A yell now arose throughout the Openings. Far and near the Indians exulted at their success. The wood was dry, and it was of a very inflammable nature. The wind blew, and in half an hour Castle Meal was in a bright blaze. Hive now began to howl, a sign that he knew his peril. Still, no human being appeared. Presently the flaming roof fell in and the savages listened intently to hear the screeches of their victims. The howls of the dog increased, and he was soon seen, with his hair burned from his skin, leaping on the unroofed wall, and thence into the area within the palisades. A bullet terminated his sufferings as he alighted.
Bear's Meat now gave the signal, and a general rush was made. No rifle opposed them, and a hundred Indians were soon at the palisades. To the surprise of all, the gate was found unfastened. Rushing within, the door of the hut was forced, and a view obtained of the blazing furnace within. The party had arrived in sufficient season to perceive fragments of le Bourdon's rude furniture and stores yet blazing, but nowhere was a human corpse visible. Poles were got, and the brands were removed, in the expectation of finding bones beneath them; but without success. It was now certain that no pale-face had perished in that hut. Then the truth flashed on the minds of all the savages: le Bourdon and his friends had taken the alarm in time, and had escaped!
CHAPTER XXVI.
Behold, O Lord! the heathen tread
The branches of thy fruitful vine,
That its luxurious tendrils spread
O'er all the hills of Palestine.
And now the wild boar comes to waste
Even us, the greenest boughs and last.
That, drinking of its choicest dew,
On Zion's hill in beauty grew.
—MILMAN.
The change in Peter had been gradually making itself apparent, ever
since he joined the party of the bee-hunter. When he entered the
Kalamazoo, in the company of the two men who had now fallen the victims
of his own designs, his heart was full of the fell intention of cutting
off the whole white race. Margery had first induced him to think of
exceptions. He had early half-decided that she should be spared, to be
carried to his own lodge, as an adopted daughter. When he became aware
of the state of things between his favorite and her lover, there was a
severe struggle in his breast on the subject of sparing the last. He
saw how strongly the girl was attached to him, and something like human
sentiments forced their way among his savage plans. The mysterious
communication of le Bourdon with the bees, however, had far more
influence in determining him to spare so great a medicine-man, than
Margery's claims; and he had endeavored to avail himself of a marriage
as a means of saving the bride, instead of saving the bridegroom.
All the Indians entertained a species of awe for le Bourdon, and all
hesitated about laying hands on one who appeared so gifted. It was,
therefore, the expectation of this extraordinary being that the wife
might be permitted to escape with the husband. The effect of The
Weasel's cunning has been described. Such was the state of Peter's mind
when he met the band in the scenes last described. There he had been all
attention to the demeanor of the missionary. A hundred times had he seen
warriors die uttering maledictions on their enemies; but this was the
first occasion on which he had ever known a man to use his latest breath
in asking for blessings on those “who persecuted him.” At first, Peter
was astounded. Then the sublime principles had their effect, and his
heart was deeply touched with what he heard. How far the Holy Spirit
aided these better feelings, it might be presumptuous, on the one hand,
to say; while, on the other, it will be equally presuming to think of
denying the possibility—nay, the probability—that the great change
which so suddenly came over the heart of Peter was produced by more than
mere human agencies. We know that this blessed Spirit is often poured
out, in especial cases, with affluent benevolence, and there can be no
sufficient reason for supposing this savage might not have been thus
signally favored, as soon as the avenues of his heart opened to the
impulses of a generous humanity. The very qualities that would induce
such a being to attempt the wild and visionary scheme of vengeance and
retribution, that had now occupied his sleeping and waking thoughts for
years, might, under a better direction, render him eminently fit to be
the subject of divine grace. A latent sense of right lay behind all his
seeming barbarity, and that which to us appears as a fell ferocity, was,
in his own eyes, no less than a severe justice.
The words, the principles, the prayers, and, more than all, the EXAMPLE of the missionary, wrought this great change, so far as human agencies were employed; but the power of God was necessary to carry out and complete this renewal of the inner man. We do not mean that a miracle was used in the sudden conversion of this Indian to better feelings, for that which is of hourly occurrence, and which may happen to all, comes within the ordinary workings of a Divine Providence, and cannot thus be designated with propriety; but we do wish to be understood as saying, that no purely human power could have cleared the moral vision, changed all the views, and softened the heart of such a man, as was so promptly done in the case of Peter. The way had been gradually preparing, perhaps, by the means already described, but the great transformation came so suddenly and so powerfully as to render him a different being, as it might almost be, in the twinkling of an eye! Such changes often occur, and though it may suit the self-sufficiency of the worldling to deride them, he is the wisest who submits in the meekest spirit to powers that exceed his comprehension.
In this state of mind, then, Peter left the band as soon as the fate of the missionary was decided. His immediate object was to save the whites who remained, Gershom and Dorothy now having a place in his good intentions, as well as le Bourdon and Margery. Although he moved swiftly, and nearly by an air-line, his thoughts scarce kept company with his feet. During that rapid walk, he was haunted with the image of a man, dying while he pronounced benedictions on his enemies!
There was little in common between the natural objects of that placid and rural scene and the fell passions that were so actively at work among the savages. The whole of the landscape was bathed in the light of a clear, warm summer's day. These are the times when the earth truly seems a sanctuary, in spots remote from the haunts of men, and least exposed to his abuses. The bees hum around the flowers, the birds carol on the boughs and from amid their leafy arbors, while even the leaping and shining waters appear to be instinct with the life that extols the glory of God.
As for the family near the palisaded hut, happiness had not, for many a month, been so seated among them, as on this very occasion. Dorothy sympathized truly in the feelings of the youthful and charming bride, while Gershom had many of the kind and affectionate wishes of a brother in her behalf. The last was in his best attire, as indeed were the females, who were neatly though modestly clad, and Gershom had that air of decent repose and of quiet enjoyment, which is so common of a Sabbath with the men of his class, among the people from whom he sprung. The fears lately excited were momentarily forgotten. Everything around them wore an air so placid; the vault above them was so profoundly tranquil; the light of day was so soft and yet so bright; the Openings seemed so rural and so much like pictures of civilization, that apprehension had been entirely forgotten in present enjoyment. Such was the moment when Peter suddenly stood before le Bourdon and Margery, as the young couple sat beneath the shade of the oaks, near the spring. One instant the Indian regarded this picture of young wedded life with a gleam of pleasure on his dark face; then he announced his presence by speaking.