Sentence:  But when, instead of an impotent and <WSD>unmanly</WSD> struggle for existence, he found that his friend had forborne, with the customary and dignified submission of an Indian warrior, until an opportunity had offered to escape, and that he had then manifested the spirit and decision of the most gifted brave, his gratification became nearly too powerful to be concealed. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Cowardly, base.