CHAPTER XX.
--Therefore, go with me;
I'll give the fairies to attend on thee;
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,
--Peas-blossom! cobweb! moth! and mustard-seed,
--Midsummer-Night's Dream
As le Bourdon kept moving across the prairie, while the remarks were
made that have been recorded in the preceding chapter, he soon
reached the new position where he intended to again set up his
stand. Here he renewed his operations; Peter keeping nearest his
person, in jealous watchfulness of the least movement he made. Bees
were caught, and scarce a minute elapsed ere the bee-hunter had two
of them on the piece of comb, uncovered and at liberty. The
circumstance that the cap was momentarily placed over the insects,
struck the savages as a piece of necromancy, in particular. The
reader will understand that this is done in order to darken the
tumbler, and induce the bee to settle down on the honey so much the
sooner. To one who understood the operation and its reason, the
whole was simple enough; but it was a very different matter with men
as little accustomed to prying into the habits of creatures as
insignificant as bees. Had deer, or bisons, or bears, or any of the
quadrupeds of those regions, been the subject of the experiment, it
is highly probable that individuals could have been found in that
attentive and wondering crowd, who could have enlightened the ablest
naturalists on the subject of the animals under examination; but
when the inquiry descended to the bee, it went below the wants and
usages of savage life.
"Where you t'ink dis bee go?" demanded Peter, in English, as soon as
le Bourdon raised the tumbler.
"One will go in this direction, the other in that," answered the
bee-hunter, pointing first toward the corner of the woods, then
toward the island in the prairie--the two points toward which two of
the other bees had flown.
The predictions might or might not prove true. If they did, the
effect must be great; if they did not, the failure would soon be
forgotten in matters of more interest. Our hero, therefore, risked
but little, while he had the chance of gaining a very great
advantage. By a fortunate coincidence, the result completely
justified the prediction. A bee rose, made its circles around the
stand, and away it went toward the island-like copse in the prairie;
while its companion soon imitated its example, but taking the other
prescribed direction. This time Peter watched the insects so closely
that he was a witness of their movements, and with his own eyes he
beheld the flight, as well as the direction taken by each.
"You tell bee do dis?" demanded Peter, with a surprise that was so
sudden, as well as so great, that it overcame in some slight degree
his habitual self-command.
"To be sure I did," replied le Bourdon, carelessly. "If you wish to
see another, you may."
Here the young man coolly took another bee, and put it on the comb.
Indifferent as he appeared, however, he used what was perhaps the
highest degree of his art in selecting this insect. It was taken
from the bunch of flowers whence one of his former captives had been
taken, and there was every chance of its belonging to the same hive
as its companion. Which direction it might take, should it prove to
be a bee from either of the two hives of which the positions were
now known, it altogether exceeded Boden's art to tell, so he
dexterously avoided committing himself. It was enough that Peter
gazed attentively, and that he saw the insect dart away,
disappearing in the direction of the island. By this time more of
the savages were on the alert, and now knowing how and where to look
for the bee, they also saw its course.
"You tell him ag'in go dere?" asked Peter, whose interest by this
time was so manifest, as to defy all attempts at concealment.
"To be sure I did. The bees obey ME, as your young men obey YOU. I
am their chief, and they KNOW me. I will give you further proof of
this. We will now go to that little bit of wood, when you shall all
see what it contains. I have sent three of my bees there; and here,
one of them is already back, to let me know what he has seen."
Sure enough, a bee was buzzing around the head of le Bourdon,
probably attracted by some fragment of comb, and he cunningly
converted it into a messenger from the copse! All this was wonderful
to the crowd, and it even greatly troubled Peter. This man was much
less liable to the influence of superstition than most of his
people; but he was very far from being altogether above it. This is
the fact with very few civilized men; perhaps with no man whatever,
let his philosophy and knowledge be what they may; and least of all,
is it true with the ignorant. There is too much of the uncertain, of
the conjectural in our condition as human beings, to raise us
altogether above the distrusts, doubts, wonder, and other weaknesses
of our present condition. To these simple savages, the manner in
which the bees flew, seemingly at le Bourdon's bidding, to this or
that thicket, was quite as much a matter of astonishment, as any of
our most elaborate deceptions are wonders to our own ignorant and
vulgar. Ignorant! And where is the line to be drawn that is to place
men beyond the pale of ignorance? Each of us fails in some one, if
not in very many of the important branches of the knowledge that is
even reduced to rules Among us. Here is seen the man of books, so
ignorant of the application of his own beloved theories, as to be a
mere child in practice; and there, again, can be seen the expert in
practice, who is totally unacquainted with a single principle of the
many that lie at the root of his very handicraft. Let us not, then,
deride these poor children of the forest, because that which was so
entirely new to them, should also appear inexplicable and
supernatural.
As for Peter, he was more confounded than convinced. His mind was so
much superior to those of the other chiefs, as to render him far
more difficult to mislead; though even he was not exempt from the
great weaknesses of ignorance, superstition, and its concomitants--
credulity, and a love of the marvellous. His mind was troubled, as
was quite apparent to Ben, who watched HIM quite as narrowly as he
was observed himself, in all he did. Willing to deepen the
impression, our artist now determined to exhibit some of the higher
fruits of his skill. The production of a considerable quantity of
honey would of itself be a sort of peace-offering, and he now
prepared to turn the certainty of there being a hive in the little
wood to account--certainty, because three bees had taken wing for
it, and a very distinct angle had been made with two of them.
"Does my brother wish any honey?" asked le Bourdon carelessly; "or
shall I send a bee across Lake Michigan, to tell the Injins further
west that Detroit is taken?"
"Can Bourdon find honey, NOW?" demanded Peter.
"Easily. Several hives are within a mile of us. The bees like this
prairie, which is so well garnished with flowers, and I am never at
a loss for work, in this neighborhood. This is my favorite bee-
ground; and I have got all the little creatures so that they know
me, and are ready to do everything that I tell them. As I see that
the chiefs love honey, and wish to eat some, we will now go to one
of my hives."
Thus saying, le Bourdon prepared for another march. He moved with
all his appliances, Margery keeping close at his side, carrying the
honey-comb and honey. As the girl walked lightly, in advance of the
Indians, some fifteen or twenty bees, attracted by the flavor of
what she carried, kept circling around her head, and consequently
around that of Boden; and Peter did not fail to observe the
circumstance. To him it appeared as if these bees were so many
accompanying agents, who attended their master in order to do his
bidding. In a word, Peter was fast getting into that frame of mind,
when all that is seen is pressed into the support of the theory we
have adopted. The bee-hunter had some mysterious connection with,
and control over the bees, and this was one among the many other
signs of the existence of his power. All this, however, Boden
himself disregarded. His mind was bent on throwing dust into the
eyes of the Indians; and he was cogitating the means of so doing, on
a much larger scale than any yet attempted.
"Why dem bee fly 'round young squaw?" demanded Peter--"and fly round
you, too?"
"They know us, and go with us to their hive; just as Injins would
come out of their villages to meet and honor visitors."
This was a ready reply, but it scarcely satisfied the wily savage to
whom it was given. Just then Crowsfeather led Peter a little aside,
and began talking earnestly to that chief, both continuing on with
the crowd. Le Bourdon felt persuaded that the subject of this
private conference was some of his own former backslidings in the
character of conjuror, and that the Pottawattamie would not deal
very tenderly with his character. Nevertheless, it was too late to
retrace his steps, and he saw the necessity of going on.
"I wish you had not come out with us," the bee-hunter found an
occasion to say to Margery. "I do not half like the state of things,
and this conjuration about the bees may all fall through."
"It is better that I should be here, Bourdon," returned the spirited
girl. "My being here may make them less unfriendly to you. When I am
by, Peter always seems more human, and less of a savage, they all
tell me, than when I am not by."
"No one can be more willing to own your power, Margery, than I; but
Injins hold the squaws too cheap, to give you much influence over
this old fellow."
"You do not know--he may have had a daughter of about my age, or
size, or appearance; or with my laugh, or voice, or something else
that reminds him of her, when he sees me. One thing I am sure of--
Peter is no enemy of MINE"
"I hope this may prove to be true! I do not see, after all, why an
Injin should not have the feelin's you name. He is a man, and must
feel for his wife and children, the same as other--"
"Bourdon, what ails the dog? Look at the manner in which Hive is
behaving!"
Sure enough, the appearance of Hive was sufficiently obvious to
attract his master's attention. By this time the crowd had got
within twenty rods of the little island-like copse of wood, the
mastiff being nearly half that distance in advance. Instead of
preceding the party, however, Hive had raised his form in a menacing
manner, and moved cautiously from side to side, like one of his kind
that scents a foe. There was no mistaking these movements; and all
the principal chiefs soon had their attention also drawn to the
behavior of the dog.
"Why he do so?" asked Peter. "He 'fraid of bee, eh?"
"He waits for me to come up," answered le Bourdon. "Let my brother
and two other chiefs come with me, and let the rest stay here. Bees
do not like crowds. Corporal, I put Margery in your keeping, and
Parson Amen will be near you. I now go to show these chiefs what a
bee can tell a man."
Thus saying, le Bourdon advanced, followed by Peter, Bear's Meat,
and Crowsfeather. Our hero had made up his mind that something more
than bees were to be found in the thicket; for, the place being a
little marshy, bushes as well as trees were growing on it, and he
fully expected a rencontre with bears, the creatures most disposed
to prey on the labors of the bee--man excepted. Being well armed,
and accompanied by men accustomed to such struggles, he had no
apprehensions, and led the way boldly, feeling the necessity of
manifesting perfect confidence in all his own acts, in order to
command the respect of the observers. As soon as the bee-hunter
passed the dog, the latter growled, showed his teeth fiercely, and
followed, keeping closely at his side. The confidence and alacrity
with which le Bourdon moved into the thicket, compelled his
companions to be on the alert; though the first broke through the
belt of hazels which enclosed the more open area within, a few
instants before the Indians reached the place. Then it was that
there arose such a yell, such screechings and cries, as reached far
over the prairie, and might have appalled the stoutest heart. The
picture that was soon offered to the eye was not less terrific than
the sounds which assailed the ear. Hundreds of savages, in their
war-paint, armed, and in a crowded maze, arose as it might be by one
effort, seemingly out of the earth, and began to leap and play their
antics amid the trees. The sudden spectacle of a crowd of such
beings, nearly naked, frightfully painted, and tossing their arms
here and there, while each yelled like a demon, was enough to
overcome the nerves of a very resolute man. But le Bourdon was
prepared for a conflict and even felt relieved rather than alarmed,
when he saw the savages. His ready mind at once conceived the truth.
This band belonged to the chiefs, and composed the whole, or a
principal part of the force which he knew they must have outlying
somewhere on the prairies, or in the openings. He had sufficiently
understood the hints of Pigeonswing to be prepared for such a
meeting, and at no time, of late, had he approached a cover, without
remembering the possibility of its containing Indians.
Instead of betraying alarm, therefore, when this cloud of phantom-
like beings rose before his eyes, le Bourdon stood firm, merely
turning toward the chiefs behind him, to ascertain if they were
taken by surprise, as well as himself. It was apparent that they
were; for, understanding that a medicine-ceremony was to take place
on the prairie, these young men had preceded the party from the hut,
and had, ununknown to all the chiefs, got possession of this copse,
as the best available cover, whence to make their observations on
what was going on.
"My brother sees his young men," said le Bourdon, quietly, the
instant a dead calm had succeeded to the outcries with which he had
been greeted. "I thought he might wish to say something to them, and
my bees told me where to find them. Does my brother wish to know
anything else?"
Great was the wonder of the three chiefs, at this exhibition of
medicine power! So far from suspecting the truth, or of detecting
the lucky coincidence by which le Bourdon had been led to the cover
of their warriors, it all appeared to them to be pure necromancy.
Such an art must be of great service; and how useful it would be to
the warrior on his path, to be accompanied by one who could thus
command the vigilance of the bees.
"You find enemy all same as friend?" demanded Peter, letting out the
thought that was uppermost, in the question.
"To be sure. It makes no difference with a bee; he can find an enemy
as easily as he can find a friend.'
"No whiskey-spring dis time?" put in Crowsfeather, a little
inopportunely, and with a distrust painted in his swarthy face that
le Bourdon did not like.
"Pottawattamie, you do not understand medicine-men. OUGHT I to have
shown your young men where whiskey was to be had for nothing? Ask
yourself that question. Did you wish to see your young men wallowing
like hogs in such a spring? What would the great medicine-priest of
the pale-faces, who is out yonder, have said to THAT?"
This was a coup de maitre on the part of the bee-hunter. Until that
moment, the affair of the whiskey-spring had weighed heavily in the
balance against him; but now, it was suddenly changed over in the
scales, and told as strongly in his favor. Even a savage can
understand the morality which teaches men to preserve their reason,
and not to lower themselves to the level of brutes, by swallowing
"fire-water"; and Crowsfeather suddenly saw a motive for regarding
our hero with the eyes of favor, instead of those of distrust and
dislike.
"What the pale-face says is true," observed Peter to his companion.
"Had he opened his spring, your warrior would have been weaker than
women. He is a wonderful medicine-man, and we must not provoke him
to anger. How COULD he know, but through his bees, that our young
men were here?"
This question could not be answered; and when the chiefs, followed
by the whole band of warriors, some three or four hundred in number
came out upon the open prairie, all that had passed was communicated
to those who awaited their return, in a few brief, but clear
explanations. Le Bourdon found a moment to let Margery comprehend
his position and views, while Parson Amen and the corporal were put
sufficiently on their guard not to make any unfortunate blunder. The
last was much more easily managed than the first. So exceedingly
sensitive was the conscience of the priest, that had he clearly
understood the game le Bourdon was playing, he might have revolted
at the idea of necromancy, as touching on the province of evil
spirits; but he was so well mystified as to suppose all that passed
was regularly connected with the art of taking bees. In this
respect, he and the Indians equally resembled one of those familiar
pictures, in which we daily see men, in masses, contributing to
their own deception and subjection, while they fondly but blindly
imagine that they are not only inventors, but masters. This trade of
mastery, after all, is the property of a very few minds; and no
precaution of the prudent, no forethought of the wary, nor any
expedient of charters, constitutions, or restrictions, will prevent
the few from placing their feet on the neck of the many. We may
revive the fable of King Log and King Stork, as often, and in as
many forms as we will; it will ever be the fable of King Log and
King Stork. We are no admirers of political aristocracies, as a
thousand paragraphs from our pen will prove; and, as for monarchs,
we have long thought they best enact their parts, when most
responsible to opinion; but we cannot deceive ourselves on the
subject of the atrocities that are daily committed by those who are
ever ready to assume the places of both, making their fellow-
creatures in masses their dupes, and using those that they affect to
serve.
Ben Boden was now a sort of "gouvernement provisoire" among the
wondering savages who surrounded him. He had got them to believe in
necromancy--a very considerable step toward the exercise of despotic
power. It is true, he hardly knew, himself, what was to be done
next; but he saw quite distinctly that he was in a dilemma, and must
manage to get out of it by some means or other. If he could only
succeed in this instance, as well as he had succeeded in his former
essay in the black art, all might be well, and Margery be carried in
triumph into the settlements. Margery, pro haec vice, was his
goddess of liberty, and he asked for no higher reward, than to be
permitted to live the remainder of his days in the sunshine of her
smiles. Liberty! a word that is, just now, in all men's mouths, but
in how few hearts in its purity and truth! What a melancholy
mistake, moreover, to suppose that, could it be enjoyed in that
perfection with which the imaginations of men love to cheat their
judgments, it is the great good of life! One hour spent in humble
veneration for the Being that gave it, in common with all of earth,
its vacillating and uncertain existence, is of more account than
ages passed in its service; and he who fancies that in worshipping
liberty, he answers the great end of his existence, hugs a delusion
quite as weak, and infinitely more dangerous, than that which now
came over the minds of Peter and his countrymen, in reference to the
intelligence of the bee. It is a good thing to possess the defective
and qualified freedom, which we term "liberty"; but it is a grave
error to set it up as an idol to be worshipped.
"What my brother do next?" demanded Bear's Meat, who, being a
somewhat vulgar-minded savage, was all for striking and wonder-
working exhibitions of necromancy. "P'raps he find some honey now?"
"If you wish it, chief. What says Peter?--shall I ask my bees to
tell where there is a hive?"
As Peter very readily assented, le Bourdon next set about achieving
this new feat in his art. The reader will recollect that the
positions of two hives were already known to the bee-hunter, by
means of that very simple and every-day process by which he earned
his bread. One of these hives was in the point of wood already
mentioned, that lay along the margin of the prairie; while the other
was in this very copse, where the savages had secreted themselves.
Boden had now no thought of giving any further disturbance to this
last-named colony of insects; for an insight into their existence
might disturb the influence obtained by the jugglery of the late
discovery, and he at once turned his attention toward the other hive
indicated by his bees.
Nor did le Bourdon now deem it necessary to resort to his usual
means of carrying on his trade. These were not necessary to one who
knew already where the hive was to be found, while it opened the way
to certain mummeries that might be made to tell well in support of
his assumed character. Catching a bee, then, and keeping it confined
within his tumbler, Ben held the last to his ear, as if listening to
what the fluttering insect had to say. Having seemingly satisfied
himself on this point, he desired the chiefs once more to follow
him, having first let the bee go, with a good deal of ceremony. This
set all in motion again; the party being now increased by the whole
band of savages who had been "put up" from their cover.
By this time, Margery began to tremble for the consequences. She had
held several short conferences with le Bourdon, as they walked
together, and had penetrated far enough into his purposes to see
that he was playing a ticklish game. It might succeed for a time,
but she feared it must fail in the end; and there was always the
risk of incurring the summary vengeance of savages. Perhaps she did
not fully appreciate the power of superstition, and the sluggishness
of the mind that once submits to its influence; while her woman's
heart made her keenly alive to all those frightful consequences that
must attend an exposure. Nevertheless, nothing could now be done to
avert the consequences. It was too late to recede, and things must
take their course, even at all the hazards of the case. That she
might not be wholly useless, when her lover was risking so much for
herself--Margery well understanding that her escape was the only
serious difficulty the bee-hunter apprehended--the girl turned all
her attention to Peter, in whose favor she felt that she had been
daily growing, and on whose pleasure so much must depend. Changing
her position a little, she now came closer to the chief than she had
hitherto done.
"Squaw like medicine-man?" asked Peter, with a significance of
expression that raised a blush in Margery's cheek.
"You mean to ask me if I like to SEE medicine-men perform," answered
Margery, with the readiness of her sex. "White women are always
curious, they say--how is it with the women of the red men?"
"Juss so--full of cur'osity. Squaw is squaw--no matter what color."
"I am sorry, Peter, you do not think better of squaws. Perhaps you
never had a squaw--no wife, or daughter?"
A gleam of powerful feeling shot athwart the dark countenance of the
Indian, resembling the glare of the electric fluid flashing on a
cloud at midnight; but it passed away as quickly as it appeared,
leaving in its stead the hard, condensed expression, which the
intensity of a purpose so long entertained and cultivated, had
imprinted there, as indelibly as if cut in stone.
"All chief have squaw--all chief have pappoose--" was the answer
that came at last. "What he good for, eh?"
"It is always good to have children, Peter; especially when the
children themselves are good."
"Good for pale-face, maybe--no good for Injin. Pale-face glad when
pappoose born--red-skin sorry."
"I hope this is not so. Why should an Injin be sorry to see the
laugh of his little son?"
"Laugh when he little--p'raps so; he little, and don't know what
happen. But Injin don't laugh any more when he grow up. Game gone;
land gone; corn-field gone. No more room for Injin--pale-face want
all. Pale-face young man laugh--red-skin young man cry. Dat how it
is."
"Oh! I hope not, Peter! I should be sorry to think it was so. The
red man has as good a right--nay, he has a BETTER right to this
country than we whites; and God forbid that he should not always
have his full share of the land!"
Margery probably owed her life to that honest, natural burst of
feeling, which was uttered with a warmth and sincerity that could
leave no doubt that the sentiment expressed came from the heart.
Thus singularly are we constructed! A minute before, and no
exemption was made in the mind of Peter, in behalf of this girl, in
the plan he had formed for cutting off the whites; on the contrary,
he had often be-thought him of the number of young pale-faces that
might be, as it were, strangled in their cradles, by including the
bee-hunter and his intended squaw in the contemplated sacrifice. All
this was changed, as in the twinkling of an eye, by Margery's honest
and fervent expression of her sense of right, on the great subject
that occupied all of Peter's thoughts. These sudden impulses in the
direction of love for our species, the second of the high lessons
left by the Redeemer to his disciples, are so many proofs of the
creation of man in the image of his maker. They exert their power
often when least expected, and are ever stamped by the same
indelible impression of their divine origin. Without these
occasional glimpses at those qualities which are so apt to lie
dormant, we might indeed despair of the destinies of our race. We
are, however, in safe and merciful hands; and all the wonderful
events that are at this moment developing themselves around us, are
no other than the steps taken by Providence in the progress it is
steadily making toward the great and glorious end! Some of the
agencies will be corrupt; others deluded; and no one of them all,
perhaps, will pursue with unerring wisdom the precise path that
ought to be taken; but even the crimes, errors, and delusions, will
be made instrumental in achieving that which was designed before the
foundations of this world were laid!
"Does my daughter wish this?" returned Peter, when Margery had thus
frankly and sincerely given vent to her feelings. "Can a pale-face
squaw wish to leave an Injin any of his hunting-grounds?"
"Thousands of us wish it, Peter, and I for one. Often and often have
we talked of this around our family fire, and even Gershom, when his
head has not been affected by fire-water, has thought as we all have
thought. I know that Bourdon thinks so, too; and I have heard him
say that he thought Congress ought to pass a law to prevent white
men from getting any more of the Injin's lands."
The face of Peter would have been a remarkable study, during the few
moments that his fierce will was in the process of being brought in
subjugation to the influence of his better feelings. At first he
appeared bewildered; then compunction had its shade; and human
sympathy came last, asserting its long dormant, but inextinguishable
power. Margery saw some of this, though it far exceeded her
penetration to read all the workings of that stern and savage mind;
yet she felt encouraged by what she did see and understand.
While an almighty and divine Providence was thus carrying out its
own gracious designs in its own way, the bee-hunter continued bent
on reaching a similar end by means of his own. Little did he imagine
how much had been done for him within the last few moments, and how
greatly all he had in view was jeoparded and put at risk by his own
contrivances--contrivances which seemed to him so clever, but which
were wanting in the unerring simplicity and truth that render those
that come from above infallible. Still, the expedients of le Bourdon
may have had their agency in bringing about events, and may have
been intended to be a part of that moral machinery, which was now at
work in the breast of Peter, for good.
It will be remembered that the bee-hunter habitually carried a small
spy-glass, as a part of the implements of his calling. It enabled
him to watch the bees, as they went in and came out of the hives, on
the highest trees, and often saved him hours of fruitless search.
This glass was now in his hand; for an object on a dead tree, that
rose a little apart from those around it, and which stood quite near
the extreme point in the forest, toward which they were all
proceeding, had caught his attention. The distance was still too
great to ascertain by the naked eye what that object was; but a
single look with the glass showed that it was a bear. This was an
old enemy of the bee-hunter, who often encountered the animal,
endeavoring to get at the honey, and he had on divers occasions been
obliged to deal with these plunderers, before he could succeed in
his own plans of pilfering. The bear now seen continued in sight but
an instant; the height to which he had clambered being so great,
most probably, as to weary him with the effort, and to compel him to
fall back again. All this was favorable to le Bourdon's wishes, who
immediately called a halt. The first thing that Bourdon did, when
all the dark eyes were gleaming on him in fierce curiosity, was to
catch a bee and hold it to his ear, as it buzzed about in the
tumbler.
"You t'ink dat bee talk?" Peter asked of Margery, in a tone of
confidence, as if a newly-awakened principle now existed between
them.
"Bourdon must think so, Peter," the girl evasively answered, "or he
would hardly listen to hear what it says."
"It's strange, bee should talk! Almos' as strange as pale-face wish
to leave Injin any land! Sartain, bee talk, eh?"
"I never heard one talk, Peter, unless it might be in its buzzing.
That may be the tongue of a bee, for anything I know to the
contrary."
By this time le Bourdon seemed to be satisfied, and let the bee go;
the savages murmuring their wonder and admiration.
"Do my brothers wish to hunt?" asked the bee-hunter in a voice so
loud that all near might hear what he had to say.
This question produced a movement at once. Skill in hunting, next to
success on the war-path, constitutes the great merit of an Indian;
and it is ever his delight to show that he possesses it. No sooner
did le Bourdon throw out his feeler, therefore, than a general
exclamation proclaimed the readiness of all the young men, in
particular, to join in the chase.
"Let my brothers come closer," said Ben, in an authoritative manner;
"I have something to put into their ears. They see that point of
wood, where the dead basswood has fallen on the prairie. Near that
basswood is honey, and near that honey are bears. This my bees have
told me. Now, let my brothers divide, and some go into the woods,
and some stay on the prairie; then they will have plenty of sweet
food."
As all this was very simple, and easily to be comprehended, not a
moment was lost in the execution. With surprising order and
aptitude, the chiefs led off their parties; one line of dark
warriors penetrating the forest on the eastern side of the basswood,
and another on its western; while a goodly number scattered
themselves on the prairie itself, in its front. In less than a
quarter of an hour, signals came from the forest that the battue was
ready, and Peter gave the answering sign to proceed.
Down to this moment, doubts existed among the savages concerning the
accuracy of le Bourdon's statement. How was it possible that his
bees should tell him where he could find bears? To be sure, bears
were the great enemies of bees--this every Indian knew--but could
the bees have a faculty of thus arming one enemy against another?
These doubts, however, were soon allayed by the sudden appearance of
a drove of bears, eight or ten in number, that came waddling out of
the woods, driven before the circle of shouting hunters that had
been formed within.
Now commenced a scene of wild tumult and of fierce delight. The
warriors on the prairie retired before their enemies until all of
their associates were clear of the forest, when the circle swiftly
closed again, until it had brought the bears to something like close
quarters. Bear's Meat, as became his appellation, led off the dance,
letting fly an arrow at the nearest animal. Astounded by the great
number of their enemies, and not a little appalled by their yells,
the poor quadrupeds did not know which way to turn. Occasionally,
attempts were made to break through the circle, but the flight of
arrows, aimed directly at their faces, invariably drove the
creatures back. Fire-arms were not resorted to at all in this hunt,
spears and arrows being the weapons depended on. Several ludicrous
incidents occurred, but none that were tragical. One or two of the
more reckless of the hunters, ambitious of shining before the
representatives of so many tribes, ran rather greater risks than
were required, but they escaped with a few smart scratches. In one
instance, however, a young Indian had a still narrower SQUEEZE for
his life. Literally a SQUEEZE it was, for, suffering himself to get
within the grasp of a bear, he came near being pressed to death, ere
his companions could dispatch the creature. As for the prisoner, the
only means he had to prevent his being bitten, was to thrust the
head of his spear into the bear's mouth, where he succeeded in
holding it, spite of the animal's efforts to squeeze him into
submission. By the time this combat was terminated, the field was
strewn with the slain; every one of the bears having been killed by
hunters so much practised in the art of destroying game.
