Les scalpeurs blancs. English. Page 11

  CHAPTER IX.

  THE MARRIAGE.

  When the two hunters returned to the rancho, Tranquil looked at LoyalHeart.

  "Well," he said to him, "and what are you going to do?"

  "Well," the other replied with a smile, "the same as you are going to doyourself, I suppose, sleep--for it is close on two o'clock." Butnoticing the Canadian's anxious air, he hurriedly added--"Pardon me,friend, I forget that you have made a long journey to find me here, andthat, probably, you have important matters to communicate to me. Well!if you do not feel too fatigued, I will rekindle the fire, we will sitdown by the brasero, and I will listen to you; I do not feel at alldisposed for sleep, and the present hour is admirably adapted forconfidence."

  Tranquil gently shook his head.

  "I thank you for your kindness, my friend," he said; "but, onreflection, I prefer deferring the conversation till tomorrow; I have noserious motive that compels me to speak at this moment, and a few hours,more or less, will have no influence in the events I have cause tofear."

  "You know better than I do the conduct best suited to you under thecircumstances. I merely repeat that I am quite at your service whateveryou may be pleased to do."

  "Let us sleep," the Canadian answered, with a smile. "Tomorrow, afterour visit to Blackbird, we will hold a palaver."

  "Be it so, my friend, I will not press you; here is your bed," he added,pointing to the pile of furs.

  "It is rare for me to have so good a one in the desert," said Tranquil.

  The two men then lay down fraternally side by side, placed their weaponswithin reach, and ere long the calmness of their breathing indicatedthat they were asleep. Nothing disturbed the repose they enjoyed, andthe night passed quietly. A few minutes before sunrise Loyal Heartawoke; a feeble light was beginning to penetrate into the rancho,through the windows, which had no sheltering or curtains. The hunterrose, and at the moment when he was going to awake his comrade, thelatter opened his eyes.

  "Ah, ah!" Loyal Heart said, "You are a very light sleeper, my friend."

  "It is an old hunter's habit, which I think I should find it difficultto get rid of, unless I remained a long time with you."

  "What prevents your doing so? Such a determination would cause greatpleasure to my mother and myself."

  "Do not form plans, my boy; you know that with us wood rangers we canhardly call the present moment our own, and it would be utter madnessfor us to enter on the future. We will revert to this subject; but nowbelieve we have something more important to attend to."

  "We have to perform the commission Black-deer entrusted to us; are youstill of a mind to help me?"

  "Certainly: the Chiefs of the tribe received me with too much courtesyfor me not to eagerly take the first opportunity that offers to testifyto them the lively sympathy I feel for them."

  "Well, as it is so, go to your comrades, get ready to mount, and waitfor me; I shall join them directly at their calli."

  "All right," Tranquil answered.

  The two men left the house; No Eusebio had deserted his hammock, and wasprobably attending to household duties. The Canadian went straight tothe calli lent his comrades by the Indians.

  Day had by this time entirely broken; the curtains of the callis wereraised one after the other, and the Indian squaws were beginning toemerge to go in quest of the necessary wood and water for thepreparation of breakfast. Small parties of warriors were going off indifferent directions, some to indulge in the pleasures of the chase,others to beat the forest and be certain that there was no enemy's trailin the vicinity of the village.

  At the moment when the Canadian passed in front of the Medicine lodge,the sorcerer of the tribe came out of it. He held in his hand acalabash filled with water, in which a bunch of wormwood was dipped. Thesorcerer ascended to the roof of the Medicine lodge, and turned to therising sun. At the same instant the hachesto shouted three differenttimes in a powerful voice, "The sun! The sun! The sun!"

  A warrior then came out of each calli, holding in his hand, like thesorcerer, a calabash of water with a bunch of wormwood. The sorcererbegan an incantation by murmuring mysterious words which he alonecomprehended, and sprinkling the four cardinal points with the wormwood,an operation imitated exactly by the warriors. Then, at a signal givenby the sorcerer, all the men threw the contents of the calabash towardsthe sun, shouting at the same time, "Oh, sun! Thou visiblerepresentative of the Invisible Master of Life! protect us on thiscommencing day! Give us water, air, and fire, for the earth belongs tous, and we can defend it!"

  After this haughty prayer the warriors re-entered their callis, and thesorcerer descended from his elevated post. Tranquil, who was perfectlyconversant with Indian customs, had stopped and waited, in a respectfulattitude, the end of the ceremony. When the sorcerer had disappeared inthe Medicine lodge, the hunter resumed his walk. The inhabitants of thevillage, already affected to regard him as one of themselves; theysaluted him with a smile and a pleasant word as he passed, and thechildren ran up laughing to bid him good-day. When Tranquil entered thecalli his comrades were still asleep, but he soon roused them.

  "Hilloh!" John Davis said, good-humouredly, "You are very early, oldhunter. Are we going to make any expedition?"

  "Not that I know of, for the present, at any rate," the Canadiananswered; "we are merely going to accompany Loyal Heart, while heaccomplishes a ceremony."

  "What is up, then?"

  "The marriage of our friend Black-deer. I supposed it to be good policynot to refuse our aid, especially as you, Davis, have an interest ingetting into the good graces of the Indians."

  "I should think so. But tell me, old hunter, have you consulted with ourfriend on the matter that brings me here?"

  "Not yet: various reasons urged me to wait for a favourable moment."

  "As you please; but you know the matter is pressing."

  "I know it, and you can trust to me."

  "Oh! I leave you to act entirely as you please. What are we to do now?"

  "Nothing but mount our horses, and wait till Loyal Heart comes to fetchus. He has undertaken the management of the ceremony."

  "Well, that is not very difficult," the American said, with a laugh.

  In an instant the hunters were up, performed their ablutions, andsaddled their horses. They had scarce mounted, ere a great noise ofshells, drums, and chichikoues, mingled with shouts of joy, shots, andthe sharp barking of all the dogs in the village, announced the arrivalof Loyal Heart. The young Chief advanced at the head of a numerousprocession of Indian warriors, dressed in their most magnificentcostumes, armed and painted for war, and mounted on superb mustangs,which they caused to curvet with marks of the most lively delight. Theprocession halted before the calli.

  "Well," Loyal Heart asked, "are you ready?"

  "We are waiting for you," Tranquil answered.

  "Come on, then."

  The five hunters placed themselves by the side of their friend, and theprocession started once more. The Indians saw with a lively feeling ofpleasure the strange hunters join them; the part Loyal Heart andTranquil took in the ceremony especially caused them great joy, andinspired them with considerable pride, by proving to them that theirPaleface friends, far from despising their customs, or displaying anindifference towards them, took an interest in the ceremony, andevidenced their sympathy with the Comanches by accepting a place in theprocession.

  Loyal Heart proceeded straight to Blackbird's calli, in front of which afire had been lighted, and the Chief's family were seated silent andmotionless round it. Blackbird, dressed in his grand warpaint, andmounted on his battle charger, rode at the head of some twenty warriorsof his family, whom it was easy to recognize as renowned warriors andgreat braves by the numerous wolf tails with which their heels wereadorned. At the moment when the procession reached the great square, asolitary horseman, with a gloomy air and haughty demeanour, was crossingit, and proceeding toward the council lodge. It was Blue-fox. At thesight of the procession a smile of undefinable meaning play
ed round hislips, and he halted to let the Comanche warriors defile before him.Tranquil whispered to Loyal Heart--

  "Be on your guard against that man; if I am not greatly mistaken, hismission is only a trap, and he meditates some treachery."

  "That is my notion too," the hunter replied; "that gloomy face forebodesnothing good; but the council are warned, and watch him closely."

  "I have known him for a long time, he is a thorough-paced villain. Iwould not let him out of my sight, were I in your place. But we havereached our destination, so let us attend to our own business."

  Loyal Heart raised his arm; at this signal the music, if such a name canbe given to the abominable row made by all these instruments, which,held by unskilful hands, produced the most discordant sounds, was silentas if by enchantment. The warriors then seized their war whistles, andproduced a shrill and prolonged note thrice. A similar whistle wasimmediately given by Blackbird's party. When the procession halted, avacant space of about twenty yards was left between the two bands, andLoyal Heart and Tranquil advanced alone into this space, making theirhorses prance and brandishing their weapons, amid the joyous applause ofthe crowd, which admired their skill and good countenance. Blackbird andtwo of his comrades then left their party and rode to meet the hunters,and the five men halted at about halfway. Loyal Heart, after salutingthe Chief respectfully, was the first to speak.

  "I see that my father is a great Chief," he said; "his head is coveredby the sacred feathered cap of the band of the old dogs; numerousexploits are painted on his broad chest; the wolf tails fastened to hisheels make a hole in the ground, so many are they. My father must be oneof the greatest braves of the Antelope Comanches: he will tell us hisname, that I may remember it as that of a Chief of renown in thecouncil, and brave and terrible in combat."

  The Chief smiled proudly at this point-blank compliment; he bowed withdignity, and answered--

  "My son is young, and yet wisdom dwells in him; his arm is strong infight, and his tongue is not forked; his renown has reached me; mybrothers call him Loyal Heart. Blackbird is happy to see him. Whatmotive brings Loyal Heart to Blackbird with so large a party, when theheart of the Chief is sad, and a cloud has spread over his mind?"

  "I know," Loyal Heart answered, "that the Chief is sad, and am aware ofthe motive of his grief. I have come with the braves who accompany me torestore tranquillity to the mind of the Chief, and change his sorrowinto joy."

  "My son Loyal Heart will then explain himself without further delay; heknows that a man of heart never plays with the grief of an aged man."

  "I know it, and will explain myself without further delay. My father isrich, the Wacondah has always regarded him with a favourable eye; hisfamily is numerous, his sons are already brave warriors, his daughtersare virtuous and lovely; one of them, the fairest, perhaps, butcertainly the one most beloved, was violently carried off last night byBlack-deer."

  "Yes," the Chief answered, "a Comanche warrior bore away my daughterBounding Fawn, and fled with her into the forest."

  "That warrior is Black-deer."

  "Black-deer is one of the most celebrated warriors and wisest Chiefs ofmy nation. My heart leaped toward him. Why did he carry off my child?"

  "Because Black-deer loves Bounding Fawn; a great brave has the right totake anywhere the wife who pleases him, if he is rich enough to pay herfather for her. Blackbird cannot object to that."

  "If such be Black-deer's intention, if he offer me a ransom such as awarrior like him ought to pay to a Chief like myself, I will allow thathe has acted in an honourable way, and that his intentions were pure; ifnot, I shall be an implacable enemy to him, because he will havebetrayed my confidence and deceived my hopes."

  "Blackbird must not hastily judge his friend; I am ordered by Black-deerto pay for Bounding Fawn such a ransom as few Chiefs have ever beforereceived."

  "What is the ransom? Where is it?"

  "The warriors who accompany me have brought it with them; but beforedelivering it to my father, I will remark, that he has not invited me tosit down by his fire, or offered me the calumet."

  "My son will sit down by my fire, and I will share the calumet with himwhen the mission he is intrusted with is finished."

  "Be it so; my father shall be immediately satisfied."

  Loyal Heart, turning to the warriors, who during this conversation,which was sternly demanded by the laws of Indian etiquette, had stoodsilent and motionless, raised his hand. At once several horsemen leftthe procession and pranced up to him, brandishing their weapons.

  "The ransom!" he merely said.

  "One moment," Blackbird objected; "of what does this ransom consist?"

  "You shall see," Loyal Heart replied.

  "I know that, but should prefer being informed beforehand."

  "For what reason?"

  "Wah! That I may be in a position to refuse it if I find it unworthy ofyou."

  "You ought not to have such a fear."

  "That is possible, still I adhere to what I said."

  "As you please," said Loyal Heart.

  We must here disclose one of the bad sides of the Indian character. TheRedskins are extraordinarily rapacious and avaricious. With them wealthis everything--not wealth as we understand it in our country, for theyknow not the value of gold: that metal, so precious to us, is as nothingin their eyes; but furs, arms, and horses constitute for these warriorsveritable wealth, which they appreciate at its full value. Hence thetransactions between the white men and natives become daily moredifficult, from the fact that the Indians, seeing with what ardour thepeltry dealers seek furs, have attached so high a value to thatmerchandise, that it is almost impossible for the traders to obtain it;hence arises, to a great extent, the hatred of the whites for theRedskins, who track, scalp, and kill the trappers whenever they meetwith them, in order to destroy competition.

  Blackbird was an Indian of the old school, gifted with a smart dose ofavarice. The worthy Chief was not sorry, before pledging his word, toknow what he had to depend on, and if he would make as good a bargain aswas stated. This is why he had insisted on the objects comprising theransom being shown him. Loyal Heart was perfectly acquainted with hisman, and hence was not much affected by his demand; he merely orderedthe bearers of the ransom to approach.

  This ransom had been prepared for a long period by Black-deer, and wasreally magnificent; it consisted of four mares in foal, four otherswhich had never bred, a three-year old charger, a mustang with slim legsand flashing eye, four muskets, each with twelve charges of powder; andfour white female buffalo hides, a colour very rare, and greatlyesteemed in this country. As the several articles were presented to theold Chief, his eye dilated under the influence of joy, and flashed witha wild lustre. He required to make extraordinary efforts to preserve thedecorum necessary under such circumstances, and confine in his heart thepleasure he felt. When all the presents had been given and placed by himunder the immediate guard of his relatives and friends, Loyal Heartspoke again.

  "Is my father satisfied?" he asked him.

  "Wah!" the old Chief shouted with delight. "My son, Black-deer, is agreat brave; he did right to carry off Bounding Fawn, for she is reallyhis."

  "Will my father bear witness to that?" the hunter pressed him.

  "This very moment," the Chief answered eagerly; "and before all thewarriors here present."

  "Let my father do so, then, that all may know that Black-deer is nofalse-tongued thief; and when he declares that Bounding Fawn is hissquaw, no one will have the right to say that it is not true."

  "I will do so," Blackbird answered.

  "Good! my father will follow us."

  "I will follow you."

  Blackbird then placed himself at the right of Loyal Heart, the band ofwarriors who accompanied him joined the procession, and all proceededtoward the ark of the first man, at the foot of which the hachesto wasstanding, holding in his hand the totem of the tribe. The sorcerer wasstanding in front of the totem, having on either side of him two Sach
emschosen from among the wisest of the nation.

  "What do you want here?" the sorcerer asked loyal Heart, when the latterhalted about two yards from him with the procession.

  "We demand justice," the hunter replied.

  "Speak! We will give you that justice, whatever the consequences maybe," the sorcerer said. "Well reflect before speaking, lest you maypresently regret your precipitation."

  "We shall only have to repent of one thing, and that is not havingappeared before you earlier."

  "My ears are open."

  "We wish that justice should be done to a warrior, whose reputationattempts have been made to tarnish."

  "Who is the warrior?"

  "Black-deer."

  "Is his medicine good?"

  "His medicine is good."

  "Is he a brave?"

  "He is a great brave."

  "What has he done?"

  "Last night he carried off Bounding Fawn, the daughter of Blackbird herepresent."

  "Good! Has he paid a fine ransom?"

  "Let Blackbird himself answer."

  "Yes," the old Chief here said, "I will answer. Black-deer is a greatwarrior, he has paid a noble ransom."

  "In that case," said the sorcerer, "my son is satisfied?"

  "I am satisfied."

  There was a momentary silence, during which the sorcerer consulted in awhisper with the Sachems who acted as assessors. At length he spokeagain.

  "Black-deer is a great warrior," he said in a loud voice. "I, themedicine man, standing beneath the totem of the tribe, declare, that hehas employed the right all renowned warriors possess of seizing theirproperty wherever they may find it. From this moment Bounding Fawn isthe squaw of Black-deer, to prepare his food, clean his weapons, carryhis burdens, and take care of his war-chargers, and whoever says thecontrary speaks falsely! Black-deer has the right to convey BoundingFawn to his calli, and no one can prevent it; he is empowered, if shedeceive him, to cut off her nose and ears. Blackbird will give twofemale buffalo hides to be hung up in the great medicine lodge."

  At this final clause, known beforehand, however, for everything isstrictly regulated by the code of etiquette in the matter of marriage,Blackbird made a frightful grimace. It seemed to him hard to part withtwo of the hides he had received but a few moments previously. But LoyalHeart came to his assistance, and interposed in a way that brought thesmile back to his lips.

  "Black-deer," he said in a loud voice, "loves Bounding Fawn, and willonly owe her to himself--he alone will pay the tribute to the Wacondah;not two, but four female buffalo hides will be given to the medicinelodge."

  He made a sign, and a warrior advanced, bearing the hides across hishorse's neck. Loyal Heart took them and offered them to the sorcerer.

  "My father will receive these skins," he said; "he will make such use ofthem as will be most agreeable to the Master of Life."

  At this unexpected generosity, the audience burst into shouts offrenzied joy. The shells, drums, and chichikoues recommenced theirinfernal noise, and the procession set out again for Blackbird's calli.The old chief knew too well what he owed to himself, and the son-in-lawhe had just accepted, not to behave with proper decorum in spite of hisavarice. When the procession reached the calli, he therefore said, in aloud voice--

  "My brothers and friends, deign to honour with your presence themarriage banquet, and I shall be happy to see you take part in it. Myson Black-deer will come, I feel convinced, to give the feast thatfamily appearance which it ought to have."

  He had scarce uttered the words, when a great noise was heard. The crowdparted violently, and in the space left free a horseman appeared,galloping at full speed: he held a woman on his horse's neck with onehand, while with the other he led a filly. At the sight of the horseman,the shouts and applause were redoubled, for everybody recognisedBlack-deer. On reaching the calli he leapt to the ground withoututtering a syllable; then he drew his scalping knife and buried it inthe neck of the filly. The poor brute gave a plaintive whining, trembledviolently, and sank to the ground. The chief then turned it on its back,ripped open its chest, and tearing out the still quivering heart, hetouched Bounding Fawn's forehead with it, while shouting in a voice loudenough to be heard by all the spectators.

  "This is my squaw; woe to the man who touches her."

  "I am his," the young wife then said.

  The official ceremony was over: Black-deer and Bounding Fawn weremarried according to the rites of Comanche law. All dismounted, and themarriage feast began. The white men, who were not very eager to eattheir portion of this Indian meal, composed in great measure of dog,boiled milk, and horse's flesh, had drawn on one side and tried toescape unnoticed. Unfortunately Blackbird and Black-deer watched them,and cut off their retreat; hence they were compelled, whether they likedit or no, to sit down to the banquet.

  Tranquil, Loyal Heart, and their comrades made up their minds to theworst, and ate, or pretended to eat, with as good an appetite as therest of the guests. The repast was prolonged till late in the day; for,though the Comanches do not drink spirits, and have not to fearintoxication, still, like all Indians, they are extraordinarilyvoracious, and eat till they can swallow no more.

  The whites had hard work in declining those provisions, of more or lesssuspicious appearance, which were constantly offered to do them honour.Still, thanks to their thorough knowledge of Indian habits, they managedto escape the greater part of the infliction and see out the trulyHomeric banquet without much annoyance. At the moment when Loyal Heartand Tranquil rose to retire, Black-deer approached them.

  "Where are my brothers going?" he asked.

  "To my calli," Loyal Heart replied.

  "Good! Black-deer will join them there soon; he has to speak with hisbrothers on serious matters."

  "Let my brother remain with his friends, tomorrow will be time enough."

  The Chief frowned.

  "My brother Loyal Heart must be careful," he said; "I have to consultwith him on matters of the utmost gravity."

  The hunter, struck by the Chiefs anxious air, looked at him with alarm.

  "What is the matter?" he asked him.

  "My brother will know in an hour."

  "Very good, Chief; I will await you in my calli."

  "Black-deer will come there."

  The Chief then withdrew, laying his finger on his lip, and the hunterswent off deep in thought.