True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence by G. A. Henty (motivational books to read .txt) 📖

assure them that all danger was over and that the Indians were entirely defeated. In an hour a fresh skim of ice had formed across the streak of water, but, as through its clear surface many of the bodies of the Indians could be seen, the men threw snow over it, to spare the girls the unpleasantness of such a sight every time they went out from the cove. The bodies of all the Indians who had fallen near the island were also covered with snow. Those nearer the shore were carried off by the Iroquois in their retreat.

"I suppose, Peter," Harold said as they sat round the fire that evening, "you have been in quite as awkward scrapes as this before and have got out all right?"

"Why, this business aint nothing to that affair we had by Lake Champlain. That were as bad a business, when we was surrounded in that log hut, as ever I went through—and I've been through a good many. Pearson and me nigh got our har raised more nor once in that business of Pontiac's. He were a great chief and managed to get up the biggest confederation agin us that's ever been known. It were well for us that that business didn't begin a few years earlier when we was fighting the French; but you see, so long as we and they was at war the Indians hoped as we might pretty well exterminate each other, and then they intended to come in and finish off whoever got the best of it. Waal, the English they drove the French back and finally a treaty was made in Europe by which the French agreed to clear out.

"It was jest about this time as Pontiac worked upon the tribes to lay aside their own quarrels and jine the French in fighting agin us. He got the Senecas, and the Delawares, and the Shawnees, the Wyandots, and a lot of other tribes from the lakes and the hull country between the Niagara River and the Mississippi.

"Jack Pearson and me, we happened to be with the Miamis when the bloody belt which Pontiac were sending round as a signal for war arrived at the fort there. Jack and me knew the redskins pretty well, and saw by their manner as something unusual had happened. I went to the commandant of the fort and told him as much. He didn't think much of my news. The soldier chaps always despises the redskins till they see 'em come yelling along with their tomahawks, and then as often as not it's jest the other way. Howsumdever, he agreed at last to pay any amount of trade goods I might promise to the Miamis if the news turned out worth finding out. I discovered that a great palaver was to be held that evening at the chief's village, which was a mile away from the fort.

"I'd seen a good deal of the Miamis and had fought with 'em against the Shawnees, so I could do as much with 'em as most. Off Pearson and I goes to the chief; and I says to him, 'Look ye here, chief, I've good reasons to believe you've got a message from Pontiac and that it means trouble. Now don't you go and let yourself be led away by him. I've heard rumors that he's getting up a great confederation agin the English. But I tell you, chief, if all the redskins on this continent was to jine together, they couldn't do nothing agin the English. I don't say as you mightn't wipe out a number of little border forts, for no doubt you might; but what would come of it? England would send out as many men as there are leaves in the forest, who would scorch up the redskin nations as a fire on the prairie scorches up the grass. I tell yer, chief, no good can come on it. Don't build yer hopes on the French; they've acknowledged that they're beaten and are all going out of the country. It'd be best for you and your people to stick to the English. They can reward their friends handsomely, and ef you jine with Pontiac, sooner or later trouble and ruin will come upon you. Now I can promise you, in the name of the officer of the fort, a good English rifle for yerself and fifty guns for your braves and ten bales of blankets ef yer'll make a clean breast of it, and first tell us what deviltry Pontiac is up to and next jine us freely—or anyway hold aloof altogether from this conspiracy till yer see how things is going.'

"Waal, the chief he thought the matter over and said he'd do his best at the palaver that night, but till that was over, and he knew what the council decided on, he couldn't tell me what the message was. I was pretty well satisfied, for Prairie Dog were a great chief in his tribe, and I felt pretty sartin he'd git the council to go the way he wanted. I told him I'd be at the fort and that the governor would expect a message after the council was over.

"It was past midnight when the chief came with four of his braves. He told us that the tribe had received a bloody belt from Pontiac and a message that the Mingoes and Delawares, the Wyandots and Shawnees were going to dig up the hatchet against the whites, and calling upon him and his people to massacre the garrison of the fort and then march to jine Pontiac, who was about to fall upon Detroit and Fort Pitt. They were directed to send the belt on to the tribes on the Wabash, but they loved the English and were determined to take no part against them; so they delivered the belt to their friend the white commander, and hoped that he'd tell the great king in England that the Miamis were faithful to him. The governor highly applauded their conduct and said he'd send the news to the English governor at New York, and at once ordered the presents which I promised to be delivered to the chief for himself and his braves. When they'd gone he said:

"'You were right, Peter. This news is important indeed, and it's clear that a terrible storm's about to bust upon the frontier. Whether the Miamis will keep true is doubtful; but now I'm on my guard they'll find it difficult to take the fort. But the great thing is to carry the news of what's happened to Detroit, to put them on their guard. Will you and Pearson start at once?'

"In course we agreed, though it was clear that the job was a risksome one, for it wouldn't be no easy matter to journey through the woods with the hull redskin tribes on the war-path.

"The commander wanted me to carry the belt with me, but I said, 'I might jest as well carry my death warrant to the first redskins as I come across.' Major Gladwin, who commanded at Detroit, knew me, and I didn't need to carry any proof of my story. So, afore the Miamis had been gone half an hour, Jack and me took the trail for Detroit. We had got a canoe hid on the lake a few miles away, and we was soon on board. The next morning we seed a hull fleet of canoes coming down the lake. We might have made a race with 'em, but being fully manned the chances was as they'd have cut us off, and seeing that at present war had not been declared, we judged it best to seem as if we weren't afeared. So we paddles up to 'em and found as they were a lot of Wyandots whose hunting-grounds lay up by Lake Superior. In course I didn't ask no questions as to whar they was going, but jest mentioned as we was on our way down to Detroit. 'We're going that way, too,' the chief said, 'and 'll be glad to have our white brothers with us.' So we paddled along together until, about noon, they landed. Nothing was said to us as how we were prisoners, but we could see as how we was jest as much captives as ef we'd been tied with buckskin ropes.

"Jack and me talked it over and agreed as it was no manner o' use trying to make our escape, but that as long as they chose to treat us as guests we'd best seem perfectly contented and make no show of considering as they was on the war-path; although, seeing as they had no women or children with 'em, a baby could have known as they were up to no good.

"The next morning they started again at daybreak, and after paddling some hours landed and hid away their canoes and started on foot. Nothing was said to us, but we saw as we was expected to do as they did. We went on till we was within ten mile of Detroit and then we halted. I thought it were best to find out exactly how we stood, so Jack and I goes up to the chief and says that as we was near Detroit we would jest say good-by to him and tramp in.

"'Why should my white brothers hurry?' he said. 'It is not good for them to go on alone, for the woods are very full of Indians.' 'But,' I said, 'the hatchet's buried between the whites and the redskins, so there's no danger in the woods.' The chief waved his hand. 'My white brothers have joined the Wyandots, and they will tarry with them until they go into Detroit. There are many redskins there, and there will be a grand palaver. The Wyandots will be present.'

"Jack and me made no signs of being dissatisfied, but the position weren't a pleasant one, I can tell you. Here was the redskins a-clustering like bees around Detroit, ready to fall upon the garrison and massacre 'em, and we, who was the only men as knew of the danger, was prisoners among the redskins. It was sartin, too, that though they mightn't take our lives till they had attacked the garrison, they was only keeping us for the pleasure of torturing us quietly arterward. The situation was plain enough; the question was, what were to be done? There was about sixty of the varmints around us sitting by their fires and looking as ef they didn't even know as we was there, but we knew as sharp eyes was watching us and that, afore we'd gone five yards, the hull lot would be on our track.

"Jack and me didn't say much to each other, for we knew how closely we was watched and didn't want 'em to think as we was planning our escape, so after a few words we sat down by one of the fires till it got time to lie down for the night; but we had both been a-thinking. We saw, when we lay down, that the Injuns lay pretty well around us, while two on 'em, with their rifles ready to hand, sat down by a fire close by and threw on some logs, as if they intended to watch all night.

"It was a goodish-size clearing as they'd chose for a camping-ground, and we should have had to run some distance afore we got to the shelter of the trees. The moon too was up, and it were well-nigh as light as day, and anxious as we was to git away, we agreed that there were no chance of sliding off, but that it'd be better to wait till next day.

"When we woke our guns was gone. We complained to the chief, who said coldly that his young men would carry the guns and give 'em back to us when we got to Detroit. It were no use saying more, for he might at any moment have ordered us to be bound, and it were better to keep the use of our legs as long as we could.

"For two days we stayed there, not seeing the shadow of a chance of gitting away. Several redskin runners come in and spoke to the chief, and we got more and more anxious to be off. We was still allowed to walk about, provided we didn't go near the edge of the clearing; whenever we went that way two Injuns, who kept guard by turns over us, shouted to us to go no furder.

"The third morning, after a runner had come in, the chief gave the word for a move and we set out. We saw they wasn't taking the direct line to Detroit, although still going in that direction, and after two hours' marching through the woods we got down on to the Detroit River. Here was