The Border Watch: A Story of the Great Chief's Last StandAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
General
The Border Watch: A Story of the Great Chief's Last Stand
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Juvenile fiction
This was a formidable force bent upon some great errand, and his
curiosity was intense. The instinct that had sent him upon the journey
through the woods was not wrong, and he did not mean to go away until he
knew for what purpose this army was gathered. He lay upon the ground in
the thickest shadow of the woods, and crept forward a little closer.
Then he saw that the camp contained at least five hundred warriors. As
nearly as he could make out they were mostly Shawnees, probably from the
most easterly villages, but there seemed to be a sprinkling of Delawares
and Miamis. White men, Tories, Canadians and English, fifty or sixty in
number were present also and a few of them were in red uniform.
All the Indians were in war paint, and they sat in great groups around
the fires feasting. Evidently the hunters had brought in plenty of game
and they were atoning for a fast. They ate prodigiously of buffalo,
deer, bear and wild turkey, throwing the bones behind them when they had
gnawed them clean. Meanwhile they sang in the Shawnee tongue a wild
chant:
To the South we, the great warriors, go
To the far, fair land of Kaintuckee;
We carry death for the Yengees,
Our hands are strong, our hearts are fierce;
None of the white face can escape us.
We cross the river and steal through the woods;
In the night's dark hour the tomahawk falls,
The burning houses send flames to the sky,
The scalps of the Yengees hang at our belts;
None of the white face can escape us.
Henry's heart began to pump heavily. Little specks danced before his
eyes. Here was a great war party, one that he had not foreseen, one that
was going to march against Kentucky. Evidently this enterprise was
distinct from that of Timmendiquas. In his eagerness to see, Henry crept
nearer and nearer to the utmost verge of the danger line, lying in a
clump of bushes where the warriors were passing, not twenty feet away.
Suddenly he started a little, as a new figure came into the light,
thrown into distinct relief by the blazing background of the fires.
He recognized at once the harelipped man, Bird, now in the uniform of a
Colonel in the King's army. His ugliness was in no whit redeemed by his
military attire. But Henry saw that deference was paid him by white men
and red men alike, and he had the walk and manner of one who commanded.
The youth was sorry now that they had not hunted down this man and slain
him. He felt instinctively that he would do great harm to those
struggling settlers south of the Ohio.
While Henry waited three loud shouts were heard, uttered at the far end
of the camp. Instantly the eating ceased, and all the warriors rose to
their feet. Then they moved with one accord toward the point from which
the shouts proceeded. Henry knew that someone of importance was coming,
and he crept along the edge of the forest to see.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account