Western Scenes and Reminiscences: Together with Thrilling Legends and Traditions of the Red Men of the ForestSchoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
Western Scenes and Reminiscences: Together with Thrilling Legends and Traditions of the Red Men of the Forest
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Indian captivities; Indians of North America
On another occasion he undertook an enterprize alone. Being well
acquainted with the Iroquois country, he set out, about the time the
snow began to melt, taking the precaution to put the hinder part of his
snow-shoes forward to mislead the enemy, in case his track should be
discovered. As a further precaution, he avoided the plain forest paths,
keeping along the ridges and high stony grounds, where the snow was
melting, that his track might be often lost. When he came near to one of
the Villages of the Five Nations, he hid himself till night. He then
crept forth, and entered a lodge, where he found every soul asleep.
Having killed them all, he took their scalps, and went back to his
lurking place. The next day the people of the village searched in vain
for the perpetrator. At night he again sallied forth, and repeated the
act, on another lodge, with equal secrecy and success. Again the
villagers searched, but could find no traces of his footsteps. They
determined, however, to set a watch. Piskaret, anticipating this,
gathered up his scalps, and stole forth slyly, but found the inhabitants
of every lodge on the alert, save one, where the sentinel had fallen
asleep. This man he despatched and scalped, but alarmed the rest, who
rose in the pursuit. He was, however, under no great fears of being
overtaken. One of the causes of his great confidence in himself was
found in the fact that he was the swiftest runner known. He eluded them
often, sometimes, however, lingering to draw them on, and tire them out.
When he had played this trick, he hid himself. His pursuers, finding
they had let him escape, encamped, thinking themselves in safety, but
they had no sooner fallen asleep, than he stole forth from his lurking
place, and despatched every one of them. He added their scalps to his
bundle of trophies, and then returned.
Recitals of this kind flew from village to village, and gave him the
greatest reputation for courage, adroitness and fleetness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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