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"It appears too great a distance to my eye."

"I have dropped a buck through forest limbs fifty feet farther."

"Then try your fortune," he said eagerly. "It may be those fellows
have never heard the crack of a gun. The sound and sudden death might
terrorize them."

I took careful aim above the wall, resting my long rifle-barrel in a
groove between the stones, and fired. Ever since, it has seemed to me
that God, for some mysterious purpose of His own, deflected the
speeding ball, for never before or since did I miss such aim. Yet miss
I did, for while the old chief leaped wildly backward, his cheek fanned
by the bullet, it was the savage he conversed with who sprang high into
air, coming down dead. Nor did a single warrior make a movement to
flee. Instead of frightening, it enraged, driving them into savage
fury as they stared at the stiffening body of their comrade. Scarcely
had the smoke of the discharge drifted upward when, all their former
impressive silence broken, and yelling like fiends incarnate, they made
an impetuous rush for the hill.

"_Francais_! _Francais_!"

I was certain they used the word, fairly hissing it forth as if in
bitter hatred, yet I had short enough time in which to listen as I
hastily rammed home a second charge with which to greet them as they
came.

"It will be best to draw, Messieurs," spoke De Noyan in a cool,
drawling voice. "Ah, that was better, Master Benteen!" as two of the
advancing mob went stumbling to the bullet. "It leaves but
twenty-seven to the three of us; not such bad odds! Now, friends,
yield no step backward, and strike as you never struck before."

I enjoyed little space in which to glance behind where I knew Eloise
crouched beneath the protecting shadow of the great stone, yet I am
certain I felt the full magic of her eyes upon me. As I wheeled, newly
armed for strife, my hands clutched hard about the rifle-barrel, our
fierce assailants came surging up against the stone wall. It was no
time to note what others did; one realizes little at such a supreme
moment except the flashing in his eyes where menacing weapons play
across his front; the swift blows continually threatening to crush his
guard; the fierce, cruel faces glaring at him eye to eye, and his own
desperate efforts to drive and kill. It all abides in fevered memory
not unlike those pictures of horror coming of a dark night when
lightning leaps from the black void. I mind the first man to reach me,
a burly ruffian, whose shining spear-point missed my throat by so
narrow a margin it tasted blood ere my rifle-stock crushed the side of
his head and sent him backward, a reeling corpse into the mass at his
heels. Then all was confusion, a riot of leaping figures, frantic
shouting, and clanging weapons, and I know not what was done, except
that I struck out like a crazed man, heedless of what might be aimed at
me, but letting drive at every savage head within range, until, at
last, there seemed no others in my front. Then, as I paused,
breathless and uncertain, passing my hand across my eyes to clear them
from the blood and hair which half blinded me, I heard De Noyan's
drawling tone.

"Most beautifully done, Master Benteen, and as for our red-headed
preacher, by the memory of Jeanne d'Arc, the like of him as fighting
man I have never seen."

I leaned back heavily against the stones, now the strain of battle had
relaxed, feeling strangely weakened by my exertions as well as the loss
of blood, and glanced about me. The discomfited savages had fallen
sullenly back to the bank of the stream, where they bunched together as
if in council, and I noted more than one wounded man among them. De
Noyan sat recklessly upon the stone wall, dangling his long legs, and,
back turned contemptuously upon our foe, was carefully examining the
edge of his sword.

"I was fool enough to attempt a down cut," he explained, observing my
eyes upon him. "I tried it on that savage who lies yonder, and it was
rather a neat stroke, yet has sorely nicked the blade."

"Where is the Puritan?" I asked, not seeing him.

"Stretched yonder at rest; he did needlessly exhaust himself, not
knowing how best to wield his weapon. _Sacre_! he struck hard blows,
and will have two savages for whom to make answer in the Day of
Judgment."

"What loss did the fellows sustain?" I questioned, the cut at the edge
of my hair half blinding me with dripping blood.

"We dropped seven between us, counting those who fell to your fire, and
there are others who hardly appear in condition for further fighting.
As to the garrison, you seem to possess a flesh wound or two, the head
of the Puritan rings merrily yet from the tap of a war-club, while I
boast a boot full of blood; 'tis none of it serious."

"They will attack again?"

"Ay! those lads are not of the breed to let up with one bite; and mark
you, man, it is going to be the next turn that will test our mettle."

He deliberately changed his posture, glancing carelessly across his
shoulder.

"Do you know aught regarding those devils, Master Benteen?"

"They are strange to me; no kin, I think, to any tribe east of the
great river."

He sat in silent contemplation a long moment, his eyes fastened upon
the savage group.

"Did you chance to notice," he asked at last, speaking more
thoughtfully, "how they hissed that word 'Francais,' when they first
rushed up the hill upon us? It somehow recalled to memory an odd tale
told me long ago by old Major Duponceau, who was out with the troops in
1729, about a strange people they warred against down on the
Ocatahoola. These must be either the same savages--although he swore
they were put to the sword--or else of the same stock, and have felt
the taste of French steel."

"What did he call them?"

"Natchez; although I remember now he referred to them once as 'White
Apples,' saying they were of fair skin. He told me, but I recall
little of it, many a strange story of their habits and appearance, to
illustrate how greatly they differed from other tribes of savages with
whom he had met. They worshipped the sun."

"'T is true of the Creeks."

"Ay! they play at it, but with the Natchez 't is a real religion; they
had a priesthood and altars of sacrifice, on which the fires were never
quenched. Their victims died with all the ardor of fanaticism, and in
peace and war the sun was their god, ever demanding offering of blood.
But see, the moment comes when we must front those fiends again."

The afternoon sun had lowered so that its glaring rays no longer
brightened the depths of the canyon, all upon our side of the stream
lying quiet in the shadow. The Indians began their advance toward us
in much the same formation as before, but more cautiously, with less
noisy demonstration, permitting me to note they had slung their weapons
to their backs, bearing in their hands ugly fragments of rock. The old
matted-hair savage, who had received a severe slash upon his shoulder
during our last _melee_, hung well to the rear, contenting himself with
giving encouragement to the others.

"Stand stoutly to the work, friend Cairnes," I called across to him,
feeling the heartsome sound of English speech might prove welcome. "If
we drive them this time, they will hardly seek more at our hands."

"It will be even according to the will of the Lord of Hosts," he
returned piously. "Yet I greatly fear lest my sword-blade be not sound
within its hilt."

"Stoop low for the volley of rocks," commanded De Noyan, hastily, "then
stand up to it with all the strength you have."

Halfway up the little hill they let fly a vicious volley, the hard
missiles crashing against the face of the rock, and showering down on
backs and heads, some of them with painful force. As we sprang to our
posts of defence once more, the savages were already nearly within
spear-length of us, and, to our disastrous surprise, delivered a second
volley of stones directly into our faces. One jagged rock glanced from
off my rifle-barrel, striking me on the side of the head with
sufficient force to send me staggering back against the stone slab.
Before I could regain place the Indians swarmed over the low wall, two
of them, in spite of fierce struggles, bearing me backward to the
ground. Through a half-blinding mist of blood I beheld a carven
war-club uplifted in the air, noted the face, distorted by passion, of
the naked giant wielding it; yet, before I could close my eyes to the
swift blow, there came a sudden flash of fire mingled with a sharp
report. As if stricken by a lightning-bolt the huge fellow plunged
forward, his body across my feet. Involuntarily I gave vent to a groan
of despair, realizing that Madame, in an effort to preserve my life,
had thrown away her sole chance to escape torture, or an existence
worse than death.

The knowledge nerved me to renewed struggle, but ere I could rid myself
of that body pinning me fast, others hurled themselves upon us,
striking and snarling like a pack of hounds who had overtaken their
quarry. It would have been over in another minute; I already felt the
grind of a stone knife-point at my throat, able to gain only a poor
grip on the fellow's wrist, when suddenly, sounding clear as a bell
above that hellish uproar, a single voice uttered an imperative command.

Instantly each Indian's face was upturned toward where such unexpected
summons came, and, lying as I did flat upon my back, my eyes gazed
across the narrow valley, to the summit of the cliff on the farther
side. There, solitary, a carven statue full in the glow of the
westering sun, turning her garments golden, and lightening her rich
profusion of hair into radiant beauty, stood a young woman of white
face and slender, stately figure. It was no time to note dress, yet I
could not fail to observe the flowing white robe, draped from shoulders
to feet, gracefully falling away from an extended arm, as she stood
thus in regal poise looking down upon us. There was a suggestion of
despotic power in both face and posture, and the ring of stern
authority spoke in the sound of her voice.

Twice she addressed our savage captors in brief sentences strange to my
ears, once pointing directly at us, once with sweeping gesture up the
valley. A moment longer she remained motionless, bending slightly
forward, permitting the rich, reddish gold of her hair to flash and
shimmer in the sunshine; then she stepped swiftly back from the dizzy
summit, vanishing instantly, as if dissolved in the haze.




CHAPTER XXI

THE STRONGHOLD OF THE NATCHEZ

We were hopelessly prisoners. On my part further struggle had become
impossible, nor elsewhere did any effort last long, although Cairnes
had to be knocked insensible before the heathen finally mastered him.
I believed the obstinate fellow dead, so ghastly white appeared his
usually florid face as the victorious savages dragged him roughly past
where I lay, flinging his heavy body down like carrion upon the rocks.
De Noyan appeared badly cut, his gallant clothing clinging to him in
fluttering rags, silent witnesses to the manliness of his struggle.
Yet the Chevalier was far from done.

"Let me sit up, you villains!" he cried, vigorously kicking at a
passing shin. "'T is not my custom to lie with head so low. Ah,
Benteen," he smiled pleasantly across at me, his eyes kindling at the
recollection, "that was the noblest fighting that ever came my way, yet
'tis likely we shall pay well for our fun. _Sacre_! 't is no pleasant
face, that of their grim war-chief, nor one to inspire a man with hope
as he makes plea for mercy."

"Marry, no," I replied, determined on exhibiting no greater outward
concern than he. "Nor will the ugly clip on his shoulder leave his
humor happier."

The Chevalier's eyes danced at the recollection.

"'T was our preacher friend who sheared him. I hold it a
master-stroke; but for a spear-butt on the way it would have cleft the
fellow into two equal parts. Have you seen aught of Eloise since the
fight?"

"She lies yonder against the wall at my left, and remains unhurt, I
think. I will make effort to turn over, and have speech with her."

So securely had I been bound with coarse grass rope, I found it no
small task to change the position of my body sufficiently to peer about
the corner of intervening rock, and clearly perceive my lady. She was
reclining in a half sitting posture well within the darker shadow,
bound as were the rest of us.

"You remain uninjured, I trust, Madame?" I asked gently, and it
heartened me to observe the smile with which she instantly glanced up
at sound of my voice.

"No blow has touched me," was her immediate response, "yet I suffer
noticing the stains of blood disfiguring both you and my husband. Are
the wounds serious ones?"

"Nay, mere scratches of the flesh, to heal in a week. Why did you
waste your last shot on that savage who would have struck me? It was
not the will of De Noyan that it be expended thus."

"You must have formed a poor conception of me, Geoffrey Benteen," she
answered, as if my words pained her, "if you suppose I value my life
more highly than your own. But for my solicitation you would never
have been in such stress, and, whatever else may be true, Eloise de
Noyan is not one accustomed to deserting her friends."

"Yet there are fates possible to a woman more to be dreaded than death."

"Ay, and frontier bred, I know it well, yet none so bad as would have
been the knowledge that I was guilty of ingratitude. My life, my
honor, are in the care of God, Geoffrey, and if I remain grateful for
aught this day, it is that my shot proved timely, saving you from that
blow. Tell me, was it not a woman at whose command the combat ceased?"

"It was; a white woman at that, unless my eyes deceived me. She stood
on yonder point of rock, appearing a veritable queen in the sunshine."

"So I thought, a fair face enough, yet not devoid of savage cruelty.
Her presence brings me some rays of hope, making me feel I may have
less to fear in the future than you. If a woman, however debased and
barbarous, rules these savages, she will not be altogether without
heart to the supplications of a woman."

I felt less assured of this, yet it was better she be buoyed up by all
possible hope, so ventured upon no answer. There was that in the
Queen's face as she gazed down upon us that made me doubt her
womanliness; doubt if behind that countenance of wild beauty there did
not lurk a soul as savage and untamed as any among her barbarous
followers. What but a spirit of insatiate cruelty could animate and
control such fierce warriors in their battle rage? Thinking of this,
my eyes on Madame, a movement occurred among our captors quickly
challenging my attention. Fresh shouts and cries evidenced new
arrivals. These came swarming down the ravine, and in another moment
began crawling noisily about us, chattering with our surly captors, or
scowling into our faces with savage eyes boding no good. It would be
unjust were I to write that these fellows were a brutal lot, as such
words would be void of that truth I seek to convey. I lived to learn
that many among them had the stuff of which true men are made; yet,
nevertheless, they were savages, scarcely touched by the virtues or
vices of civilization, a people nursing within their memory a great
wrong, and inflamed by the fierce passions of battle. Gazing about on
the stiffening forms of their stricken warriors, all alike exhibited in
eyes and gestures how eagerly they longed for the hour of vengeance,
when implacable hate might have full vent in the unutterable agony of
their victims. I gazed up into their scowling, distorted faces,
imagining a final moment of reckoning was at hand; yet some authority,
either of chief or tribal custom, restrained their pitiless hatred,
reserving us for longer, more intense suffering.

But the wild thirst for blood was mirrored in those fierce eyes glaring
down into mine, and echoed in the shrill cries with which they marked
us yet alive for their barbaric ingenuity to practise upon at leisure.
Even as I observed this, realizing from my knowledge of Indian nature
that our ultimate fate would be infinitely worse than merciful death in
battle, I could not remain blind to the wide difference between these
naked warriors and those other savages with whom my wandering border
life had made me familiar. My awakened memory dwelt upon the peculiar
tribal characteristics of the Mingoes north of the Ohio, the Kaskaskias
in the Illinois country, the Shawnees, the Cherokees, even the Creeks,
in whose villages I had dwelt as a friend, and beside whose young men I
had hunted as a brother. Yet here was surely a distinct race, one less
clearly marked with those features peculiarly Indian,--the cheek-bones
not prominent, the form of nose more varied, the skin decidedly
lighter, the heads better shapen, and the figures more thoroughly
developed. More, their language had little of the guttural so
universal among Eastern tribes, but had a peculiar, sharp, hissing
sound; so, although the faces peering into mine were wild and ferocious
enough to leave no doubt as to their barbarous nature, or our probable
fate, yet these peculiarities, with the total absence of paint, such as
disfigures and renders grotesquely hideous other Indians upon the
war-path, were sufficient to stamp these savages as members of a
distinct race.

"Natchez?" I ventured to inquire of the burly brute who stood over me
grasping spear and war-club.

"_Sa_," he grinned savagely. "_Francais, Francais_."

I shook my head and tried him again, but soon desisted on discovering
that these two words marked the full extent of our common language, and
so was obliged to be content with silently contemplating the crowds of
curious, naked heathen swarming on the hill.

Fortunately, it was not long we were doomed to wait, uncomfortably
trussed with our ropes of plaited grass. The old chief who had led the
assault gave his order, and, in immediate obedience, we were roughly
dragged forth, the bonds about our lower limbs severed, and, under
zealous guards, despatched up the canyon, the entire party promptly
falling in at the rear, bearing with them their wounded and dead. De
Noyan and I, thus released from our cramped, painful position on the
rocks, were jerked rudely upon our feet, and, in obedience to
threatening gestures, driven rapidly forward like dumb beasts; but
Madame and the Puritan, the latter not yet having regained
consciousness, were swung aloft in hammocks of coarsely woven cloth,
and thus borne upon the shoulders of four stout carriers. In this way
we advanced northward, not moving as slowly as I desired, for I was
sore and aching from head to foot, besides being weakened by loss of
blood. Yet there was no hope of escape, no evidence of mercy. If we
ventured to lag, the vigilant guard promptly quickened our movements by
the vigorous application of spear-points, so we soon learned the
necessity of keeping fully abreast of our assigned position in the
column.

Coming nearer to that great cataract which had effectually dammed our
progress up the valley, the leaders swerved toward the left, passing so
closely beside the leaping, foaming flood as to be enveloped in the
spray as if in a cloud of mist. Almost beneath the fall, the water
crashing on the rocks within reach of an outstretched hand, we
commenced a toilsome climb, along a deep, rocky gully completely
shrouded by overhanging bushes, as if we traversed a tunnel dug by the
hands of men. Indeed, I have little doubt that this peculiar
passageway had been constructed by artificial means. Every now and
then, when a faint light from without straggled through the interlaced
boughs overhead, I caught a glimpse of the evidences of human labor.
This odd passage, crooked and intricate, at times so steep as to
require the chiselling of steps in the solid rock, wound in and out
along the side of the cliff, then ran back into the very face of the
precipice, for more than a hundred and fifty yards. Suddenly we
emerged, fifty yards back from the crest, in the heart of a great
circular hole resembling the crater of a burned-out volcano, having
great ragged points of rock, blackened as if incased with lava, jutting
up upon every side, and forming as desolate and barren a picture as
ever eyes looked upon.

I was completely fagged by this time, the climb being a heavy one, and
I noticed De Noyan was ghastly of face, his body trembling like that of
a palsied man. But our relentless drivers permitted no halting to
recruit strength. The Chevalier was evidently in greater distress than
I, so from pity I bade him lean on my shoulder; but as he sought to
draw near, the merciless brute on guard struck him savagely, and there
was such shaking of spears and fierce uproar on the part of our escort,
we could do naught else than set our teeth to it, and go staggering on.
The slight path, if it might be named a path, led in and out among the
black lava cones in such labyrinthine fashion that no man could hope to
retain memory of its course, while the floor being of irregular stone,
the passing feet left no trail for future guidance. We travelled
blindly, and reckless through suffering and exhaustion, some distance,
until, perhaps a mile above the spot where we had surmounted the cliff,
a sudden twist was made to the right, our company creeping on all fours
through a narrow opening, having a great tree-trunk on one side and a
huge black bowlder on the other. We came forth high in air above the
swift, deep water, footing the insecure bark of a rude tree-bridge
spanning the current. Once safe on the other bank, our path merely a
narrow shelf of stone, we wormed around a sharp projection of the
cliff, rising to even greater height than in the gorge below. A dense
mass of interlaced and overshadowing cedars was partially pressed
aside, partially crawled under, and from this we finally emerged into
an open space, containing, I imagine, not far from five hundred acres
of land, having vast towering precipices of black frowning rock on
every side, with no outlet apparent, save to one blessed with wings.
Saint Andrew! 'twas an awesome place, yet oddly beautiful, so soft and
green below, with those massive walls completely shutting out all the
rest of the world, and shadowing the little valley with impregnable
grandeur.

I had but a moment in which to view the impressive scene. Scarcely had
the head of our column entered this natural prison when it was greeted
with wild shouts of triumph, immediately succeeded by shrieks of
distress, while there streamed forward to meet us a tumultuous band of
savages, a large proportion of whom were women and children. The
children were absolutely nude and peculiarly white of skin, while the
former wore rude skirts of coarsely woven cloth fastened about the
waist, their long hair in many instances trailing upon the ground,
yielding them a wildness of aspect beyond description; yet withal they
were not uncomely of features. These newcomers thronged about us with
scowling faces, and, when sternly forced back by the lowered weapons of
the guard, either joined the procession, or else trooped alongside,
yelling and jeering.

Pressed forward, although by now so utterly spent I could barely
stagger rapidly enough to escape those pitiless thrusts, I mechanically
noted enough of our surroundings to understand that we traversed ground
which had been cultivated; that low fences, here and there encountered,
divided the land into small sections, even as in more civilized regions
farmers protect their fields. What their crops may have been I could
not determine, the season of harvest being already past, yet I
distinguished what I supposed must be evidences of garden culture,
observing also a considerable ditch, certainly four feet in width,
filled with clear running water, which seemed to encircle the entire
basin, the deeper green of vegetation marking its course close up
against the farther rock wall.

The view directly in advance was at first obscured by the leaping
figures of the exultant savages leading the way, whooping with
excitement, and wildly brandishing their war-clubs. These at length
fell back along either side, our guards hurrying us across the ditch,
spanned by the great trunk of a tree, and thus on into the village.
This town resembled no other encampment of savages on which my eyes had
ever looked. I saw a wide open space, a blackened stake set in the
middle of it, the ground bare of vegetation, and tramped hard as if by
countless feet. Beyond, circling this plaza upon two sides, were
several rows of houses, all facing the same direction. It reminded me
of pictures I had seen of Hebrew camps in my father's great Bible, only
the houses were built of sun-dried clay, such as peons use in the far
Southwest on the Brazos, square in shape, of but a single story, having
dome-shaped roofs, heavily thatched with cane. They were windowless,
with one narrow opening for a door, protected by a heavy matting of
grass. Behind these, perhaps a hundred yards or more, and within a
short distance of the steep cliffs bounding the upper extremity of the
valley, there arose from the surface of the plain two immense rounded
mounds of earth, each fully a hundred paces wide at its base, sloping
sharply upward. Considerable vacant space lay between the two, while
on the apex of each stood buildings of sun-baked clay, resembling in
form those below, yet much larger, and, because of their elevation,
appearing spacious and imposing. Above one were posed three rudely
carven figures bearing a slight resemblance to giant eagles, their
wings outspread as if for flight. The other was surmounted by a
hideous, grotesque figure, blackened as by fire, with distorted face
daubed a glaring yellow, and long hair glittering from red pigment.
Here the grass curtain had been drawn aside, while before the entrance,
their faces striped with disfiguring black lines, their dull vestments
trailing to the ground and gaudily trimmed with fanciful trappings,
their coarse hair so trained as to stand almost erect, were two aged
men, who, with wild gesticulations, and solemn chanting, were
apparently paying adoration to the setting sun, the last beams
streaming over them through a rift in the western wall.

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