The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗

The Object Of The Search. It Turned Out To Be

An Indian, Being No Other Than The Warrior Pieskaret, Whose Corpse The

Wily Sassacus Had Committed To The River Charles, Wearing The Unshorn

Honors Of His Scalp, In Order To Avert Suspicion From Himself, And Fix

It On The Whites. For Rightly Did The Sagacious Chief Judge That No

Taranteen Could Be Induced To Believe That An Indian Would Forbear To

Possess Himself, If He Were Able, Of The Coveted Prize, Especially

That Of So Mighty A Warrior As Pieskaret. And With Regard To The

Pequot In Particular, He, Of All, After The Provocation Of Yesterday,

Would Be The Last, If He Had Slain Pieskaret, To Be Supposed Capable

Of An Act Of So Great Self-Denial.

  

 

The Sailors Found The Taranteens Around The Raft, And Pushing It

Ashore, In Spite Of The Remonstrances Of The Savages, Which The White

Men Did Not Half Understand, They Unlashed The Body From The Boughs,

And Taking It Into The Boat, Pulled For The Land, Closely Followed By

The Swimmers. As They Approached The Vessel, They Were Ordered By

Dudley To Take It To The Wharf, And He And The Knight, Followed By The

Natives, Descended The Side, And Advanced To The Spot Where The Boat

Was To Land. Here, When They Arrived, A Considerable Group Of Persons

Had Collected, And Were Examining The Corpse.

 

 

So Short A Time Had Passed Since The Breath Left The Body, That It

Still Looked Fresh And Life-Like. There, Extended On The Sand, Lay The

Strong, Bold Man, Who But A Day Before Had Boasted Of His Prowess, And

Of The Terror Of His Name; Now A Dog Might Insult Him With Impunity. A

Deep Wound Gaped Upon His Breast, And The Water Had Not Washed All The

Clotted Blood From His Head. His Countenance Wore A Look Of Deadly

Ferocity, And It Was Evident That He Had Died As A Brave Man Should,

With His Face To The Foe.

 

  

The Taranteens, After The First Burst Of Feeling, Looked On In Gloomy

Silence, And Began To Cast Glances Of Distrust And Apprehension

Around. The Scalp-Lock Of Pieskaret Was Untouched. He Had Fallen Then

In No Conflict With Indians. His Companions Had Escaped With The Body,

And Launched It On The Water In Order To Apprise Them Of What Had

Happened, And Of Their Own Danger. In Low Tones They Addressed Each

Other, And Drew Aside For Consultation.

  

 

Meanwhile A Thousand Comments Were Made By The Bystanders. A Cloud

Rested On The Weather-Beaten Face Of Dudley, And Over The Whole Group,

Except The Knight, Whose Equanimity No Circumstance Seemed Able To

Disturb.

  

 

"I Suspected Mischief," Said Dudley To The Knight, "When This Morning,

Only Half The Number Of The Savages Presented Themselves; And Now Doth

It Pass My Understanding How This Miserable Wretch Lost His Life."

  

 

"It Is Seldom That A Brawl Disturbs Our Peaceful Settlement," Said Sir

Christopher, "And I Have Heard Of None During The Night. Has Your

Worship Obtained Knowledge Of Any Such?"

   

"Of None. And Now Will Great Scandal, And Even Infamy Rest On Us, By

Reason Of This Most Untoward Event, I Fear Me That Our Position With

Reference To These Taranteens Will Be Worse Than It Was Before, And

That Now They Will Be Converted From Indifferent Neighbors Into

Relentless Enemies, Unless We Discover And Deliver Up To Them The

Murderer, And Even That Will Hardly Restore Confidence."

 

  

"Nor Can We Say That The Man Was Murdered. It Is Hard To Get A Limit

To The Unbridled Passions Of Savages; And It May Be That It Was In

Self-Defence, Or In The Endeavor To Prevent Some Other Grievous Wrong,

That Whosoever Killed Him Took His Life."

  

 

"A Mystery Doth Enshroud The Affair. Where Lost The Man His Life, And

By Whose Hand, And For What Cause? It Could Not Be Where They Camped

In The Night. We Heard No Disturbance, No Signs Of Violence Are To Be

Seen, And The Other Indians Would Have Known. If Indians Killed Him,

Why Took They Not His Scalp, And Why Set They Him Floating On The

Water? Herein It Looks Like The Foolish Prank Of Drunken Sailors. But

Then What Cause Of Such Enmity Could There Be? For All Was Done Very

Quietly. And What Has Become Of The Missing Taranteens? Are They Too

Killed, Or In The Forest On Their Way Home? Has Sassacus Any Hand In

This Matter? Be It As It May, The Bold Partizan Of The Pequots Must Be

Looked After."

 

  

"It Is As Thou Sayest, Hard To Determine," Answered The Knight; "But

If Indians Were Concerned In This Most Lamentable Deed, Strange Has

Been Their Conduct. Such Truly Is Not The Customary Manner Of The

Natives To Dispose Of Their Enemies. Wonderful Forbearance Indeed, And

Disregard Of The Traditions And Superstitions Of The Tribes Must It

Require, To Allow An Enemy, When It Can Be Prevented, To Step Upon The

Happy Hunting Grounds, Bearing The Unviolated Honors Of His Head."

 

  

"It May Be," Replied Dudley, "That His Foes Were Unable To Tear Away

The Bloody Trophy; That Before They Could Do So His Body Was Rescued

By His Companions."

 

  

"But How Account For His Being Launched Upon The Deep? Is This An

Indian Mode Of Disposing Of Friends?"

  

 

"My Mind Is As Perplexed As Thine. I Will Consider The Thing More

Maturely Hereafter. Thou Knowest Their Heathen Tongue. Step Forward,

May It Please Thee, And Try To Calm Their Irritated Spirits, Assuring

Them Of Our Friendship And Grief At What We Cannot Explain."

  

 

Thus Requested, The Knight Advanced, And Commenced A Speech To The

Savages, To Which They Listened In Moody Silence. What He Said Was Of

Course Unintelligible To All Except The Indians, But It Appeared Not

To Produce A Favorable Impression. No Sound, Whether Of Approval Or

The Contrary, Escaped Their Lips, As, Surrounding The Corpse Of Their

Companion, They Regarded It With Ominous Brows, Until The Knight

Concluded, When An Indian Addressed Him In Reply.

  

 

"How Hast Thou Prevailed?" Inquired Dudley, When The Taranteen

Stopped.

 

 

"Alas!" Replied Sir Christopher, "No Representations Which I Can Make

Are Sufficient To Soothe Their Exasperation Or Allay Their

Suspicions."

  

 

"Ask Them," Said Dudley, "After Their Other Companions."

 

  

A Howl Of Rage, And A Few Rapid Words, Were The Return To The Inquiry.

  

 

"What Means That?" Said The Deputy Governor.

  

 

"They Say That They Suppose They Are Following The Footsteps Of

Pieskaret."

 

  

"If Such Be Their Belief, Then Farewell To Any Treaty Or Relations Of

Amity With Them. They Will Soon Turn Their Backs Upon Both Our

Hospitality And Friendship."

 

  

The Words Of The Deputy Governor Were Indeed Prophetic, For The

Taranteens, Now Stooping Down, Raised Their Friends' Corpse From The

Ground, And Bearing It In Their Arms, Proceeded To Their Canoes, Which

Were Lying At A Little Distance On The Beach. In One Of Them (Not

Without Efforts On The Part Of The Whites To Induce Them To Change

Their Determination) They Deposited The Body, And Covering It With

Skins, Took Their Paddles Into Their Hands And Pushed From The Shore.

  

 

"They Are Gone," Said Dudley, As They Receded From View; "And Many A

Weeping Wife And Mother May Rue This Miserable Day. Better That The

Tawny Heathen Had Remained In Their Trackless Forests, Listening To

The Deluding Lies Of The French Emissaries, Than Come Hither As Spies

Upon Our Condition, And To Take Advantage Of Our Supposed Weakness."

  

 

"Is It Possible," Inquired The Knight, "That Thou Believest Not In The

Sincerity Of The Professions Of Peace Made By These Poor Savages?"

  

 

"I Trust Them Not," Answered The Suspicious Dudley. They Are Of The

Seed Of The Serpent; And As Well Might One Expect Light From The

Caverns Of The Earth, As Fidelity And Truth From Indians."

  

 

"I Pray Thee, Be Not So Harsh Of Judgment," Said Sir Christopher. "I

Have Some Knowledge Of The Tribes, And Have Observed That They Are

Ever Mindful Of Favor, However Studious Of Revenge; Nor Is It Their

Wont, Without Provocation, To Break Their Word. Canst Thou Say That

The Taranteens Have Departed Without Seeming Justification?"

  

 

"I Suspect That These Savages Know More Of The Fate Of Their

Companions, And Of The Cause Of The Death Of This Pieskaret Than They

Choose To Disclose. The Longer My Mind Broods Over The Subject, The

More Am I Convinced That, Without Fault On Their Part, They Would Not

Have Drawn Upon Themselves Destruction."

 

  

But This Was A View Of The Case Which Seemed To Find No Favor With Sir

Christopher. With A Courtly Grace And Insinuating Address, Without

Contradicting The Other, But Rather By The Recital Of Acts Of

Generosity And Evidences Of Nobleness Of Spirit Which Had Fallen Under

His Own Observation Among The Indians, He Endeavored To Dispose The

Deputy Governor To A Milder Judgment. But The Prejudices Of Dudley

Were Too Deeply Rooted To Be Removed By Persuasive Manners, Or Tales

However Skilfully Framed. 

 

 

The Unfortunate Result Of The Embassy Was Deeply Regretted By The

Colonists. They Had Looked Forward To It As A Means Of Increasing

Their Security, And Establishing A Trade From Which They Hoped To

Derive Large Profits. They Must Now Renounce Both Expectations.

Henceforth Their Cabins Were To Be Guarded With Greater Vigilance Than

Ever, And The Courted Trade Was To Remain Monopolized By The French.

Moreover, The Evil Would Probably Not End There, But Distrust And

Apprehension Spread Among The Tribes; And If Such A Feeling Were To

Become Universal, And A General Union Be The Consequence, The

Condition Of The Colony Might Become One Of Extreme Danger. The

Character Which The Whites Would Then Sustain Would Be That Of Men

Disregardful Of The Most Sacred Obligations; Of Wretches Who, After

Offering The Rights Hospitality, Had Taken Advantage Of The

Unsuspecting Confidence Of Their Guests To Murder Them. It Was True,

That The Whole Twelve Ambassadors Might Have Been Destroyed, And A

Part Were Suffered To Leave; But It Was Feared That The

Undiscriminating Minds Of The Savages Might Not Give Proper Weight To

The Consideration, Or Might Ascribe It To Some Policy Which Was The

More Dreadful Because So Mysterious. It Was Seen Now How Great Had

Been The Mistake In Permitting Sassacus, The Terrible Chief Of The

Pequots, The Most Dreaded And Implacable Foe Of The Taranteens, To Be

Present At The Council. Him The Taranteens Had Seen In Apparent Good

Understanding With The English, And Been Made The Subject Of His

Taunts In Their Presence. Might They Not Justly Consider This A

Strange Way Of Courting An Alliance? True, The English Knew Not That

Waqua Was Sassacus, But Would The Indians Believe It? Nor Had They

Known, Until The Interpreter Explained, And Until It Was Too Late To

Seize The Offender, What He Had Uttered; But Would The Taranteens,

Amid The Excitement Of Feeling Mourning Over The Loss Of Friends, Much

Regard That?

 

 

Chapter XV (There Is A Pleasure In The Pathless Woods.)

 

 

 

Childe Harold.

 

 

When Arundel Awoke After That Fierce Night, Sassacus Had Already Left

His Couch And Was Preparing Their Breakfast. The Young Man Stepped To

The Door-Way Of The Lodge, And Looked Out Upon The Sylvan Scene.

 

  

Nothing To Remind Of What Had Occurred Was Visible. A Shower Had

Fallen At Daylight, And Obliterated All Traces Of Violence. The Rays

Of The Early Sun Were Shining In The Rain Drops Glistening On The

Leaves Or Falling In Showers To The Ground, As The Branches Were

Agitated By The Breeze, Or Shaken By A Bird Flying From One Perch To

Another. No Sounds Other Than Those Made By The Feathered Musicians,

Or The Rattling Drops, Disturbed The Tranquillity Of The Forest. After

Gazing Round A Few Moments, While The Contrast Betwixt The Serenity Of

Nature And The Passions Of Man Forced Itself On His Mind, He Threw

Himself Down By His Red Friend, And Together They Shared The Morning

Repast. The Curiosity Of Arundel Induced Him To Inquire, What Had

Become Of The Indians, Who Had Rendered So Timely A Service The Night

Before.

  

 

"The Breath Of Sassacus," Replied The Chief, "Called Them Out Of The

Ground, And His Breath Bade Them Depart. My Brother Will Forget What

He Saw In The Dark. It Will Be To Him Like A Dream." 

 

 

Arundel Understood By This, That He Was