American fiction -- 19th century; Historical fiction; Indians of North America -- Fiction
“No haben't got him any longer; wish had--Pottawattamie take him away,
and say he bury him. Well, let him hide him in a hole deep as white
man's well, can't hide Pigeonswing honor dere, too. Dat is safe as notch
cut on stick can make him!”
This notch on a stick was the Indian mode of gazetting a warrior; and a
certain number of these notches was pretty certain to procure for him a
sort of savage brevet, which answered his purpose quite as well as the
modern mode of brevetting at Washington answers our purpose. Neither
brings any pay, we believe, nor any command, except in such cases as
rarely occur, and then only to the advantage of government. There are
varieties in honor, as in any other human interest: so are there many
moral degrees in warfare. Thus, the very individual who admires the
occupation of Algiers, or that of Tahiti, or the attack on Canton,
together with the long train of Indian events which have dyed the
peninsulas of the East in the blood of their people, sees an alarming
enormity in the knocking down of the walls of Vera Cruz, though the
breach opened a direct road into San Juan de Ulloa. In the eyes of
the same profound moralists, the garitas of Mexico ought to have been
respected, as so many doors opening into the boudoirs of the beautiful
dames of that fine capital; it being a monstrous thing to fire a shot
into the streets of a town, no matter how many came out of them. We
are happy, therefore, to have it in our power to add these touches of
philosophy that came from Pigeonswing to those of the sages of the
old world, by way of completing a code of international morals on this
interesting subject, in which the student shall be at a loss to say
which he most admires--that which comes from the schools, or that which
comes direct from the wilderness.
“So best,” answered the bee-hunter. “I wish I could persuade you to
throw away that disgusting thing at your belt. Remember, Chippewa, you
are now among Christians, and ought to do as Christians wish.”
“What Christians DO, eh?” returned the Indian, with a sneer, “get drunk
like Whiskey Centre, dere? Cheat poor red man; den get down on knee and
look up at Manitou? DAT what Christian do, eh?”
“They who do such things are Christian but in name--you must think
better of such as are Christians in fact.”
“Ebberybody call himself Christian, tell you--all pale-face
Christian, dey say. Now, listen to Chippewa. Once talk long talk wit'
missionary--tell all about Christian--what Christian do--what Christian
say--how he eat, how he sleep, HOW he drink!--all good--wish Pigeonwing
Christian--den 'member so'ger at garrison--no eat, no sleep, no drink
Christian fashion--do ebbery t'ing so'ger fashion--swear, fight, cheat,
get drunk--wuss dan Injin--dat Christian, eh?”
“No, that is not acting like a Christian; and I fear very few of us who
call ourselves by that name, act as if we were Christians, in truth,”
said le Bourdon, conscious of the justice of the Chippewa's accusation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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