Hawk Eye

“ Just then a chunk of mud and dirt came flying through the air and struck Hawk-Eye on the head. Stones, sticks, and all sorts of missiles followed.
“Keep on running,” said Hawk-Eye.
They were terribly frightened, but they did as they were told. If they had looked up, they would have seen a terrifying sight. On the edge of the bluff there was a strange group of people. At least we must call them “people,” though they looked more like monkeys than like human beings. They were grinning horribly and dancing about and chattering to each other. Their bodies were covered with dark hair. ”

“ While debating as to what might be the best thing to do, he looked towards the cave and to his surprise saw Hawk Eye signing to him from behind a ledge of rock that screened him completely from the view of the enemy. [Pg 103]
Answering the sign to assure his friend that he had seen him, Raven Wing made a series of signs which were finally understood by Hawk Eye to mean that he was to come out and expose himself to the view of the Indians. ”

“ As Hawk Eye reloaded his gun, Raven Wing caught sight of an Indian stealing down towards the canoes. Lifting the gun to his shoulder, Raven Wing fired and the Chippeway fell face downward on the sand.
"Good!" grunted Hawk Eye. "The odds are now with us. However, Slow Dog's craftiness more than equals ours. If he sees he cannot get us, he will try to make off with our canoes."
"But if he ventures on the beach, he knows he will be shot," remarked Raven Wing.
"He will wait for darkness," said Hawk Eye.
"Darkness protects the rabbit as well as the fox," cried Raven Wing. ”

“ As the sun reached the middle of the sky, Hawk Eye stopped. Dropping his end of the leather thong, he said;
"We have not yet found the trail. Let us spread apart. I will follow a line running between the land of Snows and the Rising Sun. You go forward slantingly toward the Ever Summer Land. But neither of us may go far without again setting face toward the Rising Sun. By so doing, one of us may come upon the trail as we journey toward the upward bend of the river."
"We must keep within the sound of each other's voice," cautioned Raven Wing. ”

“ Hawk Eye would present it to our chief," explained the boy. As he and Raven Wing were about to turn away, Old Smoky Wolf appeared in the doorway of the lodge. He gravely thanked Hawk Eye on learning of the gift.
"You both shall come to the feast," he added kindly. The boys thanked him and as [Pg 19] they turned away, a smile spread over Old Smoky Wolf's wrinkled face.
"My tribe are not women. A brave is no stranger in my village. These boys will become great hunters. At the sound of their moccasins the beaver will lie down to be killed," grunted the old chief. ”

“ The eyesight of this tethered spy is so keen that he can descry his enemy the hawk at an incredible distance in the sky. Whenever one is approaching, though far out of range of the sharpest human eye, he begins to exhibit signs of alarm. As the hawk comes nearer he fidgets more and more, glancing nervously—or pointing, as they call it—in the direction of the foe. ”

“ Waupee, or the White Hawk, lived in a remote part of the forest, where animals abounded. Every day he returned from the chase with a large spoil, for he was one of the most skilful and lucky hunters of his tribe. His form was like the cedar; the fire of youth beamed from his eye; there was no forest too gloomy for him to penetrate, and no track made by bird or beast of any kind which he could not readily follow. ”

“ The odds are two to one in our favor." Hardly had he finished speaking when an arrow struck the ledge of rocks behind which they were crouching.
"Slow Dog is no mean marksman," said Raven Wing. "We must not be careless."
As Hawk Eye reloaded his gun, he noticed, in spite of the gathering gloom, blood stains upon the stock. For several moments he regarded them in silence. Then turned to Raven Wing.
"I think I have a plan that will work well," he said. "Come here, Ohitika," he cried, [Pg 109] squatting down on the floor of the cave. The faithful dog came fawning to his feet. ”

“ Hawk-Eye said nothing, but he picked up the wet skins, shook them, bound them with thongs, and tied them to the shoulders of the others. Then each took his own weapons and they were ready to start.
Two.
From the point where they had spent the night, a chain of hills ran back inland. They followed these hills to the north for some miles and then, still keeping to the hill-tops, turned toward the west. In the late afternoon, under Hawk-Eye’s skillful leadership, they came again to the place where they had crossed the isthmus that connected them with the mainland. ”

“ You are strong and tall for your years. You are a fine hunter; you know the river; your canoe is well made."
As she finished speaking, Black Eagle strode up.
"The hunters are well on their way," he said. "The last canoe is now out of sight."
"Raven Wing wishes to take his pelts to the trading post," announced Bending Willow.
Black Eagle turned to his stepson. "You wish to go?" he asked.
"Yes," replied the boy. "Hawk Eye will go with me. He has many fine skins, also." ”

“ As he finished, a low exclamation burst from Hawk Eye's lips. "Look!" he said. "Someone is stealing through the bushes!"
"The bodies of the two braves still lie upon the ground," said Raven Wing. "Perhaps [Pg 105] the brave we left for dead in the camp has recovered."
For some time the boys kept their gaze directed toward the canoes, but no second brave dared to venture toward them, although they lay only a few yards distant from the edge of the timber. Slow Dog and his companion were held at bay by the watchful eyes of the two boys. ”

“ I am strong. I can handle my father's gun with the best of the hunters. I am a boy no longer. Comes another snow and I shall be a warrior."
[Pg 28]
CHAPTER III LOADING THE CANOES
"You are my only son," sighed Light Between Clouds, gazing lovingly upon the stalwart form of Hawk Eye. "You are the main support of your sister and me. I am loath to give my consent. It is a long journey to the trading post at Mendota."
"Black Eagle, my stepfather, is willing that I should go," broke in Raven Wing.
"And what does Bending Willow say?" inquired Light Between Clouds. ”

“ Do you think my stock of pelts will bring me one?" [Pg 32]
"If you are clever at trading," answered Hawk Eye with a chuckle. "And if not," he added kindly, "you shall have some of mine to fill in."
When the last pack had been carefully loaded, Hawk Eye looked critically at his work. "You have displayed much skill," observed Black Eagle, who came up at that moment.
"I took pains to watch the hunters load their craft at sunup," said Hawk Eye.
"Safe carriage depends on good loading as well as skill with the paddles," said Black Eagle. ”

“ As a rule, the best hawks like the highest perches, where they can command, as from a watch-tower, the farthest view of the country over which they hope for a chance flight. A hawk which takes perch on low railings or on the ground is not usually much of a performer. Some of these are very fond of perching on fallow-fields, where it is almost impossible for an unpractised eye to distinguish their plumage against the colour of the ground. ”

“ Do all descents, therefore, even down an easy flight of steps, with as few jerks as possible. When riding or driving with a hawk on the fist, accommodate the whole left arm to the movement of the horse or the vehicle. A skilled falconer will hold his hand almost still while his whole body is being jogged about in a jolting dogcart or wobbling railway carriage. Just as you may sometimes see a hawk with her eye fixed steadily on some spot, and her head in the same place, like a fixed star, while her whole body is moved up or down by an independent action. ”

“ Hawk Eye war cautious. Yer see, he'd been having a fair gruelling, and he warn't so keen ter be hit harder. 'The white man is strong,' he says, when he gets to his feet, jest as ef we hadn't proved that already, 'but he can be beaten by craft together with force. And when he are beaten, there are his farms, his wives, and his children, all fer our taking.'
"Yer see," commented Bill, "Hawk Eye war an artful critter. He could see as he had let the other tribes into a hot business, and so he told 'em first of all of the things they would gain, not forgetting the scalps. ”

“ Rooks, starlings, and small birds are all fond of mobbing a strange hawk when they think they can do it with impunity, and swallows occasionally indulge in the same rather adventurous amusement. It is therefore often worth while to make a détour and investigate, whenever any bird seems to be engaged in eccentric and unusual movements. Of the thousand and one causes which may have given rise to such vagaries, only the most practised eye can determine which are likely to be connected with the appearance of the lost hawk, and which are not. ”

“ The hawkweed commonly seen in our fields was regarded by the Greeks as the emblem of quick-sightedness, believing that the hawk, a bird renowned for its bright eye and quick sight, sharpened its visual organs with the juice of this plant. Thus it became famed in early medical practice as a remedy for dimness of sight, and was employed to feed the hawks used in the old art of falconry.
In Scotland, a twig of the rowan tree or mountain ash is often sewed up in the cow’s tail, to protect the animal from witches and warlocks. ”

“ Then one candle may be first lighted at one end of a long room, when hawk and man are at the other. If all goes well, a second may be lighted, and then the man, keeping a sharp eye on his hawk, may walk slowly towards them into the fuller light. Thus by degrees, taking care not to proceed too fast, or ever alarm the pupil, she may be made tame enough to feed bareheaded even in the open air. ”

“ Rough and sudden movements must never be made in the near neighbourhood of an unhooded hawk. Nay, they must be very watchfully guarded against, or they are nearly sure to be involuntarily made. Has a gnat got into your eye, as you are walking about « 84 » with an unhooded hawk? Your natural impulse is to raise the right hand quickly to brush it away. ”

“ The head of a specially good hawk is seldom big or round, but wedge-shaped, narrowing from the back rapidly towards the base of the beak, and rather flat on the top than dome-shaped; and there is a prominent eyebrow, with a keen eye, very full and bright. The shoulders come very high up, and are square, as they would be called in a man. ”

“ How often, in far northern lands, has she from above the highest mountains come down like a thunderbolt upon the fast-flying ptarmigan or shifty rock-pigeon? Does she not know that it is this altitude which gives power and success? When she has begun killing grouse she will soon enter into the spirit of the thing. Every bird—and a hawk not least—knows that what has happened once or twice may happen again. She was thrown off; she saw no lure, no rook. ”

“ There is, it is true, in the flight of the latter little of the grandeur and dramatic excitement which so often attend the efforts of the former. No silent pause while the pointer stands and the hawk mounts steadily to her lofty pride of place above him. No spiral climbing of quarry and hawk into the distant blue sky. No lightning descent, which in a second or two brings down the hawk from hundreds of yards high to within a few feet of her trainer’s head. But there is plenty of excitement of a different and not less healthy kind. ”

“ He must be a good judge of the characters of animals, and of their moods and fancies, for there is as much difference in the dispositions of hawks as of human beings, and no two of them, except by a rare accident, can be treated successfully in exactly the same way. His sight and hearing must be good, for much depends upon his ability to keep a long flight in view, and to distinguish the sound of a hawk’s bell in a high wind, amidst the rustle of leaves and grass, the murmur of a stream, or the pattering of rain. ”

“ The flight of this elegant species of Hawk is singularly beautiful and protracted. It moves through the air with such ease and grace, that it is impossible for any individual, who takes the least pleasure in observing the manners of birds, not to be delighted by the sight of it whilst on wing. Gliding along in easy flappings, it rises in wide circles to an immense height, inclining in various ways its deeply forked tail, to assist the direction of its course, dives with the rapidity of lightning, and, suddenly checking itself, reascends, soars away, and is soon out of sight. ”

“ How is the man, half a mile behind where the hawks came down, to find and get to them in five minutes? If he catches sight of them at all, it will often be by mere good luck. More often than not his first intimation as to where the flight ended is to be gained by noticing from which direction the hawk came to her lure. For as soon as the hawk engaged in a flight goes out of sight, either in the sky or over a ridge, or by reason merely of the distance to which she has gone, the lure should be produced, and kept in evidence as long as the search is continued. ”

“ Perhaps they see him and are quiet for a little, but he sits motionless as the sphinx, and they soon get over their fear and resume their play or feeding. Then suddenly a dark mass swoops down and rises again. It is the hawk, with a small bird grasped in his strong talons, gasping out its last breath. ”

“ Some hawks, which ought to know better, from laziness or want of condition, will not remain on the wing, but go off, after a few turns in the air, to a tree or to the ground, and there sit waiting for the lure, or till the spirit moves them to stir. This is disheartening conduct, quite unworthy of a ladylike or gentlemanly hawk, and disgraceful in a falcon-gentle. ”