Chapter XXIV.

by James Fenimore Cooper

　　For thou wert born of woman! Thou didst come, O Holiest! to this world of sin and gloom, Not in thy dread omnipotent array; And not by thunders strewed Was thy tempestuous road, Nor indignation burnt before thee on thy way. But thee, a soft and naked child, Thy mother undefiled, In the rude manger laid to rest From off her virgin breast.The blood of the bee-hunter curdled in his veins as he listened toPeter's business-like and direct manner of treating this terriblesubject. Putting the most favorable view on his situation, it wasfrightful to look on. Admitting that this fanatical savage weresincere in all his professions of a wish to save him and Margery,and le Bourdon did not, nay, could not doubt this, after his calmbut ferocious revelations; but, admitting all this to be true, howwas he to escape with his charming bride, environed as they were byso large a band of hostile Indians? Then the thought of abandoninghis other companions, and attempting, in cold selfishness, to escapewith Margery alone, was more than he could bear. Never before, inhis adventurous and bold life, had le Bourdon been so profoundlyimpressed with a sense of his danger, or so much overcome.

　　Still, our hero was not unmanned. He saw all the hazards, as itwere, at a glance, and felt how terrible might be the result shouldthey really fall into the hands of the warriors, excited to exercisetheir ingenuity in devising the means of torture; and he gazed intothe frightful perspective with a manly steadiness that did himcredit, even while he sickened at the prospect.

　　Peter had told his story in a way to add to its horrible character.There was a manner of truth, of directness, of work, if one may usesuch an expression on such a subject, that gave a graphic reality toall he said. As if his task was done, the mysterious chief nowcoolly arose, and moved away to a little grove, in which themissionary and the corporal had thrown themselves on the grass,where they lay speculating on the probable course that the bands intheir neighborhood would next pursue. So thoroughly possessed wasthe clergyman with his one idea, however, that he was expressingregret at his failure in the attempt to convince the savages thatthey were Jews, when Peter joined them.

　　"You tired--you lie down in daytime, like sick squaw, eh?" asked theIndian, in a slightly satirical manner. "Bess be up, sich fine day,and go wid me to see some more chief."

　　"Most gladly, Peter," returned the missionary, springing to his feetwith alacrity--"and I shall have one more opportunity to show yourfriends the truth of what I have told them."

　　"Yes, Injin love to hear trut'--hate to hear lie. Can tell 'em allyou want to say. He go too, eh?" pointing to the corporal, whorather hung back, as if he saw that in the invitation which was notagreeable to him.

　　"I will answer for my friend," returned the confiding missionary,cheerfully. "Lead on, Peter, and we will follow."

　　Thus pledged, the corporal no longer hesitated; but he accompaniedParson Amen, as the latter fell into the tracks of the chief, andproceeded rapidly in the direction of the spring in the piece ofbottom-land, where the council first described had been held. Thisspot was about two miles from the palisaded house, and quite out ofview, as well as out of reach of sound. As they walked side by side,taking the footsteps of the great chief for their guides, thecorporal, however, expressed to his companion his dislike of thewhole movement.

　　"We ought to stand by our garrison in times like these, Mr. Amen,"said the well-meaning soldier. "A garrison is a garrison; and Injinsseldom do much on a well-built and boldly-defended spot of thatnatur'. They want artillery, without which their assaults are neververy formidable."

　　"Why talk you of warlike means, corporal, when we are in the midstof friends? Is not Peter our known and well-tried associate, onewith whom you and I have travelled far; and do we not know that wehave friends among these chiefs, whom we are now going to visit? TheLord has led me into these distant and savage regions, to carry hisword, and to proclaim his name; and a most unworthy and unprofitableservant should I prove, were I to hesitate about approaching them Iam appointed to teach. No, no; fear nothing. I will not say that youcarry Caesar and his fortunes, as I have heard was once said of old,but I will say you follow one who is led of God, and who marcheswith the certainty of being divinely commanded."

　　The corporal was ashamed to oppose so confident an enthusiasm, andhe offered no further resistance. Together the two followed theirleader, who, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, soonhad them out of sight of the castle, and well on their way towardthe spring. When about half the distance was made, the directiontook the party through a little thicket, or rather along its margin,and the missionary, a good deal to his surprise, saw Pigeonswingwithin the cover, seemingly preparing for another hunt. This youngwarrior had so lately returned from one excursion of this nature,that he was not expected to go forth so soon on another. Nor was heaccustomed to go out so early in the day. This was the hour in whichhe ordinarily slept; but there he was, beyond a question, andapparently looking at the party as it passed. So cold was hismanner, however, and so indifferent did he seem, that no one wouldhave suspected that he knew aught of what was in contemplation.Having satisfied himself that his friend, the bee-hunter, was notone of those who followed Peter, the Chippewa turned coldly away,and began to examine the flint of his rifle. The corporal noted thismanner, and it gave him additional confidence to proceed; for hecould not imagine that any human being would manifest so muchindifference, when sinister designs existed.

　　Peter turned neither to the right hand nor to the left, until he hadled the way down upon the little arena of bottom-land alreadydescribed, and which was found well sprinkled with savages. A fewstood, or sat about in groups, earnestly conversing; but most layextended at length on the green sward, in the indolent repose thatis so grateful to an Indian warrior in his hours of inaction. Thearrival of Peter, however, instantly put a new face on theappearance of matters. Every man started to his feet, and additionswere made to those who were found in the arena by those who came outof the adjacent thickets, until some two or three hundred of the redmen were assembled in a circle around the newly-arrived pale-faces.

　　"There," said Peter, sternly, fastening his eye with a hostileexpression on Bough of the Oak and Ungque, in particular--"there areyour captives. Do with them as you will. As for them that have daredto question my faith, let them own that they are liars!"

　　This was not a very amicable salutation, but savages are accustomedto plain language. Bough of the Oak appeared a little uneasy, andUngque's countenance denoted dissatisfaction; but the last was tooskilful an actor to allow many of the secrets of his plotting mindto shine through the windows of his face. As for the crowd at large,gleams of content passed over the bright red faces, illuminatingthem with looks of savage joy. Murmurs of approbation were heard,and Crowsfeather addressed the throng, there, where it stood,encircling the two helpless and as yet but half-alarmed victims ofso fell a plot.

　　"My brothers and my young men can now see," said this Pottawattamie,"that the tribeless chief has an Injin heart. His heart is not apale-face heart--it is that of a red man. Some of our chiefs havethought that he had lived too much with the strangers, and that hehad forgotten the traditions of our fathers, and was listening tothe song of the medicine priest. Some thought that he believedhimself lost, and a Jew, and not an Injin. This is not so. Peterknows the path he is on. He knows that he is a redskin, and he lookson the Yankees as enemies. The scalps he has taken are so numerousthey cannot be counted. He is ready to take more. Here are two thathe gives to us. When we have done with these two captives, he willbring us more. He will continue to bring them, until the pale-faceswill be as few as the deer in their own clearings. Such is the willof the Manitou."

　　The missionary understood all that was said, and he was not a littleappalled at the aspect of things. For the first time he began toapprehend that he was in danger. So much was this devout and well-intentioned servant of his church accustomed to place his dependenceon a superintending Providence, that apprehension of personalsuffering seldom had any influence on his exertions. He believedhimself to be an object of especial care; though he was ever readyto admit that the wisdom which human minds cannot compass, mightorder events that, at first sight, would seem to be opposed to thatwhich ought to be permitted to come to pass. In this particularParson Amen was a model of submission, firmly believing that allthat happened was in furtherance of the great scheme of man'sregeneration and eventual salvation.

　　With the corporal it was very different. Accustomed to war with redmen, and most acquainted with them in their worst character, he eversuspected treachery, and had followed Peter with a degree ofreluctance he had not cared to express. He now thoroughly took thealarm, however, and stood on his guard. Although he did notcomprehend more than half of that which Peter had said, heunderstood quite enough to see that he and the missionary weresurrounded by enemies, if not by executioners.

　　"We have fallen into a sort of ambush here, Parson Amen," cried thecorporal, rattling his arms as he looked to their condition, "andit's high time we beat the general. If there were four on us wemight form a square; but being only two, the best thing we can dowill be to stand back to back, and for one to keep an eye on theright flank, while he nat'rally watches all in front; and for theother to keep an eye on the left flank, while he sees to the rear.Place your back close to mine, and take the left flank into yourpart of the lookout. Closer, closer, my good sir; we must standsolid as rooted trees, to make anything of a stand."

　　The missionary, in his surprise, permitted the corporal to assumethe position described, though conscious of its uselessness in theiractual condition. As for the Indians, the corporal's manner and therattling of his arms induced the circle to recede several paces;though nothing like alarm prevailed among them. The effect,nevertheless, was to leave the two captives space for theirevolutions, and a sort of breathing time. This little change had theappearance of something like success, and it greatly encouraged thecorporal. He began to think it even possible to make a retreat thatwould be as honorable as any victory.

　　"Steady--keep shoulder to shoulder, Parson Amen, and take care ofyour flank. Our movement must be by our left flank, and everythingdepends on keeping that clear. I shall have to give you my baggonet,for you're entirely without arms, which leaves my rear altogetherexposed."

　　"Think nothing of your arms, Brother Flint--they would be useless inmy hands in any case; and, were we made of muskets, they could be ofno use against these odds. My means of defence come from on high; myarmor is faith; and my only weapon, prayer. I shall not hesitate touse the last on this, as on all other occasions."

　　The missionary then called on the circle of curious savages by whomhe was surrounded, and who certainly contemplated nothing less thanhis death, in common with those of all his white companions, tounite with him in addressing the Throne of Grace. Accustomed topreach and pray to these people in their own dialect, the worthyparson made a strong appeal to their charities, while supplicatingthe favors of Divine Providence in behalf of himself and his brothercaptive. He asked for all the usual benedictions and blessings onhis enemies, and made a very happy exposition of those sublimedogmas of Christianity, which teach us to "bless them that curseus," and to "pray for those who despitefully use us." Peter, for thefirst time in his life, was now struck with the moral beauty of sucha sentiment, which seldom fails, when duly presented, of producingan effect on even the dullest minds. His curiosity was touched, andinstead of turning coldly, as had been his intention, and leavingthe captives in the hands of those to whom he had delivered them, heremained in the circle, and paid the closest attention to all of theproceedings. He had several times previously heard the missionaryspeak of this duty as a command of God's, but never before had hedeemed it possible to realize such a thing in practice.

　　The Indians, if not absolutely awe-struck by the singular spectaclebefore them, seemed well disposed to let the missionary finish hisappeal; some wondering, others doubting, and all more or less at aloss to know what to make of an exhibition so unusual. There stoodthe corporal, with his back pressed closely to that of hiscompanion, his musket at "make ready," and his whole mien that of aman with every nerve screwed to the sticking-point; while themissionary, the other side of the picture, with outstretched arms,was lifting his voice in prayer to the throne of the Most High. Asthis extraordinary scene continued, the corporal grew excited; andere long his voice was occasionally heard, blended with that of theclergyman, in terms of advice and encouragement.

　　"Blaze away, Mr. Amen," shouted the soldier. "Give 'em anothervolley--you're doing wonders, and their front has given ground! Onemore such volley as the last, and we'll make a forward movement,ourselves--attention!--prepare to march by the left flank, as soonas there is a good opening!"

　　That good opening, however, was never made. The savages, thoughastonished, were by no means frightened, and had not the smallestidea of letting their captives escape. On the contrary, Bear's Meat,who acted as commander-in-chief on this occasion, was quite self-possessed, and so far from being impressed with the missionary'sprayer, he listened to it only in the hope of hearing some admissionof weakness escape. But the excitement of the corporal soon produceda crisis. His attempts to make a movement "by the left flank,"caused his column of defence to be broken, and obtaining noassistance from Parson Amen, who was still pouring out his soul inprayer, while endeavoring to bring things back to their originalstate, he suddenly found himself surrounded and disarmed. From thatinstant, the corporal changed his tactics. So long as he was armed,and comparatively free, he had bethought him only of the means ofresistance; now that these were denied him, he submitted, andsummoned all his resolution to bear the penalties of his captivity,in a manner that might not do discredit to his regiment. This wasthe third time that Corporal Flint had been a prisoner among theIndians, and he was not now to learn the nature of their tendermercies. His forebodings were not of the most pleasant character;but that which could not be helped, he was disposed to bear withmanly fortitude. His greatest concern, at that fearful moment, wasfor the honor of his corps.

　　All this time, Parson Amen continued his prayer. So completely washis spirit occupied with the duty of offering up his petition, thathe was utterly unconscious of what else had passed; nor had he heardone of the corporal's appeals for "attention," and to be "steady,"and to march "by the left flank." In a word, the whole man wasintent on prayer; and when thus employed, a six-pounder dischargedin the circle would hardly have disconcerted him. He persevered,therefore, uninterrupted by his conquerors, until he concluded inhis own way. Having thus fortified his soul, and asked for succorwhere he had now so long been accustomed to seek and to find it, theworthy missionary took his seat quietly on a log, on which thecorporal had been previously placed by his captors.

　　The time had arrived for the chiefs to proceed in the execution oftheir purposes. Peter, profoundly struck with the prayers of themissionary in behalf of his enemies, had taken a station a little onone side, where he stood ruminating on what he had just heard. Ifever precept bore the stamp of a divine origin, it is this. The morewe reflect on it, the clearer do our perceptions of this truthbecome. The whole scheme of Christ's redemption and future existenceis founded in love, and such a system would be imperfect while anywere excluded from its benefits. To love those who reciprocate ourfeelings is so very natural, that the sympathies which engender thisfeeling are soonest attracted by a knowledge of their existence,love producing love, as power increases power. But to love those whohate us, and to strive to do good to those who are plotting evilagainst ourselves, greatly exceeds the moral strength of man,unaided from above. This was the idea that puzzled Peter, and he nowactually interrupted the proceedings, in order to satisfy his mindon a subject so totally new to him. Previously, however, to takingthis step, he asked the permission of the principal chiefs,awakening in their bosoms by means of his explanations some of theinterest in this subject that he felt himself.

　　"Brother medicine-man," said the mysterious chief, drawing nearer tothe missionary, accompanied himself by Bear's Meat, Crowsfeather,and one or two more, "you have been talking to the Great Spirit o!the pale-faces. We have heard your words, and think them well. Theyare good words for a man about to set out on the path that leads tothe unknown lands. Thither we must all go some time, and it matterslittle when. We may not all travel the same path. I do not think theManitou will crowd tribes of different colors together there, asthey are getting to be crowded together here.

　　"Brother, you are about to learn how all these things really are. Ifred men, and pale-faces, and black men are to live in the same land,after death, you will shortly know it. My brother is about to gothere. He and his friend, this warrior of his people, will travel onthat long path in company. I hope they will agree by the way, andnot trouble each other. It will be convenient to my brother to havea hunter with him; the path is so long, he will be hungry before hegets to the end. This warrior knows how to use a musket, and weshall put his arms with him in his grave.

　　"Brother, before you start on this journey, from which no travellerever returns, let his color be what it may, we wish to hear youspeak further about loving our enemies. This is not the Indian rule.The red men hate their enemies, and love their friends. When theyask the Manitou to do anything to their enemies, it is to do themharm. This is what our fathers taught us: it is what we teach ourchildren. Why should we love them that hate us: why should we dogood to them that do us harm? Tell us now, or we may never hear thereason."

　　"Tell you I will, Peter, and the Lord so bless my words that theymay soften your hearts, and lead you all to the truth, and todependence on the mediation of his blessed Son! We should do good tothem that do evil to us, because the Great Spirit has commanded usso to do. Ask your own heart if this is not right. If they soundlike words that are spoken by any but those who have been taught bythe Manitou, himself. The devils tell us to revenge, but Godcommands us to forgive. It is easy to do good to them that do goodto us; but it tries the heart sorely to do good to them that do usevil. I have spoken to you of the Son of the Great Spirit. He cameon earth, and told us with his own mouth all these great truths. Hesaid that next to the duty of loving the Manitou, was the duty ofloving our neighbors. No matter whether friend or enemy, it was ourduty to love them, and do them all the good we can. If there is novenison in their wigwams, we should take the deer off our own poles,and carry it and put on theirs. Why have I come here to tell youthis? When at home, I lived under a good roof, eat of abundance, andslept in a soft and warm bed. You know how it is here. We do notknow to-day what we shall eat to-morrow. Our beds are hard, and ourroofs are of bark. I come, because the Son of the Manitou, he whocame and lived among men, told us to do all this. His commands tohis medicine-men were, to go forth, and tell all nations, andtribes, and colors, the truth--to tell them to 'love them thatsought to do them harm, and to do good for evil.'"

　　Parson Amen pausing a moment to take breath, Ungque, who detectedthe wavering of Peter's mind, and who acted far more in oppositionto the mysterious and tribeless chief than from any other motive,profited by the occasion thus afforded to speak. Without this pause,however, the breeding of an Indian would have prevented anyinterruption.

　　"I open my mouth to speak," said The Weasel, in his humblest manner."What I say is not fit for the wise chiefs to hear. It is foolish,but my mind tells me to say it. Does the medicine-man of the pale-faces tell us that the Son of the Great Spirit came upon earth, andlived among men?"

　　"I do; such is our belief; and the religion we believe and teachcometh directly from his mouth."

　　"Let the medicine-man tell the chiefs how long the Son of the GreatSpirit stayed on earth, and which way he went when he left it."

　　Now, this question was put by Ungque through profound dissimulation.He had heard of the death of Christ, and had obtained some such ideaof the great sacrifice as would be apt to occur to the mind of asavage. He foresaw that the effect of the answer would be verylikely to destroy most of the influence that the missionary had justbeen building up, by means of his doctrine and his prayers. ParsonAmen was a man of singular simplicity of character, but he had hismisgivings touching the effect of this reply. Still he did notscruple about giving it, or attempt in any manner to mystify or todeceive.

　　"It is a humiliating and sad story, my brethren, and one that oughtto cause all heads to be bowed to the earth in shame," he answered."The Son of the Great Spirit came among men; he did nothing butgood; told those who heard him how to live and how to die. In returnfor all this, wicked and unbelieving men put him to death. Afterdeath his body was taken up into Heaven--the region of departedspirits, and the dwelling-place of his Father--where he now is,waiting for the time when he is to return to the earth, to rewardthe good and to punish the wicked. That time will surely come; nordo I believe the day to be very distant."

　　The chiefs listened to this account with grave attention. Some ofthem had heard outlines of the same history before. Accountssavoring of the Christian history had got blended with some of theirown traditions, most probably the fruits of the teachings of theearlier missionaries, but were so confused and altered as to bescarcely susceptible of being recognized. To most of them, however,the history of the incarnation of the Son of God was entirely new;and it struck them as a most extraordinary thing altogether that anyman should have injured such a being! It was, perhaps, singular thatno one of them all doubted the truth of the tradition itself. Thisthey supposed to have been transmitted with the usual care, and theyreceived it as a fact not to be disputed. The construction that wasput on its circumstances will best appear in the remarks thatfollowed.

　　"If the pale-faces killed the Son of the Great Spirit," said Boughof the Oak, pointedly, "we can see why they wish to drive the redmen from their lands. Evil spirits dwell in such men, and they donothing but what is bad. I am glad that our great chief has told usto put the foot on this worm and crush it, while yet the Indian footis large enough to do it. In a few winters they would kill us, asthey killed the Spirit that did them nothing but good!"

　　"I am afraid that this mighty tradition hath a mystery in it thatyour Indian minds will scarcely be willing to receive," resumed themissionary, earnestly. "I would not, for a thousand worlds, or tosave ten thousand lives as worthless as my own, place a straw in theway of the faith of any; yet must I tell the thing as it happened.This Son of the Great Spirit was certainly killed by the Jews ofthat day, so far as he could be killed. He possessed two natures, asindeed do all men: the body and soul. In his body he was man, as weall are men; in his soul he was a part of the Great Spirit himself.This is the great mystery of our religion. We cannot tell how it canhappen, but we believe it. We see around us a thousand things thatwe cannot understand, and this is one of them."

　　Here Bear's Meat availed himself of another pause to make a remark.This he did with the keenness of one accustomed to watch words andevents closely, but with a simplicity that showed no vulgardisposition to scepticism.

　　"We do not expect that all the Great Spirit does can be clear to usIndians," he said. "We know very little; he knows everything. Whyshould we think to know all that he knows? We do not. That part ofthe tradition gives us no trouble. Indians can believe withoutseeing. They are not squaws, that wish to look behind every bush.But my brother has told too much for his own good. If the pale-faceskilled their Great Spirit, they can have no Manitou, and must be inthe hands of the Evil Spirit This is the reason they want ourhunting-grounds. I will not let them come any nearer to the settingsun. It is time to begin to kill them, as they killed their GreatSpirit. The Jews did this. My brother wishes us to think that redmen are Jews! No; red men never harmed the Son of the Great Spirit,They would receive him as a friend, and treat him as a chief.Accursed be the hand that should be raised to harm him. Thistradition is a wise tradition. It tells us many things. It tells usthat Injins are not Jews. They never hurt the Son of the GreatSpirit. It tells us that the red men have always lived on thesehunting-grounds, and did not come from toward the rising sun. Ittells us that pale-faces are not fit to live. They are too wicked.Let them die."

　　"I would ask a question," put in Peter. "This tradition is not new.I have heard it before. It entered but a little way into my ears. Idid not think of it. It has now entered deeper, and I wish to hearmore. Why did not the Son of the Great Spirit kill the Jews?--whydid he let the Jews kill him? Will my brother say?"

　　"He came on earth to die for man, whose wickedness was so deep thatthe Great Spirit's justice could not be satisfied with less. Whythis is so no one knows. It is enough that it should be so. Insteadof thinking of doing harm to his tormentors and murderers, he diedfor them, and died asking for benefits on them, and on their wivesand children, for all time to come. It was he who commanded us to dogood to them that do harm to us."

　　Peter gave the utmost attention to this answer, and when he hadreceived it, he walked apart, musing profoundly. It is worthy ofbeing observed that not one of these savages raised any hollowobjections to the incarnation of the Son of the Great Spirit, aswould have been the case with so many civilized men. To them thisappeared no more difficult and incomprehensible than most of thatwhich they saw around them. It is when we begin to assume the airsof philosophy, and to fancy, because we know a little, that thewhole book of knowledge is within our grasp, that men becomesceptics. There is not a human being now in existence who does notdaily, hourly see that which is just as much beyond his powers ofcomprehension as this account of the incarnation of the Deity, andthe whole doctrine of the Trinity; and yet he acquiesces in thatwhich is before his eyes, because it is familiar and he sees it,while he cavils at all else, though the same unknown andinexplicable cause lies behind everything. The deepest philosophy issoon lost in this general mystery, and, to the eye of a meek reason,all around us is a species of miracle, which must be referred to thepower of the Deity.

　　While thus disposed to receive the pale-face traditions withrespect, however, the red men did not lose sight of their own policyand purposes. The principal chiefs now stepped aside, and held abrief council. Though invited to do so, Peter did not join them;leaving to Bough of the Oak, Ungque, and Bear's Meat the control ofthe result The question was whether the original intention ofincluding this medicine-priest among those to be cut off should, orshould not, be adhered to. One or two of the chiefs had theirdoubts, but the opinion of the council was adverse.

　　"If the pale-faces killed the Son of their Great Spirit, why shouldwe hesitate about killing them?" The Weasel asked, with maliciouspoint, for he saw that Peter was now sorely troubled at theprobability of his own design being fully carried out. "There is nodifference. This is a medicine-priest--in the wigwam is a medicine-bee-hunter, and that warrior may be a medicine-warrior. We do notknow. We are poor Injins that know but little. It is not so with thepale-faces; they talk with the conjurer's bees, and know much. Weshall not have ground enough to take even a muskrat, soon, unless wecut off the strangers. The Manitou has given us these; let us killthem."

　　As no one very strenuously opposed the scheme, the question was soondecided, and Ungque was commissioned to communicate the result tothe captives. One exception, however, was to be made in favor of themissionary. His object appeared to be peaceful, and it wasdetermined that he should be led a short distance into thesurrounding thicket, and be there put to death, without any attemptto torture, or aggravate his sufferings. As a mark of singularrespect, it was also decided not to scalp him.

　　As Ungque, and those associated with him, led the missionary to theplace of execution, the former artfully invited Peter to follow.This was done simply because the Weasel saw that it would now beunpleasant to the man he hated--hated merely because he possessed aninfluence that he coveted for himself.

　　"My father will see a pleasant sight," said the wily Weasel, as hewalked at Peter's side, toward the indicated spot; "he will see apale-face die, and know that his foot has been put upon anotherworm."

　　No answer was made to this ironical remark, but Peter walked insilence to the place where the missionary was stationed, surroundedby a guard. Ungque now advanced and spoke.

　　"It is time for the medicine-priest of the pale-faces to start afterthe spirits of his people who have gone before him," he said. "Thepath is long, and unless he walks fast, and starts soon, he may notovertake them. I hope he will see some of them that helped to killthe Son of his Great Spirit, starving, and foot-sore, on the way."

　　"I understand you," returned the missionary, after a few momentspassed in recovering from the shock of this communication. "My houris come. I have held my life in my hand ever since I first put footin this heathen region, and if it be the Creator's will that I amnow to die, I bow to the decree. Grant me a few minutes for prayerto my God."

　　Ungque signed that the delay should be granted. The missionaryuncovered his head, knelt, and again lifted up his voice in prayer.At first the tones were a little tremulous; but they grew firmer ashe proceeded. Soon they became as serene as usual. He first askedmercy for himself, threw all his hopes on the great atonement, andconfessed how far he was from that holiness which alone could fithim to see God. When this duty was performed, he prayed for hisenemies. The language used was his mother tongue, but Petercomprehended most of that which was said. He heard his own peopleprayed for; he heard his own name mentioned, as the condemned manasked the mercy of the Manitou in his behalf. Never before was thesoul of this extraordinary savage so shaken. The past seemed like adream to him, while the future possessed a light that was stillobscured by clouds. Here was an exemplification in practice of thatdivine spirit of love and benevolence which had struck him, already,as so very wonderful. There could be no mistake. There was thekneeling captive, and his words, clear, distinct, and imploring,ascended through the cover of the bushes to the throne of God.

　　As soon as the voice of the missionary was mute, the mysteriouschief bowed his head and moved away. He was then powerless. Noauthority of his could save the captive, and the sight that solately would have cheered his eyes was now too painful to bear. Heheard the single blow of the tomahawk which brained the victim, andhe shuddered from head to foot. It was the first time such aweakness had ever come over him. As for the missionary, in deferenceto his pursuits, his executioners dug him a grave, and buried himunmutilated on the spot where he had fallen.