The Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet in California, Sonora, and Western Texas

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  At that time, the Pawnee Picts, themselves an offset of the Shoshonesand Comanches, and speaking the same language--tribe residing upon thenorthern shores of the Red River, and who had always been at peace withtheir ancestors, had committed some depredations upon the northernterritory of the Comanches.

  The chiefs, as usual, waited several moons for reparation to be offeredby the offenders, but as none came, it was feared that the Picts hadbeen influenced by the American agents to forget their long friendship,and commence hostilities with them. It was, therefore, resolved that weshould enter the war path, and obtain by force that justice whichfriendship could no longer command.

  The road which we had to travel, to arrive at the town of the PawneePicts, was rough and uneven, running over hills and intersected by deepgullies. Bad as it was, and faint and tired as were our horses, in tendays we reached a small prairie, within six miles of the river, on theother side of which lay the principal village of the Pawnee Picts.

  The heavens now became suddenly overcast, and a thunder-storm soonrendered it impossible for even our best warriors to see their way. Ahalt was consequently ordered; and, not withstanding a tremendous rain,we slept soundly till morn, when a drove of horses, numbering somehundreds, was discovered some distance to our left. In all appearancethey were tame animals, and many thought they could see the Pawneewarriors riding them. Four of us immediately started to reconnoitre, andwe made our preparations for attack; as we gradually approached thereappeared to be no little commotion among the herd, which we now plainlyperceived to be horses without any riders.

  When we first noticed them, we discerned two or three white spots, whichGabriel and I mistook for flags; a nearer view convinced us that theywere young colts.

  We continued our route. The sun had scarcely risen when we arrived onthe shore of the river, which was lined with hundreds of canoes, eachcarrying green branches at their bows and white flags at their sterns.Shortly afterwards, several chiefs passed over to our side, and invitedall our principal chiefs to come over to the village and talk to thePawnee Picts, who wished to remain brothers with their friends--theComanches. This was consented to, and Gabriel, Roche, and I accompaniedthem. This village was admirably protected from attack on every side;and in front, the Red River, there clear and transparent, rolls its deepwaters. At the back of the village, stony and perpendicular mountainsrise to the height of two thousand feet, and their ascent is impossible,except by ladders and ropes, or where steps have been cut into the rock.

  The wigwams, one thousand in number, extend, for the space of fourmiles, upon a beautiful piece of rich alluvial soil in a very high stateof cultivation; the fields were well fenced and luxuriant with maize,pumpkins, melons, beans, and squashes. The space between the mountainsand the river, on each side of the village, was thickly planted withclose ranks of prickly pear, impassable to man or beast, so that theonly way in which the Pawnees could be attacked was in front, by forcinga passage across the river, which could not be effected without a greatloss of life, as the Pawnees are a brave people and well supplied withrifles, although in their prairie hunts they prefer to use their lancesand their arrows.

  When we entered the great council lodge, the great chief, Wetara Sharoj,received us with great urbanity, assigned to us places next to him, andgave the signal for the Pawnee elders to enter the lodge. I was verymuch astonished to see among them some white men, dressed in splendidmilitary uniforms; but the ceremonies having begun, and it being theIndian custom to assume indifference, whatever your feelings may be, Iremained where I was. Just at the moment that the pipe-bearer waslighting the calumet of peace, the venerable Pawnee chief advanced tothe middle of the lodge, and addressed the Comanches:--

  "My sight is old, for I have seen a hundred winters, and yet I canrecognize those who once were friends. I see among you Opishka Koaki(the White Raven), and the leader of a great people; Pemeh-Katey (theLong Carbine), and the wise Hah-nee (the Old Beaver). You are friends,and we should offer you at once the calumet of peace, but you have comeas foes; as long as you think you have cause to remain so, it would bemean and unworthy of the Pawnees to sue and beg for what perchance theymay obtain by their courage. Yet the Comanches and the Pawnees have beenfriends too long a time to fall upon each other as a starved wolf doesupon a wounded buffalo. A strong cause must excite them to fight againsteach other, and then, when it comes, it must be a war of extermination,for when a man breaks with an old friend, he becomes more bitter in hisvengeance than against an utter stranger. Let me hear what the braveComanches have to complain of, and any reparation, consistent with thedignity of a Pawnee chief, shall be made, sooner than risk a war betweenbrothers who have so long hunted together and fought together against acommon enemy. I have said."

  Opishka Koaki ordered me to light the Comanche calumet of peace, andadvancing to the place left vacant by the ancient chief, he answered:--

  "I have heard words of great wisdom; a Comanche always loves andrespects wisdom; I love and respect my father, Wetara Sharoj; I willtell him what are the complaints of our warriors, but before, as we havecome as foes, it is but just that we should be the first to offer thepipe of peace; take it, chief, for we must be friends; I will tell ourwrongs, and leave it to the justice of the great Pawnee to efface them,and repair the loss his young men have caused to a nation of friends."

  The pipe was accepted, and the "talk" went on. It appeared that a partyof one hundred Pawnee hunters had had their horses estampeded onenight, by some hostile Indians. For five days they forced their way onfoot, till entering the northern territory of the Comanches, they metwith a drove of horses and cattle. They would never have touched them,had it not been that, a short time afterwards, they met with anothervery numerous party of their inveterate enemies--the Kiowas, by whomthey were pressed so very hard, that they were obliged to return to theplace where the Comanche herds of horse were grazing, and to take them,to escape their foes. So far, all was right; it was nothing more thanwhat the Comanches would have clone themselves in the land of thePawnees; but what had angered the Comanche warriors was, that thehundred horses thus borrowed in necessity, had never been returned,although the party had arrived at the village two moons ago.

  When the Pawnees heard that we had no other causes for complaint, theyshowed, by their expressions of friendship, that the ties of longbrotherhood were not to be so easily broken; and indeed the Pawnees had,some time before, sent ten of their men with one hundred of their finesthorses, to compensate for those which they had taken and ratherill-treated, in their hurried escape from the Kiowas. But they had takena different road from that by which we had come, and consequently we hadmissed them. Of course, the council broke up, and the Indians, who hadremained on the other side of the river, were invited in the village topartake of the Pawnee hospitality.

  Gabriel and I soon accosted the strangely-dressed foreigners. In fact,we were seeking each other, and I learned that they had been a long timeamong the Pawnees, and would have passed over to the Comanches, in orderto confer with me on certain political matters, had it not been thatthey were aware of the great antipathy the chiefs of that tribeentertained against the inhabitants of the United States.

  The facts were as follows:--These people were emissaries of the Mormons,a new sect which had sprung up in the States, and which was rapidlyincreasing in numbers. This sect had been created by a certain JosephSmith. Round the standard of this bold and ambitious leader, swarms ofpeople crowded from every part, and had settled upon a vast extent ofground on the eastern shores of the Mississippi, and there established acivil, religious, and military power, as anomalous as it was dangerousto the United States. In order to accomplish his ulterior views, thismodern apostle wished to establish relations of peace and friendshipwith all the Indians in the great western territories, and had for thatpurpose sent messengers among the various tribes east of the RockyMountains. Having also learned, by the St. Louis trappers, thatstrangers, long established among the Shoshones o
f the Pacific Ocean,were now residing among the Comanches, Smith had ordered his emissariesamong the Pawnees to endeavour to meet us, and concert together as towhat measures could be taken so as to secure a general league, defensiveand offensive, against the Americans and the Texans, and which was toextend from the Mississippi to the western seas.

  Such a proposition of course could not be immediately answered. Itherefore obtained leave from the Comanches to take the two strangerswith us, and we all returned together. It would be useless to relate tothe reader that which passed between me and the emissaries of theMormons; let it suffice to say, that after a residence of three weeks inthe village, they were conducted back to the Pawnees. With the advice ofGabriel, I determined to go myself and confer with the principal Mormonleaders; resolving in my own mind that if our interview was notsatisfactory, I would continue on to Europe, and endeavour either toengage a company of merchants to enter into direct communication withthe Shoshones or to obtain the support of the English government, infurtherance of the objects I had in view for the advantage of the tribe.

  As a large portion of the Comanches were making preparations for theirannual migration to the east of Texas, Roche, Gabriel, and I joined thisparty, and having exchanged an affectionate farewell with the remainderof the tribe, and received many valuable presents, we started, takingthe direction of the Saline Lake, which forms the head-waters of thesouthern branch or fork of the river Brazos. There we met again with ourold friends the Wakoes, and learned that there was a party of sixty orseventy Yankees or Texans roaming about the upper forks of the Trinity,committing all sorts of depredations, and painting their bodies like theIndians, that their enormities might be laid to the account of thesavages. This may appear strange to the reader, but it has been acommon practice for some time. There have always been in the UnitedStates a numerous body of individuals, who, having by their crimes beencompelled to quit the settlements of the east, have sought shelter outof the reach of civilization. These individuals are all desperatecharacters, and, uniting themselves in small bands, come fearlesslyamong the savages, taking squaws, and living among them till asufficient period has elapsed to enable them to venture, under anassumed name and in a distant state, to return with impunity and enjoythe wealth acquired by plunder and assassination.

  This is the history of the major portion of the western pioneers, whosecourage and virtues have been so much celebrated by American writers. Asthey increased in numbers, these pioneers conceived a plan by which theyacquired great wealth. They united together, forming a society of landprivateers or buccaneers, and made incursions into the very heart of theFrench and Spanish settlements of the west, where, not being expected,they surprised the people and carried off great booty. When, however,these Spanish and French possessions were incorporated into the UnitedStates, they altered their system of plunder; and under the name ofBorder's Buggles, they infested the states of the Mississippi andTennessee, where they obtained such a dreaded reputation that thegovernment sent out many expeditions against them, which, however, wereuseless, as all the principal magistrates of these states had contrivedeven themselves to be elected members of the fraternity. The increase ofpopulation broke up this system, and the "Buggles" were compelled toresort to other measures. Well acquainted with Indian manners, theywould dress and paint themselves as savages, and attack the caravans toMexico. The traders, in their reports, would attribute the deed to sometribe of Indians, probably, at the moment of the attack some five or sixhundred miles distant from the spot.

  This land pirating is now carried to a greater extent than ever. Bandsof fifty or sixty pioneers steal horses, cattle, and slaves from thewest of Arkansas and Louisiana, and sell them in Texas, where they havetheir agents; and then, under the disguise of Indian warriors, theyattack plantations in Texas, carrying away with them large herds ofhorses and cattle, they drive to Missouri, through the lonely mountainpasses of the Arkansas, or to the Attalapas and Opelousas districts ofWestern Louisiana, forcing their way through the lakes and swamps onboth shores of the river Sabine. The party mentioned by the Wakoes wasone of this last description.

  We left our friends, and, after a journey of three days, we crossed theBrazos, close to a rich copper mine, which has for ages been worked bythe Indians, who used, as they do now, this metal for the points oftheir arrows and lances. Another three days' journey brought us to oneof the forks of the Trinity, and there we met with two companies ofTexan rangers and spies, under the command of a certain Captain Hunt,who had been sent from the lower part of the river to protect thenorthern plantations. With him I found five gentlemen, who, tired ofresiding in Texas had taken the opportunity of this military escort toreturn to the Arkansas. As soon as they heard that I was going theremyself, they offered to join me, which I agreed to, as it was nowarranged that Gabriel and Roche should not accompany me further than tothe Red River[22].

  [Footnote 22: It may appear singular to the reader that the Comanches,being always at war with the Texans, should not have immediatelyattacked the party under the orders of Hunt. But we were merely ahunting-party; that is to say, our band was composed chiefly of younghunters, not yet warriors. On such occasions there is frequently, thoughnot always, an ancient warrior for every eight hunters, just to show tothem the crafts of Indian mode of hunting. These parties often bringwith them their squaws and children, and never fight but when obligedto do so.]

  The next morning I received a visit from Hunt and two or three inferiorofficers, to advise upon the following subject. An agricultural companyfrom Kentucky had obtained from the Texan government a grant of lands onthe upper forks of the Trinity. There twenty-five or thirty families hadsettled, and they had with them numerous cattle, horses, mules, anddonkeys of a very superior breed. On the very evening I met with theTexan rangers, the settlement had been visited by a party of ruffians,who stole everything, murdering sixty or seventy men, women andchildren, and firing all the cottages and log-houses of this rising andprosperous village. All the corpses were shockingly mangled and scalped,and as the assailants were painted in the Indian fashion, the fewinhabitants who had escaped and gained the Texan camp declared that themarauders were Comanches.

  This I denied stoutly, as did the Comanche party, and we all proceededwith the Texan force to Lewisburg, the site of the massacre. As soon asI viewed the bodies, lying here and there, I at once was positive thatthe deed had been committed by white men. The Comanche chief couldscarcely restrain his indignation; he rode close to Captain Hunt andsternly said to him--

  "Stoop, Pale-face of a Texan, and look with thy eyes open; be honest ifthou canst, and confess that thou knowest by thine own experience thatthis deed is that of white men. What Comanche ever scalped women andchildren? Stoop, I say, and behold--a shame on thy colour and race--arace of wolves, preying upon each other; a race of jaguars, killing thefemale after having forced her--stoop and see.

  "The bodies of the young women have been atrociously and cowardlyabused--seest thou? Thou well knowest the Indian is too noble and tooproud to level himself to the rank of a Texan or of a brute."

  Twenty of our Comanches started on the tracks, and in the eveningbrought three prisoners to the camp. They were desperate blackguards,well known to every one of the soldiers under Captain Hunt, who, inspite of their Indian disguise, identified them immediately. Huntrefused to punish them, or to make any further pursuit, under the pleathat he had received orders to act against Indian depredators, but notagainst white men.

  "If such is the case," interrupted the Comanche chief, "retireimmediately with thy men, even to-night, or the breeze of evening willrepeat thy words to my young men, who would give a lesson of justice tothe Texans. Away with thee, if thou valuest thy scalp: justice shall bedone by Indians; it is time they should take it into their own hands,when Pale-faces are afraid of each other."

  Captain Hunt was wise enough to retire without replying, and the nextmorning the Indians armed with cords and switches, gave a severewhipping to the brigands, for having assumed the
Comanche paint andwar-whoop. This first part of their punishment being over, their paintwas washed off, and the chief passed them over to us, who were, with theaddition I have mentioned, now eight white men. "They are too mean,"said the chief, "to receive a warrior's death; judge them according toyour laws; justice must be done."

  It was an awful responsibility; but we judged them according to the lawsof the United States and of Texas: they were condemned to be hanged, andat sunset they were executed. For all I know, their bodies may stillhang from the lower branches of the three large cotton-wood trees uponthe head waters of the Trinity River.