Nez Perce

“ There were Indians and squaws to be seen, a number of them, and boys and girls of all sizes, and some of the squaws carried pappooses, but they all looked as if they had given up entirely and did not expect to live any longer. Even some of the largest men had an air of not caring much, really, whether they lived or not; but that was the only regular and dignified way for a [Pg 3] Nez Percé or any other Indian warrior to take a thing he can't help or is too lazy to fight with. ”

“ The fiery Cross is not carried very far by smug pastors who let the flame die out, but, brandished by knights-errant such as these Iroquois, it kindled the mountaineer Nez Percés, Flatheads, Cœur d'Alènes, and Pend d'Oreilles, and like a forest fire the Faith swept through the hills. Not satisfied, but craving for more light, the Nez Percés dispatched a couple of young warriors as their envoys on foot through countries held by hostile nations to visit the white men's lands, and beg the Big Father at Washington to send them Black-robes. ”

“ We had a great many horses, of which we gave them what they needed, and they gave us guns and tobacco in return. All the Nez Perces made friends with Lewis and Clark, and agreed to let them pass through their country, and never to make war on white men. This promise the Nez Perces have never broken. No white man can accuse them of bad faith and speak with a straight tongue. It has always been the pride of the Nez Perces that they were the friends of the white men."
Chief Joseph's father was also a chief, and called Joseph. ”

“ The Nez Perces remained long enough to bury their dead, but when General Howard joined Gibbon at this place, his Bannock scouts, ghoul-like, dug up the bodies, and in the presence of officers and men, scalped and mutilated them. The body of Looking-Glass, their ablest diplomat, who fell here, was abused in this manner, although the Nez Perces, being neither civilized nor the allies of civilization, neither took scalps nor mutilated. It is also their proud boast that they never made war on women and children while the war lasted. Joseph said "We would feel ashamed to do so cowardly an act." ”

“ At a halt the long end of the line is flung loosely on the ground, and the horse is trained to stand without other fastening.
The whole party were ferried across Snake River by the Indians in their canoes, the animals swimming. Proceeding down the left bank some distance as the trail to Walla Walla ran, it was found that the Nez Perces had wholly vacated that side of the river, and removed with their bands of horses, goods, and lodges, and especially their canoes, to the other side, in order to cut off intercourse with the hostile Indians. ”

“ But Douglas. Raby. [puts his hand to his sword.] You?—O spare my age's weakness! You do not know what 'tis to be a father; You do not know, or you would pity me, The thousand tender throbs, the nameless feelings, The dread to ask, and yet the wish to know, When we adore and fear; but wherefore fear? Does not the blood of Raby fill her veins? Dou. Percy;—know'st thou that name? Raby. How? What of Percy? Dou. He loves Elwina, and, my curses on him! He is belov'd again. Raby. I'm on the rack! Dou. Not the two Theban brothers bore each other Such deep, such deadly hate as I and Percy. Raby. ”

“ Be calm; Douglas this very moment left the castle, With seeming peace. Elw. Ah, then, indeed there's danger! Birtha, whene'er Suspicion feigns to sleep, 'Tis but to make its careless prey secure. Bir. Should Percy once again entreat to see thee, 'Twere best admit him; from thy lips alone He will submit to hear his final doom Of everlasting exile. Elw. Birtha, no; If honour would allow the wife of Douglas To meet his rival, yet I durst not do it. Percy! too much this rebel heart is thine: Too deeply should I feel each pang I gave; I cannot hate—but I will banish—thee. ”

“ Tears rolled fast down his cheeks as he spoke.
"But the Lord loves, and is always watching over you."
"Yes," replied Percy very gravely, "but He must see in me so much to displease and offend Him. Remember, Willy, that He is a just and a terrible God!"
"All of us do wrong often; but, Percy, I should think that few offended so seldom as you do."
"Ah! You do not know," replied the boy, rocking himself backwards and forwards us if in pain. "I have plenty of time to look at my own heart, as I lie day after day, and night after night, with nothing to amuse or to distract my attention. ”

“ For Percy had not men yestreen To dight my men and me!” “But I hae dreamed a dreary dream, Beyond the Isle of Skye; I saw a dead man win a fight, An’ I think that man was I.” He belted on his gude braid-sword, And to the field he ran; But he forgot his helmet good, That should have kept his brain. When Percy wi’ the Douglas met I wat he was fu’ fain! They swakked their swords till sair they swat, The blude ran down like rain. But Percy, with his gude braid-sword, That could sae sharply wound, Has stricken Douglas on the brow, Till he fell to the ground. ”

“ I coloured high in laughing confusion, and Ada said, coming to my relief, "Really, Percy, how sadly gauche and unpolished you are in your way of paying compliments: the idea of telling a young lady just come out, that she has grown very pretty; just the sort of thing you might have said to a little child, or a milkmaid. You might have conveyed the idea, which in itself is true and unexceptionable, in some delicate way in which it would have been acceptable. Grown pretty, indeed! You never had much manners, Percy, but the Lancers certainly have not improved you." ”

“ Perhaps, after all, Percy, too, had given up all hope. Long ago he had consecrated his life to the attainment of his own ideals; and there was a vein of fatalism in him; perhaps he had resigned himself to the inevitable, and his only desire now was to give up his life, as he had said, in the open, beneath God’s sky, to draw his last breath with the storm-clouds tossed through infinity above him, and the murmur of the wind in the trees to sing him to rest.
Crecy was gradually fading into the distance, wrapped in a mantle of damp and mist. ”

“ Percy thought I was Violet, whom he mistook for her sister. He addressed me in such endearing tones as Jenny, and remonstrated so gently about what he called the rashness of following him from the hotel, that I lost my temper. I snatched off the mask and poured out my wrath. Percy burst out laughing when he recognized me. He said--never mind what he said--but it was an insult, and my Italian blood boiled in my veins. I drew the stiletto and rushed on him. At that moment my hand was caught from behind, and I fell. It was that man Ireland, who was then at San Remo, and a great friend of Percy's. ”

“ By Jove, that's good, that is!" Percy chuckled immoderately. "If we go on, the shell goes off!"
"You're the type of man who ought to be in a home," remarked his senior officer dispassionately. "Get a saw as soon as you can, and cut through the board. And if the bally shell goes off and kills you, it'll serve you right. You're a disease, FitzPercy, that's what you are. A walking microbe; an example of atavism; a throw-back to the tail period." Still muttering, his company commander passed out of sight, leaving the triumphant Percy completely unabashed and glowing with righteous success. ”

“ If she laments him, he's my rival still, And not the grave can bury my resentment. Raby. The truly brave are still the truly gen'rous; Now, Douglas, is the time to prove thee both. If it be true that she did once love Percy, Thou hast no more to fear, since he is dead. Release young Harcourt, let him see Elwina, 'Twill serve a double purpose, 'twill at once Prove Percy's death, and thy unchang'd affection. Be gentle to my child, and win her heart By confidence and unreproaching love. ”

“ Now, Percy, you have certainly nothing to say against him, for he is an exceedingly nice, unaffected fellow."
"Holmeskirk," broke in Percy, "why, he is a mere boy!"
"He is an officer in the Guards, Percy. He is, I grant you, two years younger than your sapient self; still he is more than three years older than Agnes. Don't mind what he says, my dear: you have my free consent and approbation. I only wish it had been my magnificent self at whom he had deigned to throw his handkerchief."
"Nonsense, Ada. I do wish you would get out of the way of always talking such ridiculous nonsense;" ”

“ After he had left us and dodged into the darkness we discussed his heaven as it really must be. Ibsen and welsh rarebits, emotion and hairpins, scattered all about, we wagered. Red curtains on the windows and framed verses from the Rubaiyat, decorating the walls. We shuddered, and told one another that Percy had been always lost, for so it seemed to us—lost at the outset in the allurements of rainbow liqueurs; lost even more hopelessly, now, in the clutches of his frowsy priestess of purple emotion. ”

“ Their captors avoided towns where the authorities would probably at once have taken the prisoners out of their hands. No one would have recognized the two captives as the midshipmen of the Perseus; their clothes were in rags—torn to pieces by the thrusts of the sharp-pointed bamboos, to which they had daily been subjected—the bad food, the cramped position, and the misery which they suffered had worn both lads to skeletons; their hair was matted with filth, their faces begrimed with dirt. Percy was so weak that he felt he could not stand. ”

“ She looked so strange that Percy for an instant thought it was a seizure. Her face seemed to fall away in a kind of emotion, half cunning, half fear.
“Well, my child?”
“Father, I am a little afraid when I think of that man. He cannot harm me, can he? I am safe now? I am a Catholic—?”
“My child, of course you are safe. What is the matter? How can this man injure you?”
But the look of terror was still there, and Percy came a step nearer.
“You must not give way to fancies,” he said. “Just commit yourself to our Blessed Lord. This man can do you no harm.” ”

“ The soft, clear eyes, full of wonder and appeal, in Percy's pew, lifted up wide open toward the great black ones of Reba looking down from the pulpit. The dark ones, with a flash of excitement in them, never wavered.
"Dare? yes, indeed, I'd dare for both of us if there were anything to be afraid of. But there isn't, Percy. Why, nobody comes here; it's out of everybody's sight. We won't tell a soul; and as for asking leave, no one owns it, so there's no one to ask. And we can't hurt it." The pulpit spoke with authority and slight impatience. The pew replied gently but persistently. ”

“ Dou. Where, where, is she? My fond impatience brooks not her delay; Quick, let me find her, hush her anxious soul, And sooth her troubled spirit into peace. Enter Birtha. Bir. O horror, horror, horror! Dou. Ah! what mean'st thou? Bir. Elwina— Dou. Speak— Bir. Her grief wrought up to frenzy, She has, in her delirium, swallow'd poison! Raby. Frenzy and poison! Dou. Both a husband's gift; But thus I do her justice. As Douglas goes to stab himself, enter Elwina distracted,
her hair dishevelled, Percy's scarf in her hand. Elw. [goes up to Douglas.] What, blood again? We cannot kill him twice! ”

“ The wind had now increased to a tempest, and beat against the side of the great cliff with a sound like the sea breaking on an iron-bound shore. They could scarcely hear one another speak; and poor Julius’s whines were drowned in the great clamour.
“Do you mind my going first?” said Percy; “I know the path better than you.”
Jeffreys nodded, and they started. The first step they took on that ledge threatened for a moment to be their last. The wind, gathering fury every moment, beat Percy to his knees, and nearly sent Jeffreys staggering over the ledge.
“We shall have to crawl,” said Percy. ”

“ And have I 'scap'd the Saracen's fell sword Only to perish by Elwina's guilt? I would have bared my bosom to the foe, I would have died, had I but known you wish'd it. Elw. Percy, I lov'd thee most when most I wrong'd thee; Yes, by these tears I did. Per. Married! just Heaven! Married! to whom? Yet wherefore should I know? It cannot add fresh horrors to thy crime, Or my destruction. Elw. Oh! 'twill add to both. How shall I tell? Prepare for something dreadful. Hast thou not heard of—Douglas? Per. Why 'tis well! Thou awful Power, why waste thy wrath on me? Why arm omnipotence to crush a worm? ”

“ Raby. Percy is absent—They have never met. Dou. At what a feeble hold you grasp for succour! Will it content me that her person's pure? No, if her alien heart dotes on another, She is unchaste, were not that other Percy. Let vulgar spirits basely wait for proof, She loves another—'tis enough for Douglas. Raby. Be patient. Dou. Be a tame convenient husband, And meanly wait for circumstantial guilt? No—I am nice as the first Cæsar was, And start at bare suspicion. [going. Raby. [holding him.] Douglas, hear me; Thou hast nam'd a Roman husband ”

“ The girl nearly broke her heart when Percy left them. She grew thin and pale and large-eyed, as girls will when they are fretting and growing at the same time. Nea’s motherly heart was touched with compassion for her child. She wished, if possible, to suffer alone; if it were in her power she would prevent the faintest shadow touching that bright young life.
So she spoke to her in her calm, sensible way, for Nea was always gentle with her children, and Fern was very dear to her—she had her father’s eyes, and Maurice’s pure upright nature seemed transmitted to his young daughter. ”