CHAPTER XXI.
THE COUNCIL OF THE RED BUFFALOES.
The night was dark; there was not a star in the heavens; at lengthenedintervals; however, the moon emerged from behind the clouds, andshed for a few minutes a trembling and uncertain light, which, whenit disappeared, rendered the darkness more dense; the wind whistledmournfully through the denuded trees, which clashed together with dullmoanings, mingling their sad harmony with the ill-omened roars of thewild beasts, which prowled starving about the forest. The entrance ofthe lodge in which the chiefs were assembled in council glistened inthe darkness like the mouth of the infernal regions. With the exceptionof the sachems, everybody was asleep in the village; the very dogs hadceased their sharp barking, and were lying by the half extinguishedfires, which, smouldering beneath the ashes, spread no light.
Sotavento, or the Stag, by whichever name the reader likes to callhim, had risen, and all the chiefs fixed on him eyes displaying theliveliest curiosity; in fact, as Running Water had remarked, themajordomo must have most important news to communicate to the chiefs ofhis nation, to have thus suddenly undertaken so long and dangerous aride.
"Sachems and braves of the invincible tribe of Red Buffalo," he said,"it is only when I am able to see you that the skin which covers myheart is suddenly removed, and the words which issues from my chest arereally inspired by the Wacondah. To obey the orders of the sages of mynation, I consented with regret to leave the callis of my fathers, andpretend to adopt the customs of the cowardly palefaces whose ruin wehave sworn. Very often, this burthen, too heavy for my weak shoulders,has nearly crushed me; very often I have felt my courage on the pointof abandoning me in this incessant struggle and the false existencewhich has become mine. But you ordered, sachems, and I was obliged tobow my head and obey; I had ever present before my mind the numberlessinsults and horrible sufferings which our tyrants had made us endure.This thought constantly burning in my heart like a sharp arrow, byreviving my hatred, gave me the necessary strength to accomplish myheavy task. I believe, fathers and sachems of my nation, that I havenever up to the present incurred reproaches from you on account oflukewarmness or negligence."
The chiefs bowed in evidence of their satisfaction, and Running Waterreplied--
"What does my son say? Why does he thus praise himself," he remarkedin a sonorous voice, "for having done his duty? Does he not know thatevery man was placed in this world by the Wacondah to fulfil an oftenrough and painful task? Happy those whose task is the most arduous!The Wacondah loves them and regards them with a favourable eye, andfor them he reserves after death the most productive territory in thehappy hunting grounds. Of what does my son complain? In devoting himto live among the palefaces, I made him the saviour of my people andthe avenger of their insults. All the braves, all the warriors of mytribe envy his lot; he alone complains like a cowardly Yori. He findsthe task which has been allotted to him too heavy; be it so, let himretire, let him give up the post of honour which the chiefs consentedto confide to him, for the sake of us; let him return to the desert,but he must shun the calli of his fathers; he will not find brothers,relatives, or friends in his country; all will reject him and compelhim to take refuge among the wild beasts that are less cruel andcowardly than he."
The majordomo listened to this severe reprimand with drooping head,but without daring to interrupt it. When the old chief ceased, he drewhimself up--
"My father," he replied in a humble voice, with an accent of thegreatest deference, "your words are severe; they fall upon my heartlike red-hot coals. I do not deserve these reproaches; the Wacondahis my witness that my thoughts have ever been with my tribe, and thatavenging the insults offered you has been the sole object for which Ihave striven. My abode among the palefaces has, perhaps, unconsciously,given my words a strange turn that has led you into error. Be notwroth with me, father, for I am worthy of your esteem, if not of yourpraise. If I complained it was because my heart suffers at being absentfrom you, and that I long for the moment when I shall be allowed tothrow far from me this borrowed garb, to resume the free, glorious,independent life of the Comanches, that noble nation, without an equalon the prairie, beloved by the Wacondah, respected by all the redskins,and feared by the ferocious palefaces, who have never succeeded inbowing them beneath the shameful yoke which they have imposed on allthe other Indians."
The old chief shook his head several times, while a smile ofundefinable meaning played round the corners of his thin lips.
"My son has learned much among the palefaces," he said; "his mind hasopened to thoughts strange to his countrymen; his horizon has expandedand his tongue is gilded. May the Wacondah grant that it has not becomeforked, and that his heart has remained firm. I believe his words, andam glad to think that he does not deceive the fathers of his tribe. Hecan forget any severity in my words; the friendship I bear him, andthe fear I have of seeing him break his word, could alone have made meutter them. Now, let my son explain to us, without further delay, themotive for his coming among us. The owl has already hooted twice, andwe must be in a position before sunrise to take those measures whichthe news he brings us will doubtless necessitate."
The majordomo bowed respectfully, and at once continued--
"Thanks, father, for the justice you do me; your hopes shall not bedeceived. Now, without further preface, this is my news, which I thinkwill be agreeable to you, as it will give you the means to seize one ofyour most obstinate foes. The man whom the Yoris call Count de Melgosais at this moment at the hacienda with an escort composed of but six_tamarindos_. Tomorrow at sunrise he will set out to return to hishouse; nothing will be easier than for you to seize him as he passesthrough the canyon, if your arrangements are properly made."
"Ah!" said the sachem, "That is really excellent news, and we will becareful to follow your advice, my son; but have you nothing else totell us?"
"Yes, this: the Yoris are preparing once again to dig up the hatchetagainst their masters, the Gachupinos. A great meeting of all the Yorichiefs has taken place at the Hacienda del Barrio, and war is resolved."
"Good," the chief answered; "perhaps, this time, the Wacondah willdeliver our enemies to us."
"I believe I hold the power of soon delivering them to you," the Stagsaid in a hollow voice.
"Speak, son of my best beloved _Ciuatl!_" the chief exclaimed with avivacity unusual in an Indian; "Your words fall on my heart like arefreshing dew; they rejoice me, and restore me the hope of vengeance."
"I cannot explain myself, father; my plan is one of those which onlythe man who has conceived them can carry out by keeping in his heartthe secret of the means he intends to employ, but also the object hepurposes to attain. Who knows whether the bird flying over our head maynot go and reveal our secrets to the enemy? To you, but to you alone,my father, I will reveal so much of my plans as I can; but the chiefsof my nation must place the most entire confidence in me, and let meact as I please; if not, it will be impossible for me to succeed. I saythat the chiefs of the nation must place full and entire confidence inme, because I require their aid in carrying out the plan I have formed.That is to say, I ask for the command of twenty of our most renownedwarriors, who will obey me solely, and that, perhaps, for a whole moon.I have spoken, let my fathers reflect and take those measures withwhich their wisdom inspires them."
After uttering these words, the majordomo sat down, folded his armson his chest, and fell into profound thought, remaining, apparently atleast, a complete stranger to what was said round him, although, afterthe request he had made of the council, he was personally interested inthe discussion which took place. Like all Indian debates the presentone was calm and grave, each orator speaking in his turn and developinghis ideas, without fearing the interruption so common and so offensiveamong ourselves. Nearly three hours were spent ere all had spoken, andopinions seemed agreed.
"These are the resolutions of the council," Running Water said as herose; "let my brothers open their ears, for a chief is about to speak."
All ey
es were immediately turned to the old Sachem; the Stag himselfseemed to wake up, for he raised his head and listened to the chief'swords with the deepest attention. Although the majordomo's face wasimpassive, and all his features retained the rigidity of Florentinebronze, a fearful storm was raging in his heart; for on what he wasabout to hear depended the success of a plan he had formed for a longtime as the realization of his dearest hopes.
"The chiefs and sachems assembled round the council fire in themedicine lodge, after hearing the important news brought by the Stag,one of their most renowned chiefs, and after thoroughly deliberatingon this news, have formed the following resolutions, which will beexecuted with the aid of the Wacondah, who alone is powerful, andwithout whose protection nothing is possible."
"The chiefs thank the Stag for the tried devotion he has not ceased toprove to the tribe in the dangerous post intrusted to him. In order totestify to the Stag the unbounded confidence which they have in hischaracter, they grant his request under the sole stipulation that hewill reveal to his father, Running Water, all he possibly can withoutinjuring the success of the expedition he is undertaking. The Stag willchoose twenty braves of his tribe, and assume their command, to leadthem wherever he thinks proper, no one having the right to make anyobservation to him. He will have over these braves all the prerogativesof the most renowned chiefs of the tribe; this command, whose durationis unlimited by the council, will only cease at the Stag's desire. Thesachems have thus decided, in order to give Running Water and his son aproof of their sincere friendship and the gratitude they feel for allthe services which these two chiefs have rendered them."
"Running Water and White Crow will place themselves at the head ofdetachments of warriors they consider numerous enough to seize theYori chief called Count de Melgosa, and so soon as that implacableenemy of our tribe is in their hands, they will lead him to our wintervillage, in order that the council of the nation may treat him as theythink proper for the general welfare. I have spoken: have I said well,powerful men?"
All the chiefs bowed, merely uttering one word, _Aschest_ (it is well),the formula which generally closes the councils of the sachems.
At this moment the darkness began to be dispelled, and though the sunhad not yet risen above the horizon, large bands of russet which tingedthe sky, and covered it with extreme rapidity, proved that day wouldsoon break. The Stag rose, bowed respectfully to the members of thecouncil, and left the lodge. Hastily crossing the village square, onwhich some squaws were already to be seen, he entered the calli of hisfather, Running Water, and let the frame of intertwined lianas, linedwith a buffalo hide, which served as a door, fall behind him. A fewmoments after and the Stag reappeared.
Assuredly, in this Indian, armed and painted for war, no one wouldhave recognized Sotavento, the majordomo, the man in whom Don Anibalde Saldibar placed such unbounded confidence, and on whose devotionhe thought he had such reasons to count. The Stag had entirely doffedhis European clothing, and put on the grand war dress of the Comanchechiefs. In his left hand he held a long, sharp pointed javelin, and hisgun in his right. He went up to the ark of the first man, a species ofenclosure of planks, of a conical shape, situated in the centre of thesquare, before which stood a sumach, whose faded leaves were alreadybeginning to fall.
After walking thrice round the sumach the chief stopped, bowed twiceto the rising sun, and balancing his javelin, while he raised his gunabove his head, he commenced a characteristic dance round the tree,accompanied by a song, of which he doubtless improvised the words,and whose slow and monotonous rhythm marked the measure of the dance.At the end of each strophe the Stag struck the tree with his javelinwithout stopping.
Several Indians had left their callis and assembled round the chief,who continued his song. In a moment an Indian started after him,dancing and singing behind him. After him came another and thenanother, so that, at the end of half an hour, twenty warriors weredancing behind the Stag, and repeating after him the words hecontinued to improvise. As each Indian faced the circle of dancers,a woman left the group of spectators, and went to fetch his weaponsfrom the calli. In the meanwhile the dance, which had begun to a slowand monotonous rhythm, had grown animated. The Indians, bathed inperspiration, twirled round the tree, to which they dealt repeatedblows, while uttering hoarse, inarticulate cries, and brandishingtheir weapons furiously. The squaws and children, collected round thebraves, mingled their cries and yells with theirs, and added by theirimprecations and disorderly gestures to the sinister horror of thisscene, to which was imparted all the savage majesty of the Indian wardance.
The tree, struck by the axes, sagaies, knives, and lances of theIndians, lost its branches, and was completely stripped of its bark,which was piled on the ground; but the ardour of the warriors, farfrom being checked, seemed, on the contrary, momentarily to increase.Suddenly the Stag gave a signal. All halted, as if by magic, and a deepsilence instantaneously succeeded the deafening concert performed byall these men who had reached a paroxysm of fury. The chief gazed withsatisfaction at the young, powerful, and haughty men who surrounded him.
"Will twenty warriors follow the Stag on the war trail?" he asked.
"Yes, they will follow him!" the redskins replied unanimously.
"Good; they are great braves! The Stag knows them. The warriors willput on their war moccasins, take their weapons, and choose their besthorses. When the sun is level with the topmost branches of the trees,the Stag will be at the foot of the ark of the first man, mounted andwaiting for his brothers. Now the Comanche squaws will proceed to cutdown the sumach; no trace of the enemies of the Red Buffaloes mustremain. The warriors kill their foes, but women torture them. I havespoken."
The warriors dispersed. The squaws, following the permission grantedthem, at once rushed yelling on the unhappy tree, the last fragments ofwhich disappeared within ten minutes beneath the blows of these savageMegaeras. The Stag returned to his father's lodge, where the lattersoon joined him. They had a confidential conversation together, whichlasted more than two hours, at the end of which Running Water retired,apparently much satisfied with the explanation his son had given him.At the hour appointed by the Stag to depart, all the warriors weredrawn up in front of the ark of the first man, impatient to set out andbegin their mysterious expedition.
The Queen of the Savannah: A Story of the Mexican War Page 26
