the discoveries he had
made through the intercepted letter. The
artifice of neither, however, succeeded ;
and, after a protracted and fruitless inter
view, Duncan took his leave, favourably
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 arrived. Montcalm followed him as
far as the entrance of the marquee, renew
ing his invitations to the commandant of
the fort, to give him an immediate meet
ing in the open ground between the two
armies.

There they separated, and Duncan re
turned to the advanced post of the French,
accompanied as before ; whence he in
stantly proceeded to the fort, and to the
quarters of his own commander.

84 THE LAST OF

CHAPTER IV.

" 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, appeasing his assumed
anger by pressing her ruby lips fondly on
his wrinkled brow. Cora was seated nigh
them, a calm and amused looker on ; re
garding the wayward movements of her
more youthful sister, with that species of
maternal fondness which characterised her

THE MOHICANS. 85

love for Alice. Not only the dangers
through which they had passed, but those
which still impended above them, appeared
to be momentarily forgotten, in the sooth
ing indulgence of such a family meeting.
It seemed as if they had profited by the
short truce, to devote an instant to the
purest and best affections : the daughters
forgetting their fears, and the veteran his
cares, in the stillness and security of the
moment. Of this scene, Duncan, who
in his eagerness to report his arrival, had
entered unannounced, stood many mo
ments an unobserved and a delighted spec
tator. But the quick and 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 in her surprise —

" Major Hey ward !"

"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 hav-

86 THE LAST OF

ing his camp filled with such prattling
hussies as yourself!"

" Alice laughingly followed her sister,
who instantly led the way from an apart
ment, where she perceived their presence
was no longer desirable. Munro, instead
of demanding 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 towards the floor,
like a man lost in deep 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 im
patient old man ; " you were about open
ing 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

THE MOHICANS. 87

was wrong, Duncan, boy, I was wrong
there, and I am now ready to hear what
you have to say.5'

" Notwithstanding the pleasure your as
surance 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 veteran,
frowning severely. " 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 fa
mily ! 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 favour. A
pretty degree of knighthood, sir, is that
which can be bought with sugar-hogs
heads ! and then your twopenny marques-
sates 1 The Thistle is the order for dignity
and antiquity; the veritable 'nemo me

88 THE LAST OF

impune lacessit ' of chivalry ! Ye had an
cestors in that degree, Duncan, and they
were an ornament to the nobles of Scot
land."

Heyward, who perceived that his supe
rior took a malicious pleasure in exhibiting
his contempt for the message of the French
general, was fain to humour a spleen that
he knew would be short lived ; he, there
fore, 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 honour 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 intel
ligible to the girl ?"

" On my honour, no," exclaimed Dun
can, warmly ; " there would have been
an abuse of a confided trust, had I taken
advantage of my situation, for such a pur
pose !"

" Your notions are those of a gentle
man, Major Heyward, and well enough in
their place. But Cora Munro is a maiden

THE MOHICANS. 89

too discreet, and of a mind too elevated
and improved 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, stam
mering through embarrassment.

" And to marry whom, then, did you
wish my consent, Major Hey ward," de
manded the old soldier, erecting himself in
all the dignity of offended feeling.

u You have another, and not less lovely
child."

" Alice !" 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 extraordinary effect produced
by a communication which, as it now ap
peared, was so unexpected. For several

90 THE LAST OF

minutes, Munro paced the chamber with
long and rapid strides, his rigid features
working convulsively, and every faculty
seemingly absorbed in the musings of his
own mind. At length, he paused directly
in front of Hey ward, and riveting his eyes
upon those of the other, he said, with a
lip that quivered violently with his emo
tions. —

" 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 hap
piness 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!'' ex
claimed the young man, whose eye never
quailed under the penetrating look it en
countered. Without adverting to the im
possibility of the other's comprehending
those feelings which were hid in his own
bosom, Munro suffered himself to be ap
peased by the unaltered countenance he

THE MOHICANS. 91

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 forgotten by him who bore it,
as by the man for whose ears it was in
tended. Each drew a chair, and while the
veteran communed a few moments with
his own thoughts, apparently in sadness,
the youth suppressed his impatience in a
look and attitude of respectful attention.
At length the former spoke —

" Yflu'll know, already, Major Heyward,
that my family was both ancient and
honourable," commenced the Scotsman,
" though it might not altogether be en
dowed with that amount of wealth, that
should correspond with its degree. I was,
may be, such an one as yourself, when I
plighted my faith to Alice Graham ; the
only child of a neighbouring laird of some

92 THE LAST OF

estate. But the connexion was disagree
able to her father, on more accounts than
my poverty. I did, therefore, what an
honest man should ; restored the maiden
her troth, and departed the country, in the
service of my king. I had seen many re
gions, and had shed much blood in dif
ferent lands, before duty called me to the
islands of the West Indies. There it was
my lot to form a connexion with one who
in time became my wife, and the mother
of Cora. She was the daughter of a gen
tleman of those isles, by a lady, whose mis
fortune it was, if you will," said the old
man, proudly, " to be descended, remotely,
from that unfortunate class, who are so
basely enslaved to administer to the wants
of a luxurious people ! Ay, sir, tffat is a
curse entailed on Scotland, by her unna
tural union with a foreign and trading
people. But could I find a man among
them, who would dare to reflect her de
scent on my child, he should feel the
weight of a father's anger ! Ha ! Major
Hey ward, you are yourself born at the
south, where these unfortunate beings are

THE MOHICANS. 93

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 embarrass
ment. /

" And you cast it on my child as a re
proach ! 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 Dun
can, at the same time conscious of such a
feeling, and that as deeply rooted as if it
had been engrafted 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."

" Ye 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 acquaint
ed with grief. When death deprived me

94- THE LAST OF

of my wife, I returned to Scotland, enrich
ed by the marriage ; and would you think
it, Duncan ! the suffering angel had re
mained 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 !" ex
claimed Duncan, with an eagerness, that
might have proved dangerous, at a moment
when the thoughts of Munro were less oc
cupied than at present.

" She did, indeed," said the old man,
the muscles of his face working power
fully, as he proceeded, " 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 hap
piness, for one who had seen her youth
fade in hopeless pining !"

There was something so commanding,
if not awful, in the distress of the old man,

THE MOHICANS. 95

that Heyward did not dare to venture a
syllable of consolation. Munro sat utterly
unconscious of the other's presence, his
features exposed and working with the an
guish 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 recol
lection ; when he arose, and taking a single
turn across the room, he approached his
companion with an air of high 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 imme
diately commenced, in an embarrassed
voice, to repeat the half-forgotten message.
It is unnecessary to dwell upon the eva
sive, though polite manner, with wJiich the
French general had eluded every attempt
of Heyward to worm from him the purport
of the communication he had proposed
making, or on the decided, though still
polished message, by which he now gave
his enemy to understand, that unless he

96 THE LAST OF

chose to receive it in person, he should not
receive it at all. As Munro listened to the
lengthened 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, swelling \\ith
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 gentle
man 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 favourably
of the substitute, my dear sir," returned
Duncan, smiling ; " and you will remem
ber that the invitation, which he now re
peats, 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

THE MOHICANS. 97

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 im
portance, that they should speedily come
at the contents of the letter borne by the
scout, gladly encouraged this idea, saying —

" Without doubt, he could gather no
confidence by witnessing our indifference."

" You n^ver said truer word. I could
wish, sir, that he 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
manliness of warfare has been much de
formed, Major Heyward, by the arts of
your Monsieur Vauban. Our ancestors
were far above such scientific cowardice !"

" It may be very true, sir ; but we are
now obliged to repel art by art. What is

VOL. II. F

98 THE LAST OF

your pleasure in the matter of the inter
view ?"

"I will meet the Frenchman, and that
without fear or delay ; promptly, sir, as
becomes a servant of my royal master.
Go, Major Hey ward, and give them a
flourish of the music, and send out a mes
senger to let them know who is coming.
We will follow with a small guard, for
such respect is due to one who holds the
honour 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 despatch an orderly with a flag, to an
nounce the approach of the commandant
of the fort. When Duncan had done

THE MOHICANS. 99

both these, he led the guard to the sally
port, near which he found his superior
already waiting his, appearance. As soon
as the usual ceremonials of a military
departure were observed, the veteran, and
his more youthful companion, left the for
tress, attended by the escort.

They had proceeded only a huftdred
yards from the works, when the little array
which attended the French general to the
conference was seen issuing from the hol
low way which formed the bed of a brook
that ran between the batteries of the be
siegers 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
military. The instant he caught a glimpse
of the white plume that waved in the hat
of Montcalm, his eye lighted with the
consciousness of his own daring, and age
no longer appeared to possess any influ
ence over his vast and still muscular
person.

" Speak to the boys to be watchful, sir,"'
he said, in an under tone, to Duncan ;
F 2

tOO THE LAST OF

" and to look well to their flints and 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 Hey ward !"

He was interrupted by the clamour of a
drum from the approaching Frenchmen ?
which was immediately answered, when
each party pushed an orderly in advance,
bearing a white flag, and the wary Scots
man halted, with his guard close at his
back. As soon as this slight salutation
had passed, Montcalm moved towards 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 the
Frenchman. Neither spoke for a few mo
ments, each regarding the other with curi
ous and interested eyes. Then, as became
his superior rank, and the nature of the
interview, Montcalm first broke the si
lence. After uttering the usual words of
greeting to Munro, he turned to Duncan,

THE MOHICANS. 101

and continued, with a smile of recogni
tion, 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 ene
mies, pressed close upon him, he con
tinued — •

" En arriere, rnes enfans — il fait eh and ;
retirezvous un peu."

Before Major Hey ward would imitate
this p/oof of confidence, he glanced his
eyes around the plain, and beheld, with
uneasiness, the numerous dusky groupes
of savages, who looked out from the
margin of the surrounding woods, curious
spectators of the pending interview-

" Monsieur de Montcalm will readily
acknowledge the difference of our situa
tion," he said, with some embarrassment,
pointing, at the same time, towards those

102 THE LAST OF

dangerous foes who were to be seen in
almost every direction. "Were. we to. dis
miss our guard, we should stand here at
the mercy of our enemies."

" Monsieur, you have the plighted faith
of ' ungentil-homme Francais,' for your
safety," returned Montcalm, laying his
hand impressively on his heart, " and it
should suffice."

" 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 "de
mand an instant explanation.

" 1$ 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 reliance on the faith of these
marquesses, or marquis, as they call them
selves. Their patents of nobility are too

THE MOHICANS. 103

common, to be certain that they bear the
seal of true honour."

" You forget, dear sir, that we confer
with an officer, distinguished alike in Eu
rope and America for his deeds. From a
soldier of his reputation, we can have no
thing to apprehend."

The old man made a gesture of resigna
tion, though his rigid features still betrayed
.his obstinate adherence to a distrust, which
he derived from a sort of hereditary con-
- tempt' of his enemy, rather than from any
.present signs, which might warrant so un
charitable a feeling. Montcalm waited
patiently, until this little dialogue in demi-
^ voice Was ended, when he drew nigher, and
opened the subject of their conference.

"I have solicited this interview from

, your superior, monsieur," he said, " be-

; cause I believe he will allow himself to be

persuaded, that he has already done every

thing which is necessary for the honour

of his prince, and will now listen to the

admonitions of humanity. I will for ever

bear testimony that his resistance has been

104 THE LAST OF

gallant, and was continued so long as there
was any hope."

When this opening was translated to
Munro, he answered with dignity, but with
sufficient courtesy,

u 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 Dun
can gave him the purport of this reply,
and observed—

" What is now so freely accorded to ap
proved 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 re
sisting them with success. "

" I know that the king of France is well
served," returned the unmoved Scotsman,
as soon as Duncan ended his translation ;
" but my own royal master has as many
and as faithful troops."

" Though not at hand, fortunately for
us," said Montcalm, without waiting, in
his ardour, for the interpreter. " There is

THE MOHICANS. 105

a destiny in war, to which a brave man
knows how to submit, with the same cou
rage that he faces his foes."

" Had I been conscious that Monsieur
Montcalm was master of the English, I
would 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, suffering a slight colour to
appear on his dark cheek. e< There is a
vast difference between understanding and
speaking a foreign tongue ; you will, there
fore, please to assist me still." Then after
a short pause, he added, " These hiljs
afford us every opportunity of reconnoi
tring your works, messieurs, and I am pos
sibly as well acquainted with their weak
condition as you can be yourselves."

" Ask the French general if his glasses
can reach to the Hudson," said Munro,
proudly; " and if he knows when and
where to expect the army of Webb."

" Let General Webb be his own inter-
F 3

106 , THE "LAST OF,

i

preter," returned the politic Montcalm,
.suddenly extending an open letter towards
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 be
trayed how important Jie deem'ed its con
tents. As his eye passed heavily over the
words, his countenance gradually changed
from its look of military pride, to one of
deep chagrin ; his lip began to quiver ;
and, as he suffered the paper to fall from
his hand, his head dropped upon his chest,
like that of a man whose hopes were all
.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.

THE MOHICANS. 107

'•'. V Here is no deception!" exclaimed
Duncan, examining the billet both inside
and out ; " this is the signature of Webb,
and must bj2 the captured letter!"

" The man has betrayed me !:' Munro
at length bitterly exclaimed, " he has
brought dishonour to the door of one
where disgrace was never before known
to dwell, and shame has he heaped heavily
on my gray hairs I"

" Say not so !" cried Duncan ; " we are
yet masters of the fort, and of our honour !
Let us then sell our lives at such a rate, as
shall make our enemies believe the pur
chase too dear !"

" Boy, I thank thee !" exclaimed the old
man, rousing himself from his stupor ;
u you have, for once, reminded Munro of
his duty. We will go back, and dig our
graves behind those ramparts I"

" Messieurs," said Montcalm, advancing
towards them a step, in -his generous inte
rest ; "you little know Louis de St. V^rani,
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.';

108 THE LAST OP

" 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, and go to sit down
before Edward, if he wisiies 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 colours ?" demanded Heyward.

" Carry them to England, and shew
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 ho
nourable to yourselves."

THE JMOHICANS. 109

Duncan now turned to explain these
proposals to his commander, who heard him
with amazement, and a sensibility that was
deeply touched by such unusual and un
expected generosity.

" Go you, Duncan/' he said ; " go with
this marquess, as indeed marquess he
should be ; go to his marcjuee, and arrange
it all. I have lived to see two things in
my old age, that never did I expect to be
hold. 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 towards the fort, exhibiting, in the
dejection of his air, to the anxious garri
son, a harbinger of evil tidings.

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 commandant, to leave
them again. It was then openly announc
ed, that hostilities must cease. Munro

110 THE LAST OF

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 colours, and their baggage, and con
sequently, according to military opinion,
their honour.

•

•

THE MOHICANS. Ill

CHAPTER V.

" Weave we the woof. The thread is spun.
The web is wove. The work is done."— Gray.

THE hostile armies, who lay in the wilds
of the Horican, passed the night of the
ninth of August, 1?57, much in the man-
ner that would have prevailed, had they
encountered on the fairest field of Europe.
While the conquered were still, sullen, and
dejected, the victors triumphed. But
there are limits alike to grief and joy ;
and long before the dead watches of the
morning came, the stillness of those bound
less woods was only broken by a gay call
from some exulting young Frenchman of
the advanced piquets, or a menacing chal
lenge from the fort, which sternly forbade
the approach of any hostile footsteps before

THE LAST OF

the stipulated moment should arrive. Even
these occasional threatening sounds ceased
to be heard in that dull hour which pre
cedes the day, at which period a listener
might have sought, in vain, any evidence
of the presence of those armed powers, that
then slumbered on the shores of the " holy
lake."

It was during these moments of deep
silence, that the canvass 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 protec
tion 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 defer
ence, 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 number-

THE MOHICANS. 113

less sentinels, who crossed his path, his an
swer was prompt, and as it appeared, satis
factory ; for he was uniformly allowed to
proceed, without further interrogation.

With the exception of such repeated, but
brief interruptions, he had moved silently
from the centre of the camp to its most
advanced outposts, when he "drew nigh the
soldier who held his watch nearest to the
works of the enemy. As he approached,
he was received with the usual challenge.

" 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 soldier
close in the face, as he passed him, still
continuing his way towards the British for
tification.. The man started; his arms

114 THE LAST OF

.rattled heavily as he threw them forward,
in the lowest and most respectful salute ;
and when he had again recovered his piece,
he turned to walk his post, muttering be
tween his teeth,

" II faut 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 sen
tinel in his surprise ; nor did he again pause
until he had reached the low strand, and in
a somewhat dangerous vicinity to the west
ern water bastion of the fort. The light
of an obscured 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 ramparts was not that of a curious or
idle spectator ; but his looks wandered
.from point to point, denoting his know-
.ledge of military usages, and betraying

THE MOHICANS. 115

/that his search was not unaccompanied by
distrust. At length he appeared satisfied j
and having cast his eyes impatiently up
ward, towards the summit of the eastern
mountain, as if anticipating the approach
of the morning, he was in the act of turn
ing on his footsteps, when a light sound on
the nearest angle of the bastion caught his
ear and induced him to remain.
ltd 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 towards the east,
•as though equally anxious for the appear
ance 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
spectator. Delicacy, no less than prudence,
now urged him to retire ; and he ha$

1:16 THE LAST OF

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 inau
dible movement of the water, and was suc
ceeded 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 Jock.

" 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 profound silence
to a distance from the spot, where their sub
sequent dialogue might have proved dan
gerous, 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

THE MOHICANS. J 17

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 T* returned
the savage, speaking, also, though imper
fectly, 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. " Behind 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 !"

" That le Renard has power with his
people I well know," said Montcalm ; " for

118 THE LAST OF

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 towards our new friends !".

" Why did the chief of the Canadas bring
his young men into the woods, and fire his
cannon at yonder earthen house ?" de
manded 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
colour 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 bit
ter scorn. " Let his father give Magua a
hand."

Montcalm, who felt that his influence

THE MOHICANS. 119

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 commander on a
deep scar in his bosom, and then exultingly
demanded —

" Does my father know that ?"

" What warrior does not ! 'tis where the
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 wig
wams, and the sticks have left their mark,"
returned the savage, with a hollow laugh,
which did not, nor could not, however,
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 !"

120 THE LAST OF

Without deigning to bestow farther
words, or to wait for any answer, the
savage cast his rifle into the hollow of his
arm, and moved silently through the
encampment towards 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 daring, of an In
dian.

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 discovered. Already had his fair fame
been tarnished by one horrid scene, and in
circumstances fearfully resembling those,
under which he now found himself. As he
mused, he became keenly sensible of the
deep responsibility they assume, who dis
regard the means to attain their end, and
of all the danger of setting in motion an
engine, which it exceeds human power to

THE MOHICANS. 121

controul. Then shaking off a train of re
flections, that he accounted a weakness in
such a moment of triumph, he retraced
his steps towards his tent, giving the order
as he passed, to make the signal that should
call 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, thril
ling, and lively, above the rattling ac
companiment. 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 mean time the day had
dawned, and when the line of the French
army was ready to receive its general, the
rays of a brilliant sun were glancing along
its glittering array. Then, that success
which was already so well known, was
officially announced ; the favoured band,
who were selected to guard the gates of
the fort, were detailed, and defiled before
their chief; the signal of their approach

VOL. II. G

122 THE LAST OF

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 itselj
within the lines of the Anglo-American
army. As soon as the warning signal was
given, it exhibited all the signs of a hur
ried 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 re
venge an indignity, which was still wound
ing to their pride, concealed, as it was,
under all the observances of military eti
quette. 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.

THE MOHICANS. 123

Duncan was touched at the quiet and
impressive exhibition 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 ex-
pressive reply.

" Good heavens ! Are not arrangements
already made for their convenience ?"

"To-day I am only a soldier, Major
Hey ward," said the veteran. " All that
you see here claim alike to be my chil
dren."

Duncan had heard enough. Without
losing one of those moments which had
now become so precious, he flew towards
the quarters of Munro, in quest of the
sisters. He found them on the threshold
of the low edifice, already prepared to de
part, and surrounded by a clamorous and
weeping assemblage of their own sex, that
had gathered about the place, with a sort
of instinctive conciousness, that it was the
point most likely to be protected. Though
the cheeks of Cora were pale, and her
G 2

124 THE LAST OP

' ->*

countenance anxious, she had lost none of
her firmness ; but the eyes of Alice were
inflamed, and betrayed how long and bit
terly 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," she said, with a me
lancholy 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 your
self, 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 confusion
and chance 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," conti
nued the youth, looking about him in a

THE MOHICANS. 125

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,
which had already been deserted by its
customary tenants. There he found Da
vid pouring out his pious feelings, through
the only medium in which he ever in
dulged. Duncan waited, until by the ces
sation of the movement of the hand he
believed the strain was ended, when, by
touching his shoulder, he drew the atten
tion of the other to himself, and in a few
words explained his wishes.

" Even so/' replied the single minded

126 THE LAST OF

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 known
as 'Southwell.'"

Then, extending the little volume, and
giving the pitch of the air, anew, with
considerate attention, David re-commenced
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 domes
tics of their household."

THE MOHICANS. 127

« Even so."

" It is possible, that the Indians and
Stragglers of the enemy may intrude ; in
which case, you will remind them of the
terms of the capitulation, and threaten to
report their conduct 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 !" —

" Enough," said Hey ward, 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 immediately sought the maidens.
Cora received her new, and somewhat
extraordinary protector, courteously at
least ; and even the pallid features of
Alice lighted again with some of their

128 THE LAST OF

native archness, as she thanked Heyward
for his care. Duncan took occasion to
assure them he had done the best that
circumstances permitted, and, as he be*
lieved, 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 towards the Hudson,
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 sisters 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 spot
less 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

THE MOHICANS. 129

together they left the parade, accompanied
by the moving throng, that still surrounded
them.

As they passed the gates, the French
officers, who had leaVned their rank, bowed
often and low, forbearing, however, to
intrude those attentions, which they saw,
with peculiar tact, might not be agreeable.
As every vehicle, and each beast of bur
then, was occupied by the sick and wound
ed, Cora had decided to endure the fa
tigues of a foot march, rather than inter
fere with their comforts. Indeed, many a
maimed and feeble soldier was compelled
to drag his exhausted limbs in the rear of
the columns, for the want of the necessary
means of conveyance in that wilderness.
The whole, however, was in motion ; the
weak and wounded, groaning, and in suf
fering ; their comrades, silent and sullen ;
and the women and children in terror,
though 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

G 3

130 THE LAST OF

a little distance on the right, and somewhat
in the rear, the French army stood to their
arms, Montcalm having collected his par
ties, 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 stipu
lated military honours, 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 moving slowly
across the plain, towards the common cen
tre, 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 savages,
eyeing 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 ; atten-

THE MOHICANS. 131

live, though, as yet, passive observers of
all that moving multitude.

The advance, with Hey ward at its head,
had already reached the defile, and was
slowly disappearing, when the attention of
Cora was drawn to a collection of strag
glers, 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 the other to aid in
the robbery. Voices grew loud and angry,
and a hundred savages appeared, as it were,
by magic, where a dozen only had been
seen a few minutes before. It was then
that Cora saw the form of Magua, gliding
among his countrymen, and speaking with
his fatal and artful eloquence. The mass
of women and children stopped, and
hovered together, like alarmed and flut
tering birds. But the cupidity of the Jn-
dian was soon gratified, and the different
bodies again moved slowly onward.

132 THE LAST OF

The savages now fell back, and seemed
content to let their enemies advance, with
out further molestation. But as the female
crowd approached them, the gaudy colours
of a shawl attracted the eyes of a wild
and untutored Huron. He advanced 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 intent to advise the
woman to abandon the trifle, when the sa
vage relinquished his hold of the shawl,
and tore the screaming infant from her
arms. Abandoning every thing 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
above his head, holding it by the feet, as
if to enhance the value of the ransom.

" Here— here— there — all- — any — every
thing!" exclaimed the breathless woman ;
tearing the lighter articles of dress from

THE MOHICANS. 133

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 re
mains to her very feet. For an instant
the mother stood, like a statue of despair,
looking wildly down at the unseemly ob
ject, which had so lately nestled in her
bosom and smiled in her face ; and then
she raised her eyes and countenance to
wards heaven, as if calling on God to curse
the perpetrator of the foul deed. She was
spared the sin of such a prayer ; for, mad
dened at his disappointment, and excited
by the sight of blood, the Huron merci
fully drove his tomahawk into her own
brain. The mother sunk 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

THE LAST OF

his hands to his mouth, and raised the fatal
and appalling whoop. The scattered In
dians 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 bursted from human
lips before. They who heard it listened
with a curdling horror at the heart, little
inferior to that dread which may be ex
pected to attend the blasts of the final
summons.

More than two thousand raging 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 suc
ceeded. — Death was every where, and in
his most terrific and disgusting aspects.
Resistance only served to inflame the mur
derers, 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 gushing torrent ; and as the natives
became heated and maddened by the sight,

THE MOHICANS. 135

many among them even kneeled to the
earth, and drank freely, exultingly, hel
lishly of the crimson tide.t

The trained bodies of the troops threw
themselves quickly into solid masses, en
deavouring to awe their assailants by the
imposing appearance of a military front.
The experiment in some measure succeed
ed? though far too many suffered their un
loaded muskets to be torn from their
hands, in the vain hope of appeasing the
savages.

In such a scene, none had leisure to note
the fleeting moments. It might have been
ten minutes (it seemed an age), that the
sisters had stood ri vetted to one spot, hor
ror-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, exhortations, and
curses. At this moment Alice caught a

136 THE LAST OF

glimpse of the vast form of her father*
moving rapidly across the plain, in the di
rection of the cFrench 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 sa
vages respected his rank and calmness,
even in their greatest fury. The danger
ous 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 his victim in the very band the
veteran had just quitted.

" Father — father — we are here !" shriek
ed 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, in
deed, the old man appeared to catch the
sounds, for he paused and listened j but

THE MOHICANS. 137

Alice had dropped senseless on the earth,
and Cora had sunk at her side, hovering,
in untiring tenderness, over her lifeless
form. Munro shook his head in disap
pointment, and proceeded, bent on the high
duty of his responsible 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 !''

" Go," said Cora, still gazing at her un
conscious sister ; " save thyself. To me
thou canst not be of further use."

David comprehended the unyielding cha
racter of her resolution, 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 per
son 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.

k< If the Jewish boy might tame the evil
spirit of Saul by the sound of his harp, and

138 THE LAST OF

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
towards them, thinking to rifle the unpro
tected sisters of their attire, and bear away
their scalps ; but when they found this
strange and unmoved figure rivetted to his
post, they paused to listen. Astonishment
soon changed to admiration, and they
passed on to other and less courageous vic
tims, openly expressing their satisfaction at
the firmness with which the white warrior
sung 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 renown.
It was Magua, who uttered a yell of plea
sure when he beheld his ancient prisoners
again at his mercy.

THE MOHICANS. 139

" Come," he said, laying his soiled hand
on the dress of Cora, " the wigwam of the
Huron is 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 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 !JJ returned the
exulting savage — '* will the dark hair go
to his tribe !"

" Never ! strike, if thou wilt, and com
plete thy hellish revenge."

He hesitated a moment ; and then catch
ing 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 footsteps, " release the child !
wretch ! what is't you do !"

But Magua was deaf to her voice ; or
rather he knew his power, and was deter
mined to maintain it.

140 THE LAST OF

" 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 un
heeded, the faithful 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 ac
companiment. In this manner they tra
versed the plain, through the flying, the
wounded, and the dead. The fierce Huron
was at any time sufficient 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 asto
nished natives gifted with the protecting
spirit of madness.

Magua, who knew how to avoid the
more pressing dangers, and also to elude
pursuit, entered the woods through a low
ravine, where he quickly found the Narra-
gansetts, which the travellers had aban
doned so shortly before^ awaiting his ap
pearance, in custody of a savage as fierce

THE MOHICANS. 141

and as malign in his expression as himself.
Laying Alice on one of the horses, he made
a sign for Cora to mount the other.

Notwithstanding the horror excited by
the presence of her captor, there was a pre
sent relief in escaping from the bloody
scene enacting on the plain, to which the
maiden 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 subject
too worthless even to destroy, threw his
long limb across the saddle of the beast
they had deserted, and made such progress
in the pursuit, as the difficulties of the path
permitted.

They soon began to ascend ; but, as the
motion had a tendency to revive the dor,
mant faculties of her sister, the attention of
Cora was too much divided between the

THE LAST OF

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 flattened surface of the
mountain top, and approached the eastern
precipice, she recognised 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,
notwithstanding their own captivity, the
curiosity which seems inseparable from
horror, induced them to gaze at the sick
ening sight below.

The cruel work was still unchecked.
On every side the captured were flying be
fore their relentless persecutors, while the
armed columns of the Christian King stood
fast, in an apathy which has never been ex
plained, and which has left an immoveable
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,

THE MOHICANS. 143

grew less frequent, 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.

144 THE LAST OF

CHAPTER VI.

" Why, any thing :
An honourable murderer, if you will ;
For nought I did in hate, but all in honour." — Othello.

THE bloody and inhuman scene which
we have rather incidentally mentioned than
described, in the close of the preceding
chapter, is conspicuous in the pages of co
lonial 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 repu
tation of the French commander, that it
was not entirely erased by his early and
glorious death. It is now becoming ob
scured by time ; and thousands, who know
that Montcalm died like a hero on the

THE MOHICANS. 145

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 ge
nerous sentiments, high courteny, and chi
valrous courage, to lose their influence be
neath the chilling ascendency of mistaken
selfishness, and to exhibit to the world a
man who was great in all the minor attri
butes of character, but who was found
wanting, when it became necessary to
prove how much principle is superior to
policy. But the task would exceed our
fanciful prerogatives ; 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 Veran will
be viewed by posterity only as the gallant
defender of his country, while his cruel
apathy on the shores of the Oswego and of
the Horican, will be forgotten. Deeply
regretting this weakness on" the part of our
sister muse, we shall at once retire from

VOL. II. H

J46 THE LAST OF

her sacred precincts, within the proper
limits of our own humbler vocation.

The third day from the capture of the
fort was drawing to a close, but the busi
ness 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 emphatically possessed by still
ness and death. The blood-stained con*
querors 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,
fragments of exploded artillery, and rent
mason-work, covering its earthen mounds,
m confused and negligent disorder,

A frightful change had also occurred in
the season. The sun had hid its warmth
behind an impenetrable mass of vapour,
and hundreds of human forms, which had
blackened beneath the fierce heats of Au
gust, were stiffening in their deformity, be
fore the blasts of a premature November.

THE MOHICANS. 147

The curling and spotless mists which had
been seen sailing above the hills towards the
north, were now returning in an intermina
ble dusky sheet, thai was urged along by
the fury of a tempest. The crowded mir
ror 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 portion of its
charmed influence ; but it reflected only
the sombre gloom that fell from the im
pending heavens. That humid and conge
nial atmosphere which was wont about 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 desola
tion ; the earliest fruits of a soil that had

H2

148 THE LAST OF

been fattened with human blood. The
whole landscape, which, seen by a favour
ing light and in a genial temperature,
had been found so lovely, appeared now
like some pictured allegory of life, in which
the objects were arrayed in their harshest
but truest colours, and without the relief
of any shadowing.

The solitary and arid blades of grass
arose from the passing gusts fearfully per
ceptible ; the bold and rocky mountains
were t3O distinct in their barrenness, and
the eye even sought relief in vain by at
tempting to pierce the illimitable void of
heaven, which was shut to its gaze by the
dusky sheet of ragged and driving vapour.

The wind blew unequally, sometimes
sweeping heavily along the ground, seem
ing to whisper its moanings 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

THE MOHICANS. 149

beneath them passed, than they gladly
stooped at random to that hideous haven
where their revolting food so freely
abounded.

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 powerful and 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 presumed to
approach the dreary 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 en
tered with reluctance amid the horrors of
the spot, or dreaded the renewal of some
of its frightful incidents. A light figure
preceded the rest of the party with all the

150 THE LAST OF

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 they should pursue.
Nor were those in the rear wanting in every
caution and foresight known to forest war
fare. One among them, and he also was
an Indian, moved a little on one flank, and
watched the neighbouring margin of ^the
woods with eyes long accustomed to read
the smallest sign of approaching danger.
The remaining three were white, though
clad in vestments strikingly adapted, both
in quality and colour, 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 constantly arose in their path
to the lake shore, were as different as the
characters of the respective individuals
who composed the party. The youth in
front threw serious but furtive glances at
the mangled victims, as he stepped lightly
across the plain, afraid to exhibit the natu
ral emotions he endured, and yet too inex
perienced to quell entirely their sudden

THE MOHICANS. 151

and powerful influence. His red associate,
however, was superior to such a weakness,
He passed the groupes of dead with a
steadiness of purpose, and an eye so calm
that nothing but long and inveterate practice
could enable him to maintain. The sensa
tions 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 trade, betrayed, in spite of the
disguise of a woodman's rough dress, a man
long experienced in scenes of war, was not
ashamed to groan aloud whenever a spec
tacle 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 indulge, without
fear of observation or dread of conse
quences, in the feelings he experienced.
But with him the offence seemed rather
given to the intellectual than the physical
man. He gazed at the most appalling
sight with eyes and muscles that knew not

152 THE LAST OF

how to waver, but with execrations so bit
ter and deep as to denote how much he
denounced the moral enormity of such a
butchery.

The reader will perceive at once in these
respective characters the Mohicans, and
their white friend the scout ; together with
Munro and Heyward. 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 fidelity through the trying scenes re
lated.

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 groupe of females, who lay in a
cluster, a confused mass of dead. Notwith
standing the revolting horrors of the exhi
bition, Munro and Heyward flew towards
the festering heap, endeavouring, with a
love .that no unseemliness could extinguish,
to discover whether any vestiges of those
they sought were to be seen among the

THE MOHICANS. 153

tattered and many-coloured garments. The
father and the lover found instant relief in
the search ; though each was condemned
again to experience the misery of an uncer
tainty that was hardly less insupportable
than the most revolting truth. They were
standing silent and thoughtful around the
melancholy pile when the scout approach
ed. Eyeing the sad spectacle with an
angry and flushed countenance, the sturdy
woodsman, for the first time since 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 with
in 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 toma-
H 3

154 THE LAST OF

hawk and knife to such as have a natural
gift to use them. What say you, Chin-
gachgook," he added, in Delaware ; " shall
the red Hurons boast of this to their women
when the deep snows come ?"

A gleam 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 counte
nance settled into a repose as deep as if he
never knew the influence or instigations of
passion.

" Montcalm ! Montealm !" 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 their mortal infirmities. Woe betide
the wretch who is born to behold this plain,
with the judgment hanging above 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, De
laware ; it may be one of your missing
people ; and he should have burial like a
warrior. I see it in your eye, Saga-

THE MOHICANS. 155

more; a Huron pays for this afore the
fall winds have blown away the scent of
the blood !"

Chingachgook approached the mutilated
form, and turning 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 hostile 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 carcass. The scout comprehended
the action, and very deliberately pursued
his own way, continuing, however, his de
nunciations against the French commander
in the same resentful strain.

" Nothing but vast wisdom and unlimit
ed 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 creatures 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 contem-

THE LAST Of .

plated. 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 toma
hawk in hand, according as their natures
may happen to be white or red. Uncas,
come this way, lad, and let the raven settle
upon the Mingo. I know, from often see
ing it, that they have a craving for the
flesh of an Oneida ; and it is as well to let
the bird follow the gift of its natural appe
tite."

" Hugh !" exclaimed the young Mohi-
van, rising on the extremities of his feet,
and gazing intently in his front, frighten
ing away 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 at
titude, like a panther about to take his
leap ; " God send it be a tardy Trencher
skulking for plunder. I do believe * kill-
deer' would take an uncommon range to
day !"

Uncas, without making any reply,
bounded away from the spot, and in the
next instant was seen tearing from a bush,

THE MOHICANS. 157

and waving in triumph a fragment of the
green riding 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 once more
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 agitated father, who seized the
piece of the veil, and crushed it in his hand,
while his eyes roamed fearfully among the
adjacent bushes, as if he equally dreaded
and hoped for the secrets they might re
veal.

" Here are no dead !" said Hey ward, in
a voice that was hollow and nearly stifled
by apprehension ; " the storm seems not to
have passed this way."

" That's manifest, and clearer than the
heavens above our heads," returned the
cool and undisturbed scout ; " but either
she or they that have robbed her have

158 THE LAST OF

passed the bush ; for I remember 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 have a search for the marks she left;
for to Indian eyes I sometimes 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 per
ceived another portion of the veil fluttering
on the lower branch of a beech.

" Softly, softly," said the scout, extend
ing 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 be
yond denial."

" Bless ye, bless ye ! worthy man !" ex-

THE MOHICANS. 159

claimed the agitated father ; " whither
then have they fled, and where are my
babes ?"

" The path they have taken depends on
many chances. If they have gone alone,
as they are quite as likely to move in a cir
cle as straight, 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 !" continued the deliberate scout, ob
serving the powerful anxiety and disap
pointment the listeners exhibited $ "here
are the Mohicans and I on one end of the
trail, and we'll find the other, though they
should be a hundred leagues asunder !
Gently, gently, Uneas, 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 occupied in examining an open
ing that had been evidently made through
the low underbrush which skirted the
forest ; and who now stood erect, as he
pointed downwards, in the attitude and

160 THE LAST OF

with the air of a man who beheld a disgust
ing serpent.

" Here is the palpable impression of the
footstep of a man !" cried Heyward, bend
ing over the indicated spot ; " he has trod
in the margin of this pool, and the mark
cannot be mistaken. They are captives !"

" Better so than left to starve in the wil
derness," returned the scout ; " and they
will leave a wider trail. I would wager
fifty beaver skins to -as many flints, that
the Mohicans and I enter their wigwams
within the month ! Stoop to it, Uncas, and
try what you can make of that moccasin ;
for moccasin it plainly is, and no shoe."

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, as if satisfied with
the result of the examination.

<c Well, boy," demanded the attentive
scout, " what does it say ? can you make
any thing of the tell-tale ?"

THE MOHICANS. 16 1

" 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."

Hey ward reluctantly admitted the truth
of this intelligence, and now rather ex
pressed his hopes than his doubts, by say-
ing-

" One moccasin is so much like an
other, it is probable there is some mis
take."

" 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

162 THE LAST OF

added, " you are right, boy 5 here is the
patch we saw so often on the other chase.
And the fellow will drink when he can get
an opportunity; your drinking Indian
always learns to walk with a wider toe
than the natural savage, it being the gift
of a drunkard, whether of a 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
the varments from Glenn's to the health-
springs.

Chingachgook complied, and after finish
ing his short examination, he arose, and
with a quiet and grave demeanour, he
merely pronounced, though with a foreign
accent, the word —

" Magua."

" Ay, 'tis a settled thing ; here then have
passed the dark hair and Magua."

" And not Alice ?" demanded the startled
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

THE MOHICANS. 163

hither the thing you see dangling from
yonder thorn-bush.7'

When the youthful Indian warrior had
complied, the scout received the prize, and
holding it on high, he laughed in his silent
but heartfelt manner, before he said —

" 'Tis the tooting we'pon of the singer !
now we shall have a trail a priest might
travel. 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, perhaps, 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 singing ! 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 fellow of the two.
Well, boy, any signs of such a founda
tion ?"

164 THE LAST OF

" Here is something like the footstep of
one who has worn a shoe," said Heyward,
gladly changing the discourse from the
abuse of David, to whom he now felt the
strongest tie of gratitude ; " can it be that
of our friend ?''

" Touch the leaves lightly, or you will
disconsart the formation. 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, eagerly 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 very plainly vi
sible. The aged soldier examined it with
eyes that grew dim as he gazed ; nor did
he rise from his stooping posture, until
Heyward saw that he had watered the
graceful trace of his daughter's passage,
with a scalding and heavy tear. Willing to
divert a distress which threatened each
moment to break through the restraint of

THE MOHICANS. 165

appearances, by giving the veteran something
to do, the young man said to the scout —

" As we now possess these infallible signs,
Jet us commence 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 consider
ing the different marks that had come un
der 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 discourse.
Has she no friend that none care for
her ?"

" God forbid she should ever want hun
dreds ! 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 ; for here she has not
passed, light and little as her footsteps
would be."

166 THE LAST OF

Heyward drew back, all his ardour to
proceed seeming to vanish on the instant.
Without attending to this sudden change
in the other's humour, the scout, after mus
ing a moment, 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 getting behind the hills."

" Is there nothing that I can do ?'' de
manded 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

THE MOHICANS. 167

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 admiration, and now
regarding each other with the most unequi
vocal pleasure.

"They have found the little foot I" ex
claimed the scout, moving forward, without
attending further to his own portion of the
duty. " What have we here ! An ambush-
ment 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."

" But still there are no signs of Alice —
of the younger Miss Munro,'7 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."

168 THE LAST OF

Heyward instantly knew it for a trinket
that Alice was fond of wearing, and which
he recollected, with the tenacious memory
of a lover, to have seen on the fatal morn
ing 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 eertain sign of
age when the sight begins to weaken. Such
a glittering gewgaw, and not to be seen !
Well, well, I can squint along a clouded
barrel yet, and that is enough to settle all
disputes between me and the Mingoes. I
should like to find ffle 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 per-
haps, even the Great Lakes, are atwixt us.''

So much the more reason why we should

THE MOHICANS. 169

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 honour their cus
toms in this particular, seeing that they
are deliberate and wise. We will there
fore go back, and light our fire to-night in
the ruins of the old fort, and in the morn
ing we shall be fresh, and ready to under
take our work like men, and not like bab
bling women, or eage^boys."

Heyward instantly saw, by the manner
of the scout, that altercation would be use
less. 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

VOL. II. I

170 THE LAST OF

only by some new and powerful excite
ment. 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 conducted them to
the plain.

.
T

*

THE MOHICANS. 171

CHAPTER VII.

Salar. " Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his flesh ; what's
that good for ?

Shy. " To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my re-
venge."

Shaktpeare.

f

THE shades of evening had come to in
crease the dreariness of the place, when
the party entered the ruins of William
Henry. The scout and his companions
immediately made their preparations to
pass the night there ; but with an earnest
ness and sobriety of demeanour, that be
trayed 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 covered them

172 THE LAST OF

slightly with brush, the temporary accom
modations were deemed sufficient. The
young Indian pointed impressively toward
his rude hut, when his labour was ended ;
and Heyward, who understood the mean
ing of the silent gesture, gently urged
Munro to enter. Leaving the bereaved old
man alone with his sorrows, Duncan im
mediately returned into the open air, too
much excited himself to seek the repose he
had recommended to his veteran friend.

While Hawk-eye and the Indians lighted
their fire, and took their evening's repast,
a frugal meal of dried bear's meat, the
young man paid a visit to that curtain of
the dilapidated 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 tempered succession. The
clouds, as if tired of their furious chase,
were breaking asunder ; the heavier vo
lumes, gathering 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

THE MOHICANS. 1?3

birds, hovering around their roosts. Here
arid there a red and fiery star struggled
through the drifting vapour, 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 disturb the slumbers
of its numerous and hapless tenants.

Of this scene, so chillingly in accordance
with the past, Duncan stood for many mi
nutes a rapt observer. His eyes wandered
from the bosom of the mound, where the
foresters were seated around their glimmer
ing fire, to the fainter light, which still lin
gered 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 reposed the dead. 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
towards the water, and strove to divert his

174 THE LAST OF

attention to the mimic stars that dimly
glimmered along its moving surface. Still,
his too conscious ears performed their un
grateful duty, as if to warn him of some
lurking danger. At length a swift tramp
ling 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 arm,
and complied, but with an air so unmoved
and calm, as to prove how much he ac
counted on the security of their position.

" Listen," said Duncan, when the other
had placed himself deliberately at his el
bow ; " there are suppressed noises on the
plain, which may show that Montcalm has
not yet entirely deserted his conquest."

" Then ears are better than eyes," said
the undisturbed scout, who having just de
posited a portion of 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 Trenchers, when they have

THE MOHICANS. 175

done a clever thing, like to get back, and
have a dance, or a merry making, over
their success."

- " I know not. An Indian seldom sleeps
in war, and plunder may keep a Huron
here, after his tribe has departed. 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 com
monly 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 opinion that the heaven
of a red skin, 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

THE LAST OF

that paradise is ordained for happiness ;
and that men will be indulged in it accord
ing to their dispositions and gifts. I there
fore judge that a red skin 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 would be any disparagement to
a man without a cross, to pass his time — 3>

" You hear it again !" interrupted Dun
can.

" 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 time for the
sport ! But concerning the life that is to
come, Major. I have hearr1 preachers say,
in the settlements, 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 indul
gence to be kept shut up in those man
sions of which they preach, having a natu
ral longing for motion and the chase."

THE MOHICANS. 177

Duncan, who was now made to under
stand the nature of the noises he had
heard, answered, with more attention to
the subject which the humour of the scout
had chosen for discussion, by saying —

" It is difficult to account for the feel
ings that may attend the last great
change.5'

" 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 head waters of the Hudson, to sleep
within sound of the roaring Mohawk ! But
it is a comfort to know we serve a merci
ful 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 as
you have mentioned ?"

Hawk-eye slowly shook his head, and
beckoned for Duncan to follow him to a
spot, whither the glare from the fire did
not extend. When he had taken this pre
caution, the scout placed himself in an at
titude of intense attention, and listened,
i 3

178 THE LAST OF

long and keenly, for a repetition of the low
sound that had so unexpectedly startled
him. His vigilance, however, seemed ex
ercised 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 convers
ing 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 proceeded. 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 Dela
ware tongue. So soon as Uncas was in
possession of the reason why he was sum
moned, he threw himself flat on the turf;
where, to the eyes of Duncan, he appeared
toJie quiet and motionless. Surprised at

THE MOHICANS. 179

the immovable attitude of the young war
rior, and curious to observe the manner in
which he employed his faculties to obtain
the desired information, Heyward ad
vanced a few steps, and bent over the dark
object, on which he had kept his eyes in-
tently rivetted. 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 remained !"

" 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 then think that Montcalm, has
not called off all his Indians ! Let us give
the alarm to our companions, that we may
stand by our arms. Here are five of us,
who are not unused to meet an enemy."

"Not a word to either, as you value life !

180 THE LAST OF

Look at the Sagamore, how like a gran
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 to be 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 of anxiety in his manner 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 how to
act."

The scout then applied his fingers to his
mouth, and raised a low hissing sound, that
caused Duncan at first to start aside, be
lieving that he heard a serpent. The head
of Chingachgook was resting on a hand, as

THE MOHICANS. 181

he sat musing by himself; but the moment
he heard the warning of the animal whose
name he bore, it arose to an upright posi
tion, and his dark eyes glanced swiftly and
keenly on every side of him. With this
sudden, and perhaps involuntary move
ment, every appearance of surprise or
alarm was 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 seem
ed 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 for
titude that none but an Indian warrior
would have known how to exercise.

But Hey ward saw that, while to a less
instructed eye, the Mohican chief ap
peared to slumber, his nostrils were ex
panded, his head was turned a little to one
side, as if to assist the organs of hear-

182 THE LAST OF

ing, 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 Heyward ;
" he knows that a look or a motion might
disconsart our wisdom, and put us at the
mercy of them imps — "

He was interrupted by the flash and re
port of a rifle. The air was filled with
sparks of fire around that spot where the
eyes of Heywrard were still fastened with
admiration and -wonder. A second look
told him that Chingachgook had disap
peared in the confusion. In the mean
time the scout had thrown forward his rifle,
like one prepared for instant service, and
awaited impatiently the moment when an
enemy might rise to view. But with the
solitary and fruitless attempt made on the
life of Chingachgook, the attack appeared
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

THE MOHICANS. 183

wolves," as if they fled precipitately before
the passage of some intruders on their
proper domains. After an impatient and
breathless pause of several minutes, a
plunge was heard into the water, and was
immediately succeeded 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 lan
guage 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
coolly across his arm again, and following
Chingachgook, who just then re-appeared
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 partv, to scalp the

184 THE LAST OP

dead, go in, and make their boast among
the sqaws 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 fin
ger up to view, with the English mono
syllable —

" One."

" I thought as much,'5 returned Hawk-
eye, seating himself; "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 skrim-
mage. Well, let him — let him. There
are always some honest men in every na
tion, though heaven knows", too, that they
are scarce among the Maquas, to look
down an upstart when he brags ag'in the

THE MOHICANS. 185

face of all reason ! The varlet sent his
lead within whistle of your ears, Saga

more."

Chingachgook turned a calm and incu
rious eye towards the place where the ball
had struck, and then resumed his former
attitude, with a composure that could- not
be disturbed 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 main
tained by his father,

Of these several movements, Heyward
was a deeply interested and wondering
observer. It appeared to him as though
the foresters had some secret means of in
telligence, which had escaped the vigilance
of his own faculties. In place of that
eager and garrulous narration, with which
a white youth would have endeavoured to
communicate, and perhaps exaggerate,
that which had passed out in the darkness
of the plain, the young warrior was seem
ingly content to let his deeds speak for
themselves. It was, in fact, neither the
moment nor the occasion for an Indian to

186 THE LAST OF

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, Un-
cas ?" 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 fa
tal tuft of hair, which he bore as the symbol
of his victory. Chingachgook laid his
hand on the scalp, and considered it for a
moment with deep attention. Then drop
ping it, with powerful disgust depicted in
his strong and expressive features, he ex
claimed —

"Hugh! 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 our ,trail, we
shall be flanked by devils on every side of

THE MOHICANS. 187

us ! Now, to white eyes there is no dif
ference 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 yoUj lad; of what people was the
knave ?"

Uncas raised his eyes to the face of the
scout, and answered, in his soft, musical
voice —

" Oneida."

" 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

188 THE LAST OF

mistake them white coated grenadiers of
Montcalm, for the scarlet jackets of the
( Royal Americans,' " returned the scout.
" No, 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 quarrel. For that matter, though
the Oneidas do serve his sacred majesty,
who is my own sovereign lord and master,
I should not have deliberated long about
letting off * killdeer' at the imp myself,
had luck thrown him in my way,"

" That would have been an abuse of our
treaties, and unworthy 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

THE MOHICANS. 189

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
every thing 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 Mohi
can 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 boun
daries had found us too just and liberal,
not to identify themselves, fully, with our
quarrels/'

" Why," said the scout, " 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 there
fore — I will not say I hate a Mingo, for
that may be unsuitable to my colour and
religion — though I will just repeat, it may
have been owing to the night that ' kill-

190 THE LAST OF

deer' had no hand in the death of this

i

skulking Oneida."

Then, as if satisfied with the force of
his own reasons, whatever might be their
effect on the opinions of the other dis
putant, the honest but implacable woods
man turned from the fire, content to let the
controversy slumber. Heyward withdrew
to the rampart, too uneasy and too little
accustomed to the warfare of the woods,
to remain at ease under the possibility of
such insidious attacks. Not so, however,
with the scout arid 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,
now, of their perfect security, as was in
dicated by the preparations that were soon
made, to sit in council over their future
proceedings.

The confusion of nations, and even of
tribes, to which Hawk-eye alluded, existed

THE MOHICANS. 191

at that period in the fullest force. The
great tie of language, and, of course, of a
common origin, \vas 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 fighting 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 an-
cestors, kept the Sagamore of the Mohi
cans, 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 were known to be in
the field as allies of Montcalm. The rea
der 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 peo
ple, who once were masters of most of the
eastern and northern states of America, of
whom the community of the Mohicans

192 THE LAST OF

was an ancient and highly honoured mem
ber.

It was of course with a perfect under
standing of the minute and intricate inte
rests, 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 them
selves 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
customs 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 for
the occasion.

After a short and impressive pause,
Chingachgook lighted a pipe, whose bowl

THE MOHICANS. 193

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 fra
grance 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 to speak. Then the Saga
more, as the oldest and highest in rank, in
a few calm and dignified words, proposed
the subject for deliberation. He was an
swered by the scout; and Chingachgook
rejoined, when the other objected to his
opinions. But the youthful Uncas conti
nued a silent and respectful listener, until
Hawk-eye, in complaisance, demanded his
opinion. Hey ward gathered from the
manners of the different speakers, that the
father and son espoused one side of a dis
puted question, while the white man main
tained 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.

VOL. II. K

THE LAST OF

Notwithstanding the increasing warmth
of the amicable contest, the most decorous
Christian assembly, not even excepting
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 impa
tience, none spoke in reply, until a few
moments of silent meditation were seem
ingly bestowed in deliberating on what had
already been said.

The language of the Mohicans was ac
companied by gestures so direct and natu
ral, that Hey ward 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 co
lour, he rather affected the cold and inar
tificial manner which characterizes all
classes of Anglo-Americans, when unex-
cited. By the frequency with which the
Indians described the marks of a forest

THE MOHICANS. 195

trail, it was evident they urged a pursuit
by land, while the repeated sweep of
Hawk-eye's arm toward the Horican, de
noted that he advocated 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 In
dian, 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 deli
neated a long and painful path, amid rocks
and water courses. The age and weak
ness of the slumbering and unconscious
Munro, were indicated by signs too palpa
ble to be mistaken. Duncan perceived
that even his own powers were spoken
lightly of, as the scout extended his palm,
and mentioned him by the appellation of
the " open hand ;" a name his liberality
had purchased of all the friendly tribes.
Then came the representation of the light

K2

196 THE LAST OF

and graceful movements of a canoe, set
in forcible contrast to the tottering steps
of one enfeebled and tired. He concluded
by pointing 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 towards the
close of Hawk-eye's speech, his sentences
were accompanied by the customary ex
clamation of commendation. In short,
Uncas and his father became converts to
his way of thinking, abandoning their own
previously expressed opinions, with a libe
rality and candour, that had they been the
representatives of some great and civilized
people, would have infallibly worked their
political ruin, by destroying for ever, their
reputation for consistency.

The instant the matter in discussion was
decided, the debate, and every thing con
nected with it, except the result, appeared
to be forgotten. Hawk-eye, without look-

THE MOHICANS. 197

ing round to read his triumph in applaud
ing 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 demeanour of an Indian chief,
Chingachgook commenced speaking to his
son in the soft and playful tones of affec
tion, Uncas gladly met the familiar air of
his father, and before the hard breathing
of the scout announced that he slept, a
complete change was effected in the man
ner of his two associates.

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 ; extend
ing from the deepest bass, to tones that
were even feminine in softness. The eyes

198 THE LAST OF

of the father followed the plastic and inge
nious movements of the son with open de
light, 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 instantly 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 example, and

THE MOHICANS. 199

long before the night had turned, they who
lay in the bosom of the ruined work,
seemed to slumber as heavily as the un
conscious multitude whose bones were al
ready beginning to bleach on the surround
ing plain.

200 THE LAST OF

CHAPTER VIII.

Land of Albania ; let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men !"

Childe Harold.

THE heavens were still studded with stars
when Hawk-eye came to arouse the sleep
ers. Casting aside their cloaks, Munro and
Hey ward were on their feet, while the
woodsman 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.

THE MOHICANS.

*'* Think over your prayers," he whisper
ed, as they approached 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 pro
perly in the woods, as we have seen by the
example of that miserable devil, the singer.
Come/' he continued, turning towards 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 one
of them the reasons of all this extraordina
ry 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, however,
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, look
ing back along their difficult way ; " grass

K3

202 THE LAST OF

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 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 'y this sand will take a stamp as easily
as the butter of the Butchers on the Mo
hawk. 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 j
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,
every thing was studiously restored to its
former disorder ; and then Hawk-eye suc
ceeded in reaching his little birchin 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

THE MOHICANS. 203

mountains on the glossy surface of the
lake ; then he demanded —

" What need have we for this stolen and
hurried departure ?"

" If the blood of an Oneida could stain
such a sheet of pure water as this we float
on/5 returned the scout, " your two eyes
would answer your own question. Have
you forgotten the skulking reptile that
Uncas slew?"

" By no means. But he was said to b6
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
fthe direct line of our course with so slight

a reason."

204 THE LAST OF

" 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 Trencher, he
who is captain general of the Canadas,
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 Heyward was interrupted
by a deep and heavy groan from Munro ;
but after he had paused a moment, in de
ference to the sorrow of his aged friend, he
resumed thf 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 difference
between throwing a regiment of white coats
atwixt the tribes and the prisoners, and
coaxing an angry savage to forget he car
ries a knife and a rifle, with words that
must begin with calling him * your son.'

THE MOHICANS. 205

No, no," continued the scout, looking back
at the dim shore of William Henry, which
now appeared to be fast receding, and
laughing in his own silent but heartfelt
manner ; " I have but 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 morn
ing, we shall throw the length of the
Horican behind 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 !'' repeated Hawk-eye, calmly;
" no, not absolutely of danger ; for, with
vigilant ears and quick eyes, we can ma
nage .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 pro
bable 5 and it may happen a brush, a skrim-
mage, or some such divarsion, but always

206 THE LAST OF

where covers are good and ammunition
abundant."

It is possible that Heyward's estimate
of danger, distinguished as he was for
spirit, differed in some degree from that of
the scout, for instead of replying he now
sat in silence, while the canoe glided over
several 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 re
tired with his army, and the adventurers
knew not but he had left some of his In
dians in ambush to protect the rear of his
forces and collect the stragglers. 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 intricate chan
nels, 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

THE MOHICANS. 207

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 natural to
his situation, was just believing that he had
permitted the latter to be excited without
sufficient reason, when the paddles ceased
moving in obedience to a signal from Chin-
gachgook.

(< 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 that his own
steady look was rivetted. Duncan's eyes
followed the motion, A few rods in their
front lay another of the low wooded islets,

£08 THE LAST OP

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 vapour 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 hazle ? 'Tis
from a fire, but one that in my judgment
has been suffered to burn low."

" Let us then push for the place and re
lieve our doubts," said the impatient Dun
can ; " 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 saga
city, they will lead you astray, if not to

THE MOHICANS. 209

your death," returned Hawk-eye, examin
ing the signs of the place with that acute-
ness 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 — "

" Never!" exclaimed Heyward, in a
voice far too loud for their circumstances.

" Well, well," continued Hawk-eye,
making a hasty sign to repress his ardour ;
" I am much of your mind myself, though
I thought it becoming my experience to
tell the whole. We must then make a push,
and if the Indians or Trenchers are in the
narrows, run the gauntlet through these
topling 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 moments

510 THE LAST OF

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 V whispered the scout ; " two canoes
and a smoke ! The knaves have'nt yet got
their eyes out of the mist, or we should
hear the accursed whoop. Together,
friends— we are leaving them and are al
ready nearly out of whistle of a bullet."

The well known crack of a rifle, whose
ball came skipping along the placid surface
of the strait, and a shrill yell from the
island, interrupted his speech, and an
nounced that their passage was discovered.
In another instant several savages were
seen rushing into the canoes, which were
soon dancing over the water in swift pur
suit. These fearful precursors of a coming
struggle produced no change in the coun
tenances and movements of his three
guides, so far as Duncan could discover,
except tliat the strokes of their paddles
were longer and more in unison, and
caused the little bark to spring forward

THE MOHICANS. 211

like a creature possessing life and voli
tion.

" Hold them there, Sagamore," said
Hawk-eye, looking coolly backward over
his left shoulder, while he stills plied his
paddle ; " keep them just there. Them
Hurons have never a piece in their nation
that will execute at this distance ; but
' kill-deer' has a barrel on which a man may
safely 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 he brought the
piece to his shoulder, and when his compa
nions were expecting the report, he as often
lowered it to request the Indians would
permit their enemies to approach a little
nigher. At length his accurate and fasti
dious eye seemed satisfied, and throwing
out his left arm on the barrel, he was slow
ly elevating the muzzle, when an exclama
tion from Uncas, who sat in the bow, once
more caused him to suspend the shot,

" What now, lad ?" demanded Hawk-

THE LAST OF

eye 5 " you saved a Huron from the death-
shriek by that word ; have you reason for
what you do ?"

Uncas pointed towards 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 confirm it. The
scout laid aside his rifle and resumed the
paddle, while Chingachgook inclined the
bows of the canoe a little towards the
western shore> in order to increase the dis
tance between them and this new enemy.
In the meantime they were reminded of
the presence of those who pressed upon
their rear by wild and exulting shouts.
The stirring scene awakened even Munro
from the dull apathy into which he was
plunged by the weight of his misfortunes.

" Let us make for the rocks on the main,"
he said, with the firm mien of a tried sol
dier, " 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 !"

THE MOHICANS. 213

" He who wishes to prosper in Indian
warfare/' returned the busy scout, " must
not be too proud to learn from the wit of
a native. Lay her more along the land,
Sagamore ; we are doubling on the varlets,
and perhaps they may try to strike 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 ren
dered 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 minia
ture waves, and their motion became un
dulating by its own velocity. It was, per
haps, owing to this circumstance, in addi
tion to the necessity of keeping every hand
employed at the paddles, that the Hurons
had not immediate recourse to their fire
arms. The exertions of the fugitives were
too severe to continue long, and the pur
suers had the advantage of numbers. Dun-

214 THE LAST OF

can observed with uneasiness that the scout
began to look anxiously about him, as if
searching for some further means of assist
ing 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 ir
our scalps. Edge more from the sun, an$
we will put the island between us."

The expedient was not without its use.
A long low island lay at a little distance
before them, and as they closed with it the
chasing canoe was compelled to take a side
opposite to that on which the pursued
passed. The scout and his companions did
not neglect this advantage, but the instant
they were hid from observation by the
bushes, they redoubled efforts that before
had seemed prodigious. The two canoes
came round the last low point, like two
coursers at the top of their speed, the fugi
tives taking the lead. This change had
brought them nigher to each other, how
ever, while it altered their relative posi
tions.

THE MOHICANS. 215

" You showed knowledge in the shaping
of birchen bark, Uncas, when you chose
this from among the Huron canoes," said
the scout, smiling, apparently more in sa
tisfaction 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 flat
tened wood, instead of clouded barrels and
true eyes ! A long stroke, and together,
friends."

" They are preparing for a shot," said
Heyward ; " 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 !" exclaimed the scout ;

216 THE LAST OF

" 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 a skrimmage when
an open body would do no good ! For
what have the Frenchers reared up their
Quebec, if righting is always to be done in
the clearings?"

" All that you say is very true, my
friend/' replied Heyward ; " still our cus
toms 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.
Notwithstanding the nearness of the ene
my, and his own great personal danger, the
countenance of the young warrior express
ed 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 even cast a glance

THE MOHICANS. 217

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 arose 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 re
covered his paddle, -and flourishing it on
high, he gave the war-whoop of the Mohi-
'Cans, and then lent his own strength and
skill again to the important task.

The clamorous sounds of " le Gros Ser
pent," " la Longue Carabine," " le Cerf
Agile," burst at once from the canoes be
hind, and seemed to give new zeal to the
pursuers. 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 suc
ceeded. The bullets pattered along the
lake, and one even pierced the bark of
their little vessel. No perceptible emotion

VOL. II. L

218 THE LAST OF

could be discovered in the Mohicans du
ring this critical moment, their rigid fea
tures expressing neither hope nor alarm ;
but the scout again turned his head, and
laughing in his own silent manner, he said
to Hey ward —

" The knaves love to hear the sounds of
their pieces ; but the eye is not to be found
among the Mingoes that can calculate 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 diversion among their enemies, they
were very sensibly obtaining the advantage.
The Hurons soon fired again, and a bullet
struck the blade of Hawk-eye's paddle
without injury.

" That will do," said the scout, examin
ing the slight indentation with a curious
eye ; u it would not have cut the skin of

.

THE MOHICANS. 219

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."
Heyward 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 a 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 bewil
dered. At the same moment his compa
nions suspended their efforts, and the
chasing canoes clustered together, and be
came 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

L 2

220 THE LAST OF

sustained any injury by the fire ; for botli
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 wash
ing 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 yon
der imps are holding a council. Let them
come up within striking distance — my eye
may well be trusted in such a 'matter — and
I will trail the varlets the length of the
Horican, guaranteeing that not a shot of
theirs shall, at the worst, more than break
the skin, while ' kill-deer' shall touch the
life twice in three times/'

« We forget our errand," returned the

THE MOHICANS. 221

diligent Duncan. " For God's sake, let us
profit by this advantage, and increase 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 man
dates of his superiors had taught the scout
the virtue of obedience. Throwing 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 between
them and their enemies, that Hey ward 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 moun
tains. But the islands were few, and easily
avoided. The strokes of the paddles grew
more measured and regular, while they
who plied them continued their labour,
after the close and deadly chace from

222 THE LAST OF

which they had just relieved themselves,
with as much coolness as though their
speed had been tried in sport, rather than
under such pressing, nay, almost desperate,
circumstances.

Instead of following the western shore,
whither their errand led them, the wary
Mohican inclined his course more towards
those hills, behind which Montcalm was
known to have led his army into the for
midable fortress of Ticonderoga. As the
Hurons, to every appearance, had abandon
ed the pursuit, there was no apparent rea
son for this excess of caution. It was,
however, maintained for hours, until they
had reached a bay nigh the northern ter
mination of the lake. Here the canoe was
driven upon the beach, and the whole
party landed. Hawk-eye and Hey ward
ascended an adjacent bluff, where the
former, after considering the expanse of
water beneath him attentively for many
minutes, pointed out to the latter a small
black object, hovering under a head-land,
at the distance of several miles.

" Do you see it?" demanded the scout.

THE MOHICANS. 223

" 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 ?"

" '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 need
less 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 var-
lets 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 tfye 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,''
continued the scout, gazing about him
with a countenance of concern, " 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

224 THE LAST OF

from the two rivers. Bath 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 1 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 con
sultation succeeded. When it 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 continued onward, until they
came to an extensive and naked rock. At

THE MOHICANS. Q25

this point, where their footsteps might be
expected to be no longer visible, they re
traced their route to the brook, walking
backwards, with the utmost care. They
now followed the bed of the little stream
to the lake, into which they immediately
launched their canoe again. Alow point
concealed them from the head-land, and
the margin of the lake was fringed for some
distance with dense and overhanging
busjies. Under the cover of these natural
advantages, they toiled their way, with pa
tient industry, until the scout pronounced
that he believed it would be safe once
more to land.

The halt continued until evening ren
dered objects indistinct and uncertain to
the eye. Then they resumed their route,
and, favoured by the darkness, pushed
silently and vigorously 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.
L 3

THE LAST OF

The boat was again lifted, and borne
into the woods, where it was carefully con
cealed under a pile of brush. The adven
turers assumed their arms and packs, and
the scout announced to Munro and Hey-
ward that he and the Indians were at last
in readiness to proceed.

THE MOHICANS. 227

CHAPTER IX.

If you find a man there, he shall die a flea's death."

Merry /fives 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 tributaries of
Champlain from those of the Hudson, the
Mohawk, and of 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 rude and
wild recesses.

228 THE LAST OP"

As Hawk-eye and the Mohicans had,
however, often traversed the mountains and
valleys of this vast wilderness, they did not
hesitate to plunge into its depths with the
freedom of men accustomed to its priva
tions 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 with
out 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 pro
gress of Hawk-eye, who led the advance,
became more deliberate and watchful. He
often stopped to examine the trees ; nbr

THE MOHICANS. 229

did he cross a rivulet, without attentively
considering the quantity, the velocity, and
the colour of its waters. Distrusting his
own judgment, his appeals to the opinion
of Chingachgook were frequent and earnest.
During one of these conferences, Hey ward
observed that Uncas stood a patient and
silent, though, as he imagined, an interest
ed listener. He was strongly tempted to
address the young chieftain, and demand
his opinion of their progress ; but the calm
and dignified demeanour of the native in
duced him to believe that, like himself, the
other was wholly dependent on the saga
city 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, until they might strike
the springs of the Canada: streams, which
would lead them into the heart of the

230 THE LAST OF

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 nature is weak, and it is possible
we may not have taken the proper scent.7'
" 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 quick glance
at his father, but instantly recovering 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 eyes of the whole
party followed the unexpected movement,

THE MOHICANS.

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 without 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 ac
cordingly."

" See !" said Uncas, pointing north and
south, at the evident marks of the broad
trail on either side of him ; the dark hair
has gone towards the frost.*'

" Hound never ran on a more beautiful
scent," responded the scout, dashing for
ward at once on the indicated route ; " we
are favoured, greatly favoured, and can

THE LAST OF

follow with high noses. Ay, here are both
your waddling beasts ; this Huron travels
like a white general ! The fellow is strick
en 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 asto
nishing success of the chase, in which a cir
cuitous distance of more than forty miles
had been passed, did not fail to impart a
portion of hope to the whole party. Their
advance was rapid; and made with as
much confidence as a traveller would pro
ceed 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 reco
vered them at a distance, and seldom ren
dered the delay of a single moment neces
sary. Their progress was much facilitated
by the certainty that Magua had found it
necessary to journey through the valleys ;

THE MOHICANS. 233

a circumstance which rendered the general
direction of the route sure. Nor had the
Huron entirely neglected the arts uni
formly practised by the natives, when re
tiring in front of an enemy. False trails,
and sudden turnings, were frequent, wher
ever 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 decep
tive track.

By the middle of the afternoon they had
passed the Scaroon, and were following the
route of the declining sun. After descend
ing an eminence to a low bottom, through
which a swift stream glided, they suddenly
came to a place where the party of le Re-
nard had made a halt. Extinguished brands
were lying around a spring, the offals of a
deer were scattered about the place, and
the trees bore evident marks of having
been browsed long and closely by the
horses. At a little distance, Heyward dis
covered, and contemplated with tender
emotion the small bower under which, he

234 THE LAST OF

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, bnt 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 endea
voured to trace the route of the horses,
came upon a sign of their presence, that
was quite recent. Before following the
clue, he communicated his success to his
companions, and while the latter were
consulting on the circumstance, the youth
re-appeared, leading the two fillies, with
their saddles broken, and the housings
soiled, as though they had been permitted
to run at will for several days.

"What should this prove ?" said Dun-
can, turning pale, and glancing his eyes
around him, as if he feared the brush and
leaves were about to give up some horrid
secret.

THE MOHICANS. 235

" That our march is come to a quick
end, and that we are in an enemy's coun
try," 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
without 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 colour
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 Trenchers are
running a new line atween the provinces
of the king and the Canadas. It is true
that the horses are here, but the Hufons
are gone ; let us then hunt for the path by
which they departed."

236 THE LAST OF

Hawk-eye and the Mohicans now ap
plied 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, resulted 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 they
started.

" Such cumiing is not without its devil
try !" exclaimed Hawk-eye, when he met
the disappointed looks of his assistants.
" We must get down to it, Sagamore, be
ginning at the 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

THE MOHICANS. 237

were removed and the stones lifted — for
Indian cunning was known frequently to
adopt these objects as covers, labouring
with the utmost patience and industry to
conceal each footstep as they proceeded.
Still no discovery 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 immediately an
nounced the success of the young warrior.
The whole party crowded to the spot,
where Uncas pointed out the impression of
a moccasin in the rich and moist alluvion.
" The lad will be an honour to his peo
ple !" 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 mastoden ; " 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

238 THE LAST OF

toes are squared, as though one of the
French dancers had been in pigeon-wing
ing his tribe ! Run back, Uncas, and
bring me the size of the singer's foot.
You will find a beautiful print of it just
opposite yon rock, ag'in the hill side."

While the -youth was engaged in this
commission, the scout and Chingachgook
were attentively considering the impres
sions. 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 Sub
til," he added ; " the singer being a 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 for
mation/'

" 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

THE MOHICANS. 239

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, follow
ing 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, content with
knowing that the trail lay beneath. More
than half a mile was passed before the rill
rippled close around the base of an exten
sive 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 o^a foot on ,a bunch of moss,
where it would seem an Indian had inad
vertently trodden. Pursuing the direction
given by this discovery, he entered the
neighbouring 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

240 THE LAST OF

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 Hey ward.
" Softly, softly ; we know our path, but it
is good to examine the formation of things.
This is my schooling, Major, and if one
neglects the book there is no better chance
of learning from the hand of Providence,
than yon idle boy has with an old gal. All
is plain but one thing, which is the man
ner that the knave contrived to get the
gentle ones along the blind trail. Even a
Huron would be too proud to let their ten
der feet touch the water." .s

" Will this assist in explaining the diffi
culty?" said Hey ward, pointing towards
the fragments of a sort of hand-barrow,
that had been rudely constructed of
boughs, and bound together with withes,
and which now seemed carelessly cast aside
as useless.

THE MOHICANS. 241

" 'Tis all 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 little purpose. Here
we have three pair of moccasins, and two
of little feet. It is amazing that any mor
tal beings can journey on limbs so small !
Pass me the thong of buckskin, 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 chil
dren with a parent's love ; "we shall find
their fainting forms in this desert."

" Of that there is little cause to fear,"
returned the attentive 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

VOL. II. M

242 THE LAST OP

ground ; and there the dark-hair has made
a little jump from root to root. No, no ;
my knowledge 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 woodsman arrive at the truth,
with nearly as much certainty and preci
sion as if he had been a witness of all those
events which his ingenuity so easily eluci
dated. Cheered by these assurances, and
satisfied by a reasoning that was so obvi
ous, while it was so simple, the party re
sumed its course after making a short halt,
to take a hurried and slight repast.

When the meal was ended the scout cast
a glance upward at the setting sun, and
pushed forward with a rapidity, to equal
which compelled Heyward and the still
vigorous Munro to exert all their muscles.

THE MOHICANS. 243

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, how
ever, the speed of Hawk-eye sensibly
abated, and his head, instead of maintain
ing its former direct and forward look,
began to turn suspiciously from side to
side, as if he were conscious of approach
ing danger. He soon stopped again and
awaited for the whole party to come up.

" I scent the Hurons," he said, speak
ing to the Mohicans ; " yonder is open sky
through the tree tops, and we are getting
too nigh their encampment. Sagamore,
you will take the hill side, to the right ;
Uncas will bend along the brook to the
left, while I will try the trail. If anything
should happen, 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,
M 2

244 THE LAST OF

without deeming any reply necessary, while
Hawk-eye cautiously proceeded with the
two gentlemen. Hey ward 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. Dun
can obeyed, and soon found himself in a
situation 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 a mild summer's
evening had fallen on the clearing, in beau
tiful contrast to the gray light of the fo
rest. A short distance from the place
where Duncan stood, the stream had seem
ingly 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 hun-

THE MOHICANS. 245

dred earthen dwellings stood on the mar
gin of the lake, and even in its waters, as
though the latter had flowed 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 hunting and war. In short,
the whole village, or town, whichever it
might be termed, possessed more of me
thod and neatness 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 se
veral human forms advancing towards 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

THE LAST OF

allow no opportunity of examining their
humours or pursuits. Alarmed at these
suspicious and inexplicable movements, he
was about to attempt the signal of the
crows, when the rustling of the leaves at
hand drew his eyes in another direction.

The young man started and recoiled a
few paces instinctively, when he found
himself within a hundred yards of a
stranger Indian. Recovering his recol
lection on the instant, instead of sounding
an alarm, which might have proved fatal
to himself, he remained stationary, an at
tentive observer of the other's motions.

An instant of calm observation served
to assure Duncan that he was undisco
vered. The native, like himself, seemed
occupied in considering the low dwellings
of the village, and the stolen movements
of its inhabitants. It was impossible to
discover the expression of his features
through the grotesque mask of paint under
which they were concealed ; though Dun
can fancied it was rather melancholy than
savage. His head was shaved as usual,
with the exception of the crown, from

THE MOHICANS. 247

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 com
posed of an ordinary shirt, the sleeves of
which were made to perform the office that
i& usually executed by a much more com
modious arrangement. His legs were bare
and sadly cut and torn by briars. The
feet were, however, covered with a pair of
good bear-skin moccasins. Altogether the
appearance of the individual was forlorn
and miserable.

Duncan was still curiously observing the
person of his neighbour, when the scout
stole silently and cautiously to his side.

" You see we have reached their settle
ment, or encampment," whispered the
young man ; " and here is one of the sa
vages himself in a very embarrassing posi
tion for our further movements."

Hawk-eye started, and dropped his rifle,
when directed by the finger of his compa
nion, the stranger came under his view.
Then lowering the dangerous muzzle, he
stretched forward his long neck, as if to

248 THE LAST OF

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 varlets has he
gathered together ! Can you see where he
has put his rifle or his bow ?''

" 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 re
garded him a moment with unconcealed
amazement. Then opening wide his
mouth, he indulged in unrestrained and
heartfelt laughter, though in that silent
and peculiar manner which danger had so
long taught him to practice.

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

THE MOHICANS. 249

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 ques
tion ; 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 wraited several mi
nutes in feverish impatience, before he
caught another glimpse of the scout. Then
he re-appeared, creeping along the earth,
from which his dress was hardly distin
guishable, 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 instant several
loud blows were struck on the water, and
M 3

THE LAST OF

Duncan 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. In
stead of taking the alarm, the unconscious
savage stretched forward his neck, as if he
also watched the movements about the
gloomy lake, with a sort of silly curiosity.
In the mean time, 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."

THE MOHICANS. 251

CHAPTER X.

* Bot. Are we all met?

" Qui. Pat — pat ; and here's a marvellous •'

Convenient place for our rehearsal."

Shaktpeare,

THE reader may better imagine, than
we describe, the surprise of Heyward. His
lurking Indians were suddenly converted
into four-footed beasts j his lake into a
beaver-pond ; his cataract into a dam, con-
structed by those industrious and inge
nious 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 mo
ment's hesitation, the young man broke
out of his ambush, and sprang forward
to join the two principal actors in the
scene.

252

THE LAST OF

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 affirmed that the Hurons had done
themselves great credit in the fashion of
his costume. Then seizing the hand of
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 con
dition.

" 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 f 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 ani
mals are born dumb ! — What think you of
such a song as- this ?"

David shut his sensitive ears, and even
Heyward, apprised as he was of the nature
of the cry, looked upward in quest of the

THE MOHICANS.

bird, as the cawing of a crow rang in the
air about them.

" See," continued the laughing scout, as
he pointed towards 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 elbow, to say nothing of
the knives and tomahawks. But we see
that you are safe ; now tell us what has be
come 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 Hey-
ward.

6% " Even so. Though our wayfaring has
been sore, and our sustenance scanty, we
have had little other cause for complaint,
except the violence done our feelings by
being thus led in captivity into a far land."

" Bless ye for these very words !" ex
claimed the trembling Munro ; •" I shall
then receive my babes spotless and angel
like as I lost them !"

THE LAST OF

V I know not that their delivery is at
hand," returned the doubting David ; " the
leader of these savages is possessed of an
evil spirit, that no power, short of Omnipo
tence, can tame. I have tried him, sleep
ing and waking, but neither sounds nor
language seem to touch his soul."

" Where is the knave ?" bluntly inter
rupted 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 neighbour
ing people, whose lodges are situate beyond
yonder black pinnacle of rock ; while the
younger is detained among the women of
the Hurons, whose dwellings are but two
short miles hence, on a table land, where
the fire has done the office of the ax,
and prepared the place for their recep
tion."

" Alice, my gentle Alice !" murmured
Heyward ; " she has lost the consolation
of her sister's presence !"

" Even so. But so far as praise and

THE MOHICANS. 255

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 cha
racter ; though it must be acknowledged,
that in spite of all my endeavours, the
maiden weeps oftener than she smiles. At
such moments I forbear to press the holy
songs ; but there are many sweet and com
fortable periods of satisfactory communica
tion, when the ears of the savages are
astounded with the upliftings of our
voices ?"

" And why are you permitted to go at
large, un watched ?"

David composed his features into what
he intended should express an air of mo
dest humility, before he meekly replied —

" Little be the praise to such a worm as
I. But though the power of psalmody was
suspended in the terrible business of that
field of blood through which we passed, 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

£56 THE LAST OF

forehead significantly, he perhaps explained
the single indulgence more satisfactorily,
when he said —

" The Indians never harm a non-com-
posser. 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 exact
ed a task, that David, under no circum-
stances, could have performed. But, with
out 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 idolatrous 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 to all who heard
him, the sincere and steady expression of
his eye, and the glow on his honest coun-

THE MOHICANS. 257

penance, were not easily mistaken. Uncas
pressed closer to his side, and regarded the
speaker with alook of grave commendation,
while, his father expressed his satisfaction
by the ordinary pithy exclamation of ap
probation. The scout shook his head, as
he rejoined —

" The Lord never intended that the man
should place all his endeavours in his
throat, to the neglect of other and better
gifts ! But he has fallen into the hands of
some silly woman, when he should have
been gathering his education under a blue
sky, and 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 expression of pleasure, as he be
lieved it compatible with the grave func
tions he exercised to exhibit. After essaying
its virtues, repeatedly, in contrast with his
own voice, and satisfying himself that none
of its melody was lost, he made a very
serious demonstration towards achieving a

268 THE LAST OF

few stanzas of one of the longest effusions
in the little volume, so often mentioned.

Hey ward, however, hastily interrupted his
pious purpose, by continuing questions con
cerning 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 an-
swer; especially, as the venerable father
took a part in the interrogatories, with an
interest too imposing to be denied. Nor
did the scout fail to throw in a pertinent
inquiry, whenever a fitting occasion pre
sented. In this manner, though with fre
quent interruptions, which were filled with
certain threatening sounds from the re
covered instrument, the pursuers were put
in possession of such leading circumstances,
as were likely to prove useful in accom
plishing 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

THE MOHICANS.

a safe moment to retire presented itself,
when he had descended, and taken the
route along the western side of the Horri-
can, in the direction of the Canadas. As
the subtle Huron was familiar with the
paths, and well knew there was no imme
diate danger of pursuit, their progress had
been moderate, and far from fatiguing. It *
appeared ,from the unembellished statement
of David that his own presence had been
rather endured than desired ; though even
Magua had not been entirely 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 j and notwithstanding the
remoteness and length of their trial, the
artifices already named were resorted to, in
order to cut off every clue to their place of
retreat. On their arrival at the encamp
ment of his people, Magua, in obedience

260 THE LAST OF

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 Monte aim ; and that they main
tained an amicable, though a watchful, in
tercourse 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 increased
as he proceeded, and it was while attempt
ing to explain the pursuits of the commu
nity, 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

THE MOHICANS. 261

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 de-
spisable 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?''

l( Of corn, we had many and plentiful
feasts ; for the grain, being in the milk, is
both sweet to the mouth and comfortable
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 fabri
cation of the whites, and I say it to the
shame of my colour, that would make the
warrior bow down before images of his own
creation. It is^ true, they endeavour to

262 THE LAST OF

make truces with the wicked one — as who
would not with an enemy he cannot con
quer — but they look up for favour 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 admi
ration and care, savoured 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 the 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 plea
sing 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

THE MOHICANS. 263

descended, 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,
though 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 intolerable, by his interest
in the stake. His wish, however, was anti
cipated 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 Sa
gamore is of the high blood of the Dela
wares, and is the great chief of their Tor
toises 1 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

264 THE LAST OF

warriors they numbered. It is, altogether,
a dangerous 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 theMingo and
the Delaware to travel in the same path !"

" You then suspect it is a portion of that
people among whom Cora resides?" jfo

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
several hasty and desperate propositions to
attempt the release of the sisters. Monro
seemed to shake off his dull apathy, and
listened to the wild schemes of the young
man, with a deference that his grey hairs
and reverend years should have denied.
But the scout, after suffering the ardour of

THE MOHICANS. 265

the lover to expend itself a little, found
means to convince him of the folly of pre
cipitation, in a matter that would require
their coolest judgment and utmost forti
tude.

" 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."

. .*•' He speaks of the wish-ton-wish," said
the scout ; " well, since you like his whistle,
it shall be your signal. Remember, 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 Hey ward, " I will
accompany him."

"You !" exclaimed the astonished Hawk-

VOL. II. N

266 THE LAST OF

eye ; " are you tired of seeing the sun rise
and set ?"

" David is a living proof that the Hurons
can be merciful."

" 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 from such a captivity.
Name your objections no longer ; I am re
solved."

Hawk-eye regarded the young man a
moment in speechless 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 loftiness of
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

THE MOHICANS. 267

who is already formed by so powerful a
hand as Providence, stands in need of a
change," muttered the discontented scout.
ft 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 the^ 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 undeniably with
our declared enemies, the Hurons. It
becomes 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 dilated
and became imposing under its influence*
Hawk-eye, though too much accustomed to

N 2

26& THE LAST OF

Indian artifices not to forsee all 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 adventure, which had in
creased with his daily 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 humour sud
denly altered, and he lent himself to its exe
cution.

" Come," he said, with a good humoured
smile; "the buck that will take to the
water must be headed, and not followed !
Chingachgook has as many different paints,
as the engineer officer's wife, who takes
down nature on scraps of paper, making
the mountains look like cocks of rusty hay,
and placing the blue sky in reach of
your hand — the Sagamore 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

THE MOHtCANS.

269

had been an attentive listener to the dis
course, readily undertook the office. Long
practised in all the subtle arts of his race,
he drew, with great dexterity and quick-
ness, the fantastic shadow that the natives
were accustomed to consider as the evidence
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 stu
died those conceits that might be construed
into a wish for amity. In short, he en
tirely sacrificed every appearance of the
warrior, to the masquerade of a buffoon.
Such exibitions 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 Ticonderoga,
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 appointed
the place where they should meet, in the

N3

270 TOE LAST OjP

event of mutual success. The parting be
tween Munro and his young friend was more
melancholy and feeling; still, the former sub
mitted to the separation with an indifference
that his warm and honest nature would
never have permitted in a more healthful
state of mind. The scout led Heyward
aside, and acquainted him with his inten
tion to leave the veteran in some safe en
campment, in charge of Chingachgook,
while he and Uncas pursued their enquiries
among the people they had reason to believe
vere Delawares. Then renewing his
jautions and advice, he concluded by
saying, with a solemnity and warmth of
feeling, with which Duncan was deeply
touched —

" And now God bless you ! Y6u 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 out-do the cunning, or get the

THE MOHICANS.

better of the courage of a Mingo ! God
bless you ! if the Huron s 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 remember, 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 by the hand, once more
recommended his aged friend to his care,
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
admiration ; then shaking his head, doubt-
ingly, 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

THE LAST OF

with one so simple, and so little qualified to
render any assistance in desperate emer
gencies, he first began to be sensible of the
difficulties of the task he had undertaken.
The fading light increased the gloominess
of the bleak and savage wilderness, 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 wonderful precautions
of their sagacious inmates, that even the
brutes of these vast wilds were possessed of
an instinct nearly commensurate with his
own practised 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 dis
tress ; her actual danger ; and all the peril of
his situation faded before her loveliness.
Cheering David with his voice, he moved
more swiftly onward, with the light and
vigorous step of youth and enterprise.

After making nearly a semi-circle around
the pond, they diverged from the water-

THE MOHICANS. 273

course, and began to ascend to the level of at
slight elevation in that bottom land, over
which they journeyed. Within half an hour
they gained the margin of another opening,
that bore all the signs of having been also
made by the beavers, and which those sagaci
ous animals had probably been induced, by
some accident, to abandon, for the more
eligible position they now occupied. A
very natural sensation caused Duncan to
hesitate a moment, unwilling to leave the
cover of their bushy path, as a man pauses
to collect his energies before he essays any
hazardous 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

274 THE LAST OF

constructed with very little attention to
their neatness or beauty. Indeed, so very
inferior were they, in the two latter parti
culars, to the village Duncan had jast seen,
that he began to expect a second surprise,
no less astonishing than the former. 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 vulgar
materials of flesh and blood. A gaunt,
naked form, was seen, for a single instant,
tossing its arms wildly in the air, and then
the spot it had filled was vacant; the figure
appearing, suddenly, in some other and
distant place, or being succeeded by ano
ther, possessing the same mysterious charac
ter. David, observing that his companion

THE MOHICANS. 275

lingered, pursued the direction of his gaze,
and in some measure recalled the recollec
tion of Heyward, by speaking —

" There is much fruitful soil unculti
vated here," he said; "and I may add,
without the sinful leaven of self-commen
dation, that, since my short sojourn in
these heathenish abodes, much good seed
has been scattered by the way side."

" The tribes are fonder of the chase,
than of the arts of men of labour,"returned
the unconscious Duncan, still gazing at the
objects of his wonder.

" It is rather joy than labour 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 assembled the
urchins to join in sacred song, and as often
have they responded to my efforts with
whoopings and bowlings that have chilled
my inmost soul!"

276 THE LAST OF

" Of whom speak you ?"

"Of those children of the devil, who
waste their precious moments in yonder
idle antics. Ah ! the wholesome restraint
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 q gainst the juvenile
pack, whose yells just then rang shrilly
through the forest ; and Duncan, suffering
his lip to curl in a proud smile, as in
mockery at his own momentary superstition,
said firmly —

" We will proceed."

Without removing the safeguards from
his ears, the master of song complied, and
together they pursued their way, boldly,
towards what David was sometimes wont
to call " the tents of the Philistines."

END OF VOL. II.

SHACK KI^, AanowsaiiTH & a>DC.B<, JOHNSON'* cotrtir, PLKBT-STHEBT.

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