Arthur D. Howden Smith

“ Tawannears, too, dashed a flux of blood from his nose and collapsed on the snow.
"Tamanoas is displeased," he muttered as I stooped beside him. "Otetiani was right! We die."
His bronze face was ghastly pale, and for a moment I feared he would faint; but he rallied when I shook him by the arm. I was worried more for him than for Peter, in which respect I erred.
"'Tis not Tamanoas," I urged. "At least, brother, 'tis no more than ordinary mountain sickness I have often heard men tell of. Up here, above the world, the air is lighter than we are wont to breathe. We have gone too fast. ”

“ The distorted bodies of a man and a horse lay against the opposite bank of the depression—'twas they, doubtless, had stampeded our mounts. Apparently they had been hurled there by some caprice of the wind. I had a vision, too, of the strained faces of my comrades—Peter's little eyes very wide, Kachina's hair all tumbled about her face, Tawannears grimly watchful. Then darkness again, and the steady, monotonous roar of the wind, no thing of puffs or gusts, but a stupendous, overpowering blast of sheer strength that no living being could stand up to. ”

“ Is Corlaer, whose fat belly is dreaded by every squaw from Jagara to the mouth of the Mohawk, fearful lest he wet his moccasins? You have dared all manner of perils over hundreds of leagues, and now you wince at a few leagues of water! Pluck up your courage! I am the wreck of what was a man, yet I am not afraid. Will you let me daunt you?"
"Black Robe does not know what he says," replied Tawannears stiffly. "A silly little bird has whistled idle thoughts in his ear. He knows well that Tawannears does not fear even the Master of Evil, Hanegoategeh, whom Black Robe serves." ”

“ But we did not feel the want of it, for the heat was terrible on the unshaded savannahs. All day the sun had been beating down upon the earth, and all day the earth had been drinking in the heat—to exude it through the night like a dry sweat.
Peter and I came to envy Tawannears his nakedness, and in the morning we stripped off our leathern shirts and rolled them in bundles to sling from the thongs of our food-pouches, suffering the Seneca to coat us with bear's-grease which he carried in a horn-box, a precaution which diminished notably the ardency of the sun's rays. ”

“ They will shoot you down in the water, and those who reach the land will be fresh meat for the axes of our women."
"You lie," said the Tonkawa. "You are not so many as we."
"There are thirty warriors behind those trees," asserted Tawannears. "How many of you would die before you had their scalps—or before they fled?"
"We need horses," reiterated the chief. "We are not afraid to die. We are warriors. We are Tonkawa."
A murmur of savage approval, like the growl of a wolf-pack, answered him from his men. ”

“ I held my peace until we were traversing a level stretch of plain just short of sunset, and a torrent of low-running gray shapes erupted over the skyline.
That indescribable, heart-shaking howl of the hungry wolf echoed across the snow.
"Those beasts are tracking us," I exclaimed.
"They are wolves, brother," said Tawannears briefly.
"And they appear to know that we are eatable," I retorted.
"They will do us no hurt," he answered with a trace of impatience. "There is abundant game for them to pull down on every side." ”

“ Then, a mile nearer earth's level, stood the timber-line; first, straggling dwarf growths, bent and gnarled and twisted by the winds; behind these the massive bulwark of the primeval forest, stout cedars and cumbrous firs, the least of them fit for main-mast to a King's ship, a green frame for the many-colored miracle of the flower-fields and the white splendor above.
"Do you think to climb higher, brother?" I questioned Tawannears, standing with arms folded, his eyes fixed upon the summit that seemed so near in that radiant atmosphere. ”

“ Tawannears walked up to the priest.
"We go," he said quietly. "If we die, remember that you urged us forth."
One of those rare reflections of a personality long submerged shone in the Jesuit's face. He dropped his hand upon the Seneca's bare shoulder.
"There is naught to fear," he said gently. "God watches over us on the water as on the land. If He has ordained for you to die, you will die. The good warrior thinks not upon death, but upon his mission." ”

“ Tawannears' medicine is strong. All who oppose him shall perish. But Gahano is safe. Surely, Hawenneyu has us in His keeping that he should visit such destruction upon our enemies! He will send the Honochenokeh to guard us. Tharon the Sky-holder will let the clouds fall upon those who stand in our way. Gaoh will blow the winds against them. Tawannears' orenda will triumph over all! ”

“ The moon shone on the snow-flecked, dark-green boughs of evergreens, but for the most part it was little better than dried-up bushes and dwarf growths. Yet such as it was it meant shelter and warmth again—if we could shake off that stealthy procession of ghostly figures behind us. They had quickened their pace as they sensed our approach to the rock. The howls became frankly savage and lustful. Close at hand I heard the snapping of frantic jaws.
"Don't run," urged Tawannears' voice in my ear. "The man on snowshoes is at a disadvantage, brother. We have time." ”

“ There arrived a day when the river looped north, and we abandoned it for the third time, squaring our backs to the westering sun and entrusting ourselves to the open plains. The grass here was still short of its midsummer luxuriance. Cover was negligible, and the land rolled evenly in gigantic swells. We were climbing one of these, weary and anxious to reach a water-supply, as a war-party rode over the crest, fifty painted warriors in breech-clouts and moccasins, long hair stuck with feathers, white shields and lance-points glistening, quivers bristling with arrows. ”

“ But we watched him enthralled, the while the shadows blackened on the mountain's lower flanks and a pink glow flooded the peak around us, shooting a miniature rainbow through the steam-clouds. Tawannears tossed out his arms in one final appeal, proudly, as though he had a right to ask, then turned, with a light of exultation in his eyes, and walked back to us.
"I think Hawenneyu opened His ears to me," he said simply. "My heart that was sad commenced to sing bravely. It grows strong. All fear has left me." ”

“ Love and hate, the lure of beauty, hunger for power, these were the factors here as elsewhere. Suppose we had gone north, instead of south, to pass the Salt Lake, suppose we had not ventured into these mountains! What would have happened then to the fortunes of Wiki, of Kachina, of Kokyan and Angwusi and the people of Homolobi—ay, and of Tawannears, Peter and myself. Fifteen hundred lives would have ended differently—I say nothing of the Awataba, who perished for causes beyond their comprehension.
So slender is the thread of destiny which weaves our lives! ”

“ An instant Tawannears held the flaming club of resinous pine-wood. Then he sounded the war-whoop of the Iroquois that is dreaded by white man and red from the Great Lakes to the Ohio, and sprang forward to meet the Priest of Yoki. They came together beside the tank of snakes, but Tawannears refused to close, backing away in such fashion that the priest was poised on the very verge of the tank, from which arose an evil tumult of hissing as the snakes responded to the confusion above them. ”

“ The next they had showed us their sterns, turned westward, and were galloping away with a deafening roar of hoofs. It was as if the whole world was in motion. The dust clouds became so dense as to hide all movement. We stood now on the verge of the prairie. From our feet a brown desert stretched in the wake of the fugitive herd, a desert of pulverized earth in which there was not a single growing thing. ”

“ Peter gave me a scornful look, and Tawannears laughed.
"Beyond the Father of Waters, brother," said the Seneca, "you will see the buffalo in such myriads as the wild pigeons that flew over the Ohio. The thundering of their hoofs will shake the ground. They will cover the prairie for two days' fast marching."
Peter plucked a blade of grass and tossed it in the air. There was very little wind but what there was wafted it over our heads.
"Goodt!" he grunted. "Dey are upwindt."
"Will Corlaer stalk the buffalo without assistance?" inquired Tawannears with his customary courtesy. ”

“ Corlaer rose.
"This is Corlaer, my white brother. He is a big man, oh, Hawenneyu, and he has a big belly. But if his strength is great, he can subdue his hunger. He is a good friend and a terrible enemy."
Tawannears rose.
"This is Tawannears, born of the Clan of the Wolf, Warden of the Door. He is the son of my sister. In him flows all that is left of my blood. He goes to fill an empty place in his heart. If it be wise, oh, Hawenneyu, grant him what he seeks. ”

“ Chatanskah often told Tawannears of them when I first dwelt with Corlaer in his teepee years ago. They are the scourge of the plains. They have no home, but go wherever they please, hunting and killing. Their hands are raised against all other people's. They have no allies, no brothers. They make no treaties. They never receive ambassadors. They are ravaging one year in the Spanish countries in the South, or matching lances with the Apache; and the year after they strike the Dakota or the Cheyenne. They are like the wolf-pack. ”

“ Will you desert the Lost Soul who has been true to him in death, who returns with him from the land beyond the sunset, she who has traversed the Halls of Haniskaonogeh, the Dwelling-place of Evil, she who has passed with us through the lodge of Gaoh, lord of the winds, she who has defied Hanegoategeh?
"Oh, Tharon the Sky-holder, Tawannears calls upon you to uphold him! But if death must come, then, oh, Hawenneyu, let Tawannears and his Lost Soul die together! Let the white brothers go with us to the Halls of the Honochenokeh! Let us take with us the spirits of many warriors! ”

“ Tawannears ceased paddling for an instant and raised his right arm, palm out, in the signal for peace. A French officer, in laced coat and cocked hat, in one of the large canoes answered him in kind, and the Indians who occupied the two small canoes sheered off as soon as they descried the wolf's head on his chest. No ordinary wood-ranging savages cared to encounter a chief of the Long House in peace time, even with the backing of French troops. They knew their betters, had learned to know them through many a bloody foray. ”

“ Weapons we must have to dare traverse this tremendous sweep of open country, roamed by the most predacious Indians on the continent.
I whistled up the spotted stallion and one of his mares, and Tawannears and I mounted and rose forth from the trees, making a great play as we came into the open on the river bank of handing over our lances and other dummy weapons to Peter, who straightway marched back into the wood. We also pretended to shout orders to different points along the bank, and the Dutchman and Kachina whooped the answers to us or responded with whistle-signals. ”

“ The bear seemed to throw its weight forward with desperate energy and Peter reeled back, exposing his throat so that the bear bent its head and snapped for the throat. But Peter twisted violently and the savage teeth met on his collar-bone. In its preoccupation with this new hold the beast must have relaxed its grip upon him, for in that very moment he slipped his knife home through a gash in its ribs and reached its heart. ”