MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) - FREDERICK MARRYAT (books to read this summer txt) 📗

Of A Pale-Face, But His Heart Is A Shoshone'S.

 

 

 

"When You Refused to Till The Ground, You Did Well, For It Was Not In

Your Nature--The Nature Of Man Cannot Be Changed like That Of A Moth.

Yet, At That Time, You Understood Well The Means Which Give Power To A

Great People. Wealth Alone Can Maintain The Superiority That Bravery Has

Asserted. Wealth And Bravery Make Strength--Strength Which Nothing Can

Break Down, Except The Great Master Of Life.

 

 

 

"The Shoshones Knew This A Long Time Ago; They Are Brave, But They Have

No Wealth; And If They Still Keep Their Superiority, It Is Because Their

Enemies Are At This Time Awed by The Strength And The Cunning Of Their

Warriors. But The Shoshones, To Keep Their Ground, Will Some Day Be

Obliged to Sleep Always On Their Borders, To Repel Their Enemies. They

Will Be Too Busy To Fish And To Hunt. Their Squaws And Children Will

Starve! Even Now The Evil Has Begun. What Hunting and What Fishing Have

You Had This Last Year? None! As Soon As The Braves Had Arrived at Their

Hunting-Ground, They Were Obliged to Return Back To Defend Their Squaws

And To Punish Their Enemies.

 

 

 

"Now, Why Should Not The Shoshones Put Themselves At Once Above The

Reach Of Such Chances? Why Should They Not Get Rich? They Object To

Planting Grain And Tobacco. They Do Well, As Other People Can Do That

For Them; But There Are Many Other Means Of Getting Strength And Wealth.

These I Will Teach To My Tribe!

 

 

 

"The Shoshones Fight The Crows, Because The Crows Are Thieves; The

Flat-Heads, Because They Are Greedy Of Our Buffaloes; The Umbiquas,

Because They Steal Horses. Were It Not For Them, The Children Of The

Grand Serpent Would Never Fight; Their Lodges Would Fill With Wealth,

And That Wealth Would Purchase All The Good Things Of The White Men From

Distant Lands. These White Men-Come To The Watchinangoes (Mexicans), To

Take The Hides Of Their Oxen, The Wool Of Their Sheep. They Would Come

To Us, If We Had Anything To Offer Them. Let Us Then Call Them, For We

Have The Hides Of Thousands Of Buffaloes; We Have The Furs Of The Beaver

And The Otter; We Have Plenty Of Copper In our Mountains, And Of Gold In

Our Streams.

 

 

 

"Now, Hear Me. When A Shoshone Chief Thinks That The Crows Will Attack

His Lodge, He Calls His Children And His Nephews Around Him. A Nation

Can Do The Same. The Shoshones Have Many Brave Children In the Prairies

Of The South; They Have Many More On The Borders Of The Yankees. All Of

Them Think And Speak Like Their Ancestors, They Are The Same People.

Now Would It Not Be Good And Wise To Have All These Brave Grand-Children

And Grand-Nephews As Your Neighbours And Allies, Instead Of The Crows,

The Cayuses, And The Umbiquas? Yes, It Would. Who Would Dare To Come

From The North Across A Country Inhabited by The Warlike Comanches, Or

From The South And The Rising Sun, Through The Wigwams Of The Apaches?

The Shoshones Would Then Have More Than 30,000 Warriors; They Would

Sweep The Country, From The Sea To The Mountains, From The River Of The

North (Columbia) To The Towns Of The Watchinangoes. When The White Men

Would Come In their Big Canoes, As Traders And Friends, We Would Receive

Them Well; If They Come As Foes, We Will Laugh At Them, And Whip Them

Like Dogs. These Are The Thoughts Which I Wanted to Make Known To The

Shoshones.

 

 

 

"During My Absence, I Have Seen The Apaches And The Comanches. They Are

Both Great Nations. Let Us Send Some Wise Men To Invite Them To Return

To Their Fathers; Let Our Chiefs Offer Them Wood, Land, And Water. I

Have Said."

 

 

 

As Long As I Spoke, The Deepest Silence Reigned over The Whole Assembly;

But As Soon As I Sat Down, And Began Smoking, There Was A General

Movement, Which Showed me That I Had Made An Impression. The Old Great

Chief Rose, However, And The Murmurs Were Hushed. He Spoke:--

 

 

 

"Owato Wanisha Has Spoken. I Have Heard. It Was A Strange Vision, A

Beautiful Dream. My Heart Came Young Again, My Body Lighter, And My Eyes

More Keen. Yet I Cannot See The Future; I Must Fast And Pray, I Must Ask

The Great Master Of Life To Lend Me His Wisdom.

 

 

 

"I Know The Comanches, I Know The Apaches, And The Arrapahoes. They Are

Our Children; I Know It. The Comanches Have Left Us A Long, Long Time,

But The Apaches And Arrapahoes Have Not Yet Forgotten The

Hunting-Grounds Where Their Fathers Were Born. When I Was But A Young

Hunter, They Would Come Every Snow To The Lodge Of Our Manitou, To Offer

Their Presents. It Was Long Before Any Pale-Face Had Passed the

Mountains. Since That The Leaves Of The Oaks Have Grown And Died eighty

Times. It Is A Long While For A Man, But For A Nation It Is But As

Yesterday.

 

 

 

"They Are Our Children,--It Would Be Good To Have Them With Us; They

Would Share Our Hunts; We Would Divide Our Wealth With Them. Then We

Would Be Strong. Owato Wanisha Has Spoken Well; He Hath Learned many

Mysteries With The _Macota Conaya_ (Black Robes, Priests); He Is Wise.

Yet, As I Have Said, The Red-Skin Chiefs Must Ask Wisdom From The Great

Master. He Will Let Us Know What Is Good And What Is Bad. At The Next

Moon We Will Return To The Council. I Have Said."

 

 

 

All The Chiefs Departed, To Prepare For Their Fasting and Ceremonies,

While Gabriel, Roche, My Old Servant, And Myself, Concerted our Measures

So As To Insure The Success Of My Enterprise. My Servant I Despatched to

Monterey, Gabriel To The Nearest Village Of The Apaches, And As It Was

Proper, According To Indian Ideas, That I Should Be Out Of The Way

During The Ceremonies, So As Not To Influence Any Chief, I Retired with

Roche To The Boat-House, To Pass The Time Until The New Moon.

 

 

 

Upon The Day Agreed upon, We Were All Once More Assembled at The

Council-Ground On The Shores Of The Buona Ventura, The Chiefs And Elders

Of The Tribe Had Assumed a Solemn Demeanour, And Even The Men Of Dark

Deeds (The Medecins) And The Keepers Of The Sacred lodges Had Made Their

Appearance, In their Professional Dresses, So As To Impress Upon The

Beholders The Importance Of The Present Transaction. One Of The Sacred

Lodge First Arose, And Making a Signal With His Hand, Prepared

To Speak:--

 

 

 

"Shoshones," Said He, "Now Has Come The Time In which Out Nation Must

Either Rise Above All Others, As The Eagle Of The Mountains Rises Above

The Small Birds, Or Sink Down And Disappear From The Surface Of The

Earth. Had We Been Left Such As We Were Before The Pale-Faces Crossed

The Mountains, We Would Have Needed no Other Help But A Shoshone Heart

And Our Keen Arrows To Crush Our Enemies; But The Pale-Faces Have Double

Hearts As Well As A Double Tongue; They Are Friends Or Enemies As Their

Thirst For Wealth Guides Them. They Trade With The Shoshones, But They

Also Trade With The Crows And The Umbiquas. The Young Chief, Owato

Wanisha, Hath Proposed a New Path To Our Tribe; He Is Young, But He Has

Received his Wisdom From The Black-Gowns, Who, Of All Men, Are The Most

Wise. I Have Heard, As Our Elders And Ancient Chiefs Have Also Heard,

The Means By Which He Thinks We Can Succeed: We Have Fasted, We Have

Prayed to The Master Of Life To Show Unto Us The Path Which We Must

Follow. Shoshones, We Live In a Strange Time! Our Great Manitou Bids Us

Red-Skins Obey The Pale-Face, And Follow Him To Conquer Or Die. I Have

Said! The Chief Of Many Winters Will Now Address His Warriors

And Friends!"

 

 

 

A Murmur Ran Through The Whole Assembly, Who Seemed evidently Much Moved

By This Political Speech From One Whom They Were Accustomed to Look Upon

With Dread, As The Interpreter Of The Will Of Heaven. The Old Chief, Who

Had Already Spoken In the Former Council, Now Rose And Spoke With A

Tremulous Yet Distinct Voice.

 

 

 

"I Have Fasted, I Have Prayed, I Have Dreamed. Old Men, Who Have Lived

Almost All Their Life, Have A Keener Perception *To Read The Wishes Of

The Master Of Life Concerning The Future. I Am A Chief, And Have Been A

Chief During Sixty Changes Of The Season. I Am Proud Of My Station, And

As I Have Struck Deepest In the Heart Of Our Enemies, I Am Jealous Of

That Power Which Is Mine, And Would Yield It To No One, If The Great

Manitou Did Not Order It. When This Sun Will Have Disappeared behind The

Salt-Water, I Shall No Longer Be A Chief! Owato Wanisha Will Guide Our

Warriors, He Will Preside In council, For Two Gods Are With Him--The

Manitou Of The Pale-Faces And The Manitou Of The Red-Skins.

 

 

 

"Hear My Words, Shoshones! I Shall Soon Join My Father And Grandfather

In The Happy Lands, For I Am Old! Yet, Before My Bones Are Buried at The

Foot Of The Hills, It Would Brighten My Heart To See The Glory Of The

Shoshones, Which I Know Must Be In a Short Time. Hear My Words! Long

Ages Ago Some Of Our Children, Not Finding Our Hunting-Grounds Wide

Enough For The Range-Of Their Arrows, Left Us. They First Wandered in

The South, And In the Beautiful Prairies Of The East, Under A Climate

Blessed by The Good Spirits. They Grew And Grew In number Till Their

Families Were As Numerous As Ours, And As They Were Warriors And Their

Hearts Big, They Spread Themselves, And, Soon Crossing The Big

Mountains, Their Eagle Glance Saw On Each Side Of Their Territory The

Salt-Water Of The Sunrise And The Salt-Water Of The Sunset. These Are

The Comanches, A Powerful Nation. The Comanches Even Now Have A Shoshone

Heart, A Shoshone Tongue. Owato Wanisha Has Been With Them; He Says They

Are Friends, And Have Not Forgotten That They Are The Children Of The

Great Serpent.

 

 

 

"Long, Long While Afterwards, Yet Not Long Enough That I Should Escape

The Memory And The Records Of Our Holy Men, Some Other Of Our Children,

Hearing Of The Power Of The Comanches Of Their Wealth, Of Their

Beautiful Country, Determined also To Leave Us And Spread To The South.

These Are The Apaches From The Top Of The Big Mountains, Always Covered

With Snow They Look Towards The Bed of The Sun. They See The Green Grass

Of The Prairie Below Them, And Afar The Blue Salt-Water Their Houses Are

As Numerous As The Stars In heaven, Their Warriors As Thick As The

Shells In the Bottom Of Our Lakes. They Are Brave; They Are Feared by

The Pale-Faces--By All; And They Too, Know That We Are Their Fathers;

Their Tongue Is Our Tongue Their Manitou Our Manitou; Their Heart A

Portion Of Our Heart And Never Has The Knife Of A Shoshone Drunk The

Blood Of A Apache, Nor The Belt Of An Apache Suspended the Scalp

Of Shoshone.

 

 

 

"And Afterwards, Again, More Of Our Children Left Us. By That Time They

Left Us Because We Were Angry. They Were Few Families Of Chiefs Who Had

Grown Strong And Proud. They Wished to Lord Over Our Wigwams, And We

Drove Them Away, As The Panther Drives Away Her Cubs, When Their Claws

And Teeth Have Been Once Turned against Her. These Are The Arrapahoes

They Are Strong And Our Enemies, Yet They Are A Noble Nation. I Have In

My Lodge Twenty Of Their Scalps; They Have Many Ours. They Fight By The

Broad Light Of The Day, With The Lane Bow, And Arrows; They Scorn

Treachery. Are They Not Although Rebels And Unnatural Children, Still

The Children, Of The Shoshones? Who Ever Heard Of The Arrapahoes

Entering The War-Path In night? No One! They Are No Crows, No Umbiquas,

No Flat-Heads! They Can Give Death; They Know How To Receive

It,--Straight And Upright, Knee To Knee, Breast To Breast, And Their Eye

Drinking The Glance Of Their Foe.

 

 

 

"Well, These Arrapahoes Are Our Neighbours; Often, Very Often, Too Much

So (As Many Of Our Widows Can Say), When They Unbury Their Tomahawk And

Enter The War-Path Against The Shoshones. Why; Can Two Suns Light The

Same Prairie, Or Two Male Eagles Cover The Same Nest? No. Yet Numerous

Stars Appear During Night, All Joined together, And Obedient To The

Moon. Blackbirds And Parrots Will Unite Their Numerous Tribes And Take

The Same Flight To Seek Altogether A Common Rest A Shelter For A Night;

It Is A Law Of Nature. The Red-Skin Knows None But The Laws Of Nature.

The Shoshone Is An Eagle On The Hills, A Bright Sun In the Prairie, So

Is An Arrapahoe;