Then turning to Proctor, he stretched out his hand towards the south, saying--
"When thou goest hence, two of my warriors shall go with thee to the Castle of the Mohawk, and thou shalt say, 'Why hast thou dealt subtly with the Oneida? If thou hadst aught against him, why didst thou not send a messenger of peace to tell thy brother thy mind? or why didst thou not appeal to the great council of the Five Nations to judge between thee and him? If thou wilt unbury the hatchet, and cut down the tree of peace, and bring trouble into the Five Nations, that the pale-face may prevail and our Long House be pulled down to the ground, paint thy face, and dance the war-dance, and come upon the battle-way; but follow not the trail of the serpent, to steal unperceived into thy brother's land.'"
A murmur of approbation followed this bold speech; but the next moment the chief continued, still addressing Proctor, and saying--
"When thou hast thus spoken to the Mohawk, thou shalt go on to the pale-face chiefs at Albany, and to them thou shalt say, 'The children of the Stone have heard your message. They are the children of the great King. He is their father and they love him; but the Oneidas have their own laws, and are led by their own chiefs. They take the war-path against your enemies as against their own; and ye are glad in the day of battle when they fight the Frenchmen by your side. It is sweet to them that you have used no threats; and they would not have their white brother think darkly of them. They love, too, the chief, Prevost. They love his son as a brother; but one of their own children has been slain by one of yours, and their law must be fulfilled. His spirit must not be shut out from the happy hunting-grounds. They will mourn as a whole nation for Walter Prevost; but Walter Prevost must die, unless the murderer be taken. Thus says the Black Eagle, the great chief of the Oneida nation; he who has taken a hundred scalps of his enemies, and fought in fifteen battles with your foes and his. Give us up the murderer if ye would save the boy. He is in your land: you can find him. Do justly by us in this matter, and walk not in the trail of the fox to deceive us, and to save from us our captive.'"
Then pausing for an instant, he somewhat lowered his voice, but spoke the succeeding words very slowly and distinctly, in order that every syllable might not only be impressed upon the mind of the man he addressed, but be clearly heard and comprehended by all the people around.
"Thou shalt say, moreover, to our brethren, the pale-face chiefs at Albany, 'The Black Eagle finds that Walter Prevost has fallen into the hands of bad men, men who are not to be trusted, dealers in dark things, vultures whose heads are bare, but whose hearts are covered. The Black Eagle will take the boy from their hands, and will treat him well, and keep him in safety till the hour come. As ye have said that the Oneidas are hasty, that they do rashly, that they have not sought as they ought to seek--for six moons will Black Eagle keep the lad in peace, as his own son, to see whether ye will give him up the murderer of an Oneida. But, as the chief would slay his own son, if the laws of his people required it at his hands, so will he and the chiefs of his nation slay Walter Prevost, if, in six moons, ye do not give him up the murderer. He shall die the death of a warrior, with his hands unbound, and, as Black Eagle knows the spirit that is in him, he is sure he will die as a warrior should.' This thou shalt say to the English chiefs; let them look to it; the fate of the boy depends upon their counsel. Give him a roll of wampum for his reward, and let him go in peace."
His commands were immediately obeyed, and the half-breed runner removed from the circle.
Then, turning to the warriors without reseating himself, the chief demanded--
"Have I said well?"
The usual words of approbation followed, repeated by almost every voice present; and then Black Eagle resumed, in a sterner tone, saying--