American fiction -- 19th century; Historical fiction; Indians of North America -- Fiction
It is said that the Indians have traditions which are communicated
only to a favored few, and which by them have been transmitted from
generation to generation. An enlightened and educated red man has quite
recently told us in person, that he had been made the repository of some
of these traditions, and that he had thus obtained enough of the history
of his race to be satisfied that they were not derived from the lost
tribes of Israel, though he declined communicating any more. It is so
natural to resort to secrecy in order to extend influence, that we can
have no difficulty In believing the existence of the practice; there
probably being no other reason why Free Masonry or Odd Fellowship should
have recourse to such an expedient, but to rule through the imagination
in preference to the judgment. Now Peter enjoyed all the advantages of
mystery. It was said that even his real name was unknown, that of Onoah
having been given in token of the many scalps he took, and that of
Wa-wa-nosh, which he also sometimes bore, having been bestowed on him
by adoption in consequence of an act of favor extended to him from an
Ojebway of some note, while that of Peter was clearly derived from the
whites. Some of his greatest admirers whispered that when the true name
of the “Tribeless” should get to be known, his origin, early career, and
all relating to him would at once become familiar to every red man.
At present, the Indians must rest content with what they saw and
understood. The wisdom of Wa-wa-nosh made itself felt in the councils;
his eloquence no speaker has equalled for ages; as for his vengeance on
the enemies of his race, that was to be estimated by the scalps he had
taken. More than this no Indian was to be permitted to know, until the
mission of this oracle and chief was completed.
Had one enlightened by the education of a civilized man been there, to
watch the movements and countenance of Peter as he scented the whiskey,
and looked in vain for the cause of the odor, and for a clew to the
mystery which so much perplexed the Pottawattamies, he would probably
have discovered some reason to distrust the sincerity of this remarkable
savage's doubts. If ever Peter was an actor, it was on that occasion.
He did not, in the least, fall into any of the errors of his companions;
but the scent a good deal confounded him at first. At length he came to
the natural conclusion, that this unusual odor was in some way connected
with the family he had left on the other shore; and from that moment his
mind was at ease.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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