Chapter 11

"The great King of Kings
Hath in the table of his law commanded,
That thou shalt do no murder.
Take heed; for he holds vengeance in his hand,
To hurl upon their heads that break his law."

Richard III, I.iv.i95-97 199-200.

That the party to which Hist compulsorily belonged was not one
that was regularly on the war path, was evident by the presence of
females. It was a small fragment of a tribe that had been hunting
and fishing within the English limits, where it was found by the
commencement of hostilities, and, after passing the winter and
spring by living on what was strictly the property of its enemies,
it chose to strike a hostile blow before it finally retired. There
was also deep Indian sagacity in the manoeuvre which had led them
so far into the territory of their foes. When the runner arrived
who announced the breaking out of hostilities between the English
and French - a struggle that was certain to carry with it all the
tribes that dwelt within the influence of the respective belligerents
- this particular party of the Iroquois were posted on the shores
of the Oneida, a lake that lies some fifty miles nearer to their
own frontier than that which is the scene of our tale.

To have fled in a direct line for the Canadas would have exposed them
to the dangers of a direct pursuit, and the chiefs had determined
to adopt the expedient of penetrating deeper into a region that
had now become dangerous, in the hope of being able to retire in
the rear of their pursuers, instead of having them on their trail.
The presence of the women had induced the attempt at this ruse,
the strength of these feebler members of the party being unequal
to the effort of escaping from the pursuit of warriors. When the
reader remembers the vast extent of the American wilderness, at
that early day, he will perceive that it was possible for even a
tribe to remain months undiscovered in particular portions of it;
nor was the danger of encountering a foe, the usual precautions
being observed, as great in the woods, as it is on the high seas,
in a time of active warfare.

The encampment being temporary, it offered to the eye no more than
the rude protection of a bivouac, relieved in some slight degree
by the ingenious expedients which suggested themselves to the
readiness of those who passed their lives amid similar scenes.
One fire, that had been kindled against the roots of a living oak,
sufficed for the whole party; the weather being too mild to require
it for any purpose but cooking. Scattered around this centre
of attraction, were some fifteen or twenty low huts, or perhaps
kennels would be a better word, into which their different owners
crept at night, and which were also