CHAPTER XXIV

The Pioneers

by James F. Cooper

CHAPTER XXIV, THE PIONEERS by James F. Cooper
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“While from its margin, terrible to tell,
Three sailors with their gallant boatswain fell.” —Falconer.

While the fishermen were employed in making the preparations for an
equitable division of the spoil, Elizabeth and her friend strolled a
short distance from the group, along the shore of the lake. After
reaching a point to which even the brightest of the occasional gleams
of the fire did not extend, they turned, and paused a moment, in
contemplation of the busy and lively party they had left, and of the
obscurity which, like the gloom of oblivion, seemed to envelop the
rest of the creation.

“This is indeed a subject for the pencil!” exclaimed Elizabeth.
“Observe the countenance of that woodchopper, while he exults in
presenting a larger fish than common to my cousin sheriff; and see,
Louisa, how hand some and considerate my dear father looks, by the
light of that fire, where he stands viewing the havoc of the game. He
seems melancholy, as if he actually thought that a day of retribution
was to follow this hour of abundance and prodigality! Would they not
make a picture, Louisa?”

“You know that I am ignorant of all such accomplishments, Miss
Temple.”

“Call me by my Christian name,” interrupted Elizabeth; “this is not a
place, neither is this a scene, for forms.”

“Well, then, if I may venture an opinion,’ said Louisa timidly, “I
should think it might indeed make a picture. The selfish earnestness
of that Kirby over his fish would contrast finely with the—the—
expression of Mr. Edwards’ face. I hardly know what to call it; but
it is—a—is— you know what I would say, dear Elizabeth.”

“You do me too much credit, Miss Grant,” said the heiress; “I am no
diviner of thoughts, or interpreter of expressions.”

There was certainly nothing harsh or even cold in the manner of the
speaker, but still it repressed the conversation, and they continued
to stroll still farther from the party, retaining each other’s arm,
but observing a pro found silence. Elizabeth, perhaps conscious of
the improper phraseology of her last speech, or perhaps excited by the
new object that met her gaze, was the first to break the awkward
cessation in the discourse, by exclaiming:

“Look, Louisa! we are not alone; there are fishermen lighting a fire
on the other side of the lake, immediately opposite to us; it must be
in front of the cabin of Leather-Stocking!”

Through the obscurity, which prevailed most immediately under the
eastern mountain, a small and uncertain light was plainly to be seen,
though, as it was occasionally lost to the eye, it seemed struggling
for existence. They observed it to move, and sensibly to lower, as it
carried down the descent of the bank to the shore. Here, in a very
short time, its flame gradually expanded, and grew brighter, until it
became of the size of a man’s head, when it continued to shine a
steady ball of fire. Such an object, lighted as it were by magic,
under the brow of the mountain, and in that retired and unfrequented
place, gave double interest to the beauty and singularity of its
appearance. It did not at all resemble the large and unsteady light
of their own fire, being much more clear and bright, and retaining its
size and shape with perfect uniformity.

There are moments when the best-regulated minds are more or less
subjected to the injurious impressions which few have escaped in
infancy; and Elizabeth smiled at her own weakness, while she
remembered the idle tales which were circulated through the village,
at the expense of the Leather-Stocking. The same ideas seized her
companion, and at the same instant, for Louisa pressed nearer to her
friend, as she said in a low voice, stealing a timid glance toward the
bushes and trees that overhung the bank near them:

“Did you ever hear the singular ways of this Natty spoken of, Miss
Temple? They say that, in his youth, he was an Indian warrior; or,
what is the same thing, a white man leagued with the savages; and it
is thought he has been concerned in many of their inroads, in the old
wars.”

“The thing is not at all improbable,” returned Elizabeth; “he is not
alone in that particular.”

“No, surely; but is it not strange that he is so cautious with his
hut? He never leaves it, without fastening it in a remarkable manner;
and in several instances, when the children, or even the men of the
village, have wished to seek a shelter there from the storms, he has
been known to drive them from his door with rudeness and threats.
That surely is singular to this country!”

“It is certainly not very hospitable; but we must remember his
aversion to the customs of civilized life. You heard my father say, a
few days since, how kindly he was treated by him on his first visit to
his place.” Elizabeth paused, and smiled, with an expression of
peculiar arch ness, though the darkness hid its meaning from her
companion, as she continued: “Besides, he certainly admits the visits
of Mr. Edwards, whom we both know to be far from a savage.”

To this speech Louisa made no reply, but continued gazing on the
object which had elicited her remarks. In addition to the bright and
circular flame, was now to be seen a fainter, though a vivid light, of
an equal diameter to the other at the upper end, but which, after
extending downward for many feet, gradually tapered to a point at its
lower extremity. A dark space was plainly visible between the two,
and the new illumination was placed beneath the other, the whole
forming an appearance not unlike an inverted note of admiration. It
was soon evident that the latter was nothing but the reflection, from
the water, of the former, and that the object, whatever it might be,
was advancing across, or rather over the lake, for it seemed to be
several feet above its surface, in a direct line with themselves. Its
motion was amazingly rapid, the ladies having hardly discovered that
it was moving at all, before the waving light of a flame was
discerned, losing its regular shape, while it increased in size, as it
approached.

“It appears to be supernatural!” whispered Louisa, beginning to
retrace her steps toward the party.

“It is beautiful!” exclaimed Elizabeth,

A brilliant though waving flame was now plainly visible, gracefully
gliding over the lake, and throwing its light on the water in such a
manner as to tinge it slightly though in the air, so strong was the
contrast, the darkness seemed to have the distinctness of material
substances, as if the fire were imbedded in a setting of ebony. This
appearance, however, gradually wore off, and the rays from the torch
struck out, and enlightened the atmosphere in front of it, leaving the
background in a darkness that was more impenetrable than ever.

“Ho! Natty, is that you?” shouted the sheriff. “Paddle in, old boy,
and I’ll give you a mess of fish that is fit to place before the
governor,”

The light suddenly changed its direction, and a long and slightly
built boat hove up out of the gloom, while the red glare fell on the
weather-beaten features of the Leather-Stocking, whose tall person was
seen erect in the frail vessel, wielding, with the grace of an
experienced boatman, a long fishing-spear, which he held by its
centre, first dropping one end and then the other into the water, to
aid in propelling the little canoe of bark, we will not say through,
but over, the water. At the farther end of the vessel a form was
faintly seen, guiding its motions, and using a paddle with the ease of
one who felt there was no necessity for exertion. The Leather-
Stocking struck his spear lightly against the short staff which up
held, on a rude grating framed of old hoops of iron, the knots of pine
that composed the fuel, and the light, which glared high, for an
instant fell on the swarthy features and dark, glancing eyes of
Mohegan.

The boat glided along the shore until it arrived opposite the fishing-
ground, when it again changed its direction and moved on to the land,
with a motion so graceful, and yet so rapid, that it seemed to possess
the power of regulating its own progress. The water in front of the
canoe was hardly ruffled by its passage and no sound betrayed the
collision, when the light fabric shot on the gravelly beach for nearly
half its length, Natty receding a step or two from its bow, in order
to facilitate the landing.

“Approach, Mohegan,” said Marmaduke; “approach, Leather-Stocking, and
load your canoe with bass. It would be a shame to assail the animals
with the spear, when such multitudes of victims lie here, that will be
lost as food for the want of mouths to consume them.”

No, no, Judge,” returned Natty, his tall figure stalking over the
narrow beach, and ascending to the little grassy bottom where the fish
were laid in piles; “I eat of no man’s wasty ways. I strike my spear
into the eels or the trout, when I crave the creatur’; but I wouldn’t
be helping to such a sinful kind of fishing for the best rifle that
was ever brought out from the old countries. If they had fur, like
the beaver, or you could tan their hides, like a buck, something might
be said in favor of taking them by the thousand with your nets; but as
God made them for man’s food, and for no other disarnable reason, I
call it sinful and wasty to catch more than can be eat.”

“Your reasoning is mine; for once, old hunter, we agree in opinion;
and I heartily wish we could make a convert of the sheriff. A net of
half the size of this would supply the whole village with fish for a
week at one haul.”

The Leather-Stocking did not relish this alliance in sentiment; and he
shook his head doubtingly as he answered;

“No, no; we are not much of one mind, Judge, or you’d never turn good
hunting-grounds into stumpy pastures. And you fish and hunt out of
rule; but, to me, the flesh is sweeter where the creatur’ has some
chance for its life; for that reason, I always use a single ball, even
if it be at a bird or a squirrel. Besides, it saves lead; for, when a
body knows how to shoot, one piece of lead is enough for all, except
hard-lived animals.”

The sheriff heard these opinions with great indignation; and when he
completed the last arrangement for the division, by carrying with his
own hands a trout of a large size, and placing it on four different
piles in succession, as his vacillating ideas of justice required,
gave vent to his spleen.

“A very pretty confederacy, indeed! Judge Temple, the landlord and
owner of a township, with Nathaniel Bumppo a lawless squatter, and
professed deer-killer, in order to preserve the game of the county!
But, ‘Duke, when I fish I fish; so, away, boys, for another haul, and
we’ll send out wagons and carts in the morning to bring in our
prizes.”

Marmaduke appeared to understand that all opposition to the will of
the sheriff would he useless, and he strolled from the fire to the
place where the canoe of the hunters lay, whither the ladies and
Oliver Edwards had already preceded him.

Curiosity induced the females to approach this spot; but it was a
different motive that led the youth thither. Elizabeth examined the
light ashen timbers and thin bark covering of the canoe, in admiration
of its neat but simple execution, and with wonder that any human being
could he so daring as to trust his life in so frail a vessel. But the
youth explained to her the buoyant properties of the boat, and its
perfect safety when under proper management; adding, in such glowing
terms, a description of the manner in which the fish were struck with
the spear, that she changed suddenly, from an apprehension of the
danger of the excursion, to a desire to participate in its pleasures.
She even ventured a proposition to that effect to her father, laughing
at the same time at her own wish, and accusing herself of acting under
a woman’s caprice.

“Say not so, Bess,” returned the Judge; “I would have you above the
idle fears of a silly girl. These canoes are the safest kind of boats
to those who have skill and steady nerves. I have crossed the
broadest part of the Oneida in one much smaller than this.”

“And I the Ontary,” interrupted the Leather-Stocking; “ and that with
squaws in the canoe, too. But the Delaware women are used to the
paddle, and are good hands in a boat of this natur’, If the young lady
would like to see an old man strike a trout for his breakfast, she is
welcome to a seat. John will say the same, seeing that he built the
canoe, which was only launched yesterday; for I’m not over-curious at
such small work as brooms, and basket-making, and other like Indian
trades.”

Natty gave Elizabeth one of his significant laughs, with a kind nod of
the head, when he concluded his invitation but Mohegan, with the
native grace of an Indian, approached, and taking her soft white hand
into his own swarthy and wrinkled palm, said:

“Come, granddaughter of Miquon, and John will be glad. Trust the
Indian; his head is old, though his hand is not steady. The Young
Eagle will go, and see that no harm hurts his sister.”

“Mr. Edwards,” said Elizabeth, blushing slightly, “your friend Mohegan
has given a promise for you. Do you redeem the pledge?”

“With my life, if necessary, Miss Temple,” cried the youth, with
fervor. “ The sight is worth some little apprehension; for of real
danger there is none, I will go with you and Miss Grand, however, to
save appearances.”

“With me!” exclaimed Louisa. “No, not with me, Mr. Edwards; nor,
surely, do you mean to trust yourself in that slight canoe.”

“But I shall; for I have no apprehensions any longer,” said Elizabeth,
stepping into the boat, and taking a seat where the Indian directed.
“Mr. Edwards, you may remain, as three do seem to be enough for such
an egg shell.” “

“It shall hold a fourth,” cried the young man, springing to her side,
with a violence that nearly shook the weak fabric of the vessel
asunder. “Pardon me, Miss Temple, that I do not permit these
venerable Charons to take you to the shades unattended by your
genius.”

“Is it a good or evil spirit?” asked Elizabeth.
“Good to you.”

“And mine,” added the maiden, with an air that strangely blended pique
with satisfaction. But the motion of the canoe gave rise to new
ideas, and fortunately afforded a good excuse to the young man to
change the discourse.

It appeared to Elizabeth that they glided over the water by magic, so
easy and graceful was the manner in which Mohegan guided his little
bark. A slight gesture with his spear indicated the way in which
Leather-Stocking wished to go, and a profound silence was preserved by
the whole party, as the precaution necessary to the success of their
fishery. At that point of the lake the water shoaled regularly.
differing in this particular altogether from those parts where the
mountains rose nearly in perpendicular precipices from the beach.
There the largest vessels could have lain, with their yards
interlocked with the pines; while here a scanty growth of rushes
lifted their tops above the lake, gently curling the waters, as their
bending heads waved with the passing breath of the night air. It was
at the shallow points only that the bass could he found, or the net
cast with success.

Elizabeth saw thousands of these fish swimming in shoals along the
shallow and warm waters of the shore; for the flaring light of their
torch laid bare the mysteries of the lake, as plainly as if the limpid
sheet of the Otsego was but another atmosphere. Every instant she
expected to see the impending spear of Leather-Stocking darting into
the thronging hosts that were rushing beneath her, where it would seem
that a blow could not go amiss; and where, as her father had already
said, the prize that would be obtained was worthy any epicure. But
Natty had his peculiar habits, and, it would seem, his peculiar tastes
also.

His tall stature, and his erect posture, enabled him to see much
farther than those who were seated in the bottom of the canoe; and he
turned his head warily in every direction, frequently bending his body
forward, and straining his vision, as if desirous of penetrating the
water that surrounded their boundary of light. At length his anxious
scrutiny was rewarded with success, and, waving his spear from the
shore, he said in a cautious tone:

“Send her outside the bass, John; I see a laker there, that has run
out of the school. It’s seldom one finds such a creatur’ in shallow
water, where a spear can touch it.”

Mohegan gave a wave of assent with his hand, and in the next instant
the canoe was without the “ run of the bass,” and in water nearly
twenty feet in depth. A few additional knots were laid on the
grating, and the light penetrated to the bottom, Elizabeth then saw a
fish of unusual size floating above small pieces of logs and sticks.
The animal was only distinguishable, at that distance, by a slight but
almost imperceptible motion of its fins and tail. The curiosity
excited by this unusual exposure of the secrets of the lake seemed to
be mutual between the heiress of the land and the lord of these
waters, for the “ “salmon-trout” soon announced his interest by
raising his head and body for a few degrees above a horizontal line,
and then dropping them again into a horizontal position.

“Whist! whist!” said Natty, in a low voice, on hearing a slight sound
made by Elizabeth in bending over the side of the canoe in curiosity;
“‘tis a skeary animal, and it’s a far stroke for a spear. My handle
is hut fourteen foot, and the creator’ lies a good eighteen from the
top of the water: but I’ll try him, for he's a ten—pounder.”

While speaking, the Leather-Stocking was poising and directing his
weapon. Elizabeth saw the bright, polished tines, as they slowly and
silently entered the water, where the refraction pointed them many
degrees from the true direction of the fish; and she thought that the
intended victim saw them also, as he seemed to increase the play of
his tail and fins, though without moving his station. At the next
instant the tall body of Natty bent to the water’s edge, and the
handle of his spear disappeared in the lake. The long, dark streak of
the gliding weapon, and the little bubbling vortex which followed its
rapid flight, were easily to be seen: but it was not until the handle
snot again into the air by its own reaction, and its master catching
it in his hand, threw its tines uppermost, that Elizabeth was
acquainted with the success of the blow. A fish of great size was
transfixed by the barbed steel, and was very soon shaken from its
impaled situation into the bottom of the canoe.

That will do, John,” said Natty, raising his prize by one of his
fingers, and exhibiting it before the torch; “ I shall not strike
another blow to-night.”

The Indian again waved his hand, and replied with the simple and
energetic monosyllable of:

“Good.”

Elizabeth was awakened from the trance created by this scene, and by
gazing in that unusual manner at the bot tom of the lake, be the
hoarse sounds of Benjamin’s voice, and the dashing of oars, as the
heavier boat of the seine-drawers approached the spot where the canoe
lay, dragging after it the folds of the net.

“Haul off, haul off, Master Bumppo,” cried Benjamin, “your top-light
frightens the fish, who see the net and sheer off soundings. A fish
knows as much as a horse, or, for that matter, more, seeing that it’s
brought up on the water. Haul oil, Master Bumppo, haul off, I say,
and give a wide berth to the seine.”

Mohegan guided their little canoe to a point where the movements of
the fishermen could be observed, without interruption to the business,
and then suffered it to lie quietly on the water, looking like an
imaginary vessel floating in air. There appeared to be much ill-humor
among the party in the batteau, for the directions of Benjamin were
not only frequent, but issued in a voice that partook largely of
dissatisfaction.

“Pull larboard oar, will ye, Master Kirby?” cried the old seaman;
“pull larboard best. It would puzzle the oldest admiral in their
British fleet to cast this here net fair, with a wake like a
corkscrew. Full starboard, boy, pull starboard oar, with a will.”

“Harkee, Mister Pump,” said Kirby, ceasing to row, and speaking with
sonic spirit; “I'm a man that likes civil language and decent
treatment, such as is right ‘twixt man and man. If you want us to go
hoy, say so, and hoy I'll go, for the benefit of the company; but I m
not used to being ordered about like dumb cattle.”

“Who’s dumb cattle?”” echoed Benjamin, fiercely, turning his
forbidding face to the glare of light from the canoe, and exhibiting
every feature teeming with the expression of disgust. “If you want to
come aft and cun the boat round, come and be damned, and pretty
steerage you’ll make of it. There’s but another heave of the net in
the stern-sheets, and we’re clear of the thing. Give way, will ye?
and shoot her ahead for a fathom or two, and if you catch me afloat
again with such a horse-marine as your self, why, rate me a ship's
jackass, that’s all.”

Probably encouraged by the prospect of a speedy termination to his
labor, the wood-chopper resumed his oar, and, under strong excitement,
gave a stroke that not only cleared the boat of the net but of the
steward at the same instant. Benjamin had stood on the little
platform that held the seine, in the stern of the boat, and the
violent whirl occasioned by the vigor of the wood-chopper’s arm
completely destroyed his balance. The position of the lights rendered
objects in the batteau distinguishable, both from the canoe and the
shore; and the heavy fall on the water drew all eyes to the steward,
as he lay struggling, for a moment, in sight.

A loud burst of merriment, to which the lungs of Kirby contributed no
small part, broke out like a chorus of laughter, and ran along the
eastern mountain, in echoes, until it died away in distant, mocking
mirth, among the rocks and woods. The body of the steward was seen
slowly to disappear, as was expected; but when the light waves, which
had been raised by his fall, began to sink in calmness, and the water
finally closed over his head, unbroken and still, a very different
feeling pervaded the spectators.

“How fare you, Benjamin?” shouted Richard from the shore.

“The dumb devil can’t swim a stroke!” exclaimed Kirby, rising, and
beginning to throw aside his clothes.

“Paddle up, Mohegan,” cried young Edwards, “the light will show us
where he lies, and I will dive for the body.”

“Oh! save him! for God’s sake, save him!” exclaimed Elizabeth, bowing
her head on the side of the canoe in horror.

A powerful and dexterous sweep of Mohegan's paddle sent the canoe
directly over the spot where the steward had fallen, and a loud shout
from the Leather-Stocking announced that he saw the body.

“Steady the boat while I dive,” again cried Edwards.

“Gently, lad, gently,” said Natty; “ I’ll spear the creatur’ up in
half the time, and no risk to anybody.”

The form of Benjamin was lying about half-way to the bottom, grasping
with both hands some broken rushes. The blood of Elizabeth curdled to
her heart, as she saw the figure of a fellow-creature thus extended
under an immense sheet of water, apparently in motion by the
undulations of the dying waves, with its face and hands, viewed by
that light, and through the medium of the fluid, already colored with
hues like death.

At the same instant, she saw the shining tines of Natty’s spear
approaching the head of the sufferer, and entwinning themselves,
rapidly and dexterously, in the hairs of his cue and the cape of his
coat. The body was now raised slowly, looking ghastly and grim as its
features turned upward to the light and approached the surface. The
arrival of the nostrils of Benjamin into their own atmosphere was
announced by a breathing that would have done credit to a porpoise.
For a moment, Natty held the steward suspended, with his head just
above the water, while his eyes slowly opened and stared about him, as
if he thought that he had reached a new and unexplored country.

As all the parties acted and spoke together, much less time was
consumed in the occurrence of these events than in their narration.
To bring the batteau to the end of the spear, and to raise the form of
Benjamin into the boat, and for the whole party to regain the shore,
required but a minute. Kirby, aided by Richard, whose anxiety induced
him to run into the water to meet his favorite assistant, carried the
motionless steward up the bank, and seated him before the fire, while
the sheriff proceeded to order the most approved measures then in use
for the resuscitation of the drowned.

“Run, Billy,” he cried, “to the village, and bring up the rum-hogshead
that lies before the door, in which I am making vinegar, and be quick,
boy, don’t stay to empty the vinegar, and stop at Mr. Le Quoi’s, and
buy a paper of tobacco and half a dozen pipes; and ask Remarkable for
some salt, and one of her flannel petticoats; and ask Dr. Todd to send
his lancet, and to come himself; and— ha! ‘Duke, what are you about?
would you strangle a man who is full of water, by giving him rum? Help
me to open his hand, that I may pat it.”

All this time Benjamin sat, with his muscles fixed, his mouth shut,
and his hands clinching the rushes which he had seized in the
confusion of the moment and which, as he held fast, like a true
seaman, had been the means of preventing his body from rising again to
the surface. His eyes, however, were open, and stared wildly on the
group about the fire, while his lungs were playing like a blacksmith’s
bellows, as if to compensate themselves for the minute of inaction to
which they had been subjected. As he kept his lips compressed, with a
most inveterate determination, the air was compelled to pass through
his nostrils, and he rather snorted than breathed, and in such a
manner that nothing but the excessive agitation of the sheriff could
at all justify his precipitous orders.

The bottle, applied to the steward’s lips by Marmaduke, acted like a
charm. His mouth opened instinctively; his hands dropped the rushes,
and seized the glass; his eyes raised from their horizontal stare to
the heavens; and the whole man was lost, for a moment, in a new
sensation. Unhappily for the propensity of the steward, breath was as
necessary after one of these draughts as after his submersion, and the
time at length arrived when he was compelled to let go the bottle.

“Why, Benjamin!” roared the sheriff; “you amaze me! for a man of your
experience in drownings to act so foolishly! Just now, you were half
full of water, and now you are—”

“Full of grog,” interrupted the steward, his features settling down,
with amazing flexibility, into their natural economy. “But, d’yesee,
squire, I kept my hatches chose, and it’s but little water that ever
gets into my scuttle-butt. Harkee, Master Kirby! I’ve followed the
salt-water for the better part of a man’s life, and have seen some
navigation on the fresh; but this here matter I will say in your
favor, and that is, that you’re the awk’ardest green 'un that ever
straddled a boat’s thwart. Them that likes you for a shipmate, may
sail with you and no thanks; but dam'me if I even walk on the lake
shore in your company. For why? you’d as lief drown a man as one of
them there fish; not to throw a Christian creature so much as a rope’s
end when he was adrift, and no life-buoy in sight! Natty Bumppo, give
us your fist. There’s them that says you’re an Indian, and a scalper,
but you’ve served me a good turn, and you may set me down for a
friend; thof it would have been more ship shape like to lower the
bight of a rope or running bowline below me, than to seize an old
seaman by his head-lanyard; but I suppose you are used to taking men
by the hair, and seeing you did me good instead of harm thereby, why,
it’s the same thing, d'ye see?”

Marmaduke prevented any reply, and assuming the action of matters with
a dignity and discretion that at once silenced all opposition from his
cousin, Benjamin was dispatched to the village by land, and the net
was hauled to shore in such a manner that the fish for once escaped
its meshes with impunity.

The division of the spoils was made in the ordinary manner, by placing
one of the party with his hack to the game, who named the owner of
each pile. Bill Kirby stretched his large frame on the grass by the
side of the fire, as sentinel until morning, over net and fish ; and
the remainder of the party embarked in the batteau, to return to the
village.

The wood-chopper was seen broiling his supper on the coals as they
lost sight of the fire, and when the boat approached the shore, the
torch of Mohegan’s canoe was shining again under the gloom of the
eastern mountain. Its motion ceased suddenly; a scattering of brands
was in the air, and then all remained dark as the conjunction of
night, forest, and mountain could render the scene.

The thoughts of Elizabeth wandered from the youth, who was holding a
canopy of shawls over herself and Louisa, to the hunter and the Indian
warrior; and she felt an awakening curiosity to visit a hut where men
of such different habits and temperament were drawn together as by
common impulse.