Shawnee people

“ And now came the struggle for life. Once within the village, and its doom would be fixed forever. At sight of the dark forms of the Shawnees struggling through the opening, a perfect fury took possession of the settlers. The good minister, Edwards, understood in an instant the cause of the increased tumult, and with a yell that might and would have done honor to a Shawnee chief, leaped from the block-house, and flew to the defence. His ready, powerful arm was needed, for the exultant savages were pressing almost irresistibly forward. ”

“ The Shawanoes for many ages continued to be masters of the continent, using the knowledge they had received from the Great Spirit in such a manner as to be pleasing to him, and to secure their own happiness. In a great length of time, however, they became corrupt, and the Master of Life told them that he would take away from them the knowledge which they possessed, and give it to the white people, to be restored, when by a return to good principles they would deserve it. ”

“ Ke-ne-ha-ha feared not mortal man, but now his foe was a fiend from the other world, and the stout-hearted Shawnee chief trembled when he thought of the terrible foe who struck so silently and yet so fearfully. ”

“ The tremor in Kyrsis' voice was stronger, now—a sort of undercurrent of strange excitement.
"Your 'other buying'—?"
"A few young slaves to ... to train for household use." The silver woman's fingers trembled, cold as ice, upon Shane's arm. "Come! Let us go now—quickly—"
She led Shane out, through other rooms, where other vendors hawked their wares, and other slaves stood shamed or sobbing, bared to the eager, weirdly-lusting eyes of the silver people. ”

“ All the pleasures, all the riches which the world can give are as nothing when weighed in the balance against the sincere love of one devoted heart.
The Shawnees, like other Indian tribes, were firm believers in evil spirits; and when it was thought that one had become possessed of a demon, did not hesitate to employ heroic measures to drive it out. To such superstitions may be ascribed
THE TRAGIC DEATH OF THE SON OF CHIEF LAY-LAW-SHE-KAW.
When the present site of the city of Topeka was the hunting-ground of the Shawnee [Pg 210] Indians there was a fierce war with the Pawnees. ”

“ A young and pretty white girl in the Shawnee village will not lack for admirers. Your foe will give her to some brawny red chief to be his slave. A helpless prisoner, the victim of the savages, she will pine away and die. Her death will be a terrible one, for she will die by inches. ”

“ He did not despair even now, though a prisoner in the midst of the great Shawnee tribe.
“How long will you give me to think over this proposal that you make me?” Boone asked. “You know a man can’t change his country and his color as easily as to pull off a coat and put on a hunting-shirt.”
The Indian thought for a moment over the question of the scout. Bound securely as he was; surrounded, too, by the Shawnee warriors, escape was impossible. There was little danger in delaying the sentence of the white-skin.
“Will until to-morrow suit my brother?” asked the chief. ”

“ Are you sartin, stranger, that the red devils are a-comin’ ag’in’ us?”
“If you don’t hear the Shawnee war-whoop inside of ten days you kin jist chaw one of my fingers off, an’ I don’t keer which you take,” replied Lark, with another grin.
“Then it will be fight, and no mistake.”
“You kin bet your moccasins on that, an’ you’ll lose ’em every time. The Shawnees have sworn to wipe out every white settlement along the Ohio. Thar’ll be nigh onto ten thousand Injuns in the field. They are hot arter blood. You’ll have to fight for your top-knots or lose ’em.” ”

“ Shane asked.
The other's dark eyes gleamed. "We are of Amara, Earthman—and before you die, you'll wish you'd never heard of us or our asteroid! Other races may let the slavers raid and not strike back. But we claim blood for blood—"
Shane said: "I am gar of the Chonyas, not a slaver. Ask Talu, the slave girl. She is of your people—"
"Who takes the word of a captive woman?" The Malya laughed thinly. "We Malyas have raided for slaves ourselves, in our day. A woman's heart goes with her man, not her race."
"Check with others, then—"
"We have checked already. The word is out: you raid with Reggar. ”

“ The long journey to the Shawnee town led through an untracked wilderness. The Delaware villages lay far to the north; the Wyandot to the west. No likelihood was there of falling in with a band of Indians hunting, because this region, stony, barren, and poorly watered, afforded sparse pasture for deer or bison. From the prisoner's point of view this enterprise of Ashbow's was reckless and vainglorious. Cunning as the chief was, he erred in one point, a great warrior's only weakness, love of show, of pride, of his achievement. In Indian nature this desire for fame was as strong as love of life. ”

“ It was well for him that he had regained his strength, and such was his natural courage that he felt rather gratified at the appearance of only a single individual. “Shawn-na-Middogue,” said the young fellow, “I come to make you a prisoner. Will you fight me fairly in the water?”
“I am a hunted outlaw—a tory,” replied Shawn, “and will fight you the best way I can. If we were on firm earth I would fight you on your own terms. If there is to be a fight between us, remember that you are fighting for the government reward, and I for my life.” ”

“ In Newfoundland they encountered the Beothukan family, consisting of but a single tribe. A portion of the Shawnee at some early period had separated from the main body of the tribe in central Tennessee and pushed their way down to the Savannah River in South Carolina, where, known as Savannahs, they carried on destructive wars with the surrounding tribes until about the beginning of the eighteenth century they were finally driven out and joined the Delaware in the north. ”

“ Swain looked forward to a peaceful Winter, sitting about the hearthfire with his chiefs, talking over old times and raids and fights and listening to Erik's recitation of sagas and wise sayings. He was a very restless, domineering man, fond of his will in all things, and he liked the sensation of being ruler of his own dominions, for friendly as he was at home in the Orkneys with Jarl Rognvald there had been times when it irked him to admit the suzerainty of another. Here in Man his word was law; people did what he bade them without question or suffered the consequences. ”

“ This Wingenund was a Shawnee chief who was known and respected by many of the whites for the sterling qualities he possessed. He was brave, honorable, and—what was almost a paradox in a Shawnee—was merciful. He had taken little part, in the frontier wars, although, in the battles with other Indian tribes, he was the bravest among the brave. He was a middle-aged man, of much intelligence, and often visited the different settlements. ”

“ Daniel Boone had been thinking rapidly. He understood Indian nature. The Shawnees were treating him kindly—they respected him as a great chief who had always met them fairly. He had killed a number of their warriors, but only when fighting man to man against odds. He trusted the word of Black Fish.
Burdened with prisoners got at a bargain, so to speak, the Shawnees might prefer to go home rather than attack Boonesborough. But if his men fought and killed, they likely enough would be cut to pieces; the Shawnees, blood maddened, would attack Boonesborough—and woe to the women and children! ”

“ The heads, bald and florid, of that obese elder generation turned in a community of curious interest, to gaze at Swain—the man who had nerved his fellows to withstand an economic pressure they had thought irresistible and was now hailed as comrade by their own young chief. ”

“ But I like Savannah. I find here a more vigorous spiritual life, a more free and unprejudiced looking at things and circumstances, in particular at the great question of slavery, than in Charleston, and I have here become acquainted with some excellent, true people—people who will look the question directly and fairly in the face; who, themselves slave holders from the more remote times, are yet labouring for the instruction of the slave, for emancipation and free colonisation. ”

“ Shane did not speak.
"A hundred years, Earthman? A thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?" Again she laughed—wildly, up and down the scale. And then, steady once more: "Shane, I first drew breath a million years ago! Our science has kept me as I am—young in body and mind and heart. But without new life—without the living slaves we buy—I would wither and die in months. This child,"—and she gestured to the limp, dead body of the Chonya girl—"what did she know of life? ”

“ When the Shawnees regained consciousness some time later, they found themselves powerless. Their feet and hands were tightly bound with the rawhide thongs from the packs, and they were gagged with heavy pieces of buckskin which had been cut from their shirts. Unable to move or speak, they glared defiantly into the faces of the triumphant Delawares who stooped over them and laughed gleefully. Then they seized their helpless captives and carried them some distance along the ridge.
"It is good," laughed Turning Eagle. "The mysterious—"
"Sh," Running Fox cautioned, "the Shawnees have ears." ”

“ Why do your people need slaves—?"
She shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, Shane, truly sorry. But those secrets are not mine to tell ... unless—"
"Unless what—?"
"Unless you are willing to travel with me ... to take the road Quos Reggar took." Again her hand was on his arm, her silvery body close to his. A note of tension crept into her voice. "Because we need slaves, Shane! You cannot know how desperately we need them! Nor is it hard. They do not suffer...."
For a moment the Earthman stood there with her, and her hand left his arm and came up to caress his cheek. ”

“ Shane chuckled. "We'll visit the woman," he said, "the silver woman, Kyrsis."
The girl's dark eyes went wide. "No! No, Sha Shane—!"
"Yes! Reggar's hemmed us in and tied us down. He thinks we're beaten. So now, we strike again, where it will sting and hurt the most. And where better than at his market, this Kyrsis?"
"Please, no—" The girl was pleading now.
"Yes!" the Earthman came back sharply. His voice took on a darkly brooding note, and his face set in rocky lines. "She is the key, Malyalara. She is the one who buys slaves in a universe where power is free. I'm going to ask her why." ”

“ Their features are peculiar; their nose has a Grecian cut not devoid of beauty; their hair is short to the neck and parted in the front; the men wear moustaches; the women are rather good looking, and notwithstanding the dark colour of their complexion their cheeks show signs of robust health. Some of the [282] most renowned of American chiefs are found among the Shawnees. The present actual population is 1,500.”
And now, having so long endured the trying climate of North America, let us turn to a warmer country—to one of the warmest and quaintest—to Abyssinia. ”

“ Here, if anywhere on the continent, men had been brave; here, if anywhere, men had dropped into deathless graves. He was greatly interested in the future, though the ringing notes of the past must have stirred his heart deeply; and I can see the lad with bended head listening to catch every word of a speaker who would talk of the present feeling of the dreaded Shawnees, who refused to acknowledge that the Six Nations had any right to sell to white men their fine hunting-grounds between the Ohio and the Tennessee. ”

“ This being repeated in the Shawnee [85] tongue to the elder warriors, was greeted with a chorus of approving grunts. And then Black Wolf asked:
“What does the white face say?”
“The Shawnee chief is a noble hunter and a warrior whose fame runs beyond the blue ridge,” said Daniel Boone. “And his words are as straight as the young birch by the waterside. It is true that the pale-face’s friends are far away, and that his lodge is many days across the hills; and for both of these his heart is sore. But he would not lose his life. Other friends he can make; other lodges he can build ”

“ Pelican moved down on the Ohio after this, and it was there I met him. There is always considerable interest, Shawn, in a stranger when he moves into a community, especially if there is some mystery about him. ”

“ Lillian’s aunt and uncle persuaded her to stay in Shawnee and go to school. She could help her aunt with the housekeeping, for her board, and be company for her. Her uncle, a locomotive engineer, was away a good deal of the time.
Lillian thought well of the idea. She rather liked Shawnee, once she got used to it, especially the riding. Soon she got to know an Indian girl, who rode with her and had plenty of ponies. A wonderful girl—she rode as if she were a part of the horse. There were Indians, of course, everywhere—“civilized Indians,” whatever we may mean by that ”

“ Vulgarity, it is said, sticks to a man like a limpet to a rock. Shawn knew the best way to rub it off would be by mixing with good society. Dress, he always understood, was the best passport he could bring for admission within the pale of gentility; accordingly, he boldly attempted to pass the boundary of plebeianism, by appearing one fine morning at the fair of Ballybreesthawn in a flaming red waistcoat, an elegant oarline22. ”

“ Shawn, however, remained behind in order to hold some private conversation with Barney Casey.
“Barney,” said he, “I wish to speak, to you about that villain Woodward.”
“I don't at all doubt,” replied this honest and manly peasant, “that he is a villain; but at the same time, Shawn, you must remember that I am not a tory, and that I will neither aid nor assist you in your designs of murdher upon him. I received betther principles from my father and the mother who bore me; and indeed I think the same thing may be said of yourself, Shawn. ”