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wished
to kill one, to have his scalp to boast of.
Suddenly, they charged. The distance was scarcely twenty yards, and there
were
at least a dozen. Wa-ga-su had reloaded. He fired first, catching the big
Indian
in mid-stride. Deliberately, I held my fire, then when they had come on two
strides further, I fired. Passing my musket back to Abby to reload, I drew
both
my pistols.
Jeremy fired, then Glasco, and I fired a pistol. Four Senecas were down and
the
attack broke, the Indians scattered in all directions. Wa-ga-su fired again
...
missing.
Yet they had managed to carry off three of their men. Two others lay exposed.
One was in plain sight upon the grass, the second lay over a slight rise and
we
could see only his hand, although the rise was of a few inches only. Yet the
hand did not move.
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The cold wind blew, a few spatters of rain fell. "Keep your powder dry," I
said,
needlessly, for we all understood the necessity.
Five Indians down ... it had been a costly attack for them.
"How many were there?" I asked.
Wa-ga-su shrugged. "I think not many, but they are strong fighters. We must
watch. They will try to get others and return."
Wa-ga-su lay quiet, watching. I could not but reflect on what our coming had
meant to him, and what he had gained in knowledge he had lost in prestige
within
the tribe. He had no place among them now, for his word was doubted. At the
same
time, they could see that he stood high with us, as indeed he did.
He had indeed traveled farther, perhaps, than any member of his people. He
spoke
English very well, for he had much opportunity. That he was a man of keen,
active intelligence was obvious.
Rain began to fall, a light, misting rain. I took a blanket and covered the
crack where Kin lay. He laughed at me and waved his arms, making small
noises.
In one hand he clutched an arrow that must have fallen near him. When Abby
saw
it she was frightened and hastily took it from him lest the point be
poisoned.
Suddenly a Seneca darted from the brush. I fired, but he dropped as my musket
came up and the shot was a clean miss. The Seneca lay on the grass, nowhere
visible, yet there. He lay perfectly still, and we watched, determined to get
him when he should rise from the ground.
Only he didn't rise. Some minutes later, Ring nudged me and pointed. The hand
that we had seen was gone. Somehow the Seneca had succeeded in retrieving
that
Indian, and had vanished with him.
The other lay in plain sight. We waited. "Two muskets," I said. "We must get
him."
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Suddenly, Wa-ga-su darted from the rocks. He ran swiftly forward, dropped
flat
beside the dead Indian, and with his knife made a quick circular cut, then
grasping the hair he jerked off the scalp.
Rising to full height, he shook the bloody scalp and shouted taunts.
Instantly,
there was a flight of arrows, but he wheeled and ran, darting this way and
that,
to the shelter of our rocks.
I had heard of scalp taking, but had not seen it done before.
Slowly, the winter passed. The springs which had frozen into crystal cascades
over the edges of cliffs-sheets of glistening ice that could be seen from
afar
 now began to melt. The ice disappeared from the higher courses of the
rivers,
and the water began to rush with greater speed.
There were several bales of furs, a few freshwater pearls, and many skins,
including four great buffalo hides.
"We will go to the coast," I said that night when all were together. "With
luck
we shall meet Tilly and the Abigail."
"Who will go and who will stay?" Fitch asked.
"All will go who wish it," I replied. "We should go down very swiftly, but
the
return will be slower."
"I do not know," John Quill said. "I may stay. I have found land that I like,
and I may build my own cabin, plow my own land." He looked up at me. "I never
owned my own land, Captain. I farmed all my life on land owned by others.
"It is good earth. I like to see it turned by the plow, I like to feel it in
my
fingers. It is fine soil, and it will grow a fine crop."
"Aye," Slater agreed. "I feel the same. I have laid out a square mile
alongside
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John's, and I cannot believe it. I walk through the forest, along the banks
of
the stream, and I see blackberries growing in thickets, and nuts falling from
trees, and it is mine."
"The Catawbas," I said, "can teach you much of planting. You are farmers, but
they know this land, this climate. It is well to listen. I think you each
know
more than they, but what they can teach is important, so learn from them."
Quill nodded. "I have talked with their head men. I have agreed to give them
one-third of my crop for five years and then the land is mine. Slater did the
same."
"You will go or stay, Slater?"
"I feel as John does. I will stay. I wish to get in a crop, and to know my
land
better." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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