Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-04-07
CHAPTER XVIII

The faith OF the Iroquois was worse
than Punic, nor was there lacking
swift proof of its real nature Law
and Pembroke, the moment they had
led their little garrison beyond the
gate, found themselves surrounded by
a ring of tomahawks and drawn bows
Their weapons were snatehed away
from them, and on the instant they
found themselves beyond all possible
ity of that resistance whose giving
over they now bitterly repented. Teg-
anisoris regarded them with a sar-
donic smile
Il see You are all English, " said he.
though some of You wear blue coats
These we may perhaps adopt into our
tribe, for our boys grow up but slowly,
and some of the blue coats are good
fighters These dogs of Illini we shall
of course burn. AS for your war
house, you will no longer need it. since
you are now friends of the Iroquois,
and are going to their villages You
may say to Corlaer that you well know
the Iroquois have no prisoners
The horrid significance of this threat
was all too soon made plain IN an
hour the little stockade was but a
mass of embers and ashes. n another
hour the little valley had become a
Gehenna of anguish and lamentations.
with whose riot of grief and woe there
mingled the savage Civilizations Of a
foe whose treachery was but surpassed
by his cruelty. Again the planting
ground of the Him was utterly laid
waste. to mark it naught remaining
but trampled grain, and heaps of ashes,
and remnants of blackened and inein-
Grated bones. By nightfali the party
of prisoners had begun a wild journey
through the wilderness, whose horrors
surpassed any they had supposed TO be
humanity endurabIe.
Day after day, week after week. for
more than month, and much of the
time in winter weather, they toiled on,
part of the way by boat, the remain
der of the journey on foot. crossing
sn0w-clogged forest, and tangled
thicket and frozen morass, yet daring
not to drop out for rest, since to lag
might mean to die. 1t was as though
after some frightful nightmare of suf-
fering and despair that at length they
reached the villages of the Five Ma
foot of the great waterway which
Law and his family had assembled more
than a year before.
Yet If that which had gone before
! seemed like some bitter dream, surely
! the day of awakening promised but lit
| tie better hope From village to vii
Iage, footsore and i'll. they were hur-
/ ried without rest, at each new stopping
place the central figures of barbar
lous triumph. and nowhere did they
meet the representatives of either the
French or the English government,
whose expected presence had consti-
1 tuted their one ground of hope.
Where is your big peace?" asked
Teganisoris of Pembroke. Where are
! the head men of Corlaer? Who brings
presents to the Iroquois, and who is
to tell lis that Onontio has carried the
pipe of peace TO Corlaer? Here are
our villages as when we left them.
and here again are we, save for the
absent ones who have been killed by
your young men. 1t is no wonder that
my people are displeased.
Indeed those of the Iroquois who had
remained at home clamored continu-
ally that some of the prisoners should
/ be given over to them. Thus. in doubt,
uncertainty and terror the party passed
4 through the villages, moving always
eastward, until at length they arrived
at the fortified town where Teganisoris
made his home, a spot toward the foot
of Lake Ontario, and not widely re-
moved from that stupendous cataract
which, from the beginning of earth,
had uplifted its thunderous diapason
here in the savage wilderness 0nton-
eagrea, object of superstitions awe
among all the tribes.
Time hung heavy on the hands of
the savages. 1t was winter, and the
parties had all returned from the war
trails. The mutterings arose yet
more loudly among families who had
lost most heavily in the western expe-
ditions The shrewd mind of Tegani-
SORTS knew that some new thing must
be planned He announced his decision
at his own village, after the triumphal
progress among the tribes had at
length been concluded.
"since they have sent us no pres
ents, said he, with that daring di-
plomacy which made him a leader in
red craftsmanship, let those who
stayed at home be given some prisoner
in pay for those Of their people who
have been killed. Moreover, let US Of
fer to the Great Spirit some sacrifice in
Precipitation; since surely the Great
Spirit is offended" Such was the con-
clusion of this head man Of the Onon-
dagos, and fatefuI enough it was to
the prisoners.
The great gorge through which
poured the vast waters of the northern
seas was spot not always visited by