XVII.
THE NARRATIVE OF LE BARBU:
THE BEARDED MAN OF CALOS.
Now when Barbu, the bearded man, who had been dwelling among the peopleof Calos, had been shorn of the long and matted hair and beard, whichhad made him much more fearful to the eye than any among the savagesthemselves,--and when our right worthy captain had commanded that weshould bathe and cleanse him, and had given him shirts of fine linenand clothes from his own wardrobe, so that he should once more appearlike a Christian man among his kindred,--albeit he seemed to be greatlydisquieted, and exceedingly awkward therein,--then did he conduct himinto the _corps de garde_, where our people were all bidden to assemble.There, being seated all, Barbu, the Spaniard, being entreated thereto byour right worthy captain, proceeded to unfold the full relation of thegrievous strait and peril by which he had fallen into the power of KingCalos, and of what happened to him thereafter. And it was curious to seehow that he, a Spaniard born, and not ill-educated in one of the goodlytowns of old Spain, in all gentle learning, should, in the space offifteen years sojourn among the savages, have so greatly suffered theloss of his native tongue. Slow was he of speech, and greatly minded topiece out with the Indian language the many words in which the memoryof his own had failed him. Well was it for our understanding of what hedelivered, that so many of us had been dwelling among the red-men atother times,--to speak nothing of Monsieur D'Erlach, Monsieur Ottigny,both lieutenants in the garrison, and Monsieur La Roche Ferriere, who,with another, by special commandment of our captain, had dwelt for amatter of several months among the people of King Olata Utina. By meansof the help brought by these, we were enabled to find the meaning ofthose words in which Barbu failed in his Spanish. So it was that wefollowed the fortunes of the bearded man, according to the narrative ashere set down.
* * * * *
Then, at the repeated entreaty of Monsieur Laudonniere, Barbu arose andspoke:
"First, Senor Captain, I have to declare how much I thank you for theprotection you have given me, the kindness which has clad me once morein Christian garments, and the cost and travail with which you haverecovered me from my bonds among the heathen. Albeit, that I feelstrangely in these new habits, and that my native tongue comes back tome slowly when I would speak from a full and overflowing heart, yet willI strive to make you sensible of all the facts in my sad history, and ofthe great gratitude which I feel for those by whose benevolence I mayfondly hope that my troubles are about to end. I know not now the day orseason when we left the port of Nombre de Dios, in an excellent ship,well filled with treasures of the mine, and a goodly company, on ourreturn to the land of our fathers beyond the sea. My own share in thewealth of this vessel was considerable, and I had other treasures in theperson of a dear brother, and a sister who accompanied us. Our sisterwas married to one who was with us also, and the united wealth of thethree, such was our fond expectations, would enable us to retire to ournative town of Burgos, and commend us to the favor of our people. But itwas written that we should not realize these blessed expectations, andthat I alone, of the four, should be again permitted to dwell among aChristian people. Yet I give not up the hope that I shall yet see mybrother, who was carried away among the Indians of the far west, when wewere scattered among the tribes, in the grand division of our captives.But this part of my story comes properly hereafter.
"We put to sea from the port of Nombre de Dios with very favoring winds;but these lasted us not long, ere they came out from all quarters ofthe heavens, and we ran before the storm under a rag of sail, withoutknowing in what course we sped. Thus, for three days, we were drivenbefore the baffling winds; and when the storm lulled, the clouds stillhung about us, and our pilot wot nothing of that part of the sea inwhich we went. Two days more followed, and still we were saddened by theclouds that kept evermore coming down from heaven, and brooding upon thedeep like great fogs that gather in the morn among the mountains. Thuswe sped, weary and desponding as we were, without any certainty as tothe course we kept, or the region of space or country round about us.Meanwhile, the seams of our vessel began to yawn, and great was thelabor which followed, to all hands, to keep her clear of water. Thiswe did not wholly; and it was in vain that our carpenter sought for,in order to stop, the leak. Thus, weary and sad, we continued stillsweeping forward slowly, looking anxiously, with many prayers, for thesun by day and the moon and stars by night. But the Blessed Virgin wasimplored in vain. We had offended. There was treasure on board thevessel, but it was stained with blood. You have not heard in yourhistories of the bloody Juan de Mores y Silva, who tortured the unhappyMexicans by fire, even in the caverns where they resided, seekingthe gold, which they gained not sufficiently soon, or in sufficientquantity, to satisfy his cruel lust for wealth. He was one of ourcompanions on this voyage, bound homewards with an immense subsidy iningots--huge chests of gold and silver--with which he aimed to swellinto grandeur with new titles, when he arrived in Spain. But the justProvidence willed it otherwise. He was, doubtless, the Jonah in ourvessel, who fought against the prayers for mercy and protection whichthe true believers addressed to the Holy Virgin in our behalf."
Here our captain, Laudonniere, interrupted Barbu, and said--
"Verily, Senor Spaniard, had thy prayer been addressed to God himself,the Father, through the intervention and the mediation of the BlessedSaviour, his Son, whose blood was shed for sinners, it might have betterprofited thy case. Thy prayers to the Virgin were an unseemly elevationof a mortal woman over the divinity of the Godhead. But I will notvex thee with disputation. Thou art a Christian, though it is after afashion which, to me seems scarcely more becoming than that of thesepoor savages of Calos, who yield faith, as thou tellest me, to thespells and enchantments of their bloody sovereign. But, proceed withthy story, which I shall be slow to break in upon again until thou artwell ended."
With the permission thus vouchsafed him, Barbu, the bearded man, thusresumed his discourse:
"We plead for the interposition of the Virgin, Monsieur le Capitaine,not as we deem her the source of power and of mercy, but as we hold itirreverent to rush even with our prayers to the feet of the awful Fatherhimself; and rejoice to believe that she who was specially chosen, asone who should bear the burden of the Saviour-child, was of a spiritproperly sanctified and pure for such purposes of interposition. But, asthou sayest, we will leave this matter. If we offend in our rites andoffices, it is because we err in judgment, and not that our hearts wishto afflict the feelings or the thoughts of those who see with other eyesthe truth. Besides, my long and outlandish abode among the red-men,might well excuse me many errors."
"And so, indeed, it might, Senor Spaniard," said Laudonniere graciously;then, as the latter remained silent, Barbu continued:
"Doubtless, Senor, as I said before, the bloody Juan de Mores y Silva,was the Jonah of our vessel, on whose account the Blessed Providenceturned a deaf ear to our prayers and entreaties. It was not decreed thathe should escape to rejoice in his ill-gotten treasure; and his fortuneswere so mixed up with ours, that the overthrow of one was necessarily atthe grievous loss and peril of us all. How many days we lay tossing onthe tumultuous waves, or swept to and fro, beaten and sore distressed bythe violent and changeful winds, I do not now remember, but it was invery sickness and hopelessness of heart, that we lay down at night asone lies down and submits to a power with which he feels himself whollypowerless to contend. Thus did we cast ourselves down--as the drearyshades of night came over us, with a deeper and drearier cloud thanever,--not seeking sleep, but seized upon by it, as it were, to save usfrom the suffering, akin to madness, which must haply follow upon ourfearful waking thoughts. While we slept, our vessel struck upon the lowflats of the Martyrs--those shoals which have laid bare the ribs of somany goodly and gold-laden ships of my countrymen, sucking down theirbrave hearts and all their treasures in the deep. We were lifted high bythe surges, and rested, beyond recovery, upon the shoals, from which theremorseless seas refused again to lift us
off. Our vessel lay upon oneside, and the greedy waves rushed into her hold. We were stunned ratherthan awakened by the shock. We strove not for safety or repair. How manyperished in the moment when the ship fell over I know not, but one ofthese was the husband of my sister. He was drowned in the first rush ofthe billows into the ship, though, as it was night, we knew it not. Mysister had thrown herself beside my brother, and was sleeping upon hisarm. She was the first to learn her misfortune, awaking, as she averred,to hear the faint cries of her lord for succor, though she knew notwhence the sounds arose. When our eyes opened upon the scene, strange tosay, the clouds had disappeared. The dark waves of the tempest had spedaway to other regions. A gentle breeze from the land had arisen, fullof sweet fragrance and a healing freshness, and, bright over head, inthe blessed heavens, blossomed fresh the eternal host of the stars. Oh!the life and soothing in that smile of God. But we were not strong forthe blessing, nor sufficiently grateful that life was still vouchsafedus. The day dawned upon us to increase our wretchedness. It left uswithout hope. Our food was ruined by the waves that filled the vessel,and though the land was spread before us in a lengthened stripe, bearingforests which were surely full of fragrance, we beheld not the meansby which we should gain its pleasant shores with safety. Our boats hadperished in the surf; one of them stove to pieces, and the other sweptaway. In our despondency and our sleep we had yielded our courage andour providence, and we lay now in the sight of heaven, amidst the equalrealm of sea and sky, with the land spreading lovelily before us, yetcould we do nothing for ourselves. We lay without food or drink all day,seeing nothing but the bare skies, the sea, and the shore, which onlymocked our eyes. My sister sorrowed and sickened in my arms. She criedfor water as one cries in the delirious agonies of fever. She woulddrink of the water of the deep, but this we denied her; and the day sunkagain, and with it her hope and strength. With the increase of the windsthat night, she grew delirious; and, when we knew not--and this wasstrange, for I cannot believe that I closed mine eyes that night--shedisappeared. Once, it seemed that I heard her voice, in a wild scream,calling me by name, and I started forward to feel that she was gone. Sheleft my arms while I lay insensible. It was not sleep. It was stupor. Myconsciousness was drowned in my great grief, and in the exhaustion ofall my strength for lack of food.
"My brother and myself alone survived of all our family. With theknowledge that our sister was really gone--swallowed up, doubtless, inthe remorseless deep, into which she had darted in her delirium--we cameto a full consciousness. Then, when it was only misery to know, we werepermitted to know all, and to feel the whole terrible truth pressingupon us, that we were alone in that dreary world of sea. Not alone ofour company; only of our people. Many there were who still kept in life,watchful but hopeless. We could see their dusky forms by the faint lightof the stars, crouching along the slanting plane of the vessel, uponwhich, by cord, and sail, and spar, we still contrived to maintainfoothold; and, anon, our company would lessen. The solemn silence ofall things, except the dash of the waves against us, rolling up withmurmurs, and breaking away in wrath, was interrupted only by a sullenplunge, ever and anon, into the engulphing deep, as the hope went oututterly in the heart of the victim, and he yielded to death, rather thanprolong the wretched endurance of a life so full of misery.
"Thus the night passed; not without other signs to cheer as well asstartle us. Through the darkness we could see lights in the direction ofthe shore, as if borne by human hands. With the dawn of day, our eyeswere turned eagerly in that direction. Nor did we look in vain. Theshore swarmed with human forms. A hundred canoes were already dartingalong the margin of the great deep, and evident were the preparationsof the people of this wild region, to visit our stranded vessel. In alittle time they came. Their canoes were some of them large enough tocarry forty warriors, though made from a single tree. They came to usin order of battle; a hundred boats, holding each from ten to fiftywarriors. These carried spear and shield, huge lances, and well-curvedbows, drawn with powerful sinews of the deer. Their arrows were longshafts of the feathery reed, such as flourish in all these forests. Thefeather from the eagle's wing gave it buoyancy, and the end of the shaftwas barbed with a keen flint, wrought by art to an edge such as our bestworkmen give to steel. Many were the chief men among these warriors, whoapproached us in full panoply of barbaric pomp. Turbans of white andcrimson-stained cotton, such as the Turk is shown to wear, though foldedin a still nobler fashion, were wrapped about their heads, over whichshook bunches of plumes taken from the paroquet, the crane, and theeagle. Robes of cotton, white, or crimson, or scarlet, colored withnative dies of the forest, clothed their loins, and fell flowing fromtheir shoulders; and, ever and anon, as they came, they shook a thousandgourds which they had made to rattle with little pebbles, which, withtheir huge drum, wrought of the mammoth gourd, and covered with rawdeer skin, made a clamor most astounding to our hapless ears. Thus theyhailed our vessel, making it appear as if they intended to have foughtus; but when they beheld how famishing we lay before them, with scarcelystrength and courage enough to plead for mercy--speaking only throughour dry and scalded eyes, and by clasping our hard and weary handstogether--then it seemed as if they at once understood and felt for us;and they drew nigh with their canoes, and lowered their weapons, anddarting with lithe sinews upon the sides of our leaning vessel, theyheld gourds of water to our lips, which cheered us while we swallowed,as with the sense of a fresh existence.
"Thus were we rescued from the yawning deep. The savages took us, with arough kindness, from the wreck. They carried us in their canoes to theshore; and several were the survivors, as well women as men. They gaveus food and nourishment, and when we were refreshed and strengthened,they separated us from our comrades, sharing us among our captors, eachaccording to his rank, his power, or his favor with his sovereign.Seventeen of our poor Christians were thus scattered among the tribesand over the territories of the king of Calos. Some were kept in hishousehold; but my hapless brother was not among them. He was given toa chief of the far tribes of the West, who made instant preparation todepart with him. When they would have borne us apart, with a swift boundand a common instinct, we buried ourselves in a mutual embrace. Thechiefs looked on with a laugh that made us shudder; while he to whommy brother was given, with a savage growl, thrust his hands into theflowing locks of my brother, and hurled him away to the grasp of thosewho stood in waiting for the captive. He struggled once more to embraceme, and long after I could hear his cry--'Brother, brother, shall we seeeach other never more!' They heeded not his cries or struggles, or mine.They threw him to the ground with violence, bound him hand and foot,with gyves of the forest, and placing him in one of their great canoes,they sped away with him along the shores, as they treaded to the mightyWest, where roll the great waters of the Mechachebe.
"Thus was I separated from my only surviving kinsman; and neither of uscould tell the fate which was in waiting for the other. Verily, then didI look to find the worst. I no longer had a hope. It is my shame, as aChristian, that, in that desolate moment, I ceased to have a fear. Inot only expected death, but I longed for it. I could have kissed thefriendly hand that had driven the heavy stone hatchet of the savage intomy brain. But, the Blessed Mother of God be praised, I thought not, inmy despair, to do violence to my own self. That sin was spared me amongmy many sins, in that hour of despondency and woe; and all my crimeconsisted in the criminal indifference which made me too little heedfulto preserve life. But this indifference lasted not long. I was thecaptive of the king of Calos himself. Nine others were kept by himincluding me, and among these was the cruel tyrant upon whose head laythe blood of so many of the wretched people of Mexico, Don Juan de Moresy Silva. He was the tyrant no longer. All his strength and courage haddeparted in his afflictions; and in the hour of our despair and terror,he was feebler than the meanest among us; feebler of soul than the girlwhose heart beats with the dread that she cannot name, fearfully, asthat of the little bird which you cover with your hand. We loathed himthe
worse for his miserable fear; and it made us all more resolute incourage to see one so cast down with his terrors, whom we had seen oflate so insolent in his triumphs.
"When the lots were determined, the king of Calos drew nigh to examineus more heedfully. He had not before regarded us with any consideration.Verily, he was a noble savage to the eye. His person was tall, like oneof the sons of Anak, and his carriage was that of a great warrior, borna prince, to whom it was natural equally to conquer and to rule. Richwere the garments of flowing cotton which he wore loosely, like a robe,mostly white, but with broad stains of crimson about the skirts andshoulders.
"A great baldrick hung suspended at his back, which bore a quiver, madeof the skin of the rattle-snake, filled with arrows, each shaft betterthan a cloth-yard's length. The macana which he carried in his grasp,was a mighty club of hard wood, close in grain, and weighty as stone,which, save at the grasp or handle, was studded with sharp blades offlint, which resembled it to the mighty blade of the sword-fish. Withthis weapon mine eyes have seen him smite down two powerful enemies ata single stroke. Great was his forehead and high, and his cheek bonesstood forth like knots upon his face, as if the cheeks were guarded by ashield. Black was his piercing eye, which grew red and fiery when he wasangered; and, at such seasons, it was easier for him to smite than tospeak. Unlike his people, he wore the natural growth of his hair, longand flowing straight adown his back, glossy with its original blackness,and with the oil of the bear, of which, like all his people, the lord ofCalos made plentiful use. This king might be full forty years of age.Yet looked he neither young nor old--neither so young that you might nothold him the gravest and best counsellor of wisdom in the land, nor soold, but that he might better and more ingeniously lead in battle thanany of his warriors. Certes, he was the most ready first to march whenthe invasion of the distant tribes had been resolved on; and, of atruth, never was statesman in the great courts of Europe--not thecounsellors of the great Carlos himself--so cool in speculation, so justin judgment, so heedful to consider all the advantages and all the risksof an enterprise, before the first step was set down in the adoptionof a policy. For seven years had I sufficient means, in the immediateservice of his household, to watch the courses of his thoughts andcharacter, and to know the virtues and the strength thereof. I saw himdevise among his chiefs, and inform them with his own devices. I haveseen him lead in battle, when all the plans were his own, and it was hisequal teaching and valiancy by which the field was won. Verily, I saythat this lord of Calos were a prince to mate with the best in Europe;and, but that we have in European warfare such engines of mischief ascome not within the use or knowledge of his race, it were difficult tocircumvent him in stratagem, or overcome his braves in battle. With anhundred shot--no less--and employing at the same time all the red-men asallies, who are hostile to this king of Calos--and they are many--andI doubt not Monsieur Laudonniere, but that you could penetrate hisdominions and make the conquest thereof. But of him could you make noconquest. He is a warrior of the proudest stomach, who would ratherperish than lose the victory; and who, most surely, would never survivethe overthrow of his dominion.
"Me, did this great king examine with more curious eyes than he bestowedupon the other captives. I know not for what reason, unless because ofthe superior size and strength which I possess, and the extreme lengthand thickness of my beard and hair, of which, as a Christian man, I havealways made too much account. All of us did he assign to labor; tothe gathering of wood, and work in the maize fields, with the women.By-and-by, there came a preference for me beyond the others. I wasbrought into the king's household, and barbed his arrows, and wroughtupon his great macanas, and strove, among the Indians, in hewing out hiscanoes from the cypress, first burning out the greater core with fire.But when harvest time came, a great festivity was held among thesavages. Bitter roots were gathered in the woods, and great vessels ofthe beverage which was made thereof, was placed within the council orround-house of the nation. Thither did the chiefs resort and drink; andever as they drank they danced, though the liquor wrought upon them like_aguardiente_ with the European, and moved them even as the most violentof emetic medicines. Still danced they, and still they danced for thespace of three whole days.--But the lord of Calos seemed not to mingleat this strange festival. He purposed rites still more strange--rites,which even now, I think upon with horror only. He had a dwelling tohimself in the deep woods, whither he retired the night before the daywhen the great feast of the nation was to begin. Here he waited all thenight, watching with reverence and patience the burning of a strangefire which had been wrought of many curious and fragrant herbs androots. Three of the ancient people, the priests or Iawas, as they stylethemselves, retired with him to build this fire, which, when it beganto burn, placing in store a sufficient supply of aromatic fuel that hemight feed it still, they left him, with strange exorcising, to himself.And there he kept watch throughout the night. But early with the nextmorning he came forth, and he sprinkled the ashes of the fire upon themaize field, and he cried thrice, with a loud voice, of Yo-he-wah,which, I believe to mean the sacred name as known among the red-men.With each cry, as our poor Spaniards, myself among them, were gatheringthe green ears from the maize stalks, the priests who followed theking of Calos, seized bodily upon three of our brethren, taking us bysurprise, and putting us all in a quaking fear. These three were allbrought before the lord of Calos, who, not looking upon them as they laybound at his feet, threw yet another vessel of sacred ashes into theair, and as these three Spaniards lay separate, with their faces lookingup, I beheld the ashes sink immediately upon the breast of him whom Ihave already named to you--the Jonas by whom our vessel was doomed towreck--the cruel Don Juan de Mores y Silva. Now, though the king surelylooked not as he threw the ashes into the air, yet did it descend uponthe breast of this said Spaniard, as certainly as if the eye and armof this lord had been upon this particular person at the moment whenhe threw. Verily, though I know not well how it should be--beingcounselled by Holy Church against such belief--yet, verily, had thislord of Calos certain powers which did seem to justify the saying amonghis people, that he was a master of magic and of arts superior to thoseof common men.
"Now, when the Iawas, or priests, beheld where the ashes fell, theyseized incontinently upon the Spaniard aforesaid. They bore him awayfrom us, wondering and fearing all the while. But those who remainedloosed the other two who had been bound, and they were set free with therest, to pursue their labors in the corn-field. But we were not let toknow the awful fate which befel the Spaniard who was taken. Verily, hesaw his danger in the moment when the ashes lighted on his breast. Hisface was whiter than the blossom of the dogwood when it first opens tothe spring. His eye glared, and his lip quivered like a leaf in thegusts of March, though nothing he spake at anything they did to him. Butwhen they bore him away from our eyes, then a terrible fear and agonycaused him to cry aloud--'Oh! my countrymen, will you not save me fromthe bloody savage!' I cannot soon forget that cry, which was clearlythat of a person who beholds his doom. But of what avail? We had not thepeople, nor the strength, nor the weapons! A thousand savages dancedwildly around the council-house, and the fields were full of these whocame to drink and dance. Besides, we thought not of any danger but ourown. We knew not how soon the fate was to befal us; for had it notseized upon Don Juan without a warning or a sign.
"They bore him to the secret tabernacle in the woods, where the lord ofCalos watched alone. We saw not then, but afterwards we knew, what hadbeen his fate. There they laid him upon a great mound of earth, withthe sacred fire burning at his head in a large vessel of baked clay,formed with a nice art by the savages, and painted with the mysticfigure of a bloody hand. The garments which he wore were taken off, andhis limbs were fastened separately to great stakes driven in placesabout the mound. Thus were his hands and legs, his body and his veryneck made fast, so that whatever might be the deed done upon him, hecould oppose it not even in the smallest measure. But it was permittedhim to cry aloud--and thos
e of us who stole into the woods seeking tohear,--with a terrible curiosity which our very apprehensions fed,--weheard,--we heard,--and even as the awful scream of our late companioncame piercing through the woods upon our ears,--we fled afar from thesound, which was that of a mortal agony and anguish. And, verily, thetorture to which he was doomed was that which might well compel the pooroutraged heart of humanity to cry aloud. With a keen knife, and the handof one who had practised long at the cruel rite, the lord of Calos laidbare the breast of the victim, he not able to struggle even,--only toshriek,--he laid it bare as one peels the ripe fruit, and exposes theprecious heart thereof! Even this did the lord of Calos. He stripped theskin from the breast of his victim, then, with sharp strokes, he smoteaway the flesh, until the quaking ribs lay bare to his point. With asharp stone chisel he smote the breast-bone asunder, lifted the ribs,and tore away the smoking heart, which he cast, reeking red, into theburning fire of odorous woods and herbs, which then flamed up andbrightened in the dark chamber, as if fed with some ichorous fuel. Inthat terrible agony, when the soul and the human life were thus rudelytorn apart from the mutual embrace, it was told me by the lord of Calos,himself, that the victim burst one of the wythes that bound him, andfreed his right hand, which he waved violently thrice, even while hismurderer was plucking his heart away from its quivering fastenings!Oh! the horror, though for a moment only, of that awful consciousness!Verily, my friends, if the lord of Calos did possess a power of magicsuch as his people affirm, verily, I say, he paid a terrible price tothe eternal hater of human souls, when he gat from him his perditiousprivilege!
"But the sufferings of that wretched victim, who then and thus perished,were they greater than those which followed our footsteps,--we, thesurvivors,--haunting us by night and day, with the mortal terrors of afear that such must be our doom also? Every rustle of an approachingfootstep among the maize-stalks where we toiled, breaking the stems andgathering the ripened ears, seemed to our woe-stricken souls, as thestep of one who came as an executioner; while we labored in the gloomythicket, gathering fuel for the winter fires, the same fear was hangingover us with a threat of the impending doom. We lived and slept in acontinual dread of death, which made the hair whiten on every brow, evenof the youngest, before that terrible winter was gone over.
"To us it was assigned to put away the body of our murdered comrade. Butthis was only after the three days of the feast was elapsed, and whenthe duty was tenfold distressing. Still, though all our senses revoltedat the task, a fearful curiosity compelled a close examination ofthe victim. Then it was that we saw how the execution had been done,though we knew not then, nor until some time after, that the cellwhich enshrined and kept the heart had been torn open, and thesacred possession wrenched away with violent hands, even while thewretched victim had eyes to see, as well as sensibilities to feel, thesacrilegious and bloody theft. We bore the body far into the woods,wrapping it with leaves so as to hide it from our eyes, while we carriedit in the bottom of an old canoe which we found for this purpose. Ourburial was conducted after the fashion of the red-men. We laid the corseof our comrade upon a bed of leaves on the naked earth, and laid heavyfragments of pine and other combustible wood about him. With thiswe made a great pile, which we set on fire, and let to burn untileverything was consumed. We then, with sad, sorrowing, and tremblinghearts, returned, each one of us, in a mournful silence that wist notwhat to say, to our separate tasks, and the places which had beenassigned us.
"Now, many months had passed in this manner, and still I was employedabout the king's household. This lord of Calos distinguished me, as Ihave said, beyond my comrades. I had a great vigor of limb which is notcommon among this people, except in so much as it moves them to greatagility. They are rather light, swift and expert, than powerful in war;and trust rather to great cunning than superior strength, in the meetingwith their enemies. The king of Calos greatly admired to see me liftheavy logs of timber, such as would have borne down any among his peopleif laid upon his shoulders. But he himself had a strength superior tohis people, and he wondered even more when, striving to lift the logswhich I laid down, he found it beyond his mastery. Then, he put his bowinto my hand, and giving me a cloth-yard shaft of reed, well tipped witha flinty barb, and dressed with an eagle's feather, he bade me draw itto the head, and send it as I would. Upon which, doing so, he greatlywondered to see how rapid and distant was the flight, for well he knewthat the ability to shoot the arrow far comes rather from sleight thanfrom strength, and is an art that only grows from practice. But this,perhaps, had not fully given me to the confidence of the king, had itnot been for a service which I rendered on one occasion to his favoriteson, a boy of but twelve years of age, whom I plucked from beneath thefeet of a great stag, which the hunters had wounded in the forest. Thered-men greatly delight to see their sons take part in the chase, evenwhile their gristle is yet soft and their limbs feeble; for by thisearly practice they desired to make them strong and skilful. The son ofthe lord of Calos was a youth, tall and strong beyond his years; andbecause of the fondness of his father, exceedingly audacious in allmanner of sports and strifes. Thus it was that, having seen a greatstag wounded by the shaft of his sire, he had run in upon him with hisslender spear. The staff of the spear broke, even as the barb penetratedthe breast of the beast, and the boy fell forward at the mercy of hismighty antlers. Then was it that, seeing the lad's danger,--for I was athand, bearing the victuals for the hunters--I threw down the basket, andrushing in, took the stag by his horns, in season for the lad to recoverhimself. The lord of Calos drew nigh and saw, but he offered no help,leaving it to his son to draw the keen knife which he carried, over thethroat of the struggling beast. And, excepting what the boy said tome of thanks, nothing did I hear of the thing which I had done. But,three weeks after, the king made his preparations, for a war partyagainst the mountain Indians. Then he spoke to me, saying, in his ownlanguage,--which, by this time, I could understand,--Barbu,--this wasthe name which had been given me because of my beard--Barbu, it is notfit that one with such limbs and skill as thou hast, should labor stillin the occupation of the women. Get thee a spear, such as will suitthy grasp, and there are bows and arrows for thy choice,--make theesatisfied with sufficient provision, and get thee ready to go againstmine enemies. Thou shalt have to tear the flesh of a strong man!
"Verily, my friends, though it shames me to confess, that I, a Christianman, could lift weapon in behalf of one against another savage of thewilderness; yet such had been my sorrow, and so wretched did I feel atthe base tasks to which I had been given,--so very unlike the valiantduties which had distinguished mine ancient service in the armies ofCastile,--that I even rejoiced at the chance of putting on the armor ofwar,--and the meaner weapon of the red-men satisfied me then, who ofold had carried, with great favor, the matchlock and the sword. Butthe weapon of the savage, as perchance thou knowest, is not greatlyinferior, according to their usage, and in their country, to thesuperior implements with which the Christian warrior takes the field. Ifthe arquebuse is more fatal than the barbed arrow of the Indian, it isyet less frequently ready for the danger. While you shall have put yourpieces in readiness for a second fire, the savage will deliver thirtyjavelins, each of which, if within bullet reach, shall inflict such aninjury, short of death, as may disarm the wounded person. Their reedsare always ready at hand. To them every bay and river bank affords anarmory, and the loss of their weapons, which were fatal to Frenchman orSpaniard, causes them but little mischief, since a single night willrepair all their losses. Neither much time nor much cost is it tothem to supply their munitions, of which they can always carry a moreabundant provision than can we. The great superiority of the European,in his encounter with the red-man, is in his wisdom, the fruit ofmany ages of civilization, and not in the weapons which he wields inconflict. Let him exchange weapons with the savage, and he will stillobtain the victory.
"It was because of this showing of superiority, together with theservice which I had thus rendered to his son, that made
the lord ofCalos take me with him, armed as a warrior, on his expedition againstthe mountain Indians of Apalachy. I hastened to provide myself withweapons, as I was commanded, and I made for myself a great mace, such asthat which the strongest warriors carried, which was a billet of hardwood, not more than four feet in length, with a handle easy to thegrasp, while at each side ran down a great row of flinty teeth, eachbroad and sharpened like to a spear-head. It is a fatal weapon, with awell-delivered blow. In like manner did I imitate the practice of thered-men in dressing the head and breast for war. I put on the paints,red and black, which I beheld them use; but, instead of the unmeaningand rude figures which they scored upon the breast, I drew there thefigure of a large cross, by which, though none but myself might know, Imade anew my assurance to Holy Mother, of a faith unperishing, in Himwho bore its burthen; and implored His protection against the perilswhich might lurk along the path. In the same manner, with a bloodycross, did I inscribe my forehead and each cheek, while I dipped myhands above the wrist in the black dyes which they also used as paints,and which they took from the walnut and other woods of the forest.Greatly did my Christian comrades wonder to behold me, painted afterthis fashion, with a bunch of turkey feathers tied about my head likethe savage, and the strange weapons of the red-men in my grasp. Theserejoiced exceedingly as they beheld me, and laughed and chatted amongthemselves, saying--'Yah-hee-wee! Yah-hee-wee!' with other words, bywhich they testified their satisfaction. But our Spaniards were in thesame degree sorry, as it seemed to them that, in spite of the holyemblem upon my breast, I had delivered myself up to the enemy, and hadput on, with the habit, all the superstitions of the Heathen. They hadsorrow upon other grounds, since I was about to leave them, and, fromthe favor I had found with the lord of Calos, I had grown to be one towhom they began to look as to a mediator and protector.
"We set out thus for the country of the enemy, the lord of Calos leadingthe way upon the march, as is the custom with the Indians, while the foeis yet at a distance from the spot. But, as we drew nigh to the hills ofthe Apalachian, the young men were scattered on every hand, as so manylight troops. They covered all the paths, they harbored in all placeswhere they could maintain watch and find security, and nightly they sentin runners to the camp, reporting their discoveries. I entreated of thelord of Calos to be sent with these young men; but, whether he fearedthat I would seek an opportunity to fly and escape to the enemy, I knownot. He refused, saying that it required scouts of experience,--men whoknew the ways of the country, and that I could be of no use in suchadventures. He was pleased to add that he wished me near him, as one ofhis own warriors--that is, the warriors of his family or tribe--that Imight do battle at his side, and in his sight!
"We were not long in finding the enemy, who had received tidings of ourapproach. Several battles were fought, in which I did myself credit inthe eyes of our warriors. The lord of Calos was greatly pleased. He tookme with him into counsel, and it was fortunate that the advice whichI gave, as to the conduct of the war, was adopted, and was greatlysuccessful. Many were the warriors of the mountain whom we slew. Manyscalps were taken, and more than a hundred captive boys and damsels.These, if young, are always spared, and taken into the conquering tribe.The former are newly marked with the totem of the people who take them,while the latter become the wives of the chiefs, who greatly value them.I confess to you, my brethren, that I was guilty of the sin of takingone of these same women into my cabin, who was to me as a wife, thoughno holy priest, with appointed ceremonials of the church, gave hissanction to our communion. She was a lovely and a loving creature,scarcely sixteen, but very fair, almost like a Spaniard, and of hair solong that she hath thrice wrapt it around her own neck and mine."
"Why didst thou not tell me of that woman?" said Laudonniere,interrupting the narrator. "Had we known, she should have been procuredwith thee. But, even now, it is not too late. We will bid the chief,Onathaqua, send her after thee, so that thou may'st wed her accordingto the rites of the church."
"Alas!" replied Barbu, "thou compellest me, Senor Laudonniere, tounravel sin after sin before thee. I have greatly erred and wanderedfrom the paths of virtue, and from the laws of Holy Church, in mygrievous sojourn among the savages. That woman filled no longer theplace which she had at first in my affections. With increase of powerand security, I grew wanton. I grew weary of her, and sold her to one ofthe chiefs for a damsel of his own house, which mine eyes coveted."
The Spaniard hung his head as he made this confession, while Laudonnierewith severe aspect rated him for his lecheries. When the captain hadceased his rebuke, Le Barbu continued his story thus:
"We gained many battles in this war with the mountain Indians, who areneither so fierce, nor so subtle as those who dwell along the regions ofthe sea. Verily, the people of the lord of Calos are great dissemblers,treacherous beyond the serpent, valiant of their persons, and fight withexcellent address. Great was the favor which I found with them becauseof my conduct in the war; and, in each succeeding war, for a space ofsix years, I became, in like manner, distinguished, until I became amost favorite chief with the lord of Calos, and a bosom friend andcompanion of his son--he whom I had rescued from the stag, and who hadnow grown up to manhood. Greatly did this lad favor his father. He wasof a light olive complexion, scarcely more dark than the people ofSpanish race, but superior in stature, well-limbed, and of admirabledexterity. With him I hunted from the fall of the leaf in autumn, to thebudding of the leaf again in spring; and, when the summer time came, wesped away in our canoes, up the vast rivers of the country, throughgreat lakes, many of which lie embadey in forests of mangrove andpalm, where the forest swims upon the water. If it were possible for aChristian man--for one who has heard the sound of a great bell in thecities of the old world, and who has communed with the various good andwondrous things of civilization--to be content with a loss of these, andtheir utter exclusion from sight for ever, then might I have passedpleasantly the years of my captivity among the people of Calos. I hadbecome a chief and was greatly honored. I had power and I was muchfeared. I had wealth--such wealth as the savage estimates--and I wasloved; and the lord of Calos and his noble son, put in me a faith whichnever betrayed a doubt or a denial. But I had not power to shield mybrother Christians, save in one case. Each year witnessed the sacrificeof a comrade. They were the victims to the Iawas. The priesthood was apower under which the kings themselves were made to tremble. With themwas it to determine upon peace or war, life or death, bonds or freedom;and the strength of the king lay greatly in his alliance with thepriesthood. But for this, the rule among the savage nations would bewholly with the people. Season after season, when came the harvest, oneof our luckless Spaniards was taken away from the rest and doomed to thesacrifice. In this way the savages propitiate the unknown God, to whomthey looked for victory over their enemies. Do not suppose that I beheldthis cruelty without toiling against it. But I spoke in vain. I madeangry the Iawas, until the lord of Calos himself addressed me, afterthis fashion--'Son of the stranger, art thou not well thyself? Whywouldst thou be sick, being well? Art thou not thyself safe? Why, beingso, put thy head under the macana? It is not wise in thee to _see_the things over which the power is denied thee. Go then, with MicoWa-ha-la,'--such was the name of his son--'go then with him into thegreat lake of the forest, and come not back for a season. Depart thouthus, always, when the maize is ready for the harvest.'
"I obeyed him; but not until I found that I was endangering my ownsafety to attempt further expostulation; and then it was that mycompanions perished, all save the one who now sits before thee withmyself, and whom I saved because of a service which I rendered to theIawa, and whom I persuaded to take my white brother into his wigwam. Hewent, even before myself, but through my means, into the service ofOnathaqua."
Here Captain Laudonniere interrupted the speaker.
"For what reason," said he, "being such a favorite with the king ofCalos and his son, didst thou at last leave his service for that of theKing Onathaqua?"
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p; "Alas, Senor Laudonniere, thy question shames me again, since itrequires of me to lay bare another of the vices of my evil heart, andto confess how the bad passions thereof could lead me into follies whichproved fatal to my better fortune. I had gained great honor among thesavages by my prudence and my skill in war, my strength in battle, andthe excellence of my counsel in the country of the enemy. I had gainedthe good will and protection of the great king of Calos, and theaffection of his son, the noble young Mico Wa-ha-la! But these contentedme nothing, though they brought plenty and security to my wigwam, andsuch delights as might satisfy the man, a dweller in the wilderness. Ihave said that I was greatly trusted by the king, the prince, and thehead men of the country. These then, after I had been eight years intheir service, confided to my charge a great and sacred commission. Thetime had come when it became proper that this Mico Wa-ha-la should taketo himself a wife. Now, tidings had reached Calos of a creature, lovelyas a daughter of the sun, who was the youngest child of the KingOnathaqua. A treaty was agreed upon between the two kings for themarriage of their children; and I was dispatched, with a select body ofwarriors, to bring the maiden home to her new sovereign. It was not thecustom for a chief desiring a wife, that he should seek her in person.Accordingly I was dispatched, and I reached the territories of Onathaquain safety. Here I beheld the maiden in pursuit of whom I came, and myfroward heart instantly conceived the wildest affection for her beauty.Beautiful she was as any of our Castilian maidens, and as delicate andmodestly proper in her bearing, as one may see in the gentlest damselof a Christian country. Deeply was I smitten with this new flame, andgreatly did I strive to please the maiden who had fired me with thesefresh fancies. I spake with her in the Indian language, with charms ofthought which had been taken from the Castilian, such as were vastlysuperior to those which belonged to Indian courtship. I sang to her manya glorious ballad of the sweet romance of my country, discoursing ofthe tender loves between the Castilian cavaliers and the dark-eyed anddark-tressed maidens of Grenada. Verily, the beauty of the delicatedaughter of Onathaqua, the precious Istakalina--by which the people ofOnathaqua understand the white lily of the lake before it opens--wasno unbecoming representative of that choice dark beauty which made thecharm of the Moorish damsel of my land, ere Boabdil gave up his sceptreinto the hands of the holy Ferdinand. For Istakalina, I rendered thelanguage of the Castilian romance into the dialect of her people; andwith a sad fondness in her eyes, that drooped ever while looking upwardsat the passionate gaze of mine, did she listen to the story of feelingsand affections to which her own young and innocent nature did nowtenderly incline. Thus was it that she was delivered into my keepingby her sire, that I should conduct her to the young Mico Wa-ha-la, myfriend. And thus, with fond discourse of song and story, which grew morefond with every passing hour--with me to speak and she to listen--didwe commence our journey homeward to the dominions of the lord of Calos.Alas! for me, and alas! for the hapless maiden, that, in the fondness ofmy passion, I forgot my trust; forgot preciously to guard and protectthe precious treasure in my keeping; and, in the increase of my blindlove, forgot all the lessons of war and wisdom, and all the necessaryprovidence which these equally demand. Thus was it that I wasdispossessed of my charge, at the very moment when it was most dear tomy delight. Didst thou ask me for the hope which grew with this blindpassion, verily, senor, I should have to say to thee that I had none. Ithought not of the morrow; I dared not think of the time when Istakalinashould fill the cabin of Wa-ha-la. I knew nothing but that she was withme, with her dark eyes ever glistening beneath their darker lids, as shemet the burning speech of mine; that we thridded the sinuous paths ofsilent and shady forests, with none to reproach our speech or glances;our attendants, some of them going on before, and some following; andthat, when she ascended the litter, which was borne by four stoutsavages, or sat in the canoe as we sped across lake or river--for bothof these modes of travel did we at times pursue--I was still the nearestto her side, drunk with her sweet beauty, and the sad tenderness whichdwelt in all her looks and actions. Nor was it less my madness that Ifondly set to the account of her fondness for me, the very sadness withwhich she answered my looks, and the sweet sigh which rose so often toher softly parted lips. Verily, was never man and Christian so false andfoolish as was I, in those bitter blessed moments. Thus was I blinded toall caution--thus was I heedless of all danger--thus was I caught inthe snare, to the loss of all that was precious as well to my captor asmyself."
"How was this? How happened it?" demanded Laudonniere as Le Barbupaused, and covered his face with his hands in silence, as if overcomewith a great misery.
"Thou shalt hear, Senor. I will keep nothing from thee of this sadconfession; for, verily, have I long since repented of the sin and follywhich brought after them so much evil. Thou shalt know that, distantfrom the territories of the lord of Calos, a journey of some threedays, and nearly that far distant also from the dwelling of Onathaqua,there lieth a great lake of fresh water, in the midst of which is anisland named Sarropee. This island and the country which surroundsthe lake, is kept by a very powerful nation, a fierce people, not sonumerous as strong, because they have places of retreat and refuge,whither no enemy dare pursue them. On the firm land, and in openconflict, the lord of Calos had long before conquered this strangepeople; but in their secure harborage and vast water thickets, theymocked at the power of all the surrounding kings. These, accordingly,kept with them a general peace, which was seldom broken, except undercircumstances such as those which I shall now unfold. The people of thislake and island are rich in the precious root called the _Coonti_, ofwhich they have an abundance, of a quality far superior to that of allthe neighboring country. Their dates, which give forth a delicioushoney, are in great abundance also, and of these their traffic is largewith all other nations. But that they are a most valiant people, andoccupy a territory so troublesome to penetrate, they had been destroyedby other nations, all of whom are greedy for the rich productions whichtheir watery realm bestows. Now, it was, that, in our journey homewards,we drew nigh to the great lake of the people of the isle of Sarropee.Here it was that my discretion failed me in my passion. Here it was thatmy footstep faltered, and the vision of mine eyes was completely shut.I knew that our people were at peace with the people of Sarropee, andI thought not of them. But had I not been counselled to vigilance inbringing home the daughter of Onathaqua, even as if the woods were thickwith enemies? But I had forgotten this caution. I sent forth no spies; Isought for no wisdom from my young warriors; and, like an ignorant childthat knows not of the deep gulf beneath, I stepped confidently into thelittle canoe which was to take Istakalina and myself across an arm ofthe lake which set inwards, while our warriors fetched a long compassaround it. Alas! senor, I was beguiled to this folly by the fond desirethat I might have the lovely maiden wholly to myself in the littlecanoe, for already did I begin to grieve with the thought that in a fewdays, the journey would be at an end, and I should then yield her untothe embraces of another. And thus we entered the canoe. I made for hera couch, in the bottom of the little boat, of leaves gathered from thescented myrtle. With the paddle in my hand, I began to urge the vessel,but very slowly, lest that we should too soon reach the shore, and findthe warriors waiting for us. Sweetly did I strive to discourse in herlistening ears; and with what dear delight did I behold her as sheanswered me only with her tears. But these were as the cherished dropsof hope about mine heart, which gave it a life which it never knewbefore. While thus we sped, dreaming nothing of any danger, over theplacid waters, with the dark green mangrove about us, and a soft breezeplaying on the surface of the great lake, suddenly, from out the palmbushes, darted a cloud of boats, filled with painted warriors, that boredown upon us with shows of fury and a mighty shout of war. I answeredthem with a shout, not unlike their own, for already had I imbibedsomething of the Indian nature. I shouted the war-whoop of the lordof Calos, and tried to make myself heard by the distant warriors thatformed my escort. And they did hear my clamors; for already had
theyrounded the bayou or arm of the lake which I had sought to cross, andwere pressing down towards us upon the opposite banks. Then did I bestirthe paddle in my grasp, making rapid progress for the shore, while thecanoes of the Sarropee strove to dart between us and the place for whichI bent. But what could my single paddle avail against their betterequipment? Theirs were canoes of war, carrying each more than a score ofpowerful warriors armed for action, and prepared to peril their lives inthe prosecution of their object. I, too, was armed as an Indian warrior,and with their approach, I betook me to my weapon. I had learned tothrow the short lance, or the javelin of the savage, with a dexteritylike his own; and, ere they could approach me, I had fatally struckwith these darts two of their most valiant warriors. They strove not toreturn the arrows lest they should hurt the maiden, Istakalina, who hadraised herself at the first danger, and now strove with the paddle whichI had thrown down. As one of the canoes which threatened us drew nigh, Iseized the great macana which I carried, and prepared myself to use itupon the most forward warriors; but when I expected that they wouldassail me with war-club and spear, the cunning savages thrust theirgreat prow against our little boat, amidships, and even while my macanalighted on the head of one of the assailants, smiting him fatally, Ifell over into the lake with the upsetting of our vessel. In a momenthad they grasped Istakalina from the lake, and taken her to themselvesin their own canoe, and as I raised my head from the water, beholdingthis mishap, a heavy stroke upon my shoulder, which narrowly missed myhead, warned me of my danger. Then, seeing that I could no longer savethe captive maiden, I dived deeply under, making my way like an otter,beneath the water, for the shore. A flight of arrows followed my risingto take the air, but they were hurriedly delivered, with little aim, andonly one of them grazed my cheek. The mark is still here as thou seest.Again I dived beneath the water, still swimming shoreward, and when Inext rose into the light and air, I was among the people of the lord ofCalos. They were now assembled along the banks of the lake, as near asthey could go to the enemy, some of them, indeed, having waded waistdeep in their wild fury and desperate defiance. But of what avail weretheir weapons or their rage? The maiden, Istakalina, the princess andthe betrothed of Wa-ha-la, was gone. The people of the Sarropee hadborne her off, heeding me little even as they had taken her. She wasalready far off, moving towards the centre of the lake, and faint werethe cries which now came from her, though it delighted my poor vainheart, in that desperate hour, to perceive that, in her last cries, itwas my unhappy name that she uttered. They bore her away to the secretisland where they dwelt, in secure fastnesses; and long and fruitless,though full of desperation, was the war that followed for her recovery.But, though I myself fought in this war, as I never have fought before,yet did I not dare to do battle under the eye, or among the warriors ofthe lord of Calos. I fled from his sight and from the reproaches of myfriend, the Mico Wa-ha-la, for, in my soul, I felt how deep had been myguilt, and my conscience did not dare the encounter with their eyes. Itook refuge with Onathaqua, the father of Istakalina; and when he knewof the valor with which I strove against the captivity of the maiden, heforgave me that I lost her through my own imprudence. Of the blind andselfish passion which prompted that imprudence, he did not dream, andhe so forgave me. Under his lead, I took up arms against the tribes ofSarropee, and for two years did the war continue, with great slaughterand distress among the several nations. But, in all our battles, I keptever on the northern side of the great lake, and never allowed myself tojoin with the warriors of Calos. They but too well conceived my guilt.The keen eyes of mine escort distinguished my passion, and saw that itwas not ungracious in the sight of Istakalina. Too truly did they reportus to the lord of Calos, and to my friend, the young Mico Wa-ha-la.Bitter was the reproach which he made me in a last gift which he sentme, while I dwelt with Onathaqua. It consisted of a single arrow, fromwhich depended a snake skin, with the warning rattles still hangingthereto. 'Say to the bearded man,' said the Mico, 'when you give himthis, that it comes from Wa-ha-la. Tell him that his friend sends himthis, in token that he knows how much he hath been wronged. Say to thebearded man, that Wa-ha-la had but one flower of the forest, and thathis friend hath gathered it. Let his friend beware the arrow of thewarrior, and the deadly fang of the war-rattle, for the path betweenus is everywhere sown with the darts of death.'
"Thus he spake, and I was silent. I was guilty. I could not excusemyself, and did not entreat. I felt the truth of his complaint and thejustice of his anger. I felt how great had been my folly and my crime.Istakalina was lost to us both. Thus then, a fugitive, and an outlawfrom Calos, dreading every moment the vengeance of Wa-ha-la and hiswarriors, I dwelt for seven years with Onathaqua, who hath ever treatedme as a son. I have fought among his warriors, and shared the fortunesof his people, of which nothing more need be said. Tidings at lengthcame to me, of a people in the country bearded like myself. Then cameyour messengers to Onathaqua, and you behold me here. I looked not forFrenchmen but for Spaniards. I thank and praise the Blessed Mother ofGod, that I have found friends if not countrymen, and that I see, oncemore, the faces of a Christian people."
Thus ended the narrative of Le Barbu, or the Bearded Man of Calos.
The Lily and the Totem; or, The Huguenots in Florida Page 27
