Ann S. Stephens

“ Do not think to detain me—the Great Spirit would send down a chariot of fire from yonder cloud and bear me from your sight, did I not execute my wishes.”
“Let Mahaska decide!” exclaimed numberless voices; but the chiefs about the council-fire were silent, scarcely knowing how to act in this strange turn of affairs.
“Mahaska will not wait,” she cried, in a strong voice; “the chiefs hear the voice of the people; let them give up the lying dog or Mahaska leaves them forever. Behold the black cloud—how it spreads and deepens—coming nearer and nearer to snatch Mahaska from her tribe. ”

“ Mahaska had been in no haste to know the name of the chief who had gained her lasting hate by fulfilling her behest. Never a warrior brought home a trophy from the war-path so dangerous and full of retribution to himself as would be Shewashiet’s scalp; never a young brave snatched a token from maiden’s hand so full of evil and death. The venom of the rattlesnake would not be more fatal than the doom it portended, for Mahaska was resolved to have no partner in her greatness. ”

“ Let the chief beware; he is either with or against the queen in this thing; let him think well; so surely as he tries to thwart her, he shall meet the doom of the Fox!”
She poured out her threats fearlessly; all other arguments had failed; fear of her anger might check him; at all events, in her insane passion she must speak.
“The prophet warned Mahaska; the serpent’s nest shall be crushed! Gaston De Laguy!” she called again, unconsciously employing the language of her youth. “Beware! Better have trusted to the mercy of a panther than have crossed the sea again. ”

“ Gi-en-gwa-tah has kept the queen from doing a great wrong and bringing much harm upon her people!”
“Coward!” shrieked Mahaska. “Dog! you shall die with all the tortures reserved for her! Secure him—bind him, hand and foot, and drag the traitor before his chiefs.” Her guard sprung forward to obey her order, but the chief lifted his musket and called out:
“Gi-en-gwa-tah is your chief. The first brave who touches him, dies. He will go before his people—they shall judge him—not you, who are slaves of this woman.” ”

“ They paused neither for rest nor food till they came in sight of Senaca lake—Mahaska was so eager for revenge that she could hardly breathe till the moment arrived. Once only did the chief condescend to address argument or rebuke for the baseness and enormity of her conduct. She was riding near him for the moment, urging on the band to renewed exertions, when he turned toward her, saying:
“Mahaska has done a wicked thing; she is not worthy to be a queen among a brave people—Gi-en-gwa-tah can die—but his memory will be a curse that shall drag her down.” ”

“ She would have no further discussion, and anxious to gratify her the chief urged on the work with new zeal and haste, and every morning when Mahaska looked out upon it, she could see her new mansion assuming habitable shape. At length the palace, as she loved to call it, was completed—the wonder and admiration of the whole tribe, who had labored so faithfully in its construction.
It was now autumn; the forest wore the latest glory of its gorgeous coloring. Already the leaves lay strewn like a rich carpet about the paths of the wilderness ”

“ Mineto commands it. When a chief of the tribes disputes her power she will not stay.”
There was a universal exclamation of terror at her words, and they crowded about her as if to prevent the fulfillment of her threat.
“The maiden speaks with too much fire,” still persisted the Fox; “her words leap out like a mountain torrent; those who rule should talk slowly and weigh well their words.”
At that instant a black cloud swept up the horizon and hovered directly over their heads; Mahaska was not slow to notice and to work upon their superstitious fears by pointing it out as an omen. ”

“ The lightning of her eyes checked further expostulation.
“Let Mahaska decide,” he answered. “It shall be as she says.”
He turned from the subject, but his words rankled in her mind. She began to believe, judging of his nature by her own instincts, that he was jealous of her power, and could not bear the idea of her winning new glory on the war-path.
“He shall be swept aside like chaff,” she thought. “Gi-en-gwa-tah, beware! The clouds grow black—the earth resounds under your feet! ”

“ Mahaska made a quick gesture; any allusion to her old life always enraged her—the mention of a single name linked with the past shook her self-control to its center.
“Gi-en-gwa-tah’s mother babbles like a blind squaw,” she said, contemptuously; “is she growing a child again?” then she added, quickly; “let Gi-en-gwa-tah cease to trouble his mind. Such gifts as he has let him carry into the queen’s palace; when the time arrives all that she wishes will follow.” ”

“ Katharine Frontenac, when she threw aside her civilized life, became Mahaska, the Avenger. The avenger of what? She forced herself to say that her father, Count Frontenac, had neglected her mother, Chileli, whom he had chosen as his lawful wife, but whom he had killed by neglect. As Katharine Frontenac, she had dared to love, with a fierce, wild love, a French cavalier, but he had spurned her, and had wedded another—her rival sister, a child of Frontenac’s second wife, the beautiful Countess Adèle. ”

“ The race of Gi-en-gwa-tah shall become extinct—the children he hopes for, to be sunshine in his old age, shall rise up to curse him. Let him beware; he struggles against the Great Spirit; he will be uprooted like a pine tree smitten by the tempest.”
She looked a heathen prophetess inspired by her deity; her hands were outstretched, her form erect, her eyes blazing with passion. In spite of his firmness the chief was greatly troubled by her words.
“Mahaska’s heart has gone away from the chief,” he said, mournfully. ”

“ He bowed his head silently and she went on:
“The voice of the great prophet came after. When he speaks Mahaska knows that the occasion is very solemn. He was angry and spoke harshly.”
“Not angry with the queen?” interrupted Gi-en-gwa-tah.
“Never that” she replied; “he knows that Mahaska will always obey his commands; but the people are blind and deaf, and hard to persuade; he foresees trouble in the carrying out of his desires; but so surely as they are not fulfilled, ruin and woe will fall upon the Senecas and all the nations connected with them.” ”

“ Let them beware! Famine and pestilence shall weaken their strength; the white 12men shall take them as slaves; the glory of the Six Nations shall go out forever.”
They fairly trembled at her words, delivered with all the fire of an inspired prophetess. Angry murmurs rose around the chief who had incurred her anger; but with true savage obstinacy he would not yield.
“The Senecas have been a nation of warriors since the Great Spirit sent the red-men upon the earth,” said he; “it is not at the voice of a maiden that he will weaken their braves and destroy their women.” ”

“ His savage nature was on fire at the indignity with which he had been treated; he shook his pinioned hands, exclaiming:
“Mahaska is mad, and she will drive her people to destruction.”
“She will not betray them, as Gi-en-gwa-tah has done!” replied the woman.
“Gi-en-gwa-tah did that which was right; he does not need to be taught by a woman.”
“But he shall die by a woman’s hand!” she cried. “His death-shrieks will be sweet in his son’s ears!” ”

“ We accept the gift of the Great Spirit. Mahaska shall be our queen forever!”
She stepped proudly into the center of the ring, her hand still grasping the tomahawk.
“Chiefs,” she cried, “behold Mahaska is now indeed a queen. The lightning crowns her. The great Mineto shouted from the sky when she clove that traitor’s skull.”
They crowded about her with subdued acclamations and lowly reverence; and there she stood in the fading glories of the sunset, with that cruel smile upon her lips, that deadly light in her eyes, to receive the homage of her people ”

“ Mahaska tottered into a seat, her hands fell to her side, and her strong self-control began to exert itself.
“You bring me this news,” she exclaimed, at length, in a voice worn and hollow from her passion; “you say there is nothing to fear now? Blind fool, there is every thing to fear!”
“Is the young brave false, too?” he asked.
“False!” she gasped. “A fiend from among the pale-faces is not falser! He hates the very name of an Indian—the Senecas worst of all! Away with all treaties—broken from this hour! Mahaska swears it! Does the chief hear?” she cried, turning furiously toward him. ”

“ The brave enemy, endeavoring to collect their weakened force and make a last stand, saw by the moonlight a woman ride furiously into the camp followed by a mounted guard which dealt death as they went. She rode her horse desperately down upon them; her band followed, trampling the savages right and left, crushing life out under their horses’ hoofs, and, as she dealt fierce blows on each side, her clear woman’s voice joined in that appalling battle-cry with a force and shrillness that made itself heard above all the terrible sounds that filled the air. ”

“ Mahaska threw open the doors, and ushered them into her dwelling. All manner of gifts which could conduce to her comfort were soon crowded into the rooms: rich coverings; piles of cushions; silken draperies; costly sets of china and plate—every thing which it had been possible to bring that could be expected to afford gratification, was suddenly thrown from the midst of luxury and refinement into the wildness of savage life. Then St. Clair drew from his breast a casket and placed it in her hands. She raised the lid, and the precious stones it contained flashed in the moonlight. ”

“ Gi-en-gwa-tah had instructed the Indians to make chairs and sofas for the new dwelling—rough seats of hewn wood; but Mahaska speedily hid their uncouthness with the rich cushions the Englishmen had brought. She arranged Gi-en-gwa-tah’s furs with excellent taste, draped the windows, and before the day broke, had restored every thing to order, and wrought a transformation so complete in the mansion that it seemed like the work of magic. ”

“ The Fox heard the ominous sound and knew that his scheme of resistance had failed—the wily woman had forced on the struggle before he was prepared, and was crushing him under the suddenness of the blow; but to yield was not in his nature.
“The Fox was a great brave,” he said, “before Mahaska’s feet had learned to walk alone; her voice is only the voice of a woman; she has still many things to learn.” ”