WAU-IAI-CtEE; THE MASSxlCRE AT CHICAGO. A KOMASCE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. / BY MAJOR KICHARDSON, AUTHOR OF "WACOU.STA," " HARDSCRABBLE," "ECARTE," "JACK BRAG IN SPAIN, "TECUilSEa," &.C. NEW YOEK: II . LONG AND BROTHER No. 43 ANN STREET. nr, lag to Ac: of Congress, in tlie year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifiy-two, BY H. LONG AND BROTHER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Pistrict of New ^rk. (^U?!-?/ # PREFATORY INSCRIPTION. My Publishers ask of me a couple of pages of matter to precede this Tale. It is scarcely necessary to state, that the whole of the text approaches so nearly to Historical fact, . that any other preface than that which admits the introduction of but one strictly fictitious character — Maria Heywood — in the book, must be, in a great degree, supererogatory. Yet> I gladly avail myself of this pleasing opportunity of manifesting the deep interest and sympathy with which I have ever regarded those brave spirits — heroes not less than heroines — who participated in the trials of that brief but horrid epoch. How can I better exemplify this than by inscribing to the descendants of the venerable founder of the City of Chicago — a prominent actor in the scene — as well as to the gallant military survivors of the Massacre, if any yet exist, the fruits of that interest and that sympathy. Dedications and Inscriptions have almost grown out of fashion — at least they are not so general in the present century as in the days of Dry den ; but where, through them, an opportunity for the expression of esteem and sympathy ii? presented, an Author may gladly avail himself of the occasion to show that no common interest influenced the tracings of his pen — not the mere desire to make a book, but to establish on a high pedestal, and to circulate through the most attractive and popular medium, the merits of those whose deeds and sufferings have inspii'ecL him with the generous spirit of eulogistic comment. ■^■-■• To Her Majesty's 41st Kegimeut, in garrison at Detroit shortly after the occurrences herein detailed, ni}'- first Indian Tale, "Wacousta," was inscribed, and this in memory of the long, and by no means feather-bed service I had seen with that gallant Corps, in the then Western wilds of America; it was a tribute of the soldier to his companions in arms. In the same spirit I inscribe " Wau-nan-gee " to those who were then our enemies, but whose courage and whose sufferings were well known to all, and claimed our deep sympathy, our respect, and our admiration,' — none more than the noble Mrs. Heald, and Mrs. Helme, the former the ■\\Tfe of the Commanding Officer, the latter the daughter of the patriarch of Illinois, Mr. Kenzie, some years since gathered to his forefathers. The Authok. New York, March ^Oth, 1852. WAU-IAN-GEE; THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO CHAPTER I. " He lias come to ope the pni-ple testament of war." — Richard II It was the Ytli of August, 1812, when Winnebeg, the confidential Indian messenger of Captain Headley, commanding Fort Dearborn, suddenly made liis appearance within the stockade. With, a countenance on wliich was depicted more of the seriousness and concern than usually attach to his race, he requested the officer of the guard, Lieutenant Elmsley, to allow him to pass to the apartment of the Chief. The subaltern shook him cordially by the hand as an old and familiar acquaintance ; and, half laughingly taunt- ing him with the great solemnity of his aspect, asked him where he had been so long, and what news he brought. " Berry bad news," replied the Indian gravely ; " must see him Gubber- ner directly — dis give him ;" ^nd thrusting his hand into the bosom of his deerskin shirt, he drew forth a large sealed packet, evidently an official despatch. " From Detroit, Winnebeg ?" " Yes, come in two days — great -news — bad news !" " Indeed ? You shall see the commanding officer dhectly." " Corporal Collins, conduct Winnebeg to Captain Headley's quarters." The non-commissioned officer hastened to acquit himself of the duty, and, on the announcement of his name, the chief was admitted to the presence of the commandant. The latter saw at a glance, from the countenance of the Indian, that there was something wrong. He shook him warmly by the hand, bade him be seated, and then hastily breaking the seal of the despatch, with an air of pre- occupation perused its contents. The document was from General Hull, and ran nearly as follows : — " From the difficulty of access to your post, cut off as is the communica- tion by the numerous bands of hostile Indians whom Tecumseh has raised up in arms against us, I take it for granted that you are yet ignorant that war hai 6 WAU-NAK-CEE ; Oil, been declared between Great Britain and the United States. Such, however, is the fact,, and in a few days 1 expect myself to be surrounded by a horde of savages, when my position will indeed be u tryin^ij one, not ^is regards myself, but the hundreds of defenceless women and children, whom nothing can preserve from the tomahawk and the scaljiing knife. I, moreover, fear much for Crang up betM'een them, many little points of etiquette, to which formerl}^ he had most scrupulously adhered. Among the varieties of dresses possessed by Ensign Ronayne, was a very handsome one which the mother of Wau-nan-gee, for whom it was made, had disposed of to him ; and this, when preparing for the ride the next day, his wife strongly advised him to wear. As he knew there could be no objection on the part of Captain Headley only to the direction in which they rode, and that only from the possibility of encountering a party of hostile Indians, and not to the costume itself, he laughingly remarked that her old flame, Wau-nan-gee, had certainly made a deeper impression on her heart than she was willing to admit, since no dress pleased her half so v,-ell as that which had once been worn by the gentle and dark-eyed youth. For a moment or two she turned pale, and then suddenly flushing the deepest dye, as the sense of her husband's remark came fully upon her apprehension, she said, not without some pain and confusion, mingled witli gentle reproach : — THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 17 '' You seem to have foi'gotten, Roiiayuo, that that was the dress you %vore oil an occasion of danger, when Ute and dealli and ha])piness hung upon the issue. Might I not have the credit of prizing it on that account?" " Nay, heloTcd one," he exchiimed, as he pressed her to his heart, " you know i did but jest. Then was my strong love for yourself, my protection and my shield ; and if that love was powerful then, what irresistible strength lias it attained now. Maria, I would fain desire to live for ever, if but to show the vastness and enduringness of my love for you." " Ah ! to what, a trial am I to be subjected,'' she murmured, " and yet I would not shun it. Why has the calm deep current of our joy been thus cruelly interrupted, Ronayne ? Sliould fate or circumstances ever interpose to separate us, will you always entertain for me the same ardent affection that you do now ?'' " Heavens ! why do you ask ? What means tliis question ? What is there to divide us"? nay, even separate us for an hour?" " Oh ! I cannot explain myself," she returned. " I know I speak wildly, but I only mean in the possible event of anything- of the kind. I do not say that it may or v,ill happen ; but you know it might. None o£ these things are impossible. AVe cannot control our d(;stiny." " Well, my love," remarked Ronayne, with a sigh, while an expression of gravity and sadness pervaded his features, " it cannot be denied that you have adopted some strange fancies this morning ; firstly, a desire to visit Hard- scrabble, a |)lace which you have always hitherto carefully avoided ; secondly, to see me dressed in a costume wliich I have not worn since the occasion to which j-ou have just adverted ; and thiidly, to frighten me to death by even hinting at the possibility of separation. By the bye," he added, " it is a very long time si7ice we have seen Wau-nan-gee. You know he disappeared the night of our marriage, and has never been seen since. I wonder what can have become of him. Would you not like once more, Maria, to see his handsome face ? I shall never forget the eagerness with which he picked up the vFedding-i'ing ^^hich I hail let foil in the act of putting it on your finger, or the look of deep clisappointment v.hon I rather abruptly — nay, somewhat rudely — snatched it from him, as he trerabhngly proceeded to complete that part of the ceremony himself. It certainly looked very ominous." It was a great relief to Mrs. Ronayne when, at the very moment that her husband ceased speaking, a knock was heard at the door, and in the next moment the figure of Doctor Von Voltenbcrg crossed the thresliold. He came to aimounce that the horses were already saddled, and waiting for them. With a heart full to oppression, she left the room, and regained her chamber. There she threw herself upon her knees at the bedside, and burst into a paroxysm of tears. It was the first time she had been alone since the occurrence at the summer-house ; the first opportunity she had had of giv- ing unrestrained indulgence to the powerful emotions that had for many hours hung like an immovable weight upon her soul. The first outburst of hitherto-suppressed feeling over, she became more calm. She felt that her long absence might excite surprise. A basin of cold water soon removed all traces of her tears, and in less than half an hour she had regained the party, her beautiful form clad in a dark green riding habit made of cloth of the lightest texture, and her full dark hair, surmounted bv a straw hat tastily plaiteu and 2 18 -VrAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, fashioned by her own hands, and trimmed with a broad, pale, and richly- bordered ribbon. Ronaync's eye caught her own as she entered. Never liad she appeared so strikingly beautiful. lie said nothing, but the rich Virgi- nian blood mounted to his cheek, while his expressive eye conveyed, as plainly as language itself could render it, how ardent and enduring was his love. That look heightened the color on her own enchanting face, but it was only for the moment, and evidently caused by some absorbing recollection of an absent friend. She turned away her head to conceal the tear that forced itself down her cheek, and then everything being ready — for Ronayne had availed himself of her absence to assume his Indian dress — the party went to the barrack square, and were soon in the saddle. 9 " God bless her !" ejaculated Corporal Collins, as, after relinquishing the bridle he had held Avhile her husband assisted her to mount, the graceful form of Mrs. Ronayne receded from his view, leaving him once more to resume his monotonous walk in front of the building. " Ah, there is nobody like that sweet lady 1" " There goes an angel !" said Sergeant Nixon in a low voice to his compa- nions of the guard, all of whom off sentry had risen, and were now standing all attention, as the little party passed towards the gate. " Isn't she a trump !'' said another man of the guard — Weston. " See how she sits her horse — just as if she had been born to it.'' " Sergeant Nixon," said Maria, in one of her sweetest tones, as she moved her horse towards the non-commissioned otScer in passing. The Sergeant touched his cap with marked respect. " Should anything occur to detain us -in our ride, let this packet be given to Mrs. Headley. Mind, Sergeant, certainly not before midnight." "If our command shall be obeyed, JMrs. Ronayne. Should you return before midnight, it will be found with me ; if not, I shall at once carry it to Mrs. Headley." " Just so. Good by, Nixon !" and as she placed the packet in his posses- sion, she pressed his hand, as if to signify that th» proper execution of the commission was of some importance. " What is it, Maria ? wliat do you wait for f asked Ronayne, reining in his horse to enable her to come vip. "Nothing. I am merely sending a trifling message to Mrs. Headley by Sergeant Nixon," and then putting her horse into a canter, she joined her cavaliers, and pursued with them the road that led along the right bank of a branch of the Chicago river to the Harbscrabble farm. CHAPTER IV. You see this cbase is hotly followed. — Henry V. The spot called Hardscrabble was distant about two miles from Fort Dearborn, and had been the scene of a recent and bloody tragedy. Tbey THE MASRACUE AT CHICAGO. 19 who are familiar with the events that occurred during a different and earlier phase of this tale are aware that, not four months previously, the father of Mrs. Ronayne had, as well as a faithful domestic, been cruelly murdered there, during- a period of profound peace, by a party of Winnebagoes, and that, on the removal of his body to the grounds of the cottage, near the fort, in which his wife and daughter resided, the house had been hermetically closed. The outrage upon Mr. Ileywood had taken place early in ApriJ. It was now, as has already been said, the 7th of August, and within that period Mrs. Ronayne had drunk deeply of the cup of reciprocated wedded bliss, she had also known the anguish of the severance of every natural tie. Both her parents were buried near the summer-house, and, had it not been for the fervent love of her husband — a love that daily increased in purity and intensity — even the great strength of mind for which she was remark- able would have ill enabled her to endure the twofold shock. But, even with all his love, the natural melancholy of her character became tinged with an additional shade of seriousness, which, far from being displeasing, or detracting from the sweetness of her most expressive and faultless face, seemed to invest it with a newer and a hoher charm. The perfection of her classic style of beauty given as Maria Heywood, may well justify a repetition here. Above the middle size, her figure was at once gracefully and richly formed. Her face, of a chiselled oval, was of a delicate oUve tint, which well harmonized with eyes of a lustrous hazel, and hair of glossy, raven black, of rare amplitude and length. A mouth classically small, bordered b}^ lips of coral fulness, disclosed, when she smiled, teeth white and even ; while a forehead, high and denoting strong intellect, combined with a nose somewhat more aquiline than Grecian, to give dignity to a countenance that might otherwise have exhibited too much of a character of voluptuous beaut)^. Yet, although her features, Avhen lighted up by vivacity or emo- tion, were radiant with intelligence, their expression when in repose was of a pensive cast, that, contrasted with her general appearance, gave to it a charm, addressed at once to sense and sentiment, of which it is impossible by description to give an adequate idea. A dimpled cheek — an arm, hand, and foot, that might have served the statuary as a model, completed a person which, without exaggeration, might be deemed almost, if not wholly, faultless. For some minutes, as the party rode along the road bordering on the serpentine branch of the Chicago leading to Hardscrabble, Mrs. Ronayne, apprehensive that her husband might attribute any appearance of depression of spirits to physical illness, and insist on postponing her ride to some future occasion, fell, as most people do who are sensible that for the first time in their lives they are acting with insincerity, into the very opposite extreme. With a consciousness of wrong at her heart — with a soul distracted with uncertainty and hesitancy as to the result of the course sheAvas pursuing — she indulged in a gaiety that, in her, was wholly unnatural. She rattled, talked, laughed with ill-timed volubility — offered to make wagers with the surgeon and Ronayne that she would take her horse over the highest fallen log, or, if they preferred it, swim with either of them across the river, and lastly proposed that they should start together and see who would first reach the farm-house. All this time the deepest scarlet was on her cheek, her manner 80 'WAU-NAN-GEK ; OK, betrayed the most feverish excitement, and there was unwonted hrilliancy in lier eye. Ronayne looked at her earnestly. Suddenly a channje came over her, for nhe had remarked, and felt confused under the penetrating glance which seemed to tell her that she did not feel that lightness of heart with the sem- blance of which she was seeking to deceive him. For the first time since his marriage — nay, for the first time since his acquaintance with her — and this had been of more than two years' date — he felt pain — pain inOicted by her. There was evidently some secret thought at her hcait which she withheld ; and she who had never before concealed a passing emotion of her soul, was now wrapped up in an unaccountable mystery. In proportion with her husband's increasing gravity, Mrs. Ronayne's spi- rits became depressed, mitil in reality enfeebled by her strong previous excitement, she looked pale as death itself, and expressed a desire for a glass of water. Deeply touched and alarmed by the sudden change which had taken place in his wife's appearance and manner, Ronayne threw himself from his horse, and, being provided with a silver drinking cup, flew to the river to fill it. In order to obtain the liquid pure and cool, however, it was neces- sary to turn a small and acute point of underwood, a little to the right, where a few rude stone stops led to a sort of natural well, Avhere, even in the hottest day of summer, the beverage came fresh as from a coral foun- tain. It was a spot well known to every frequenter of that road, and few passers-by ever drank from any otiier source. The young officer was in the act of dipping his cup into the stream, when three shots were distinctly heard in the neighborhood of Ilardscrab- l>le, then about half a mile distant, and after the interval of a few seconds, the rapid galloping of horses' hoofs behind him. With an inconceivable dread of he knew not Avhat at his heart, he sprang round the point of wood to gain the road Avhere he had left liis wife and Von Voltenberg. To his astonishment both were gone. They were the hoofs of their horses he had heard — his own -was tied to a tree, as he had left him, and malung endea- vors to free himself, that he might follow his companions. We "will not attempt to describe the feelings of Ronayne. The mere dis- appearance of the party might have been accounted for, had- it not been for the shots which preceded. But the association was terrible. It bewil- dered him — almost deprived him of thought and judgment. Evidently, there was an enemy in the neighborhood ; but, even if so, why the obvious advance into the very heart of danger ; for, from the direction of the sound, he could have no doubt that one horse, at least, had taken the direction of Hardscrabble, and that, from the peculiar and i-apid footfall of the animal, he felt assured Avas his wife's. What could this mean ? Mrs. Ronayne's he knew to be a veiy spiiited young horse, and the only manner in which he could explain her absence was by inferring that, startled by the report of the firearms, he had sud- denly run away with her, and that Von Voltenberg had followed as speedily as he could to check him. He dashed the cup of water to the earth, mounted, and dug liis spurs in the flanks of his horse, when the latter, bounding forward with agony under the exquisite sense of pain, seemed rather to leap than run over the ground THE MASSACRK AT CHICAaO. 21 Fifty yards from the point where he started, something glaringly white on the ground frightened the animal and caused him to shy so abruptly, even while continuing his speed, that Ronayne, excellent horseman as he was, had great difficulty in preserving his seat. Rapid as was the glance obtained of the object, he at once recognised it for the habit collar of his Avife, and therefore all uncertainty was at , an end as to the direction hei* horse had taken. His heart was full, but he had scarcely power to think. A thousand incidents and fears seemed to crowd ujion his brain at tlie same time, and in such confusion that he felt as thut although he now rode slowly, carelessly, his eye was everywhere. The ])athway he followed led along a strip some twenty feet in width, between the garden fence and the river, to the bottom of the clearing or lawn that ran to the edge of the latter. Keenly he glanced towards the skirt of the forest on his left where he had first beheld the sa\ages with their prisoner, but not a sign of one of them was to be seen. All this was certainly most extraordi- nary and unaccountable, but lionayneknevv the character of Indian stratageni too Avell not to feel assured that the very next moment succeeding that of this serpent-like quietude, might be replete with excitement, and he was pre- pared for its occurrence. He dreaded to advance. He almost feared that he should not be seen. Every step forward in safety increased the distance which separated him from the idol of his soul, and the purest air of heaven had no sweetness for him that was not breathed with her. His head drooped upon his breast— he could hear the beating of his own heart. He prayed inwardly, secretly, fervently to God to restore to him his wife as by a miracle, and save him from the madness of despair. When he again raised his head, he was startled but not surprised to see his further progress interrupted by THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 25 a dozen Indians, spiinging up as it were from the very bowels of tlie earth, and standing in the same cai'eloss and unexcited attitude in wliich he had beheld them at the outset. Mechanically wheeling his horse to escape by the lane, he beheld a similar display. He was evidently hemmed hi. His fur- ther advance or retreat was, completely intercepted. Truly has it been said, we are the creatures of circumstance. A moment before, and while there was no enemy visible, Ronayne had felt the utmost iudiflference in regard to a fate the bitterness of which would, at least, have been sweetened by the fact of his being near to solace and sustain his wife. He could not believe that it was the i)urpose of the warrioi-s to do them bodily harm ; for, had that been their intention, they would, without doubt, have fired at him, when they found themselves foiled in their recent pvu-suit ; and such was the devotedness of love of the man, that forgetting under the circumstances the sterner duty of the officer, he would have pieferred the tent and bonds of the savage Jor ever with her to the comforts and freedom of his own home, when the presence of the loved and familiar being in whom alone he lived should no longer give life and interest to the latter. But now a sudden change in his plans was resolved upon, for the same glance which had fallen on the warriors in his front, had enabled him to see, in the dis- tance, that Von Voltenberg, profiting probably by the carelessness of those k'ft in charge, was moving stealthily and alone between the cornfield and the building, behind which he soon disappeared. The quickening sound of hoofs immediately succeeding attested that he was in full flight, and then a rapid association of ideas brought to the strongly imaginative mind of the young officer the conviction that his v>ife had escaped too, for he felt assured "that Von Voltenberg would not abandon her. What the object was in endeavoring to secure himself he could not tell. The Indians had evidently some more than ordinary motive in his capture, or wherefore their gveat anxiety to take him ixnhurt, and their seeming indifference in regard to the other prisoners, who had been left almost unguarded. There might be two reasons for this. Firstly, they might be on their war-path, and therefore might not find it either convenient or desirable to incumber themselves, on a march, with a woman ; and, secondly, having discovered the Doctor to be a " medicine man" — a fact of wdiich he would not have failed to apprise them — they might not feel themselves permitted by the Great Spirit to detain liim, and therefore, without absolutely releasing, gave him the opportunity for escape. Of course, all these reflections were tbe result of but a momentary action of the brain. Ronayne, with much warmth and impetuosity of character, was of quick and sound apprehension, and at once saw the advantages or disadvantages of an extreme position. To advance or retire, as has already been remarked, was impossible, for both in front and rear stood the warriors leaning carelessly on fiieir guns, as if they expected at each moment that he would come up and surrender himself. But, whatever his previous musings, lialf nursed into the determination, such was^now far from being the inten- tion of the Vii'ginian. Certain that he woul'd be fired at, his main object was to prevent their closing with him so far as to impede his action. In order to prevent nearer advance upon him, therefore, ho pulled his pocket handkerchief from the bosom of his hunting-shirt, and Avaved it over his head in token of submission. Guttural sounds of approbation broke from 26 WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, the warriors, amid which he thour>;ht he could hear the voice of his wife eaniestly calHng \ipon his name, in the distance. He looked, but saw nothing. Tiie idea that she had boon sutVered to make her escape grew stronger. He felt assured, for the sounds of horses' hoots had ceased, that she was lingering for him to join her ; that^she had soon him wave the handkerchief, and that, tearing he was about to deliver himself into the hands of his enemies, she had uttered that cry to indicate her position. Apparently in the certainty of their prisoner, the Indians both above and below had thrown themselves at the side of the lane imder the fence, some even commencing to fill and smoke their pipe tomahawks. This again was the moment of action. To leap the fence at this time was out of all question, but the river was unusually deep immediately on his right. Rapidly he wheeled his horse, and, bearing him up with a strong arm, as he reached the bank, while he forced the rowels of his spurs into his flanks, caused him to bound over nearly one third of the narrow stream. Almost before the Indians had time to recover from their surprise and dash in after him, he was nearly across. As he ascended the opposite bank, and gained the road above, another cry from the same voice rang upon his ears. He looked and beheld at one of the windows of the farm-house a form evidently that of a woman, the outline and dress of which he could not, however, distinguish, reclining negligently, almost motionless, on the bosom of the youngest warrior, who had evinced such earnestness in his desire to capture him. Alternately, as Ronayne continued his course to the fort, along that bank of the Chicago, the youth pealed forth the peculiar war-whoop of his tribe, and waved, seem- ingly, the very pocket handkerchief which the unhappy officer had a few moments before thrown down as an earnest of his submission. Was this meant as a reproach or a threat ? He could not tell ; but certainly he felt that he deserved the former in their eyes, who had shown him so much mercy. In less than ten minutes he had passed over the intermediate ground, his ear achingly on the stretch to catch the sounds of horses' hoofs on the opposite' bank — that bank which, not two hours previously, he had traversed with a bright hope, if not with a heart wholly free from anxiety — but in vain. Furiously, wildly, he rode into the fort. He was haggard, pale, and dripping from the immersion he had so recently undergone. His first inquiry at the gate, on entering, was if Mi's. Ronayne had returned. Being answered in the negative, life itself seemed to be annihilated ; and, over- come by the overwhelming agony he had endured for the last two hours, he gave a frightful shriek of despair, and, on gaining the centre of the parade, fell fainting from his horse to the ground, as we have already seen at the close of our opening chapter. CHAPTER VI. " My particular grief is of so floodgate and overbearing nature, that it engluts and swallows other sorrows." — Othello. Never did day close more cheerlessly on the hearts of men, than that %vhich succeeded to the occurrences detailed in our last chapter. Yea, it was a terrible blow which had been inflicted upon all. The sun of the existence THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 27 of each, from the commanding officer to the youngest drummer- boy, had been dimmed ; and many a weather-beaten soldier, grown grey in the natural apathy of age, now found himself unable to restrain the rising tean-. Not a woman, not a child arrived at the years of consciousness, but missed and mourned over the absence of her who had been, not merely the favorite, but the beloved of the whole garrison. The young Virginian himself was, for the moment, the only exception to this mental anguish. When taken up from the ground to which he had fallen, and borne to his room, he was in a high fever and delirious from excitement — unconscious of everything around. He did not manifest a sense of the nature and extent of his grief by exclamations of despair, or reference to the past, but lay like one stupified, his cheek highly flushed, his eyes fixed and upturned, his hands clasped across his chest, his breathing scarcely audible, and seemingly without the power of combination of thought, or the exercise of memory. When Von Voltenberg soon afterwards followed, he at once saw that congestion of the brain was rapidly forming, and immediately prepared to bleed him. The room, which, first filled with sorrowing soldiers and their wives, not only excluded the necessary air, but impeded action, was now urgently requested to be cleared, and none remained but Mrs. Headley, Mrs. Elmsley, Mr. Konayne's servant Catherine, and Corporal Collins, who, having been reheved from his duty as orderly, had entreated the surgeon to permit him to render what service might be required during the young officer's illness. There was no fastidious or misplaced delicacy here. Mrs. Headley had ever felt as a mother towards the Virginian, Mrs. Elmsley as a sister, and, even had this not been the case, the strong affection they bore to his wife would have led them to attend the sick couch of the husband. One supported his shoulder as he was raised in his bed, the other took his extended hand, while Corporal Collins, looking much paler and more fright- ened than either of them, held the basin. If Von Voltenberg was not particu- larly given to fasting, or loved the punch made of the horrid whiskey distilled in those days in the west, he was, nevertheless, a skilful surgeon. With a steady hand he now divided the vein, when forth gushed a st»eam of blood so dark and discolored that the significant and triumphant shake of the head which he gave clearly indicated what would have been the result had the bleeding been delayed much longer. Greatly relieved by the reraoVal of the oppressive weight, the unhappy ensign opened his eyes, and became sensible of objects, but it was only that consciousness might render him even more keenly alive to the horror of his position. Each article of furniture and dress around the room brought increased desolation to his heart. There was the harp Maria was wont to touch with such exquisite grace. There was the dress she had thrown off to assume her riding habit — for it will be recollected that the officers of tliat post had no gilded suites of apartments at their command, but barely a couple of barrack rooms for the married men, and one for the single. Now a shoe caught his eye, now a glove, a hat, a slipper, her dressing-case ; even the tiny thimble with which she had worked the hnen upon his back ; each and all of these, endearing yet painful to the sight from the recollections they brought up, he glanced at alternately, until his feehngs werfi so wrought upon that he was almost frantic. 2S WAU-NAN-CEE ; OR, " Take those things away !" he cried, starting up and pointing to them ; "I cannot endure the sight. They will kill me — ay, worse than kill— tear my heart-strings witli slow agony. Ah ! dear Mrs. Ileadley — Mrs. Elmsley — both of you, who loved Maria so well — can you not understand the pangs I suffer ! Yesterday I could have defied tlie world in tiie vain pride of my happiness and strengtli ; to-day I feel that I am more wretched than the slave that tugs at his chain — more feeble tlian a child. AVould to heaven that I could die within this hour ! Oh, God ! oh, God ! oh, God ! how shall I endure this !" lie turned on his side, buried his face in tlie pillolv, and sobbr d and wept, nntil every one around had caught the doep infection of his pi'olbund suffer- ing. The lips of Coi-poral Collins, as he stood stiff in his military attitude, were closely compressed, and his brow wtis contracted. A sympathy, trace-, able on each quivering muscle, was evidently struggling for mastery, aijd he turned abruptly round. Had others taken time from their own sorrow to T.'atch his next movement, they might have seen,hitn raise his hand to his lips, and drain deeply from a flask he had taken from the bosom of his uni- i'ovm. Mrs. Elmsley, with her face buried in her hands, leaned against one of the foot- posts of the bed ; and Mrs. Ileadley — the majestic Mrs. Ileadley, with more complex feelings at her heart than actuated the others — knelt at the head of the bed, laid her hand upon the shoulder of the patient, and conjured him, in tones that maiked her own deep sorrow, to bear the trial like a man, and not destroy hiuiself by unavailing grief. Yet, even as she spoke, the tears fell copiously upon the bed. "• Mrs. Ileadley," said Von Voltenberg, who afterwards admitted that, in tlie whole course of his practice, he had n(;ver been similarly touched, " do not check him. Let him give full vent to this emotion., for painful as it now is, both to himself and to us who witness it, this outburst once exhausted, the crisis once past, there wdll be less fear of a return. See, already the paroxysm is weaker — he is more c;ilm — buth mind and body are worn out, and if he can but sleep for a few hours, although he may perhaps awakeu to more acute sorrow, no danger to his life need be apprehended." Notwithstanding this remark was made in little more than a whisper, it was distinctly heard by the sufferer. Suddenly starting up again in his bed, he turned quickly round to the surgeon, and said, in a tone of reproach — " And is this all the consolation you have to offer me ? What ! tell mo that I shall a-naken to keener pain than that which now racks my being, and drag on a miserable life ! Of what value that life to me ? But stay, my mind is not yet itself, -or how is it that I have not yet questioned you about my wife ! Dear Von Voltenberg !" and he threw the hand of the recently- punctured arm upon the shoulder of the surgeon, " what news have you of Maria ? Tell me of her safety ; say that you have rescued her and that I shall see her again, and I will for ever bless the voice that saves me from despair. Oh, Von Voltenberg ! speak, speak ! surely you could never have had the baseness to desert her. How were you taken ? hov/ have you escaped ? and why alone i" " Poor Ronayne! would to God that I could give you consolation; but, ;ilas ! I cannot. She fell into the hands of the Indians before I did, and I saw her borne rapidly to the rear of the farm-house ; me they took to the THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 29 road where you saw me. From that moment I never once beheld her ; but reassure yourself, all may yet be well. True, she is a prisoner, but I appre- hend no violence, for the Indians offered none to my.^elf, and I thought that they showed unaccountable moderation to you, never firing a shot when you liad so com{)letely bafHed them in the chase. It was that wliich '^avG nie confi- dence to attempt my own escape, Avhen I saw them all pressing forward to secure you, leaving me altogether unguarded. But wo will speak of this no more to-night. You must sleep, Ronayne, if you would have strength to enter upon action to-morrow. From the appearance of their encampment, not twenty paces in rear of the spot where you beheld me, I have reason to think that it has been established there many days, and that Mrs. Eonayno may yet bo rescued, for the party of Indians does not exceed five-and- twenty men. What they want is, doubtless, ransom, a few blankets or guns." If " Oh ! say you so ; bless you for that !" continued the Virgmian, eagerly ; "yes, I will be calm — seek rest to restore me for the morning; I will see Captain Ileadley, and entreat him to let mo take out a detachment. Oh ! ho will not refuse me. Do you think he will, Mrs. Headley ? Surely you will plead for me. I know twenty bi'ave fellows who will cheerfully volunteer fur the duty." " Alas !" said Mrs. Ileadley, with a deep despondency at her heart, " I fear I can give you no encouragement there, lionayne ; I am quite satis- fied, indeed, that Headley will not suffer a man to leave the fort at this crisis.'' " Crisis ! what crisis 1" interrupted the youth vehemently. " Obdurate man, has the past not cured him of his martinotisra ? By heaven, let him refuse me, and I, alone and without permission, will go in search of my wife. Fool, fool that I was to return now Avithout her ; but I had hoped she was here ;" and again lie burst into another wild agony of grief. Corporal Collins touched his cap and advanced a pace forward. "The Captain said this afternoon that the next time your honor left tiie fort you should never return to it. I thought it was my duty, your honor, to tell you, for I couldn't make out vdiat he meant." " Oh ! he did, did he V muttered Ronayne, with sudden calm. " Wi^I!, be it so!" " Corporal Collins," said Mrs. Headley sternly to him, as she arose front her kneeling posture, " you would have done better to have held your peace on a matter which you say you do not comprehend. Mr. Ronayne has annoyance sufficient without your misinterpreting to him an observation of his commanding officer, which, in all probability, was made in any other spirit than that whi'ch your words would convey." The corporal made a respectful obeisance and withdrew into the corridoi", rebuked. " Ronayne," pursued Mrs. Headley, " I can rnake all allowance for your excited feelings. I Avill speak to Ileadley on the matter ; and, althougli 1 cannot hold out to you any hope that ho either will even acknowledge the necessitj-, much less take the action you desire, I feel peifectly assured that, when you have heard his reasons, you will agree with us both that it would neither 'be of avail nor politic to take a step of this kind fur the recovery of her whom we all deplore — O'od knows, no one more bitterly than myself." 30 WAU-XAN-GEE ; OR, " Mrs. Iloadlc)-, you surpriso me ; T can scarcely believe that I understand you rightly. I had always thought your feelings towards Maria were those of a mother for her oliild ?" " Even so, Ronayne. You judgi-d them riglitly. As a motlier I have loved, and love her still ; but we will talk of all this to-morrow morning, and 1 leave you now to the quiet, if rest is not to be hoped for, that you so much require ; for Ileadley needs all his officers in important council to-morrow, prior to holding a second immediately after Avith our Indian allies. Nay,'' seeing that all present looked surprised, and a desire to know wherefoi-e, "it ■were idle to enter upon the subject now ; sufficient be it to know that it is one of the deepest importance, and that, even should you be carried there in a litter, Ronayne— but God forbid the necessity! — you must be pre- sent." " At what^our does that council assemble, Mrs. Ileadley ?" asked the ensign. "At midday, I believe. Winnebeg has been desired to bring the chiefs to the glacis, between the flagstaff and the southern block-house, at two o'clock precisely. " What ! Winnebeg returned ?" exclaimed Ronayne, as he impetuously rose in his bed. " Ah, then there is hope. He will aid me in my enter- prise. And Avhat of Wau-nan-gce ? Is he, too, here, Mrs. Headley ? Yes, he must be. Oh, this is indeed providential ! I shall rise with the dawn, and seek them both. Everything can be accomplished, if at all, before the hour of our own council arrives." Mrs. Headley cast a look of profound sadness on him, as, taking his hot hand in hers, she said — " Wau-nan-gee did not come with W^innebeg, Ronayne ; but there is rea- son to believe that he is not far from the camp of the Pottowatoraies, for he was seen yesterday. Yet he will not aid you in your proposed enter- prise." " Oh ! Mrs. Headley, you do him wrong — indeed you do. Wau-nan-gee loves Maria too well not to risk his life for her. You little know the strength of his generous attachment, if you doubt his interest in her pre- servation." " I know, that his love for her is great — perhaps too much so," she replied, emphatically, after a moment's pause, while bending over to adjust his pillow, and in a voice so subdued as to be inaudible to all but himself. CHAPTER VH. Ronayne's pale cheek became suddenly scarlet. He perceived from the tone and look that accompanied the words that suspicion of some kind, whence derived he knew not, had entered into the mind of Mrs. Ileadley, and that she saw in the regard of the young Indian for his wife, evidence of a prepossession which might prove dangerous to his peace. But this, to a mind generous and impetuous as that of the highly-gifted officer, brought no alarm. Conscious of the entire possession of the heart and confidence of his wife, it was a source of speculative pride, rather than of concern to him, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 81 that the warm-hearted and inartificial Indian, at once brave, boy-like, and handsome, should, with a cheek glowing, and an eye beaming with over- weening softness, feel and betray all the power of her beauty when exposed to the influence of its presence. It was a compliment to himself — to his own taste and judgment, and, had this been possible, would have increased his love for her on whom nature, hand in hand with the graces, hud lavished such adornments of disposition and person as to comjiel a homage which rarely came to woman from such a quarter. The love of Wau-nan-gce had been known to both, but it had always been regarded as the innocent and enthusiastic preference of the boy who had scarcely yet learned to compre- hend the new and strange emotion struggling for development at his heart. It had often been the topic of their conversation ; and many a smile, half crimsoning into a blush, had Ronayne called up to the brow of his young- wife, while playfully adverting to the equal right to invest herwith the mar- riage ring, which he had so eagerly manifested on the evening of their union. And, if he had shown a humor on that occasion which displeased or hurt the Indian it was not from any unworthy jealousy of the act he had sought to perform, but because he was ashamed of his own awkwardness, exhibited on such an occasion and in presence of his bride. Since that night Wau- nan-gee had disappeared, and both by the husband and wife had his absence been deeply regretted, for they both loved the youth, not only for the ser- vices he had rendered, but the interest his gentleness of deportment and retiring modesty had inspired. If, therefore, he changed color at the remark of Mrs. Headley, it was not because a guilty passion was hinted at as influencing the boy, or because, even if it did, that he much heeded it, but because he thought it was meant to suggest that the danger would come from the tenderness of her who had inspired it. For the moment he felt mortified at the possibility of such an idea being entertained, and, had Mrs. Headley made the remark she did, except in his own ear, Ronayne would have expressed himself accordingly. '• He cannot love her too well," was his reply ; " oh, no, that is my chief hope. Think you that I should be calm as I am, did I not, now that I know he is returned, feel assured that his strong yet pure attachment for her will cause him to head a strong band for her rescue ? I am better now — I am determined to be better ; for at the first dawn I will go forth and seek Wau-nan-gee. We shall not be five hours away; and, long before the council assembles, we shall again, I am confident, be re-united. Ah, what a long night until then ! would that it were dawn !" " That were of no use," returned Mrs. Headley, gravely and aloud. "I know that the strictest orders were issued immediately after your return, to allow neither officer nor man to leave the fort, unless passed by Headley himself." " Or I shall never return, T sxippose," muttered the Virginian bitterly ; " well, we shall see ;" and he ground his teeth together fiercely. " Ronayne," said Mrs. Headley, " spare your bitterness. You will know to-morrow what Headley meant by his remark ; yet promise me one thing before I leave you, that before you seek to leave the fort, you will see me in the morning, in my apartments. If, then, I fail to satisfy you of the rea- sons which exist against your entertaining any hopes of success in the enter- prise you meditate, I think I may venture to say that I shall obtain of 32 WAIINAN'-GEE ; OR, Horullov not to oppose you. But, stay ! on consideration, it will be bettor that wliat I have to urge should be said at once. This is no time or occa- sion (or mere forms or ceremonies. There is too miu'h at stake. I shall leave you now, and return, alone, in little more than an hour. You will dismiss Colhns for the night, desirinpr him to close the door — not fasten it, so that I may make no noise — find no difficulty in entering. Better that you give vent to your feliiigs here, in the jn-ivacy of your own room, than reveal by your excitement to others that which sliould be known only to ourselves." " Good heaven ! what can all this mean ? what can it portend ?" ex- claimed the startled officer. '■ Prepare yourself for no pleasant communication, Ronayne," continued Mrs. TIeadley, sadly; " I must wound, yet I trust but to heal ; one point I would have y%i question Von Voltenberg on before I go — the manner in which Maria tell into the hands of the Indians." During this short and low conversation, Mrs. Elmsley and Von Volten- berg had been talking aside on the same subject, the former continuing to weep quietly but bitt'^rly for the loss of her friend. Ronayne now ques- tioned the surgeon in regard to the cause of the suddenness of their departure fr')m the point Avhere he had dismounted to procure water. Von Voltenberg replied that he scarcely knew himself, but his own impression was that Mrs. Ronayne had started off her horse the moment the shots were fired — he supposed in the very exaggerated spirit of wantonness which had raai-ked her actions ever since leaving the fort. He had mecha- nically followed in courtesy, and the result was as has been seen — her sudden captivity by the war party, who had hurried her off, almost unresistingly, he knew not whither, while he himself was taken in the direction in which Ronayne had seen him. " Did she scream — did she express alarm when taken ?" asked Mrs. Ileadley. " No ; I cannot say that she did," returned the Doctor, somewhat sur- pi'ised, and not comprehending the motive for the question ; " but you know Mrs. Ronayne is a vroman of great nerve and presence of mind. Moreover, as the thing was done in a moment, she must have been too greatly asto- nished to understand her danger, for she came abmptly on the Indians on turning the sharp angle of the road leading up to the house." ^Irs. Ileadley 's eyes met those of Ronayne with grave meaning. He .seemed to understand her, and when, with Mrs. Elmsley, she had departed, he threw himself back upon his pillow, and, closing his eyes, mused deeply. To the inquiry of Von Voltenberg, he replied that, feeling disposed to rest a little, he would not trouble him to sit up longer, but begged him to retire and to send Collins to his barrack-room, leaving his door on the latch, in case he should be summoned by the commandhig officer for any purpose before morning. As Mrs. Ileadley separated for the night from Mrs. Elmsley, and ap- proached her o^vn door, a man in uiiiform came up, touched his cap respect- fully, and presented a packet. " TJiis parcel, Dilrs. Ileadley, I received from Mrs. Ronayne on leaving the fort this afternoon, with the direction that I should hand it to you if she did not retiim bv midnight. Alas ! ma'am, we have every reason to fear the ^ THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 33 dear lady will never return ; twelve o'clock has just struck, and I am come to fulfil ray trust." " Thank you, Serjeant Nixon, As you say, I fear there is little hope of Mrs. Ronayne returning ; but this package may possibly throw some light on the cause of her absence." " Oh ! I hope so ; yet how should it, ma'am ? she could not have known what was going to happen when she went out." " No — true, Nixon, you are right, I suppose it contains something that she has borrow^ed, or that I have asked her for. Ah ! I recollect now— it is some embroidery she worked for me. Good night, serjeant ; or do you wish to see Captain Headley f " No, ma'am, I only came to deliver the package which Mrs. Ronayne seemed so anxious you should get to-night." " There was no such very great hurry about it," returned Mrs. Headley, carelessly, yet not without agitation ; " I would to heaven she had been here to give it to me herself !" " Amen !" solemnly returned the serjeant ; '' I wotild willingly lose my left arm, could I see her sweet face in Fort Dearborn again." " Good night, Nixon," said Mrs. Headley, quickly and much affected ; " you are a noble fellow !" and she took and warmly pressed his hand. " Oh ! Mi-s. Headley, that is the way Mrs. Ronayne pressed my hand sdmv she had placed the packet in it, and obtained my assurance that her directions should be punctually obeyed. I shall ever feel that pressure — see the look of kindness that accompanied it, I prayed inwardly to God, as I stood gazing on her while she rode gracefully away, to shower all His choicest blessings on her." " Good Nixon, no more ;" and Mrs. Headley was in the next minute at the side of her husband, who, with deep care on his brow, sat at a table buried in papers, and v/ith the despatch of General Hull in his hand, " Well, my dear, have you seen him — and how does he bear his affliction ?" " Oh ! Headley, I pity him from my mmost soul — pity him for what he now suffers ; and, oh ! how much more for the greater agony he has yet to endure !" " You have not yet, then, told him ?" " No ! Mrs. Elmsley and Von Voltenberg were there ; and even the former must not know the secret. Let all mourn her as one lost to us for ever, but not through her own fault. Let them continue to believe that she has been violently torn from us, not that she has proved unfaithful to her husband, ungrateful to her friends," " Think you not, Ellen, that it would be better to continue Ronayne in the same behef ? As you have not opened the subject to him, it is not too late to alter your first intention," " Dear Headley, Ronayne must know all. In no other way can the wound at his heart be healed. I comprehend his noble, generous character well. Such is his love for Maria, that he will never recover the shock of her lo&s while he believes her to have been unwillingly torn from him. He will pine until he sickens and dies, and, indeed, unless the whole truth be told to him, he will find some means of leaving the fort in search of her ; indeed he has said he will — that nothing shall prevent him ; and, alas, if he does, it will be 3 84 •WAU-NAN-GEK ; OR, •with but little disposition to return without her. Now, I know that if his love ho oreat, his pride an' . •i : ■:■■ ],■.'.:; *.' At aqotbi^r .inoraent, .and on an indifferent occasion, this mutual misun- der^^tauJiiig ^^liglit, afford room for pleasaiitry," continued Mr. McKenzje Avith a grave smile ; " but if Is not so., ^'inncbeg, I ?ee, iias been trucitp his tru|5t; |anf],.x'yltI)Oiagh cognizant of tli9/;n;atvfre of tb^;despatphes, reve-uled the info^'ipation, to no one hut myself, whom, hp regarded, as having not only ii, right to.^pp.'^sess it at the , Cfirliegt moment, but as, being the most pioper person to advise withtlie commanding officer, at the earliest moment, on the measures to- be -adopted. 1 am here for that purpose ; think you 1 slijdl find, liini alone„ for I wouldn't enter upon the subject before Mrs. IJeiidley,": •,-,. "I have just said that ]\Irs,. IJeadlej and Margaret are in attendancei on the unfortunate Ronayne,,"' replied Elmsley.,;; ■'i ;Y,pu,,^i)l,, t^herelore, be .sui-^ ,to find him alone, aud.no doubt busied,,iu t^i^ for^g^ionjof-iplanS) of opera- .tipn consequent on this inteJligence.'' . , . j ,..; ,[;;., ; ; ,, ., .;. , ; , : , , '♦Recollect, not a word of this untiljt is p|ficially revealed. , I shall npt even let Captain Headley know that I am aware of the facts, but, siimply state that, having heard he was iii the .r^jqeiptcsf-despatches, I had come to know if there was any ne\ys of irnportance» ;But, pf one ;thing I would wai'n jou, Elmsley ; there will be a council of war to-morrow» and I could wish that your view of the subject may, lead you to prefer defending, the fort to the last extremity ill preference tq.c), long, and uncertain -retreat tq Por[t Wayne, which I know is suggested in the' despatch." '■ .,,;) . '* I shall have no, difficul^ty in ^rrivi^g, at that; depiijion/V^^tufni^ the ..officer of the guar^/f',jtor qpmhppn sjensq only, is necessary ,tp. show the advantages of one course over tlic other. In the meantime,, I shall evince .no knowledge pf what you have conveyed to me, until the hour of councih Did no other consideration weigh with me, I would oppose a movement 'which cuts us off from all hope. of restoring the de.-^r lost wife of,lvQnayae to Iier distracted husband." , , , : ..• ,■]■,: .1 '■ : \ "Good bye, God bless you," answered the trader, as he mpyedto-yrai'd^ the quarters of Captain Headley. ' .,,..;,.,,. ...,.', ■■■,,'•■, I'tui "Then," mused Elmsley, when alone, "arelhe faret)oding^.pf ithat ^sty- old number of the I)^ational Intelligencer whicH I have thumbed for hours over and over again for the last three months, at length finally realized^ — and Avar is come at last ; well, be it so ! .My chief anxiety is for Margaret, Would that she and all the rest of the weak women in this forti-ess were safe. H within the fortifications of Detroit ; but all evil seems to be coming upon us at once." , '' ' ' " ■• ,, ,;; " Ah ! Mr, McKenzie^ I laipa.^Y.ery gl^d tp seei ypu," said Captain ileadlej, rising as the trader entei-eii tbe room set apart for .his library; and the tr^iflSr-. action of military official business. ^ " 'take a se,at. ; 1 Ypu .0pul,d not have Jf^l^ me a more opportune visit." , . ,, , ,, ,,.:, . . ' ,.. . , »,-'[| "Ihad understood that \Vinnebeg had just returned with despfatchig^ from Detroit," remarked the trader, "and am come to learn the news.." ,,,( ,^ " Bad enough," answered Capt^ Headley, gravely, as he handej.tc) (hjypa the despatchyfrom General Hull. "Read tliat !" ^ •.' : ',' , - ..',.'1;^ '■/■•' i') 'C':- ticability of retreat. Now, I can see nothing impracticable in it. We have nothing to apprehend, with a body of five hundred brave Pottowattomies for our escort, while, if we continue here we must expect a strong 13riti:ih force sj^eedily upon us." " Let me give you a word of counsel before this question is publicly dis- cussed," returned the trader seriously ; " I know the Indians well, and how easily they are influenced by circumstances. Friendly as these Pottowato- raies now seem to be, the influence of the majority of the tribes who have joined the British forces may soon change them from friends into foes." "My life on their fidelity," returned Captain Headley, with unusual en- ergy. " While Winnebeg continues with them, I feel that I should dishonor by doubting him." " Do not mistake me," returned the trader. " Your faith in the honesty of Winnebeg, Capt. Headley, is not greater than my own — nay, not so great, perhaps, for I have known and always regarded him from his boyhood ; but all the Pottowattomies are not AVinncbegs, neither are the warriors so com- pletely under the control of their chiefs as to permit their counsels alone to influence their actions.'' " You do not niean to say that you have reason to doubt any of these people, Mr. McKenzie '?" renaai-ked the captain, seriously and inquiringly. " Not at all ; but I wish to show how much more imprudent it would be to trust to them than to ourselves ; reinforcements may arri\e in time if they are sent for immediately, and should they not, it will be time enough to think of evacuating when our Indian spies bring us notice of the prepara- tions of the British to attack us." * " And should they arrive befoi-e our retreat is begun, then must we be driven int(5 an unequal contest, for the order of the secretary at war expressly declares that no post shall be surrendered without a battle. It is evident that the fort cannot be maintained against a regular force ; therefore, the gar- rison, or they who survive the assault, must be made prisoners in any case ; "whereas, by retiiing now, we not only prevent the advance of the enemy, to the manifest ruin of yourself and other settlers in the neighborhood, but can-y succor to Fort Wayne. This is the resolution I have taken. After first consulting with my officers on public parade in the morning, when our THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 51 position shall be fully made known to all, I shall meet the Indians in coun- cil. The necessary directions have been conveyed to Winnebcg." " I can only regret, sir," returned Mr. !McKenzie, with great gravity of speech and deportment, "that your determination j^hould have been formed before consulting with your officers. In a case of this kind, involving the interests of all, it becomes, I should conceive, not a mere courtesy but a duty, that the opinions and advice of all competent to judge should be taken." " You need not be alarmed, Mr. McKenzie ; I perfectly know how to act on this occasion. The opinions of my officers shall be taken, even as I have taken yours. If you have anything further to offer, therefore, I shall be happy to hear it." " Captain Headley," returned the trader, rising with dignity, and taking up his hat, " I have nothing further of advice to offer to one so confident in his own judgment ; but bear in mind what I now tell you, that if you follow the letter of these instructions rather than the spirit, you will have cause to repent it. 1 make not this remark from mere considerations of my own per- sonal interests, which, of course, will be greatly affected by this a1)andon- ment of the post, but because I sincerely believe that a defence will entail less disaster than a march through the vast wilderness we shall have to tra- verse, hampered as we shall be with women, less able to bear up against fatigue, privation, and disaster. As the Indian orators say, ' I have spoken !' and now, sir, I have the honor of wishing you a very good day." " Well, what says he — what does he intend V asked Lieutenant Elmsley, who was lingering near the gate, waiting for the retm-n of his father- in-law. "He is an obstinate, conceited ^amrod," returned the latter, peevishly; " but you Avill know all to-morrow, for he really intends to do you the honor to consult you in the morning.'' " But what is his decision 1 You have not said." " To give up everything to the Indians, and retreat forthwith." " Can it be possible V exclaimed the officer, perfectly indignant at the communication. " Even so. Alas, for the poor women, and the ladies particularly ! what a march for them ; but I go, meanwhile, to ' set my house in order.' Well, Elmsley, all I had garnered up through a quarter of a century of incessant toil, as a heritage for you and yours, will, I fear, be utterly lost.'' " God bless you," said the officer, grasping his hand, "think not of that. There are fiir weightier considerations at stake than those of a merely pecu- niary nature. The lesson Margaret has taught herself — to be contented to live on a soldier's pay — will not have altogether been thrown away upon her. The loss of her fortune is the least calamity to be dreaded." " Nobly said, Elmsley. Well are you worthy of her !" He warmly shook the hand that still lingered in his own, and then turned the angle of the gateway leading down to his own dwelling. Si WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, CHAPTER XII. "For we to-morrow hold divided council." — Richard III. Ox the following morning there was unusual commotion in tlie fort, and, notwithstanding the great sultriness of the weather, both officei-s and men appeared in the full costume of the regiment from an early hour. The bright and silken flag, worked by the hands of Mrs. Ronayne, had been hoisted by Corjioral Nixon's own hands, for he knew that not a man of the garrison would look upon it without vividly interesting himself in the fate .of her who had worked it, and desiring to be a volunteer of the party he fully expected would be sent out that morning to attempt her rescue. Already had he decided on five of the number who, besides himself, would be selected by Ronayne on the occasion, and these were Collins, Phillips, Weston, Green, and Watson. lie knew that an early parade had been ordered by Captain Ileadley, and as this was a rare occurrence, he could assign no ether cause for it than the desire the commanding officer enter- tained to send off the little expedition as speedily as possible. Precisely at eight o'clock the roll of the drum brought forth from their respective barrack rooms some sixty men, composing the strength of the lit- tle fort, with the exception of the invalids and convalescents, some fifteen in number. But even of these, such as could find strength to drag themselves, came forth and lingered in the rear of the slowly forming little line, Avhile women and children gathered in groups near the guard-house, anxious to see who would be the fortunate ones selected for the recovery of the much- loved wife of their favorite. A few moments later, and the officers were seen approaching from their several quarters to join the parade. Captain Headley, dressed in his newest uniform, was the first on the ground ; then came the Doctor, then Elmsley, for, on that occasion, the guard at the gate had been left without an officer ; and lastly, much to the surprise of all, Ronayne. As he approached, all eyes were fixed upon him, and every breast acknowledged a sympathy in the pallor of his now unmoved brow, that in more than one instance moulded itself into a tear it was impossible to suppress. As for the women, they held their aprons to their eyes and wept outright. On gaining his com- pany, the Virginian touched his cap as usual to the commander of th-e parade, and, passing close by Elmsley, whose eyes he saw riveted upon him with much interest, he significantly grasped his hand. " Mr. Elmsley," ordered the commandant, " let the company be wheeled iawards, to form a hollow square." The order was promptly obeyed, and within the square stood the little group of officers. " Gentlemen and men !" began Captain Ileadley, as he unfolded a despatch, " it is on no common occasion that we find ourselves assembled this morning." Every eye was again turned upon Ronayne. The looks of the men seemed to say, " We know it, and we are prepared to do our utmost to repair the evdl." " There is not a man of tis, your honor," said Corporal Collins, " who is TUE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 53 not ready to volunteer to go out and recover Mrs. Ronayne, or die in the attempt. You have but to say the word." " Silence, sir ! How dare you presume to speak in the ranks ! Corpoi'al CoUins, from this day you lose your stripes, — a fit example, truly, for a non-commissioned officer to set to the men, Mr. Elmsley, you will see to this." The lieutenant gravely touched his hat, but replied not. " It is not for this purpose that I have assembled you," resumed Captain Headlcy." Much as is to be deplored the unfortunate occurrence of yester- day, matters of deeper importance must engage our attention now." Many of the men shrugged their shoulders, and looked their discontent They could not imagine what he meant, or what could be of more import- ance to them than the recovery of the lost lady. The parade was once more called to attention, when Captain Ileadley proceeded to read to them the document that has been so often before the reader. " You see, gentlemen and men," he continued, when he had finished the perusal, " how intricate is our position, and how little choice thei-e is left to us to decide in the matter. It must be but mere form to ask your opinions on the subject, for the directions of the General are so positive that our duty is implicitly to follow them. Mr. Elmsley, as the oldest officer, what is your opinion ?" All had heard with the greatest surprise the unexpected communication, but there were few who were of the opinion of their commander, that their safety would be best insured by a retreat. The men, of course, were not expected to have a voice in the consultation, but it was desirable that they should hear what their respective officers had to say, and therefore the sub- ject had been opened to the latter in their presence. " My opinion. Captain Headley," returned his lieutenant, " can be of little weight in a matter which you appear to have decided already ; however, as it is asked in presence of the whole garrison, in presence of the whole gar- rison will I give it. On no account should we retire from this post. Our force, it is true, is small, but we have stout hearts and willing hands, and, with four good bastions to protect our flanks of defence, we may make a better resistance than it appears they have done at Mackinaw, should the British deem it worth their while to come so for out of their way to attack us. My own impression is that they will not, for there is nothing to be gained by the conquest of a post which commands no channel of communi- cation, and therefore offers no advantage to compensate for the sacrifice of life necessary to take it. Certainly, nothing will be attempted unless Detroit itself should fall. The British forces will have too much to occu|:)y them there to think of weakening by dividing the troops they have in that quar- ter. On the other hand, should we undertake a protracted march to Fori Wajme, encumbered as we are Avith women, and children, and invalids, there, is but too great reason to infer that parties of British Indians, apprised of our march, will hasten to the attack, and then our position in the heart of the woods will be hopeless indeed. These, sir, are my views on the subject, nor can I conceive how a man of common discernment can entertain any other." " Mr. Elmsley, I merely asked you, in courtesy, to pronounce your own 54 WAU-XAN-OEE ; OR, opinion, not indirectly to jiass censure on those of your superiors. I ha\e stated not only my opinion, but my decision. Even were I desirous to remain I could not, for our provisions are nearly consumed.'' " Wliv, captain," said Phillips, speakiiii;- from his place in the ranks, " I know that we have cattle enough to last the troops six months." " Who speaks I Who dares to question niy assertion ?" thundered Capt. lloadley. " We may have cattle enough," he added, in a milder tone, feel- ing that some explanation was due to the men generally, " but we are defi- cient in salt to cure the meat when killed." " A sheer pretence !" muttered another voice not far from Phillips ; " where there is a will, there is a way." " Who spoke '?" demanded Captain Headley, angrily. '• I did, sir," answered Collins ; " you have taken the stripes from me, you can do no more." " Drummers, into the square !" ordered the captain. " Gentlemen, before we proceed further in this matter, this man must be tried for insubordination — a drum head court martial immediately. Sergeant Nixon, go to the orderly's room and bring the articles of war." " Nay, Captain Headley," interposed the sergeant, " poor Collins !" " What, sir ! do you, too, disobey ?" " No, sir," returned the non-commissioned officer, respectfully, " but I thought when brave men would so soon be wanted for the defence of those colors, your honor could not be serious in your threat to score their backs ; and a "braver and a better soldier than Corporal Collins is nowhere to be found in the American ranks. He is excited, sir, by the loss of Mrs. " " Stay, Nixon," interrupted Ensign Ronayne, " not another word. Cap- tain Headley," he resumed, sternly, turning round to his commandant, " if Corporal Collins is punished, you will have to punish me also, for I swear that be but a hand laid upon him, and 1 will incur such guilt of insubordi- nation as must compel you to place me under arrest. This severity, sir, at such a moment, is misplaced, and not to be borne." " Mr. Ronayne, depend upon it, this conduct on your part shall not pass umioticed. When the proper time arrives, expect to be put upon your trial for this most unofficer-like interference with my authority. At present, I can ill afford to spare your services, and placing you in arrest now would only be to affect the interests of my command. When we reach Fort Wayne, you may rely upon a proper representation of your behavior. Private Col- lins, retire to your place in the ranks." " Reach Fort Wayne !" returned the Virginian, emphatically. " Mark me, sir, Ave shall never reach Fort Wayne. Captain Headley," he con- tinued, more calmly, " look at those colors ; do you not think we shall find more spirit to defend them while floating there (and he pointed to them), calling upon us, as Tt were, to remember the day when first they were unfurled before the British Lion, than when carrying them off" encased and strapped with the old kettles and pans of the company upon some raw- boned old pack-horse, as if ashamed to show themselves to an enemy." " And those colors especially," ventured Sergeant Nixon, emboldened by the warm language in his defence used by the high-spirited young officer. ** They are the same worked by the hands of Mrs. Ronayne, and run up THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 55 there on the dcay of her OAvn marriage, on the fourth of July. I lioistcd them with my own hands this morning, because I beUeved we were going out to the rescue of tliat dear hvdy, and, iu my mind, I can only say that it would bo much easier to send out half the force for her, with a few Indians for scouts to point out where the red devils are, and then, when we have got her safe, to return here and defend the place, or perish under the ruins.," " God bless her !" exclaimed nearly half the men, turning their eyes towards the rustling flag, which a slight and rising breeze now displayed in all its graceful beauty of color and proportion, " Sure enough she worked it, and wc are ready to die under the same, if she only be here to see us," "God bless her!" repeated the women in the distance. "If our prayers could be of any use, our husbands should run all risk from the Indians, so that we might see her sweet face again. Oh, let them go, captain !" Despite all the determination he had formed, Ronayne could not stand this new feature in the scene unmoved. He drew his handkerchief hastilj'- from the bosom of his uniform, and carried it to his eyes. The recollection of the fourth of July, so recently passed, came with irresistible force upon his memory, and even while his own heart was made more desolate, this universal manifesttition of the regard in which his wife was held affected him deeply. " Nay, Mr. Ronayne, rather than exhibit this emotion before the men, had you not better retire ?" remarked Captain Headlev, in a low tone ; " their excitement, too, will the sooner subside when you are gone," " Sir, if you assume a weakness in me," returned the officer, haughtily, as he removed the handkerchief from his eyes, " you are wrong, I came here not to advert tu the past, but to do my duty. I confess I am touched by the honest and noble feeling of my comrades, but nothing more. No entreaty of mine wall be urged in support of their prayer, I am prepared to sink my individual loss in consideration of the general danger," All the men were taken by surprise. They had wondered from the first at seeuig Ronayne come upon parade, with a manner so different f)-om that which he had shown on the preceding evening ; but they had taken it for granted that he knew of an intended sortie, and, relying on its successful issue, was only waiting for the order from Captain Headley, A loud shout was now heard from the common, and presently one of the two sentinels that had been stationed at the gate walked quickly up with his firelock at the recover, and reported to Captain Headley that the Indians were mustering strongly about their encampment, and seemingly more painted than usual. " This is as it should be." replied the commanding officer, " The day of council should be a gala day, whatever the occasion, and doubtless they are making preparations accordingly. It is w^ell, however, that I have changed the hour of our consultation from twelve to eight. We have now more leisure for our own preparations." " And these are, Captain Headley, permit me to ask ?" remarked Mr. McKenzio, who had stood at some distance from the parade, without inter- fering with the i)receding discussion, "To distiibute, sir, as directed, the stores belonf^ing to the Umted States tlicn (lismairtll; ilic fol-t, hn^ tlqwt at bnoc foi- FM WityncJ '^llc^e noblo itnd faithful Pottowatprnks, whb . are how a^^scmbling foi- the.' (Council, vfill beiir us br;u-(>ly tliroiii^h.'* ' ■.' ' ', ■,''''■■■ • '' ; : J.i:. '^ One. or two shots wore now l^eal-d from the gntd:^ The m^ii were startled ; ^till more so when they JicJlrd 'a;lbiad inockmj^ liiitgh succeed to the report. Several of them turnWl th(^it-' 'heads ^nd' l6oked around. They saw thjit the fla^, then wheejinw; and tossing-, as if indignant at the outrage, hM' l;e(?ii' cat ' m thd bullets. ' ' liie'.iiidians' b^d- li^er before attempted " That; Sir, ii th'fewo.rt of yoHiffricridly Potto \v'ftt6mies," remarked Ronayne, Anth a; sneer ;" their friendship is truly very remarkable at this particular moment. They show their regard for us by insulting the American flag in a Way in which they never did before^" ' '^ March off your guai-d iriimedic-ttt^ly, Mr. Elmsley ; let the sentries be posted, and all remain armed until further orders ; yet mark, both officers arid men, no distrust must be Openly shown. Do not let it appear that the inconsidorate act of one or two young men has raised your unfounded and ungenerous suspicions 6f a whole tribe. It is not that I have any doubt as to. their truth; but mv poHcy has ever been to show them we are never yriprejpareld 'fcr'''kh' enifefgefifey. Corporal Collins, you will resume your Stripes." ' • - -•-■" ■^-'^ ^'^ '' , III obedience „to _ his. order, the guard was relieved at the gate, and the whole of the men 'made to linger about the parade, preparatory to the hioiil-' of - coitricilj. ' ■ ' .orto .■■r[l]dptii;i[4$oorAo ,'>aifij I .-giKyifi b'jd'juoi liul I CHAPTER XIII. oM ..,-,1,11 ■• '•'Whil^' Lieutenant Elmsley was occupied as acting adjutant — a duty which he was called upon to perform, as well as that of regimental subal- tei*!!— iionayne sauntered mechanically towidlj, the horseman whom he had just before remarked. Tliere was no aeccssitj for asking any questions. The whole thing explained itself. " What can she have to say to me?" he mused to himself, as he broke the bark string with which the note was tied ; his competitor of yesterday, too, the bearer! Hastily ho unfolded it. It contained these few words, hastily written in pencil on a hnif tcjrn from her memorandum book — '• Go not to the council!" lie examined the paper closely — he could find no more. The feelings of Ronayne, on reading these few words, traced by his wife's well-remembered hand, may be comprehended. All the stubbornness of his indifterence was shaken ; and sinking every consideration of self he found a strange, wild pleasure in the knowledge that she was free from personal restraint, and had power to command the services of those whom she willed to do her bidding. AVliat the meaning of the caution was, in regai'd to the council, he could not divine, neither wherefore it had been couched in such laconic terms ; but it was evident that, as the new wife of Wau-nan-gee, she had obtained information of some danger of which they in the garrison knew not, and that the recollection of those she had left behind was not so weak- ened as to prevent her from imparting to those most interested what she had learned. Feeling the necessity of communicating instantly ^v^th Elmsley on the subject, yet scarcely knowing how, without exposing Maria, to account 4o him for the manner in which he had received the singular warning, he sought his friend, who had now finally disposed of his men at their several posts, and told him that, without feeling himself at liberty to reveal to him the medium through which the suspicion had been awakened in his breast, he had every reason to believe that some treachery was intended at the coun- cil called by Headley, and that he had come to consult with him accord- ingly. With infinite good taste and tact, Elmsley utterly abstained from making the slightest allusion to Mrs. Ronayne, not only because he had perceived that her husband did not seem to encourage any approach to a subject which gave him pain, but because he felt that the consolation of those words, on an occasion of such bereavement, was rather a mockery than a sympathy. Without, therefore, making the slightest allusion to the past, he answered gravely — " If you have reason to apprehend this, Ronayne, we can take our pre- cautions accordingly. As the whole object and intent of the council is to seem to hold a consultation as to the course we ought to pursue in this emer- gency, whereas it is simply in fact to enable Headley, who is becoming stubborn and pom]30us as of old, to tell the chiefs that he intends at once to distribute the public stores among themselves and warriors, and then march with little more than the men can carry on their backs ; as this only, I repeat, is his object in holding a council at all, I see no great reason why either you or I, who have already given our opinions on the matter, should attend it. We may do the 'etate some serA-ice' by remaining within." "Would it not be well," returned tlie Virginian thoughtfully, '-to give Headley some hint of false deaUng on the part of the Pottowatomies ? nut THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 59 such as to lead him to beheve that any dh-ect intelligence has been received of that fact, but simply that some loose hints have been thrown out." " My dear fellow," returned the lieutenant, with a faint smile, " do you think there is anything under the sun — scarcely even the tomahawk in his own brain — that could persUade Headley to mistrust his pet Pottowatomies ? Iso, not even his long experience of the treachery of the race— not all hid knowledge of the fickleness of their character — of the facility with which they turn over iu a single day from the American to the British flag — would convince him." ■ " And yet," pursued Ronayne, musingly, " they know nothing of the war. "What could be their motives, where their immediate interests will be rather retarded than promoted by the maintenance of peaceful relations V " How do we know what passes without the fort 1 They may have had their runners and news brought to them of the war before Winnebeg returned." A sudden thought flashed across the brain of lionayne. Could tidings of the event in any way be connected with the flight of his wife ? and had that, at the instigation of Wau-uan-gee, accelerated the moment of her departure ? But Elmsley knew not what he knew, and he offered no remark on the subject. " It wants now an hour," resumed Lieutenant Elmsley, looking at his watch, " to the time nanaed for the council which is to be held on the glacis immediately in front of the southern bastion, and, therefore, immediately under the flag. Join me here then, Ronayne, and I shall have made the necessary arrangements. All the responsibility I take upon myself, my friend, not only as your senior, but as one who is perfectly willing to take the hou's share of the anger that has been showered so plentifully upon both this day. Now I must hasten and regulate the ' imperium in innm-io,^ for I am afraid that if, as you say, we trust alone to Headley 's reading of Potto- watomie faith, we shall have rather a Flemish account of satisfaction to render to ourselves. Goodbye. In half an hour — not later." Ronayne, havmg nothing in the meantime to do, sauntered tow^ards his own apartments. When he entered his chamber, Catharine, the fciithful servant of his wife, was leaning along the foot of the bed, her face buried in the covering and sobbing violently. The depth of her sorrow was anguish to him. He shuflied his feet along the floor to make her sensible of his presence. The girl heard him ; she looked up — her face and eyes were so swollen with tears that she could scarcely see. She started to her feet, and raising her apron with both hands to her eyes, left the room sobbing even more violently than before. " Poor girl — poor girl !" murmured Ronayne, Avhile a tear forced itself into his own ; '' indeed I feel for your grief ; but it will soon subside ; you will soon be well, while I " He threw himself, dressed as he was, even without removing his sword, upon, the bed — he took out Maria's hasty note — he read the woi-ds " Go not to the council" at least fifty times over. There was not the minutest par- ticle of each letter of each word that he did not typify m his heart. Her delicate and expressive, yet faithless hand had traced the -whole. It was enough. It was the last relic of herself. 60 WAU-NAN-OEE ; OR, CHAPTER XIV. 1 would liavo some conference with j'ou (lint, concerns you nearly. ^[Hch Ado About Nothinrf. WiiDN' Ron:i3'nc rejoined liis friend, all the preparations Im intended niakini:; had been oomploted, and ^Irs. Elmsley havinp; despatcli(>d a servant to say that breakfast was waiting for thcni, the latter, after having stationed Corj)oral Collins at tlie gate to give early notice of the approach of the Indians, linked his arm in that of Ronayne, and conducted him "to his rooras. It was, of course, the first time the Virginian had seen Mrs. Elmsley since the preceding evening, w^hen, with Mrs. lleadley, she had been a pained Avitness of the desolating grief she so deeply shared herself. The swollen eyelid and the pale cheek attested that little sleep had visited her eyes during the subsequent part of the night ; and when she affectionately took the proffered hand of Ronayne, whose composedness she was greatly sur- prised and pleased to witness, there was a melancholy expression of sym- pathy in her glance that tiied all the powers of self-possession of the latter. How ditFerent was that breakfast table from what it had been on former occasions ! How often, both before and after their marriage, had Ronayne and his wife partaken of tlie hospitable board, with hearts light as gratified love could render them, and exhilarated by the Avitty Allies of the amiable hostess, who, full of life and gaiety herself, sought ever to render her more sedate friend as exuberant in spirit as herself. How graceful the manner in which she recommended her exquisitely-made coffee, her deliciously-dried bear and venison hams, the luxuriously-flavored and slightly-smoked white fish from the Superior and the Sault ; and with what art she allured the appetite from one delicacy to another, until scarcely an article of food at her table was left tmtasted. And yet all this, not in a spirit of ostentatious dis- ]ilay of her own aptitude in these somewhat sensual enjoyments, but from a desire, bv the exercise of those little niceties of attention which insensibly win upon the heart, to please, to gratify — to make sensible that she sought to please and to gratify — those whom both herself and her husband so deeply regarded. The breakfast was now a hurried one. It had not been prepared with the \isual care. The directing hand of the mistress seemed not to be visible — it was heavy as the hearts of those who now partook of it, and even the never failing claret, of which Elmsley compelled his fi-iend to swallow several goblets, had lost more than half its power to exhilarate ; for, oh ! there was one of that once happy party gone for ever from their sight, and the solemn and restrained manner of each was sufficient evidence of the deep void her absence had created. It was a relief to all when Corporal Collins hurriedly appeared at the door and announced that the greater portion of the warriors of the Pottowato- mies, with Winnebeg at their head, were now advancing towards the glacis, where a large awning, open at the sides, had been erected soon after the morning's parade. THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 61 " Winnebeg at their head, did you say, CoHins ?" " Yes, sir, Winnebeg, and with him — for I know them as well — Wau- ban-see, Bkick Partridge, To-pee nee-be, Kee-po-tah, and that tall, scowling chief that never looks friendly, Pee-to-tum. They are all in their war dresses, and their young men as well.'' " I am glad, at least, Winnebeg is with them," remarked Elmsley to his friend. " Whatever may be purposed by the others, neither he nor Black Partridge can have any knowledge of it. Has Serjeant Nixon had that three- pounder run up into the upper floor of the block-house, Collins ?" " Tliey are at work at it now, sir. I expect it will be all readj^ by the time your honor gets there, Mr. Elmsley." "You are on guard at the gate ?" " I have been where you posted me, sir." " Good ! Is Captain Headley gone out yet ?" " Not yet, your honor. I saw him, as I came along, go towards Doctor Von Voltenberg's rooms." " We had better wait then, Ronayne, until he goes forth to assemble the council ; otherwise he may interfere and play the devil with us all, by coun- termanding my arrangements." " And do you really mean to say that you would permit him to do so, Elmsley 1 I am sure I would not ; for, if ever disobedience to orders could be justified it is on this occasion." " I do not exactly say that I would, Ronayne ; but it is just as well to avoid clashing if possible. I confess I am no particular advocate, where the thing can be avoided, of wilfully and deliberately thwarting the authority of a commanding officer. But once he is out of the fort I shall be in command." Another non-commissioned officer entered. It was Weston, who, that morning, had been promoted to the dignity of lance corporal, and the com- manding officer's immediate orderly. " Lieutenant Elmsley, the captain desires me to say that he is waiting for you and Mr. Ronayne to accompany the doctor and himself to the council." " Then," said the subaltern addressed, " you will give my compliments. Weston, to Captain Headley, and say to him that both Mr. Ronayne and myself decline attending that council— that we do not think it prudent to leave the fort without an officer, and that we conceive that having given our opinions on the matter for which the council is called, we can be of much more service here than there. Now mind, Weston, you will deliver this message respectfully, and in a manner befitting a soldier to his superior." " Certainly, sir," replied the corporal, as he touched his, cap and withdrew. " You will have a visit from himself next, Elmsley," remarked his wife. "But why refuse to attend the council? There is no enemy near us, and surely half an hour's absence on the glacis cannot much endanger the safety of the ganison, surrounded as we are by friendly Indians." " Margaret, my love,'' said her husband, taking her hand affectionately, " we must trust nothing to chance. No one can tell what may not occur in the interim of our absence. Who, for instance, could have foretold yesterday morning that we should be as we are to-day 1" "True," said Ronayne, as he paced the room with sudden and bittei 62 WAr-XAN-GEE ; OR, oxcitomoiit ; " wlio ooiiUl liave tokl yosterday that wc should be as Ave avo to-ilav ? There is nothinj]^ cortain in life — no, nothing — all is vanity." This painful olianii-o of feolinp^ and of manner, from the self-control so recently imposed upon him-^clf, had not been without its cause. 'Hie tcn- diMncss of his friends brought baek to his niomury the recollection of many an hour of happiness passed in tliat room — when the same manifestations of adl'ction had been exhibited in presence of the wife. But where Avas she now — Avhere was his OAvn share in that happiness which, for the first time, he almost half envied in his friend ? The door Avas again opened, and in walked not Captain Ileadley but Mr. McKenzie ; his brow Avas overcast, and there Avas evidently deep care on his mind ; but after tenderly embracing his daugliter, he remarked to the offi- cers, " I am glad you have come to the decision of not leaving the fort. I met Ileadley going out, and he is A'ery angry. He has made me promise, however, to follow him in a few moments. 1 should have gone at (jnce, but I could not resist the twcifolJ temptation of pressing this dear gii'l to my heart, and telling you both hoAv much I approve your prudence. For once you and Headley seem to have exchanged characters." " No doubt," retui'ned Elmsley, smiling, " that if Ave CA'er get to Fort Wayne, both llonayne and myself Avill be hanged, drawn, and quartered by sentence of a court-martial, as a just pxmishment for our most glaring disobedience of orders here ; but that will not be Avorse than being scalped here for obeying them ; besides, theie is this advantage attending the first — Ave shall have a little longer lease of life. But seriously, sir, there ''is noAV no time to lose. The moment you are out of the gates, I shall cause them to be fastened 'until the council is OA'er. I have had cause for entertaining some little sus- picion of your friends the Pottowatomies — nay,'' seeing that the trader looked surprised, " there is no time to enter into explanation now. Later, I Avill state to you." " I have no doubt you have been correctly informed," replied Mr. McKen- zie, as, after throwing his arm around the Avaist of his daughter, he replaced l.is hat and pi-epared to dejiai't. " Great as is the confidence I have in Win- uebeg and the majority of the chiefs, I confess there has been a boldness — an almost insolence — perceptible in the behavior of many of the young men, seemingly urged on by Pee-to-tura, that I neither understand nor approve ; but, as A'ou say, there is no time to lose. God bless you, IMargaret !" When he had passed the gates, to which he had been accompanied by his son-in-law and Ronayne, Serjeant Nixon, who, as previously instructed, stood near for the purpose, fastened the bars and turned the lock. What men couW be spared for the purpose Avere divided betAveen the two subal- terns. The one took his post in the upper floor of the block-house nearest to and overlooking the glacis ; the other ascending the south bastion, manned tAvo of the guns — the burning matches of both being conccnled. Not less than four hundred Avarriors could have followed their leaders to this council. The chiefs had already assembled and taken their places under the awning, Avhile a little aboA^e them sat Captain Ileadley, the Doctor, and Mr. McKenzie, when the great mass moved towards the glacis. All Avere habited in half war dress, if the term may be permitted, and a formidable mimber separated from the main body and drcAV near to the gate. This, much to their surprise, was in the very act of being closed as they appeared THE MASSACRE AT CIUCAGO, 03 • before it. Much di8sati^?faction was expressed in guttuial sounds and excla- mations, and one young Indian, more daring than the )'est, struck Jiis toma- kawk deeply into the door. No notice was taken of this at first; but finding that the Indians persevered in their clamor and demand for admit- tance, Ronayne, who was in the block-house, ordered the thiee-pounder to be fired over their heado. This at once had the effect of dispersing and driving them towards the glacis, which they now tumultuously crowded, speaking loudly and angrily to the chiefs, who interrujited at the very open- ing of the council, yet not more surprised than the two officers Avere on hearing the gun, had started to their feet and turned their eyes towards the fort — the flashing light of the torches being now distinctly visible. There being no repetition, however, of the report. Captain Headley, who had been questioned by the chiefs as to the cause, explained the discharge by attributing it to accident, or an intention on the part of lieutenant Elms- ley to compliment the opening of the council. But though he stated this, he did not himself believe that either was the reason, for he was well aware that no piece of ordnance had been in the block-house early that morning, and consequently, that it must have been placed there from some vague idea of danger connected with his officers' refusal to attend the council. He had observed, with some anxiety, the gathering of the Indians around the gate, and without being able to understand its exact character, entertained a vague impression that some danger was impending, yet by a strange con- tradiction, not at all uncommon, was moi-e than ever annoyed with Elmsley for manifesting thus openly and markedly the distrust he entertained of their allies. In an increased desire for conciliation he now resumed the council. The chiefs were duly informed, through Winnebeg, that war had been declared between Great Britian and the United States ; that the American general commanding on the frontier had sent orders to evacuate the fort imme- diately, and make the best of their way to Fort Wayne, under the escort of the Pottowatomies then present : but that, before the march commenced, he (Captain Headley) was, in order to show the friendship of tliC United States, to distribute among the chiefs and warriors in the neighborhood all the property of the government in equal shares — "not only all stores of clothing and implements of the chase shall be divided among you," he con- cluded, " but the provisions and ammunition, which latter we have in abun- dance. All we ask in return is safe escort to Fort Wayne.'' No sooner was this last announcement made when the glacis was filled v/ith triumphant yells from the warrioi-s. The chiefs themselves, with the exception of Pee-to-tum, whose cry had been the signal for their clamor, preserved a dignified silence. The eyes of Mr. McKenzie and Winnebeg sought each other, and there was a pained expression of disappointment in both that revealed at once the cause of their concern. The former bit his lip and muttered, as he turned away from the Indian to Captain Headley, the word "fool." " Sir, did you speak ?" asked the latter, half coloring as he fancied he had caught the word. " I have said and think, Captain Headley, that in this last act of folly — the promise of ammunition to the Indians — you have signed our death-war- rant. No one acquainted with Indian character can misunderstand the C4 AYAL-KAN-GEE ; OK, feeling which jiorviides, not llie chiefs but the warriors. If anything,' wore ■n-antiii<; to satisfy me it would be found in the yell of satisfaction witli which that promise was received. They are too drunk with hope even to stop to inquire. Tecumseh's emissaries have been among them. British influencp has been at work ; but we will talk of this later. The chiefs seem surpri^p^ at this discourse between ourselves." , .;. ,,( " Gubbernor," said Winncbeg, solemnly, and in his own bnjkdn Ejiglitfji phraseology, " as the head chief of the Pottowatomies, I return ihuukis to our Great Father for the liberal j)resents he has made to our nation ; but J think it will be better not to go away or give up the aniniunition, because we have plenty of e^■erything to defend the fort for a long time. Give nxy ■warriors blankets and cloths, and the squaws trinkets, a*id keep the {wj^'der safe here. We can kill the cattle and make )>immecan. If a force Coii^es to attack you, we can attack them from the woods an^ thei sfliulrjailjs. This, gubbernor, is what I have to say." "i^. ■ .1) ,;n',:i!;ii f; ■■ . .■! ■; [ " And I," remarked Pee-to-tum, starting to his- feet arid with fierce ges- ticulation, " insist, in the name of the warriors, that the wishes of our G;reat Father of the United States be done, lie has said we shall have. the jI^w- der, and Ave will have it — and the rum, auui>.iKe(ia35ie'^;'BtiroDg(;ario^,i|tOo. Father, I have spoken." .■-'■<. ./J-.!-::: .r;;. - ■}:'•:: .'.. ,T',-,ffo Another loud and triumphant yell from Ihe warriors grouped around too clearly evinced that there was danger to be apprehended from those they had hitherto looked upon as tlieir friends. Captain Ileadley felt ill at ease, for he was conscious that he had h'revocably committed himself ; and, whi^t was more mortifying to his pride, he was compelled inwardly to.adijnib that his subalterns, although at the' price of disobedielioe of orders, had, in this instance, evinced far more judgment'^nd prudence than hunself. .Still the pride of superiority — mayhap of vanity — was in some measure deprived of its humiliation, as he consoled himself with the reflection that their jirecau- tion must have been the result of an intimation of some change of feeling on the part of the wariWrs/'W-hei'easihJe himself had been left -wholly in igno- rance on the subject, and led io repose confidently on their good faith. Still he shuddered as he thought of those witbin, at what might liav^bee'n the turbulence of the young men. evidently* encourag-ed by the dark Pee-tp- tura, had they gained admission into the fort. . Feeling that things had arrived at a crisis, and that it Avould not be.pra- dent to provoke those in whose power they now unquestionably were, lie rem.^rked calmly t6 Winnebeg that the word of the Father of the United States was pledged, could not be withdrawn without dishonor, and that, therefore, his resolution was unchanged in i-egard to the distribution of the jjowder with the other presents, which should take place on that very spot 'on the morrow. . , ''- Wiunebeg looked angrily r5und as the yell of Pee-to-tum marked the til- 'umph and satisfaction of the latter at this renewal of the, promise of Daptain Headley, It was littered, not in gladness for the gifts, but as 'though it 'Vo^dd fexpi'erss' the Uhowledge' that the dohation was compelkd-^pot to bo avoided. IMr. McKenzie had difficulty in restraining .the Bervousne&S',of;h5s "annoyance: '■'■ '•■' ' ''';'' '^' '•■'•■ .'r^^h^v;\\ .';.,^,;;V; J:\'.'i l.wy. [_■'■.■ ■ j.J j - ' , "/fhen, sii-;'^'^M'fiaid,'addt'es^g'*he'cbmmandiiig as and our allies, and then where v/ill be our expected escort IJ" THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. (S'l " Captain Headley, are you Avilfuliy blind that you do not perceive you have lost all power, all influence to command wheie most you seem so much to rely ? Why, sir, it is clear that they are only waiting- for the delivery of the presents to throw off the mask. Better would it have been had you allowed them to gut the fort and choose for themselves. In their eagerness for plunder, they would have lingered at least a couple of days behind, thus enabhng you to effect your march without them. Better that, I say, than the suicidal course you have adopted ; but far better 'still it were had you boldly resolved to defend the post to the last. Your daring and your determination would have awed the Indians. Your present evident weak- ness and vacillation but inspire contempt." " Mr, McKenzie," said the captain, rising -with strong indignation in hk manner, " this language I may not, -will not hear with impunity." " Nay," continued tlie trader, " you shall hear, for I have a right to speak. By your conduct, all are imperilled. For the men it were not so bad ; but the women ! Indeed, no language can be too strong to express the dangers you have drawn around us all. Have you no thought of your own noble wife ?" The door opened, and Mrs. Headley stood once more before them, calm and composed, but with a countenance shghtly flushed. "Headley — Mr. McKenzie, excuse my intrusion, but I could not avoid overhearing this unpleasant argument, which can tend to no benefit in out* strong emergency. Think me not bold if I intrude in this matter, and, as a woman who has passed not a few summers of existence in these wilds, offer my opinion. With you, Mr. McKenzie, I perfectly agree that it would be highly imprudent, in the present changed state of feeling of the Pottowatomies generally, to supply them with ammunition which may be used against our- selves, and, with Captain Headley on the other hand, deem that it would be impolitic to exasperate the young men by denying that which they now so confidently expect." " And how, dear Ellen, would you solve the difficulty ?" asked her hus- band, smihng. Mr. McKenzie spoke not ; but his ej-es were bent upon her with mingled surprise, respect, and admiration. '■ You may keep the word of promise to the ear, but break it to the hope,'' she replied. " Did you not say you had appointed to-morrow for the delivery of the presents ?" " I did. To-morrow at twelve. Everything will then be handed over." " Then," resumed Mrs. Headley, " what more simple than to produce, among the other parcels, a single cask of powder and another of rum ; and if asked why there is not more, to offer in excuse that you had not known your supply was so low. No doubt, Pee-to-tum and those who, with him- self, are discontented, will express disappointment, even indignation ; but that is a very secondary consideration, when we consider the importance of withholding the gift. One cask of powder and one of rum divided among four hundred warriors will not amount to much after aH." " All very well, Ellen ; but what is to prevent them, if they fancy them- selves duped, from forcing the store and discovering the deceit that has been practised ? Then, indeed, will they have some just ground for their fury." . 68 WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, " I li;ivo provide.l against that," she replied. " I mean that Winnebeg shall call a council of his young men this night at twelve, so as to keep them away from the fort that they may not know what is going on ; then, when all is still, the whole of i\w men can be employed in removing the casks of powder and liquor, rolling them some into the sallyport, and emptying their contents into the well, which you know is built there as a reservoir in the event of a siege ; the remainder, conveyed through the northern gate, the heads knocked in, and the contents thrown into the river. If they should search, they will find nothing." " Good !" said Winnebeg, who perfectly understood the proposition, and had listened to every word. " Indeed, ii^deed, Mrs, Headley," remarked the trader, *;! who will not admit that there is more resource on an emergency in a woman's mind than in all our boasted wisdom put together ? A better plan could not have been devised. You will adopt it. Captain Ileadley ?" " Most certainly," he said, fervently grasping the hand of his wife. " When did my Ellen ever fail to better my judgment by her sound advice ?" " And yet, but for our little raisimdei-standing, Captain Headley — a mis- understanding not pei-sonal, but simply of opinion — we should never have had the advantage of her most wise umpiry. This is certainly an illustra- tion that good sometimes comes of evil." " xind now, gentlemen," said Mrs. Headley, play/ully, " that I have con- ferred upon you the benefit of that wisdom you seem so properly to appre- ciate, I will again leave you to yourselves." " God bless him !" said Winnebeg, as he took the hand that was again proffered to him in the most friendly manner. '*■ My ammunition and liquors must be destroyed in the same manner," said the trader, who now rose to take his leave. " Only three or four of ray voyageui-s are at home just now. You will allow some of your own men to assist them, Captain Headley." " The moment the public stores are destroyed, they shall all do so," replied the captain ; " the work cannot be too speedily done. Think you, Winnebeg, you can keep your young men in the encampment to-night ?" " Try him Gubbernor — call him council — speak him of march to Fort Wayne ; spose young Ingin come, good — spose him no come, sleep till to- morrow." " Very well, Winnebeg, you must arrange it as best you can, but contrive at least to keep them from prowhng around the fort. At midnight, then, Mr. McKenzie, we shall commence the work of destruction. When you have made your own preparations, and wish to come in for aid, follow the subterranean passage that leads from the river near your warehouse to the sallyport ; you will find the men there busily engaged, and ready for you the moment they have emptied the contents of our casks." The commandant waved his hand in a familiar manner as he concluded, and the trader and the chief withdrew. THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 60 CHAPTER XVI. " But I am constant as the northern star." — Julius C'asar. The remainder of that day, the 12th of August, passed over without incident, but not without anxiety; for the Indians, no longer indulging in the indolence of the wigwam or the activity of the chase, occupied them- selves with running, leaping, wrestling, jumping, throwing the rude stone quoit, and firing at a target with the bow. It might have seemed as though they sought to intimidate, as much by exuberance of spirits as by a display of numbers, the little garrison, who, it was clear, from the closing of the gate and the firing of the gun, no longer regarded them with the confidence they had ever hitherto manifested. These sports were evidently the prelude to some ulterior purpose, either immediate or not distantly remote, and the energy with which they wex-e followed, attested the excitement with which the accomplishment was looked for. It seemed as though none would per- mit a moment of repose to the blood until the fond object for which it had been excited should have been attained. All this was remarked from the fort ; but, notwithstanding a vigilant lookout was kept up. Captain Headley had given orders that if small parties of the Indians should seek admission, it was not to be refused to them. This made the duty exceedingly severe, for the men, being compelled to work in harness under a scorching sun, suffered greatly, and none were sorry when, at the close of the day, not only their own task had partially termi- nated, but the jaded Indians, drunk with too much joy and excitement, were seen wending lazily for the night to their several places of repose. At about midnight Captain Headley and his officers stood, not together, but on different parts of the rampart, watching the encampment of the Pot- towatomies. Most of their fires had been extinguished, but towards the centre where stood the tent of Winnebeg, there was a bright flickering glare, around which forms of men could be seen moving to the measured sound of the faintly audible and monotonous drum. " Now, then, gentlemen, is the moment for exertion. Winnebeg has evi- dently found it easier, in their present humor, to get his warriors into a war-dance than a sober council ; but no matter in what manner, provided their detention be secured. You will now move your men to the stores, and, in order not only to prevent accident, but noise, see that all are pro- vided with their moccasins. Mr. Elmsley, you will take command of the party conve3"ing the ammunition through the sallyport, and empty it into the well ; and you, Mr. Ronayne, will proceed through the northern gate, roll the casks which I have directed each to be covered with a blanket to the edge of the river, cause their heads to be forced in noiselessly with chisels, then empty the contents — powder as well as rum — into the stream. No light must be used to betray your movements to the Indians, or to incur the risk of explosion. One lantern only hangs up in the store out of the reach of all harm, and it is transparent enough to enable you to see what you are about, to distinguish the several casks, those containing the powder and rum, from those in which are packed the bags of shot, flints, gun- screws, &c. All these latter you will throw into the well, with the spare 70 wau-nan-gee; on, muskets, llic stocks of whieli must bo uoiselcssly broken up. This opera- tion will t;ike up some hours, gentlemen. Tiie nights are not long, and it will require all the time until dawn to com])lete the work. Now, then, that you liuve }our instructions, proceed to work vvitli your respective parties. For myself, I sliall suiierinlend the whole." Without replying, the two officers departed to execute the but too agree- able duly assigned to them, while Voa Voltcnberg, who had paid his pro- fessional visits for the night, was instructed to keep a vigilant lookout on the common until dawn, in order to detect any movement on the part of the Indians, singly or in parties, to a])proach the fort. Corporal Green, whoso sight was remarkable for its keenness, was instructed to keep pacing the cir- cuit of the rampart during the night, and to report to the doctor, for whom, iu consideration of his being a non-combatant, a chaii- had been placed in a sentry box overlooking the encampment, anything remarkable that he might observe. Kothing particular at first occurred during the execution of this important duty. The casks were silently rolled, knocked in, and emptied in the well and river. This took up many hours ; but towards dawn, as Ensign Ronayne was following at some little distance in the rear of his men, ho thought he observed a dark moving form as of a .man crawhng upon his belly, and endeavoring to approach as near as possible to the spot where the men were at work. Impressed at once with the assurance that it was some one sent by Pee-to-tum to watch the actions of the garrison, he advanced boldly up to him, being then distant at least fifty feet from his party, and near the awning which had been left standing for the accommodation of the Indians who were to receive their presents the next day. The prowler, finding it impossible to elude the officer in the position in which he was then gliding, suddenly started to his feet, and sought to escape detection in flight ; but Ronayne, who was a very quick runner, and moreover woie moccasins as well as his men, soon came up with him, when the Indian rapidly turned, and, upraising his arm, prepared to strike a desperate blow at the chest of the unarmed youth. But even while the knife was balancing, as if to select somevulnerable part, another figure started suddenly from behind a part of the awning, close to which they all were, and grasping the arm of the assailant, dexterously wrested the weapon from his hand, and flung it far away from him upon the glacis. All this was the work of a moment. The spy turned fiercely upon the intruder, and, saying something fiercely and authoritatively to him in Indian, •strode leisurely away. Ronayne could not be mistaken. The first was Pee-to-tum, and even if he could not have traced the graceful outline of the well-knit figure, the soft and musical voice which repUed to the scorning threat of the fierce chief sufficiently denoted it to be Wau-nan-gee. " Heavens ! how is this ? Wau-nan-gee !" he asked, sternly, yet trem- bling with excitement in every hmb, " w^hy came you here ? Why have you saved my life ? Speak ! are you not my enemy ? Where is my wife ?" All these questions w^ere asked with the greatest volubility, and in a state of mind so confused by the host of feelings the presence of the young Indian inspired, that he scarcely comprehended the latter as he replied : — f^ THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 71 " All ! love liim too much, Eonayne wife — love liim Ronayne too — Wau- nan-gee friend, dear friend — Wau-nan-gee die for him — Ronayne wife in Ingin camp — pale — pale, very much!" '' Answer me," said Ronayne, grasping him by the shoulder in piu-e excitement, "tell me truly, Wau-nan-gee — I will not hurt you if you do — but tell me, on the truth of an Indian warrior, is not my wife j'our witb '! did she not go to you ? does she not love you V" " Ugh V exclaimed the boy, with an expression of deep melancholy in his manner ; '' Wau-nan-gee love him too much, but not make him wife. Spose him not Ronayne wife, then Wau-nan-gee ; die happy spose him Wau-nan-gee wife. Feel him dere, my friend — feel him heart — oh much sick for Maria — but Wau-nan-gee Ronayne friend no hurt him wife." " Can all this be possible ?" he exckiimed, vehemently to himself. " Oh, what a noble, what a generous being ; he restores life and happiness to my heart ! But still I am not yet convinced, the joy is too great for such light testimony. One question more, W^au-nan-gee : why did my wife leave this ? Did you persuade her to go?" " Yes, Ronayne, Wau-nan-gee tell him go. Shuh !" he continued, as if enjoining silence, and looking cautiously round, " no speak, Ronayne — Ingin very wicked — kill him garrison by by — Ronayne and Maria — Wau-nan-gee friend, dear friend — W^au-nan-gee save him — Ingin kill him — Maria crj- very much, promise no." Then drawing a handkerchief from his pocket, which the officer recognised, 'even in the gloom, as that which he had thrown down at Hardscrabble, and which w;is subsequently waved from the window of the farm-house, he handed it to him. " Now, then," he exclaimed, " is all my doubt removed, and again am I the happiest of men in the assurance of the continued love of the adored one. Oh, W^au-nan-gee, my friend, my brother !" He threw himself into liis embrace ; he pressed him forcibly to his heart. " Oh, how true, how just was the feeling which caused me not to hate, even when I fancied you had most injured me ! Wau-nan-gee, you must always be my friend ; you must be Maria's friend ; you must love us both !" " Yes," said the Indian, warmly and with difficulty maintaining the stoi- cism of his race ; " Wau-nan-gee happy to lay down his life for Ronayne and Maria ; oh ! Ronayne," and he took the hand of the Virginian and placed it on his chest which he bared, " can't tell how much Wau-nan-gee love him Maria — want to make him happy. Suppose Ronayne come now with W^au-nan-gee — take him to squaw camp. Stay there till battle over. Yes, come, come !" " Noble and generous boy ! how do you Avin my very soul to you !" returned the officer, as he again affectionately embraced hiin. " No, no, I cannot do that, great and severe as is this sacrifice of incUnation. But what battle do you speak of ?" " Letter tell him all," said the youth. " Not say Wau-nan-gee say so.'' " Wau-nan-gee," said Ronayne, impressivelj^, " no doubt there is danger. We all know it. Was it not you who brought me a line from IMaria this morning ?" " Yes, my friend. Pee-to-tum say attack him council. Wau-nan-gee tell him Maria write — afraid to say much." " No doubt, then, we shall be attacked before many. days are over; but 72 WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, tliank God, she at least is safe. Wau-nan-qeo, you must take care of her in dio camp of your woraeu. When all is safe, you will come to me with her." " Mr. llonayne," called a voice near the ri\or, " where are you ?" It was Captain Headley. " Good by, Waii-nan-ji-ce,'' said the officer, *' I must go. Give my love to Maria, and tell her I am sick to see her," and he put his hand ov«^r his heart,'' and that I will join her when all danger is over; to-morrow night I shall have a letter for her. You can contrive to steal into the fort at night, and into my room unnoticed, Wau-nan-gee ?" " Spose him come," again urged the Indian, " Wau-nan-goe find him lit- tle tent for Ronayne and his wife for two three days? Wau-nan-gee wait upon him, bring him food. Maria say come — must come.'* " No, Wau-nan-gee, my dear friend, you know 1 cannot as a warrior think of myself alone ; I must do my duty ; but I am called. Good by, my noble boy. To-morrow night at twelve. God bless you ! I leave my wife wholly to your care." " Wau-nan-gee die for him," said the youth energetically, as, after again pressing the extended hand of the Virginian, he traced his way cautiously to the encampment. " Mr. Ronayne," repeated Captain Ileadley, " where are you ?" " Here, sir ; I have for a few moments been absent from my post, but I thought I remarked an Indian skulking near to watch our movements, and I followed him. I was not wrong ; it w^as Pee-to-tum. When discovered, he rose to his feet and would have stabbed me, but Wau-nan-gee was near and warded off the blow." " Wau-nan-gee ! said you, Mr. Ronayne ? Did he ward off the blow aimed at your life ?'' " He did, sir; why should he not? We have always been friends." Had it not been dark, Captain Headley would have looked as he felt, exceedingly puzzled for a reply. " To tell the truth, Mr. Ronayne, I had not suspected this. I should rather have imagined that he was the chief instigator of the young mm to discontent ; but I am glad to find it otherwise." For a moment it flashed across the mind of the Virginian that Mrs. Headley had, from policy or in confidence, communicated all she knew in regard to IMaria's evasion to her husband. The idea of any man possessing the slightest knowledge of v/rong in his wife W'Oiild have maddened him ; but now that he in some measure knew the facts, and looked upon her in all the purity of her spotless nature, he was not sorry to have an opportu- nity to remove the impression ; he, therefore, answered calmly, yet without adverting to the actual position of his wife. " So fiir from that being the case, Captain Headley, Wau-nan-gee is the last person to engage in an outrage of the kind. Doubtless these letters, of which the youth has been the bearer, Avill explain much that is now a mystery." The laborious duty of the night being now ended, the gates were onco more fastened ; and as the officers passed the lamp which hung over the entrance of tlie commandant's quarters, Ronayne glanced at the superscrip- tions of the two missives. The one was Avritten in ink, and directed to Mrs. Headley ; the other in pencil, and addre;=sed to himself. THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 7a Rona}Tie was too impatient to know the contents of the lettei-s to waste further time in conversation. At the invitation of Captain Headley, he entered and unfolded the note, while the commandant sought f Jlrs. Headley entered, unannounced, into the apartment where the Virginian was sitting, he brushed his hand across his eyes, but now they wept not only the emotion of grief that he betrayed, but of joy, of pride, of the fulness of life. He rose, pressed her hand warmly, and, giving her Maria's note to read, took the letter which she proffered in return. " Ah ! Ronayne,'' began the first, " what language can express my feel- ings — -my fears — my agony. For the last week I have not seemed to live a human existence. My mind has been all chaos and confusion. I have been feverish, excited, scarcely conscious of my own acts, and filled with a strong dread of an evil which I know will come, must come, although only protracted. And yet, with all the horror of my position, how mu(3i more bitter might have been my self-reproach, my remorse, in having neglected, in my distraction, to inclose the packet for Mrs. Headley, which the noble- hearted, the devoted Wau-nan-gee now conveys. 1 thought I had given it to Sergeant Nixon, but Wau-nan-gee found it in the pocket of my saddle only yesterday. Oh, but for the arrival of Winnebeg with the intelligence he brings, it would now be too late, and what, then, would have been my sen- sations ? His appearance has altered the plans of the unfriendly portion of the Indians, Avho, presuming that the troops will soon . leave the fort, have determined to wait for the division of the stores, and attack you on the march. But still they could not restain their impatience, and the day of the council was fixed. All this I learned from Wau-nan-gee, who makes 74 AVAU-XAN-GEli ; OR, me acquaini.La wUli everything tliat is going on, and is both hated and sus- pected by Pee-to-tuin, who would wiUingly find him guilty of treachery, and destroy him if he could. I begged him, in my deep sorrow, to be the bearor to you, even amid all danger of detection, of a few words of Avarn- iiig which I knew you would sufficiently understand. lie did go, while dashing up seemingly in defiance to the gate ; and with a joy you may well understand, I marked tlie result. So far, then, has the .step which my great love for you induced mo to take, regardless of minor considerations, been of vital service to you all ; for good and generous as Wau-nan-gce is, notliing short of his deep and respectful attachment would have led him to reveal the secrets of his people, and thus d'Teat their cruel purpose. But, oh ! when I think that the danger is only deferred, not removed, liow poor is the consolation ! Dear Ronayne, my heart is sad, sad, sad ! Last night I dreamed yuu were near, and this morning I awoke to horror, to know that, perhaps, your hours arc numbered, while for me there is no hope of death, which then would be a blessing, except from my own hand ! Oh, sufl'er me not to pray in vain if you would have me live ! Once you evaded (oh, how cruelly !) the stratagem which Avould have saved your life and honor — which w^ould have made you an uiwilling prisoner with those who, for my own safety, hold me captive. " Alas ! had I not hoped that you would have been compelled to share my weary bondage until the dread crisis had passed, I had never been here ; and now that the great object of my heart has failed, I would return, and share the danger that surrounds you. One more embrace would give me greater strength to die. One more renewal of each well-remembered face would make me firmer in resolve to meet the coming danger, that danger shared by all. But Wau-nan-gee, in all things else docile as a slave, in this denies me. In his mother's tent I dwell, disguised from the wretch Pee-to- tum in Indian garb, and, although she does not seem to do so, she watches my motions closely. Oh ! then, since I may not go to you, come for a brief period to your adoring wife ! Come with the occasion back with Wau-nan- gee. He will conduct you to the tent where now I am, some little distance from the general encampment, and never visited but by Winncbeg and his son. You will say I am but an indifferent soldier's wife to give such coun- sel to a husband. I confess it ; my love for you is greater than my regard for your glor3^ But what glory do you seek ? March with the troops and ingloriously you perish ; for what can avail defence against the strong force I know to be fully bent upon your destruction. Join me here and you are saved-T-saved for a long and future covu-se of glory for -your country — and, oh ! tar dearer to me, for a long and future course of wedded happiness. Yet, oh, God ! how can my pencil trace this icy language, while my heart is desolate — longing — pining for your presence. Oh, beloved Runayne ! by all the vows of love you ever poured into my willing ear — by all the fires of passion you ever kindled in my heart, I conjure you to come, for I can endure this suspense, this cruel unceitainty no longer. To-niglit I shall count the long, long hours ; and, oh ! if Wau-nan-gee return without you, without one ray of hope to animate this breaking heart, I will not leave him until I have won his promise to conduct me at midnight to the secret en- trance through which he has so often gained admission into the fort ; or faihng in my plea to him, I will make the attempt to fly myself. But, dear THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 75 Ronayue, if you come not, the measure of my grief will be full iudeed io overflowing, I can no longer endure this." Such was the last note of the unhappy and distracted ilaria Ronayne. The document addressed to Mrs. Headley was more voluminous, and written of course under the impression that when read by the latter, her own hus- band would be secure from the danger it detailed. It was in substance as follows : Wau-nan-gee, v.-ho had been absent for nearly a month in the immediate theatre of war near Detroit, and heard rumors of an intended attack upon Chicago, had hastened back with great expedition to announce to his friends the approaching danger; but much to his surprise, he found on his arrival that the news of that event had been known in the camp several days pre- viously through the' agency of certain emissaries who used every exertion to win the Pottowatomies over to Tecumseh and the British cause. A council had been secretly held before the return of AVinnebeg with the despatch from General Hull, and terms had been offered and proposals made on that occasion which were variously received, according to the humor, interests, and rapacity of the parties. By the majority of the chiefs, to their honor be it said, the proposal of treachery to the Americans was sternly rejected, but there was one of their number — Pee-to-tum — not a full-blooded Potto- watomie, but a sort of mongrel Chippewa, adopted in the tribe for his un- tamably fiendish disposition, connected with certain other mere animal qualities, who was loud in his invectives against the Americans for their asserted aggressions on the Indian territory, and he, by pointing out the advantages that would accrue to themselves by an alliance with England, won upon almost all the young warriors to decide in abandoning the Ame- rican cause immediately. Thus, although there was no decided treaty made, there was a tacit understanding that all possible advantage was to be taken of circumstances, and whenever a favorable opportunity presented itself, the mask was to be thrown ofl". In vain Black Partridge, Kee-po-tah, Wauben- see, and other Pottowatomie chiefs declared they washed their hands of all wrong that might be perpetrated. The young men, or the great majority of them, wanted excitement, blood, plunder ; and they sustained Pee-to-tum in all that he advanced. Hoping, however, that the tumult would subside with the absence of those who first incited it, the chiefs did not like to alarm the commandant by a knowledge of what was going on among them- selves, but were contented with recommending, as has already been seen, that he should remain in defence of his own post rather than confide himself to the safe keeping of those on whom he depended for an escort. The night of the arrival of Wau-nan-gee he gleaned all this information ; and filled with anxiety for the danger that threatened the wife of Ronayne, whom really he loved wuth a deep passion — yet one utterly unfed by hope or expectation of any kind whatever — he determined that night to enter the fort while her husband was on guard, and acquainting her with her danger, entreat her to allow him to conceal her until all was over. He succeeded, though not without some risk of being discovered in consequence of the exclamation of surprise and almost terror, w^hich Mrs. Ronayne uttered on his appearance so suddenly and unexpectedly befoi-e her ; but the humble manner of the boy — the deprecating yet earnest look he threw on her, and the lowly posture" in which he crouched, soon satisfied her that there was ^C •WAIT-NAN-GEE ; OU, some important reason for his appearance at that hour of the night, wliich it was essential she sliould learn. She, therefore, took his hand to reassvire him, and with an attempt at lij^litness, bade hira tell her what brought him there after so long an absence at that late hour of the night, and wh^n he must have known that Ronayne was on guard and herself alone ? The boy shook his head with a solemn, sad expression. " Come alone, come I" he rej>licd ; " no spoak him Runayne. Pottowatomie kill him Wau-nan-gce — oh, Wau-nan-gee very sick !" Those few brief sentences, delivered in that melancholy and significant manner, rendered Mrs, Ronayne extremely nervous. She made him sit on the sofa. She took his hand — she asked him what he meant. With tears smmming in his large, soft, languishing black eyes, he told her everything relating to the subject — of his own return for the expi-ess purpose of lookiiig to her safet}' — of the secret council of the Indians — of the tierce determina- tion of Pee-to-tum and the misguided young men whose cupidity and pas- sions he had so strongly awakened. lie said he came to save her, to take her out of the fort until all the trouble was over, to conceal herself in a spot, to Avatch her, and to protect her as a brother. '' And Ronayne — your fiicnd, my husband — what will you do with him ?" exclaimed Mrs. Ronayne, greatly excited and terrified by what she had heard. " Oh, Wau-nan-gee, can you not save us all ? Will it not be enough to tell Capt Headley what you know, and thus put him on his guard !" " Suppose him tell Captain Headley, Ingin kn^w it — Ingiu know Wau- nan-gee tell him. Kill him Wau-nan-gee like a dog. Save him Maria !" " And Avill you not save Ronayne '! If you care for me, Wau-nan-gee, you will save my husband." " Spose him love him very much husband ?" he said, fixing a penetrating yet softened look on her. "Yes, Wau-nan-gee, very much," returned Mrs. Ronayne with emphasis. " If you save one you must save the other." Without pursuing the conversation further, it may suflice to remark that Wau-nan-gee left not Mrs. Ronayne until he had exacted her promise to meet him on the following afternoon in the summer-house, when he said he would be enabled to show her a place where, with her husband, she might be concealed as soon as it was known on what day the Indians ahould have decided on their attack. This he pledged himself to liave arranged in the course of the morning, so that by the afternoon she should be enabled to judge of the convenience it afforded. The trunks seen by Ronayne at Hardscrabble, were hastily packed by Mrs. Ronayne with articles of clothing for both, and conveyed by Wau-nan-gee that night through his secret en- trance to the summer-house, and subsequently removed. Not liking to call attention to the circumstance of her crossing the water unaccompanied, and moreover, really desiring the presence of one of her own sex to sustain her in the course that had been forced upon her, she had requested Mrs. Headley to bear her company. On her entering the sum- mei--house, the trap-door, which appeared to have been made that very morning, was open ; but instead of Wau-nan-gee, she beheld standing near its entrance another dark Indian Avhom she had too much reason to fear and dread. It has already been remarked that Pec-to-tum was not a genuine Potto- THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. <7 watomie, but one of that race whose very name is a synonym with trea- chery and falsehood — a Chippewa. With low, heavy features ; a dark, scowling brow; coarse, long, dark hair, shading the restless, ever-moving eye that, like that of the serpent, seemed to fascinate where most the cold and slimy animal sought to sting ; the broad, coarse nose ; the skin partak- ing more in the Chippewa, of that offensive, rank odor peculiar to the Indian, than any others of the race ; with all these loathsome attributes of person, yet with a soul swelling with the most unbounded vanity and self-sufficiency, based on ignorance and assumption ; this man, although having a wife and children grown up, had dared to cast the eye of desire on Mrs. Ronayne. Long had he watched her, not as the gentle, the pure, the self-sacrihcing Wau-nan-gee, but as a tiger gloating for his prey. To possess her had been one of his leading motives in urging the alliance with the tribes in the British interests — to hasten the moment she might become a prisoner in his hands, his chief aim in stirring up the young warriors into a determination of early attack. Only two days prior to the return of Wau-nan-gee he had been in the fort, and passing near Mrs. Ronayne as she was amusing herself at battle- dore with her friend, Mrs. Elmtley, remarked to a companion as he bent his eyes insolently upon her : " The Avhite chiefs' wives are amusing themselves. They are wise. In a few days we shall have them in our wigwams.'' No notice was taken of the remark at the time. Mi'S. Ronayne had more than once noticed the eyes of the loathsome Chippewa fixed upon her with an expression she shuddered at but could not define, and she had attributes his words on that occasion to impotent anger and disappointment, at th< dislike she had conceived for him. This was the loathsome being she now met, and knowing, as she did from Wau-nan-gee, all that he meditated in regard to himself and friend, the horror she experienced may be conceived. Rapidly, and in time to sup- press in a great measure the scream she attempted to give, the savage placed one hand upon her mouth, and clasping her tightly round the waist, bore her to the opening through which he made her rudely descend, still keeping his hand upon her mouth. When the feet of Mrs. Ronayne touched the bottom of that seemingly living tomb, she was so paralysed by fear that she had not strength to sup- port herself, and but for the arm of the dark chief still clasped around her waist, she must have fallen. The very sight of her weakness inflamed the Chippewa the more. He removed her hat and threAV it on the ground. The vast volume of her brown hair he unfastened from the comb. It fell, enveloping her figure to her knees. The eyes of the brutal Chippewa flashed fire in the half darkness that prevailed around. The hand hitherto held upon her mouth, now fell upon and fiercely pressed her bosom, and his hideous hps sought hers. With a violent effort she tore them from the pollution of his touch, and uttering a faint cry of despair, sank fainting from his now loosening grasp. What followed she could not tell ; but when some minutes afterwards she came to her senses, weak and exhausted from excitement, Wau-nan-gee was sitting at her side chafing her palms with his own, and with the large tears coui-sing doAvn his cheeks. At the first sight of the boy Mrs. Ronayne started, for she fancied that she must have been laboring under the influence of a dream, and that no»* 78 WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, Pee-to-tuui, but himself, had xised the violence she ex]ierienoed ; but when she recalled all that had passed, perceived her own disorder of dress, and remarked the unfeiirned affliction of the youth, she knew thnt it could not bo so. Still deeply a^jitated, she asked him anxiously where the 01iij)pewa ■was, and wherefore he and not Wau-nan-gec had been in the summer-house as promised, when she came in. With every apjiearance of profound sorrow and sincerity, the youth replied that he knew not how Pee-to-tum had got there — that ho himself, after leaving the trap-door open ready for the descent of Mrs. Ronayne, had gone to the further extremity of the vault for the purpose of removing a large stone which blocked up a hole admitting the fresh air fi'om above near the cottage, and that he Avas retui'ning by this passage, which was narrow hut nearly six fcft in height, when he heard the cry for aid, and knowing it to be hers he had ttown to her assistance, but that the sound of his approaching footsto]>s must have alarmed the Chippewa and caused him to fly — stopping motionless, perhaps, till he, Wau-nan-gce, had passed him, and then escapins; by the same outlet. He it must have been whom Mrs. Headley had remarked stealing across the garden just before she entered it with Maria. Once reassured of the fidelity and truth of the boy, Mrs. Ronayne, although painfully, distractingly ignorant of the extent to which the insolence of Pee-to-tum had been carried, was too much absorbed in tlie consideration of her husband's safety to lose sight of the subject more immediately at her heart, in mere personal regrets that now -were oS littlv3 avail. She said to AVau-nan-gee that the place in which she then was would certainly have been Avell suited to the purpose intended but for two reasons ; firstly, that now having been discovered by Poe-to-tum, it would no longer be secure ; and secondly, that her husband would never consent to abandon his com- rades to secure his own safet3^ She prop'osed, instead, that a plan should bo arranged to make them both prisoners while out on the following day, and in such manner that it should be supposed in the garrison that the capture had been effected by hostile Indians ; and to tliis the youth joyfully assented, stating that a number of his friends less hostile in their intijntions might be procured to aid him in the matter. It was arranged that this should be done on the following day, and this at so great a distance from the encamp- ment that Pee-to-tum should know nothing of the occurrence till both hus- band and wife were beyond his reach. " It is a strange and a wild project," she remarked, " but the crisis is des- perate, and anything to save my husband's life. But now I must go, dear Wau-nan-gee ; Mrs. Headley is in the garden waiting for me." " No, no go," he said ; " spose him Mrs. Headley go home. Wau-nan- gee take Maria home by by. Got canoe here. No let him go home. Pee- to-tum wicked — Pee-to-tum got Ingin plenty yonder," and he pointed in the direction of the cottage ; " Pee-to-tum carry off Maria — go see where he is. Shut him door till Wau-nan-gee come back. Mrs. Headley come, no see him here ; no tink him here." He accordingly ascended, fastened down the trap-door and departed, as we have said, little anticipating to have been seen by Mrs. Headley. He had not been five minutes gone when she heard a dull, heavy sound which satisfied her that the stone was being rolled from the orifice spoken of by Wau-nan-gee. Feeling assured that Pee-to-tum had seen him depart, THE MASSACRE AT CaiCAGO. TO aud knowiijg hor to be there and helpless, was returning to renew his odious and brutal passi^, she sought to rise in order to force up and escape by the trap-door. This she did, regardless of her disordered appearance, and with- out even thinking of hat or comb ; but she had no sooner moved a step for- ward when she again fell down, as much paralysed by fear as exhausted by weakness. In her helplessness she could only sob and moan and vainly deplore tlie absence of her late rescuer, while all her thoughts and feelings were of her husband. Tlie footsteps advanced ; she grew at each moment more nervous, more terrified. She had scarcely the power to move herself on the spot where she half sat, half reclined. Presently the trap-door was lieard to move, soon it opened, and there to her astonishment, yet not less to her exceeding embarrassment, inasmuch as she could not, without compro- mising the saviour of her honor — the purposed sa\iour of her life, explain in Avhat manner she had been placed in the strange position in which she had been found, she beheld Mrs. Headley. What followed is known to the reader. It v/as not, however, Pee-to-tum whom Mrs. Ronayne had heard rolling away the stone, but Wau-nan-gee returning to set her free for the present, as he had seen the soldiers at the gate and knew that she was safe. CHAPTER XVIIL " This 13 my glove — by this hand I will take thee a box on the ear." — Henry V. The following morning was as bright and glorious as an August sun could render it, but its very brilliancj- seemed a mockery to the gloom and despair that filled the hearts of the little garrison. Still, notwithstanding the trea- chery few were ignorant the Indians intended, there was a bearing among all, from the commanding officer down, that, while attesting determination and confidence in themselves, left no ground for a suspicion that the designs of their treacherous allies had been revealed. The guard was mounted, as usual, and the customary formalities of the military service complied with, and arrangements were made, soon after the men had eaten their breakfasts, for the conveyance of the stores to the glacis. At twelve o'clock all was ready, and the mass of Indian warriors, painted and armed, moved in loose and disorganized bodies across the plain, and grouped around their chiefs, Avho, seated on the ground, received for the young men the presents which had been set apart in divisions for every ten. The cloths, blankets, trinkets, and provisions, were first handed over, bu, when on coming to the ammunition and hquor only one cask of each was, found, the indignation of the whole band, the chiefs excepily, aiul without tho order, the men sliouteJ the cliarge a\ with their coaiiuandiiig ufliccr and the colors full in viow before them, they dashed fo'rward where their enemies were the thiekost, and such was the effect of their unswerving courage that the latter, although in numbers suffi- cient to have annihilated them, were awed by their resolution ; and in many instances, those who were not in the immediate line of their advance, stood leaning on their guns watching them and without firing a sliot ; nor was this strange, for it must be recollected that the hostile feeling to the garrison had not been shared by all the Pottowatoraics, especially by the chiefs and more elderly warriors. Before the determined advance of the gallant little band the Indians gave way, until they had retired again nearly as far as their own encampment, but the ranks were fast thmning by the distant fire of the enemy, whom it was found impossible to reach with the bayonet. " This Avill never do," thundered Capt. Ileadley ; " halt ! form square !'' The order was speedily obeyed ; but on hearing firing behind and looking round for his wife and Mrs. Elmsley, to place them in the centre, Captain Headley saw that a great number of the Indians whom they had driven before them liad turned aside and reunited behind — thus cutting them off from their j)arty. It has already been observed that the hoi-se Mrs. Head- ley rode was a magnificent animal, docile yet full of life and spirit, and the excitement and sound of battle had, on this occasion, given to him an ani- mation — a-grace, if it may be so expressed, which, rendered even more remarkable by the superb figure of his rider, excited in several of the Indians a strong desire to get possession of him uninjured. Her own scalp they were burning with eagerness to secure ; for from the first moment of the charge down the hill, she had ifted her little rifle so successfully that of three Indians hit by her two had been killed, and they had evinced their deep exasperation. The anxiety to extricate herself, without the horse being wounded, in all probability saved her ; for they fired so high tliat almost all the bullets passed over her head, although not less than seven did reach their • aim — one of them lodging in her left arm. The Indians were now pressing more closely upon her, Avhen Captain Wells, seeing the danger to which the noble woman was exposed, dashed back at the head of his brave horsemen, and used the tomahawk with such effect without the enemy being able to guard themselves against the rapidity of his movements, that he soon cleared a passage to her, cleft the skull of a Pottowatomie who had reached her side, and was in the very act of rerao\ing her riding hat to scalp her alive, and hfting her off her horse, covered with wounds and faint from loss of blood, bore her rapidly down towards the lake. As he approached it, he met Winnebeg and Black Partridge returning to the scene of blood, to save her if possible, as they had previously saved Mrs. Elmsley, who had had her horse shot under her, and been wounded in the ankle. I'.oth were hurried into a canoe, and concealed under blankets by those good but now powerless chiefs, while the brave but desperate cn.ptain returned to head his warriors and try the last issue of the fight. Meanwhile, Captain Ileadley had been again attacked and with great fury by the rallying Indians, while the only diversion in his favor was that made by the little band of ]\iiamis, who, however, could not be expected to render efficient aid much longer ; besides, whatever immediate advantage might be THE MASSACKE AT CUICAGO. '9^ gained, the final result when the darkness of night should set in, was but.too certain. Not only his officers and liiraself, but his men felt this, and t,Jiey could scarcely be said to regret it, when, surrounding them from a distance, the Indians renewed a fire which, from the moment of their first being thrown into square, had in a great degree been lulled. During that short interval they had been made to moisten their parched lips from their can- teens of water into which had been thrown a small quantity of rum at start- ing, and no one who has ever donned the buckler need be told the exhi- larating, the renev?ing influence of this upon men jaded with long previous watching and fighting at disadvantage. " Men, husband your ammunition," enjoined the captain, " keep cool, and. when I give the word, level low and deliberately. Our position cannot be better, for the country is all clear and flat around us. God defend the right." " Commence file-firing from the right of faces," he ordered, as he remarked that the Indians, rendered bolder by his inactivity, were evidently closing upon him, as for the purpose of a rush. Steadily and coolly the men pulled the trigger for the first time; and the eflfect of the caution he had given was perceptible. The Indians were no less galled than astonished when turning from one face to get out of the way of danger, they found, the bullets coming upon them from every point of the compass — not very many, it is true, but quite enough to stay and to warn them that a nearer approach was dangerous ; and before the little band had discharged a dozen cartridges each — few failing to tell — they had 'with- drawn entirely out of reach of danger either to themselves or to their enemies. While thus they stood, as it were, at bay, they for the first time had lei- sure to look around and observe the havoc that had been done along the slope of the sandhill and on the plain below. Xearly half of their gallant comrades lay there scalped and tomahawked, and with their bodies and limbs thrown into those strange contortions which mark the last physical agony of the soldier struck down by the bullet in the midst of hfe and health ; but for every private lay two Indians at least — a few of them who had been overtaken in the furious charge down the hill, but most of them sufferers from their fire while formed in their Uttle but compact square. Capt. Head- ley and his lieutenant looked an.xiously, but silently, towards the sand hill, where they had last seen their wives exposed to the most imminent danger, yet gallantly defended by Captain Wells and his Miami warriors, three of whose horses, shot under them, encumbered the ground, but nothing was to be seen of either ; and the bitterness of sorrow was in their hearts, for they believed them to be dead, and that their bodies were lying beyond the crest of the hill, whence occasional shouts were heard. As for Ronayne, he kept his eye fixed in the opposite direction, for they were not far from the en- campment of the Pottowatomies, and he felt satisfied that his beloved Maria, who, after the great peril to- which he had fears Mrs. Headley and Mrs Elmsley were e.xposed, he deeply rejoiced to know was in a place of safety, was then not for from him, and no doubt forcibly detained from the field by the mother of Wau-nan-gee, or by the youth himself. " 'Twere folly tression of the countenance of the chief, " what is your decision ? I am per- fectly ready to act as you shall say, either to light to the last, or to surren- der, with the chance of being knocked on the head afterwai'ds." " Had we not better put it to vote, sir ?" suggested Lieut. Elmsley ; " the responsibility v.ill then rest with the majority." " A good idea, Mr. Elmsley. So be it. The majority of votes shall de- cide whether we tight or surrender." The votes were accordingly taken, and the result was an equal division — eleven for surrendering and taking the chances of good faith — the other eleven, chiefly the unmarried men, for fighting to the last. " The casting vote is viith you, Mr, Elmsley ; that given, we return our answer," remarked Captain Headley. •' Winnebeg," said the lieutenant, addressing him for the first time, " one question 1 would ask you first : know you auything of our wivco — are they dead — and where is I^.Ir. McKenzie ?" "They are all alive," returned the chief with animation — "bad wound, though — W'innebeg help save him himself." Human nature could stand no more. Both officei-s, as if actuated by the same common impulse, met and embraced each other warmly. A mountnin weight seemed to be taken from their oppressed hearts, and those two men, who had preserved tlie most cool and collected courage through the fearful, the appalling scenes of that day, stilling all their more selfish feelings, now THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. Ill suffered the warm tears to gush in silenc3 from their eyes. The men beheld this sight with an emotion little inferior to their own, and many a tear trickled o\ er their f;ices and moistened and mixed with the dark deposit left by the bitten cartridge, as they too rejoiced in the safety of those brave and noble women. " There can be no doubt what my decision in this matter will be now," remarked the lieutenant, when he had a little recovered from his emotion. " The good Winnebeg who has done thus much — saved those most dear to us — cannot want the jiower to save ourselves. My vote is for the sur- render.'' " Winnebeg," said Captain Headley, with great feeling, " whatever doubts may have existed in our minds as to the propriety of surrendering, they are now wholly removed. We know your worth and humanity, and commit ourselves wholly to your good faith. Indeed, from the moment I saw you coming at the head of this party, after the death of the black-hearted Pee- to-tuin, I felt that we were safe from further attack. Still, it was my duty to consult the men who iiad so bravely fought with me. We consent to become your ])risoners, on three conditions — first, that we be suffered to retain our colors, which you see there wrapped round the djnng body of Mr. Ronayne, the friend of your son ; secondly, that we be permitted to bury our dead comrades ; and thirdly, that we be surrendered to the nearest British post at the earliest opportunity," Winnebeg, after looking at the spot where the young officer lay, spoke for a few moments with his followers, who did not seem to relish the ar- rangement, for a good deal of animated conversation ensued between them- selves ; but *at length the point was satisfactorily settled, and the former assented to the conditions of surrender Captain Headley had imposed. To have reposed any faith in the warriors themselves after what had occurred, that officer was now fully sensible would have been an act of madness ; but he confidently hoped that, although Winnebeg and the other friendly chiefs might not have had the power to restrain the excitement of their young men in the first outburst of their rage for blood, their influence would to a cer- tain extent be regained, now that the fiercest act in the drama had been played, and the chief actor was no more. The only thing that created uneasi- ness in him was the apprehension that the severity of their own loss might induce such a desii-e of vengeance in the minds of the warriors as to cause in them a renewal of their fury, and an \itter disregard of the pledges of their leaders. Something however — indeed much — must be left to chance. As prisoners they might and would be saved, if the influence of their s^ger warriors and their own better feelings pj-evailed, while, as combatants, every man, without an exception, must have fallen. Moreover, the reason which had decided Lieutenant Elmsley in giving his vote had an equal influence in sustaining himself in the expediency of surrender. Their wives were pri- soners, and a reunion with them was not impossible ; v/hereas if they had resolved on defending themselves with the obstinacy of despair, that hope must have been for ever cut off, and the noble women — not to speak of the partners of their brave and humble followers — who had taken so prominent a share in the combat, wounded and sustained only by the faint possibility of a meeting with their husbands, would assuredly be made to undergo a similar fate. 112 WAU-NAN-OKK ; OR, And now commenced the mo<;t humiliating part of the movements of the day — the breaking up of the gaUant httle square, and tlie return, thmkedby their Indian captors, of the remains of the detachment to the furt. Incom- phance with the wish of Captain Ilcadley, expressed at the suggestion of his men, instead of Uvking the route selected by Winnebeg in his advance, the party were sufiered to return past the wagons. The scene which took place here was one of mingled consolation and despair. Such of the mar- ried men as l)ad survived the conflict anxiously sought their wives, many of whom, with pale cheeks and sunken eyes, and hearts nearly crushed by the pitiless murder of their children, still wrung comfort in the midst of their despair, as they gazed once more on the features of those whom they had given up as lost for ever. But then, on the other hand, was the soul's mi- sery complete of the poor women, widowed within the past few hours, who sought eagerl}^ but in vain to distinguish the features of him who alone could console her under a similar bereavement, and who, with tears and sobs, sank back again into the wagon, in all the agony of increased and confirmed des- pair. It required stern hearts to behold all this unmoved ; but the know- ledge that their wives had been unharmed, whatever the savage destruction of their children, brought some little relief to the overcharged hearts (^ such of the married men as had been spared, and in their secret hearts they returned thanks to the Providence that had guarded not only their own lives, but the lives of those most dear to them. CHAPTER XXV. And with what feelings did they now re-enter the fort, and Avhat an as- pect did it present ! Half-drunken Indians were yet engaged in the work of plunder and destruction, insomuch so that it scarcely appeared to them the same place from which they had sallied out in the morning ; and there were moments w^hen the stoutest-hearted wished that they had never returned to it, but perished on the field where their comrades lay, unconscious of the past, r^ardless of the future of desolation, of which all they saw seemed to give promise. The officers' quartei-s, and the blockhouses, which had afforded them protection and shelter during many a long year, were now burst open, and every article of heavy bedding and furniture hurled into the square — the latter ripped open, and broken, and the feathers and fragments strewn around as if in mockery of the neatness that had ever been a dis- tinctive characteristic of the well-swept parade ground, where heretofore a pin might have been picked up without a finger being soiled in the act. These were, seemingly, too minute considerations to have weighed at such a moment when higher and more important interests were at stake ; but. to the well-regulated eye of the soldier, accustomed to order and decorum, they were now mountains of inequality and discomfort, which contributed as much to tlie annoyance and mortification of his position as the very fact of captivity itself; and if this was the feeling generally of the men, how deep must have been its effect on the officers, and particularly on Capt. Headley, who had ever been punctilious to a nicety in all that regarded the internal ^ * THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 113 arrangements of Fort Dearborn. But, offensive as this was, Low much more so was it to behold many of tlie band fantastically arrayed, not only in their own clothing, but in that of their wives, desecrating, as it were, the terrible solemnity of the day, and mocliing at the severity of suffering to which the latter had been subjected. Of the Indians who had formed their escort, some stopped outside the gate, others mixed with the spectators, and only about a dozen followed them to the niess room, which Winnebeg said he had selected for their temporary quarters, as being the least liable to interruption or molestation. lie pro- mised to send them food, and later in the evening, when all was quiet, to conduct the two officers to their wives, who, for greater quiest ■ and secur- ity, were still lying concealed in the canoe where he had first placed them. "Winnebeg, Winnebeg," said Capt. Ileadley, solemnly, "how can we ever sufficiently repay you for your noble conduct to-day ? Depend upon it, I shall not fail to make known to our Great Father that you have saved the lives of one third of the detachment ; but let me remind you of the first part of our contract — the burial of the dead. There is plenty of daylight, and I wish to send out a dozen men for the purpose of digging one common grave for them all. Mr. Ronayne must, if not dead, be brought in on a litter ; if, however, he is no more, no grave can be more honorable to him than that shared with his followers. You know. Corporal Collins, where the spades and picks are kept." " Yes, sir, I know where they are usually kept, and where it is not likely the}^ have been disturbed. What men, sir, am I to take?" Almost every man in the detachment expressed his anxiety to be of the party ; but the remainder of those who had been with the Virginian when he fell, and a few others, all unmarried men, were selected. " Do you not think, sir," said Lieutenant Elmsley, " that I .should com- mand this party and superintend the arrangements ? Poor Ronayne must be delicately handled." " If you will do so, Mr. Elmsley, I shall be most glad ; but not deeming it absolutely necessary, I did not propose it as a point of duty. But there is another thing to be considered : Winnebeg, what escort will you give to my people ? You know your young men are excited, and many may not know of the conditions of our surrender." During this conversation, almost the whole of the Indians, to the number of eighteen or twenty, who have been alluded to as having plundered and offensively arrayed themselves in the dresses of the officers' wives, and who were evidently the most turbulent of the band, had been drawing gradually closer around the httle party of prisoners. All were more or less ludicrously painted, and exhibited the most grotesque appearance. When the remnant of the detachment first entered the fort, it was re- maiked that one of them — a mere youth — ^liad closely, almost impertinently, examined the features of the officers, and had followed, with most of his com- panions. When Captain Ileadley made his request for cin escort, this indi- vidual suddenly went up to Winnebeg, tapped him on the shoulder, and said something, not in Pottowatomie but in Shawnee, accompanied by much gesticulation, which seemed to have great weight with the chief. " Give him escort, dis," said the latter in reply, as he glanced his eye quickly upon the grou^j, and with seeming intelligence. 114 WAU-XAX-GKK ; On, "What! those nion !" returned Captain ileadley, witli a shadow of re- monstrance in liis tone. " Ves, all good PottoAvatomie — all brave warrior — no give him dis," and he pointed to those who had accompanied them from the field, " all too mnch tired witli fight already — dis men stay here all day. No figlit." Although by no means persuaded by the reasoning of Winnebeg, that men who had been jtlundering and drinking what they could find, during the whole of tlie moi'ning, were the most pi-oper persons to guard prisonei's from the violence of excited enemies, Capt. Headley felt that it would be impru- dent to ur|^any further opposition. For a single moment, it occurred to him that Mi||phief had offered this escort with a hostile motive, but it was a thought which, involuntarily forced upon his mind, was as instantly dis- carded as unworthy of the chief, and, whatever might have been his latent misgivings, he no longer opposed an objection. The preparations wei-e soon made ; the litter, and materials for digging found, and the little party, who had t;iken off their uniforms to avoid par- ticular remark, and to be more free in their mov(»ments, sallied forth. On • passing near the gate, and in a direction opposite to that by which they had just entered, they beheld the body of Doctor Von Voltenl)erg, within a few jaces of the pathway by Avhich they now advrmced, wjiich was the route taken by the hrdians with the three pounder. He was stripped to the skin, scalped, and with a profusion of large green flies and ants of the praiiie settled on and seemingly disputing possession of the dark and coagidated blood that was already incrusted on the festering wound. The body was fa^t becoming bloated and discolored under the rays of an August sun, but no one could mistake the black and the peculiarly cut whisker, and the good natured and smiling expression of face which oven in death had not wholly deserted him. They had now reached the point where the Indians stood when the first grenades were thrown in among them by the followers of Ronayne. From this could be commanded a full view of the theatre of contest as fivr as the crest of the sandhill, being a full musket-shot from the spot where he had last fallen. The intermediate space, as has already been remarked, was thickly strewn with dead bodies amounting in all to upwards of a hundred, apd the place chosen for interment by Ijieutenant Elmsley was the small copse of underwood, from which the flank movement had been made upon Ronayne by the fresh band of Indians upon whom he had directed the fire of the three-pounder. While occupied in digging a grave of about twenty feet square, their f-trangely attired looking escort amu?cd themselves with examining the dead uniformed bodies that lay strewed thicklv around, and it was remarked that they showed no such curiosity in regard to their own people who were in- discriminately mixed up with them. Gradually they app]-oached the crest of the hill, and Lieutenant Elmsley, who was distrustful of their intentions, nd kept a close eye upon their movements, saw the youth, already noticed, uddenly bound with uplifted tomahawk towards the spot where poor Ro n^pe was known to lie, and, after addressing a few words to his companions, stoop over his body, with what intention he could not make out, but he pre- sumed to dispatch and to scalp him, for the cry uttered 'by the Virginian and heard even at that distance, was piteous to hear. Desiring, the men to THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 115 go on with their work, and collect the bodies as soon as it was completed, he hurried ra2:)idly to the scene of this new action, and as he advanced saw another and a much stronger party of Indians approaching th.e same spot. Rapidly their escort closed in upon the officer over whom the young war- rior was kneeling, and stooping down, drew from their victim another moau of inexpressible anguish. All then rose, and, grouped together, moved away' parallel with the said ridge until they were finally lost behind a sudden ele- vation that continued the hill in an obtuse angle towards the forest. Startled by the appearance of these fresh comers, Lieut. Elmsley paused for a moment in his advance, but feeling that any appearance of mistrust might act unflivorably upon the band, he renewed his course, expecting at every moment to' reach the mangled body of his friend. The Indians approached the same point at the same time, and he saw at once that the majority were composed of those v/ho had accompanied Winnebeg when he came to offer terms to Captain Headley. Trusting, therefore, that there was no violence to be apprehended from those who were aware of the fact of the surrender, towards himself or party, he proceeded to search for his friend ; but, to his surprise, his body Avas not to be seen. He could not be mistaken as to the spot where it had lain, close to Sergeant Nixon; but, though the latter was nearly in the same position in which he had fallen, the knife which he had used.upon the throat of the Chippewa, and the imprint of his body upon the sand, deeply moist- ened with the blood of both, was the only indication of Ronayne's having been there. It was evident that he had been carried off by the strange party who had formed their escort, and that the cries of agony uttered by him had been produced by the torture of moving his broken limb. What the motive for this new outrage could have been, it was difficult to conjec- ture, unless it was to secure at their leisure, and before the other party of Indians came up to dispute possession of the spoils with them — not only his scalp, but the blood-stained colors which he bore — perhaps to sell the latter as a trophy to the British. Without condescending to bestow the slightest notice upon the officer, the Indians approached the bodies, and leisurely proceeded to strip themiof their clothing. Their leader, uttering a yell of delight and surprise as he came near it, spi'ang upon the sergeant and secured the scalp, which Pee-to- tum had failed to take. This piece of good fortune led the othei-s to hope for something similar, and they accordingly dispersed themselves rapidly over the scene of combat, examining every head and stripping everybody. All (his v/as done without Lieut. Elmsley having the slightest power to in- terfere, for he knew that any attempt at remonstrance would only be to provoke a similar fate, and thus the party passed on, stripping every soldier to the skin. While he lingered hesitatingly near the spot whence his friend had been so sino-ularly removed, waiting for the plunderers of the dead to depart be- fore he should rejoin his men, his ears were suddenly assailed by a piercing shriek from the further extremity of the underwood in which the latter were digging, and which extended about two hundred yards on the left of the plain below. At once he knew the cry, and comprehended its cause ; and rushing down the sandhill without thought of the new danger to wdiich he might be exposed, turned the corner of the small wood, and stopping ab- ruptly at a point where he could see without being noticed himself, beheld 116 wau-na\-gee; or, ^ .1 sight as distivssing as, a few moments before, it had been unex- pectod. Witli his uncovered head sliglitly raised, and reposing upon the projecting root of a tall tree that rose capriciously, yet majestically, amid the stunted groAvth around, lay the enfeebled and dying Ronayiie extended upon a pile of clothing formed of the very dresses that had now been doffed for the pur- pose by his escort. By his side knelt his wife, disguised in the noat dress of one of Wau-nan-gee's sisters, and gazing into his pale face with a silent expression of agony which no language could render. But though his face •was wan, and his eye gradually losing its lustre, the arm of the officer closely clasped around the waist of his wife, ever and anon strained her so passionately, so convulsively to his lieart that a new fire seemed at these moments to be enkindled in both — and to prove all the intensity of the un- diminislied love he bore her. Neither spoke. Speech could not so well convey what was passing in their sad souls as could their looks, while the ex- hausted state of the wounded officer rendered exertion of any kind notmcroly painful but impossible. On the other side of the Virginian, who held his hand affectionately in his feeble grasp, stooped the young Indian already noticed, and standing grouped round, and gazing Avith evident sorrow on the scene, were his companions. The youth was Wau-nan-gee. His companions •were his immediate and devoted friends — those who had sought to make the young officer a prisoner on a former occasion, when, had they succeeded, all this trial of the wife's agony might have been spared. On the first exit of the troops they had rushed into the fort on the pretence of plunder and ex- cess, in the hope that their example would be imitated by -many, and that thus the detachment might be left to pursue its route comparatively un- harmed. And to a certain extent they succeeded, for many did follow them, and Pee-to-tum among the rest, whose absence in the first onset of the battle had dispirited the Indians, whom he had first excited, and given the Americans an advantage of which they never lost sight until the close. To have taken an active part in the defence, Avoidd have been not only impos- sible but impolitic, but in the course they had pursued they had no doubt saved such of the detachment as remained, for had all been engaged — had all borne a prominent sJaare in the attack, the event, from the great disparit}'- of numbers, could not have long been doubtful. When Wau-nan-gee, whose anxiety to know his fate had been great, first heard from his father of the wounded condition of Ronayne, he had proffered himself and friends as the escort of the detachment, intending to bear off' the body, without being seen by the other Indians, to his mother's tent, where his wounds might be dressed and his life saved by the care and attention of his own wife. All these particulars Lieut. Elmsley subsequently ascertained from Win- nebeg, for anxious as he was to take a last leave of his dying friend, and to express his joy at once again beholding, even under these disheartening cir- cumstances, her for whom both himself and his wife had ever entertained the strongest friendship, the officer was afraid to move from the spot where, un- seen himself, he had witnessed all, lest by suddenly exciting and agitating, he should abruptly destroy the life which was evidently ftist drawing to a close. To have broken that solemn and silent communion of spirits, would, he felt, have been sacrilege, and he abstained ; and yet, as if fascinated by the sight, he could not leave the spot — he could not abandon his dearest and THK MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 11 7 best friends without lingering to know how far his services might yet be available to both or one. Apparently, Mrs. Ronayne had not uttered a sound since that piercing cry had escaped her which attested her first knowledge of the hopeless con- dition of her Avounded husband. The attempt to cany him off the field, with the view nOt only of preventing him from being scalped, as he certainly would have been by the party then advancing, but of conveying him to the Indian camp of the women, had been productive of the greatest suffering ; so much so that when he had gained the point where he now lay, and where his wife had first met him, he declared to Wau-nan-gee his utter inability to j)roceed fiu'ther, and prevailed on him to place him on the ground that he might die in quiet. It was now near sunset, and the condition of the Virginian was momen- tarily becoming weaker. He suddenly made an attempt to rally, and for a moment or two raised himself upon the elbow of the hand that still encircled the waist of his wife. " Maria, my soul's adored !'' he murmured, " I feel that I have not many moments left, and I should die in despair did I not know that there is one who will protect you while he has life. God knows what has been the fate of our poor companions, but even if living, they cannot shield you from danger. Wau-nan-gee," he said, turning faintly to the youth, " two things I am sure you will promise your friend — first, to conduct yourself in all things as my wife — your sister — desires ; secondly, to conceal and guard these colors until you can deliver them up to the nearest American fort." Then, when the youth had solemnly promised, with tears filling his dark eyes, that he would faithfully execute the trust, he turned again to his wife, and said in a tone that marked increased exhaustion at the effort he had made, " Maria, sweet, it is hard to die thus — to leave you thus ; but yet you will not be alone — Wau-nan-gee will love and protect you, obey your will : yet you need not now fear, I have avenged your wrong — that wrong of which the ruffian boasted when I slew him — tortured him — the monster." How different the gentle love of this affectionate boy ! But I have not strength — oh, what sickly faintness comes over me ! surely this must be ." " Death !" he would have added, but silence had for ever sealed the lips that never more would speak his undying affection for his noble, graceful, and accomplished wife. For some moments the unhappy woman continued to gaze upon the still features of her husband as though unconscious of the extent of her great misery, and when the reaction came, it was not expressed in shrieks or lamentations, or strong outward manifestations of emotion, but in the calm, serene, condensed silence of the sorrow that stultifies and annihilates. Her cheek was pale as marble, and there was a fixedness of the eye almost alarm- ing to behold, as she rose erect from her bending position, and said, with severity, " This and more have your cursed people done, Wau-nan-gee ! I shall ever hate to look upon an Indian face again ! Yet that body must be buried deep in the ground, and in a spot known only to us both, where none may violate the dead. You have promised to obey me in all things. This is the first charge upon you. Let us go — the night is fast j^pproaching, and the place reftiains to be reached, and the grave is to be dug. By to-raor 118 wau-nan-gee; on, vow"s dawn \vc travel together and alone Ihi-ougli tlie wilderness, in execution of tlie will of your friend and my ]ius!)and. Mark that, Wau-nan-gee 1 It is liis will that we travel together — that you shall be my guide and protector. See this dress, how well it disguises mo. I shall be taken, as we journey, for vour squaw. Ila ! ha ! Tliat will be excellent, Avill it not ? Maria ITey- wood — Ronayne's wife — the mistress of A fiend — then Wau-nan-gce's sqiiaw — and not yet six weeks married to the first !" She suddenly paused, put her hand to her brow — seemed to reflect, and then turning to Wau-nan-gee, inquired why he lingered so long and where- fore he did not replace the body in the litter and depart. With a pensive and serious mien the youth, who had been still kneeling, absorbed in sorrow at the strange coldness of Mrs. Ronayne's manner, aiid afraid to disturb her in a distraction which he comprehended more from her looks and actions than her language, now rose, and saying something in a low tone to his companions, who had also regarded her throughout with silent surprise, the covering on which the body of the unfortunate officer reposed, was placed upon the blanket, which four of the party held ex- tended, and at the direction of Wau-nan-gee the whole proceeded towards the forest. When this strange and dispiriting scene had terminated, Lieut. Elrasley, who felt at each moment in a greater degree the uselessness of any inter- ference in his powerless .position, was rejoiced that at least the last moments of his friend had been consoled by the presence of his wife ; he was led to hope that it had been the result of a momentarily-disordered brain, on which despair had now wreaked its worst, and which, therefore, might be expected to regain a stronger if not its wonted toneAvhen the bitterness of grief should have somewhat subsided. Proposing to prevail on Winnebeg to obtain for him a meeting with her on the morrow, when the remains of her husband should have been con- signed to their rude resting-place, he returned towards his party, whom he found in the act of covering up the bodies which they had, unmolested by the Indians, brought in from the different points where they had fallen. The grave was soon filled up — a short and mournfid prayer read by the officer from memory, and the party returned full of gloom, and with hearts bowed down by sorrow, to the dismantled and desolate-looking fort. CHAPTER XXV. This act is an ancient tale twice told.— ^in^ John. The wretchedness of that night who can tell ! the despondency that filled the hearts of all, not so much in regard to the present as from apprehension for the future, who, untried in the same ordeal, can comprehend ? but the feelings of the remnant of that little band, who were indebted for their safety to their own bravery, were not selfish. They lamented as deeply the fate of the fallen, as the dark and uncertain future that awaited themselves — un- certain because, although the chiefs had promised, and with sincerity, that THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 119 they should be given up as prisoners of "war fit the nearest post, they had seen too much of the falsehood of tlie race generally to rely implicitly on its fulfilment by the warriors. Alas ! whei-e were their comrades — friends, nay, brothers of yesterday ? Where was the brave, the noble-hearted Wells — where the once gay, ever high-spirited Ronayne — where poor Von Volten- berg — the manly Sergeant Nixon, a Virginian also — the faithful Corporal Green — and nearly two thiids of the privates of the detachment ? The very fact of being in the fort again, and everywhere surrounded by objects ren- dering more striking the contrast between the past and the present, was agony in itself. There was scarcely a man amongthem Avho would not have ])i'efeiTed bivouacking, in the Avild wood, amid stoi'm and tempest, and tlie howling of beasts of prey, to resting that night within the polluted precincts of what had so recently been their safeguard and their pi-ide. Fortunately, the two surviving oflficeis were, in some measure, exempt from these mortifications. True to his word, Winnebeg had caused Mrs. Head ley and Mrs. Elmsley to be conveyed undercover of the darknt^ss from their place of concealment to the mansion of Mr. McKenzie, which, from the great popularity of the trader with the whole of the Indian tribes, had been left untouched — he himself having been looked upon as a non-combatant, and, therefore, spared from all personal outrage. The meeting between the husbands and their wives — both the former also^. slightly wounded during the daj^ — was, as m.ay be supposed, most aflfecting. Neither had ever expected, on parting in the morning, to behold each other; and npw, although more or less injured, to find those who were preserved, as it were, by a miracle from a cruel death, with a prospect of future hap- piness, the past was for the moment forgotten, and gratitude to God for their preservation the dominant feeling of their souls. The examination of the wound^. of the heroines was the next coirsideration. Most fortunate was it that of all the wounds received by the ladies — seven by i\frs. Ileadley and three by Mrs. Elmsley — not one was of a nature to disable or impede the motion of their lower limbs. A ball that had lodged in her arm, however, gave the former great pain ; but, alas ! there was no Von Voltenberg to cut it out. In this extremity, Winnebeg said he knew an Indian w^ho was very expei't at incision, and that he would procure his attendance. Meanwhile the party were enabled to partake of, some refreshments which luid been ordered on the departure of Winnebeg for his charge ; and ex- hausted as all had been by intense anxiety and emotion, from the moment of their setting out almost to the present, this was tridy acceptable, especially to the two officers. In the course of the repast, allusion was made to the gallantry and suf- fering of the unfortunate Ronayne, when, on Captain Headley asking, for the first time, what had been done Avith the body, Lieut. Elmsley proceeded to relate all that he had heard and witnessed a few hours previously. This singular detail excited not only surprise but pain, especially in Mis. Headley, whose deep friendship for, and interest in, both husband and wife had already been so sti-ongly exhibited. It is not often that, in the hour of our keenest suffering, we have much sympathy to bestow upon others ; but the noble woman had known the ill-fa^ed Maria too intimately — known her too well — not to feel deep sorrow for the double affiiction under wliich she labored. lu the confession, if such it can be . called, which ^^he had com- 120 WAU-NAN-OEK ; OR, mitled to writlniif and subsequently transraijtted Ky Wau-nan-gco, as well as in lior Avild and unconnected language on Hie day of the fatal occurrence itself, she had alluded to something terrible — an attempt at outrage, but in those vague terms of violated modesty which left the extent only to be sur- mised. No one of those who knew the contents of her communication, had susjiccted or presumed the worst, and had it not been for the avowal b)' Ho- nayne of his vengeance for the avowed fulfilment of the htdlish and sacrile- gious lust of the hideous monster, and the strange admission that fell in her despair from Mrs. Ronayne "herself, the secret must have died with them- selves. It was not exactly a subject for discussion, under ortlinary circumstances, and before e very-day women ; but hero not only were the parties cognizant few in number, but actuated by nobler motives than those whicli would have governed mere worldly and censui-ing people. Moreover, the nature of their connexion with each other, and with the victims themselves — for it was shown that Ronayne had recei\ed his mortal wound from the rifle of the Chippewa — even the atrocit}' complained of, <;onneeted as it was with all the horrors of tlie past day, not only justified but compelled it. " She must not be left where she is," gravely i-emarked Mrs. Ileadley, after some moments of reflection ; " cannot Winnebeg, the good \Yinnebeg, •whom, perhaps, we have taxed too much, be persuaded to bring her to us? Now that the worst has happened she will be far happier — more contented, by sharing our fortunes, whatever they may be, than remaining in the In- dian encampment, cut off from every kindred association. What think you, Mrs. Elmsloy ?" " Oh ! I shall be too delighted to see, and to soothe her sorrow. As a sister, I have ever loved her — as a sister, I love her still." "Then, assuredly," returned Mrs. Headley, "will she not hesitate to over- come her false delicacy, and to consider herself, what she really is, tbe victim of misfortune, and not of guilt, when a mother and a sister united look upon her as pure in thought as in the days of her unwedded innocence, and offer her what home may be preserved to tliemselves." " Generously, nobly said !" remarked Lieutenant Elmsley, pressing the hand of his wife,, and looking his feelings as he caught the eye of the last speaker. " I bad intended to ask Winnebeg not to simply go himself, but to permit me to accompany him, that I might know her intention and offer her my aid. What I have now heard confirms me in my desigTi. Early to-morrow morning, if he assents, we shall go over. But here he is him- self, with the Indian who is to perform the operation on your arm, Mrs. Headley." The door opened, and Winnebeg entered, followed by a tall, powerful, good-looking Pottowatomie, wlio glanced inquisitively around the apartment with the air of one who expects an unpleasant recognition, nor was it appa- rently without reason, for the moment Mrs. Elmsley beheld him, she uttered an involuntary shriek, and drew back with every manifestation of disgust. The Indian remarked it, and sought to retire, but Mrs. Elmsley, suddenly njctillecting herself, and fearing so to offend him as to prevent the aid he had come to render, rose and held out her hand to him, saying, with an attempt at a smile — " Never mind — althoufrh we have fought a hard battle together THK MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 121 to-day, it is all over now. Let us be friends. Winnebeg, explain this to him." Winnebeg did so, whpu, with a mingled look of astonishment and plea- sure, the Pottowatomie warmly returned her pressure. It was the same warrior with whom she had grappled, in the desperation of a last hope, when so opportunely extricated from her perilous position by Black Par- tridge. As»he had the reputation of much expertness in making incisions and removing balls lodged in the flesh, his attendance had been requested. Calm and composed, although evidently laboring under deep dejection for the loss of her uncle, the hon-ible mode of whose death had, however, been kept back from Iter, Mrs. Headley, dressed in the light-textured i-iding habit in which she had gone forth in the morning, and which, it has already been remarked, set off her finely moulded bust and waist to the best advan- tage, prepared to submit herself to the operatioij. As she raised herself up on the ottoman on which she leclined, Mrs. Elmsley cut open the sleeve to the shoulder, thus laying bare one of the most magnificent arms that ever was appended to a woman's body, the dazzling whiteness of whose contour was only dimmed in the fleshy part above, and in the immediate vicinity of the spot where the ball had entered. At a sign from Captain Headley, the Indian, who had been talking aside with his chief, now approached, but no sooner did he behold the uncovered limb, when, either dazzled by its brilliancy, which to him must have seemed in a great degree superhuman, or shocked that anything so beautiful should have been thus wounded, he suddenly stopped, and while his eyes were as if fascinated, the blood could be seen suddenly to recede from his dark cheek. ^ " No, father," he said to "Winnebeg, " I cannot do it. I cannot cut that arm open — the very thought makes me sick here" — and he pointed to his heart. " I cannot do it." Although this involuntary homage to the rich, full, and moulded beauty of a limb which was but 'a sample of the perfection of the whole person, and which in a woman seldom attains its fullest harmony of proportion before the mature age which Mrs. Headley had attained, was not exactly that of the porter who, at an earher period, solicited the famous Duchess of Gordon to permit him to light his pipe at her ladyship's brilliant eyes, it was cer- tainly conceived in much of a similar spirit, and Mrs. Headley could scarce herself suppress a smile when she remarked the effect upon the Indian.' And yet this man had been one of the foremost in the attack, and at his waist, even then, dangled more scalps than had been taken by any other warrior during the day. " Well," said Mrs. Headley, on the Pottowatomie continuing resolute in his refusal to touch the wound — '• somebody must do this act of charity, for the ball gives me much pain. Mr. McKenzie," she added, with that sort of smile that may be attributed to a person seeking to assume an air of uncon- cern even when most disheartened — "you have long been accustomed to use the dissecting knife on the buffalo and the bear : do you not think that you could find the courage necessary for the occasion !" " Most decidedly ; I will make the attempt if you desire it," returned the trader ; " but I fear that my surgical apparatus is Very limited indeed. Von Voltenberg having been stripped, all his instruraeijts have, doubtless, been 1221 WAU-NAN-GEE ; OR, plundered, so it is no use to look for aid tlioro ; and tiic oii]\^ thing vrlth which I can try tny skill is a common bat very sliarp penknife;.'" " Try whatever you please,'' said Mrs, lleadlcy ; " only relieve me of this sufforiny; that wliich you may intlict cannot jHJSsibly be worse" — and un- flincliingly extending her arm, she waited for him to begin. For the tirst time in his life Mr. INlcKenzie felt nervous. There was a greater amount of courage required to cut into the delicate flesh of a woman tlian even to kill a bear or a buffalo ; but as he had promised, he summoned up his resolution and skill to the task. Tiie Pottowatomie, bedizened witli scalps as he was, had remained to witness the cutting out of the ball ; and nothing could surpass the cxpres- sipn of surprise that pervaded his feafures, as he keenly Avatched the almost immovability of Mrs. Headley from the moment that the blade of the pen- knife, dexterously enough handled, entered into the flesh and efiected the iieision necessary to enable the ball to be removed. • "Wheia the operation was finished, and the ball produced, he started suddenly to his feet, and uttered a sharp exclamation, denoting approbation of her wonderful courage. He asked, as a favor, to retain the ball as a testimony of her heroism ; when Mrs. Headley presented it to him with her own hand. And with this he departed, exulting as though he had taken a new scalp. This incident, perhaps unimportant in itself, was not without some mo- ment in the results to which it led. On the day following the fort was filled with Indians and their squaws not only endeavoring to assert their claims to individual prisoners, but infuriated at the losses, seeking a victim to the manes of their deceased relatives. Among others was an aged squaw, who had lost a favorite son in the battle, and who, having been told by a warrior that he had distinctly seen him killed by a shot from Mis. Headley's rifle, repaired to the house of Mr. McKenzie, where she knew she then was, bent upon exciting the general sympathy of the warriors in her favor, and obtaining their assent that she should revenge his death upon the " white squaw." It happened, however, that the noble woman, feeling great relief from the abstraction of the ball from her left arm the preceding evening, and feeling seeure in the pledge entered into by Winnebeg, and confirmed in a mea- sure by his people, had fearlessly mounted her horse, which had been reco- vered for her, and ridden alone to the baggage wagons for the purpose of procuring some article which, at the moment, she much required. As she was returning, and when near the entrance to the fort, she was met by the vixen, furious with rage and disappointment at not having found her. Advancing with a cry that might be likened to that of a fiend, she seized the bridle of the horse, and attempted to drag his rider by her habit to the ground — shrieking forth at the same time her determination to have her life who had taken the life of her son. But Mrs. Headley Avas not one, as the reader of this by no means fictitious nan-ative ali'eady knows, to be thus in- timidated. She possessed too much of the high spirit, the resolute nature of her unfortunate uncle to submit quietly to the outrage, and, moreover, she knew enough of the Indian character to be sensible that it was -not by any manifestation of submission that she could hope to escape the threat- ened danger. Her course was at once taken. She stiaick the gaunt and shrivelled hag such a violent stroke over her shoulder with the horeewhip THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 123 of cowhide she held, that the hitter was compelled to release her hold ; and, as she rushed into the fort, calling on the Indians to revenge her son and kill the white squaw, the latter followed her completely round the square, using her cowhide with a dexterity and an effect, as she leaned over her saddle, that drew bursts of laughter and approval from the warriors eagerly gazing on the scene. At one moment, there Avas a manifestation of a desire to carry out the wishes of the crone and kill Mrs. Ileadley, and several voices were loud in the expression, but suddenly then stood forth the Pot- tovvatomie of the preceding evening, the antagonist of Mrs. Elmsley, who, from his commanding appearance, not less than by the prestige of his bravery imparted by the numerous fresh scalps at his side, soon made him- self an object of attention. None of the chiefs were present. "The white squaw shall riot be killed," he pronounced, as he held up his tomahawk authoritatively ; " she is brave like a Pottowatomic Avarrior. See here," holding up first five and then tAvo fingers — " so many balls have hit her, and yet she is here, on horseback, as if nothing had happened. ' What Indian Avould have courage to do that ? Speak !" "PAvau-na-shig lies," returned the beldame, Avhom Mrs. Headley had now ceased to punish, yet who, panting from the speed she had used in her flight, was almost inarticulate, thereby provoking the greater mass of the Indians knoAving its cause to increased mirth — " the Avhite squaw has no Avounds — where are they — she cannot show them. If she had Avounds she could^not sit on her horse ; but she has killed m)' son, and I demand her blood. Let her be given up to my tomahaAvk." A loud and confused murmur burst from many of the group, influenced by the words of the last speaker. Mrs. Ileadley sat her horse Avith indif- ference, patting his -head gently Avith the whip, yet looking earnestly toAvards Pwau-na-shig, upon Avhom she now altogether relied. " The mo^ier of Tuh-qua-quod is a foolish . old woman, and knoAvs not what she says," vociferated the tall Avarrior ; " do you doubt' the word of Pwau-na-shig — see here," and he took from his pouch and held up to vieAV between his finger and thumb the bullet which had been extracted the pre- ceding evening. " That," he said, " I saw taken from her flesh with my own eyes — she did not move— she made no sign of pain— she was hke a war- rior's wife ; but you shall see what Pwau-na-shig says is true." He approached Mrs. Ileadley, who, comprehending his object, shifted her rein to the whip hand, and calmly extended her left arm. Where it had been cut open, the sleeve of her riding habit was fastened from the Avrist to the shoulder by narroAv dark ribbons, Avhich had been sewn on the previous evening by Mrs. Elmsley, and these the Pottowatomie proceeded to untie ; then turned back the sleeve, as Avell as the snow-white linen of the upper arm, soiled only with her own blood, until the Avhole Avas revealed. Apparently as much struck by the brilliancy and symmetry of the limb as Pwau-na-shig himself had been, the wanioi's — CA'en those Avho had been most clamorous in support of the demand of the old squaw — Avere noAV una- nimous in their low expressions of admiration ; nor was this sentiment at all lessened Avhen, following from the Avrist the rich contour of the SAvelling arm, it finally rested upon the Avound she hei'self had divested of its slight dra- pery. The incision made by the penknife of Mr. McKenzie, at least three, inches in length, had assumed a slight character of inflammation, and con- 124; ■WAU-NAN-OEE ; OR, trasting as it did with the astounding wliiteness of every other portion of the limb, gave it the appearance of being much more severe than it really was. But it was not the wound alone that eiAisted the feelings of the Indians in •favor of Mrs. Ileadley, Connected with that was the coolness she had evinced throughout the wliole affivir from the persevering flogging of the harridan, who sought her scalp, to the graceful unconcern with which she sat her horse w'hen she must have known that it was then a question under dis- cussion wliether her life should be taken or not. This, with the fact of the wound which they then saw, and their no longer doubt of the existence of many others, were undeniable evidences of her heroism, and at that moment ^Irs. Headley Mas regarded by these wild people with a higher respect than she had ever commanded in the palmiest days of her husband's inliuence with the race. " No kill him," said Pwau-na-shig, exultingly, as he remarked the effect ]>roduced ou his companions — " white chief's wife good warrior." " No, no kill him," answered another voice, in broken English also. " Dam fine squaw — wish had him wife — get brave papoose." ,A general expression of assent came from the band, when Mrs. Headley, whose sleeve had again been rudely tied by Pwau-na-shig, fearing that if she remained longer another reaction might take place, pressed the hand of the Indian with a warmth of gratitude that brought the strong fire into his eye and the warm blood into his cheek, turned her horse's head, and can- tered out of the fort, followed by the wuld ravings of the beldam, who tore her long and matted grey hair and stamped her feet in fury at the disap- pointment. In a few minutes she was again at the door of Mr. McKenzie, and alighted in the arms of her husband, who, alarmed at her long absence, was in the act of leaving the house in search of her when she arrived. " There come Elmsley and Winnebeg, but unaccompanied," remarked Captain Headley, when, in reply to his inquiiy as to the cause of her long absence, she said she would tell him later. " I fear that they have been unable to prevail upon Maria to leave the new home of her election.'' " I am sorry for it,'' gravely returned his wife. " I must say her choice is not exactly what I should have expected ; but here they are — we shall soon know. Well, Mr. Elmsley," she added, as that officer ascended the veranda, followed by ^Vinuebeg, " what news do you bring of the truant ?" '' I scarcely know whether to consider it good or bad," returned the lieu- tenant, Avith an air of disappointment ; " but I have not seen Mrs. Ronayne. There seems to have been more method than madness in her language to Wau-nan-gee of yesterday, for this morning she departed with him to Detroit." " Indeed," remarked Mrs. Headley ; " you surprise me, Mr. Elmsley ; but does she perform that long journey on foot ?" " No ; Winnebeg ascertained fiom his wife that she was mounted on her oAvn horse, and that Wau-nan-gee, having visited and returned from Ilard- scrabble during the night with a couple of trunks, she had made up two large packages, which were tied to the back of her saddle, while the youth strapped tw^o others similarly prepared with provisions, behind his own pony. Thus provided, and Wau-nan-gee with his rifle on his shoulder and other- Avise well armed, they set out at daybreak. THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. 125 "Poor Maria! "wliat your eventful destiny will be, heaven only knows," sighed Mrs. Headley ; " for not only the road but the course you pursue is one beset with danger. But our lots are now cast in different channels, and we have need of attention to ourselves. Come in, Winnebeg, while I relate to you the somewhat narrow escape I have again had from the tomahawk since you left this morning." " Good Go'd ! what do you mean ?" simultaneously exclaimed the two officers. Winnebeg stared and looked as if he did not fully comprehend. " Oh ! quite an adventure, I can assure you ; and who do you think was ray devoted knight- errant V " What a subject to jest about, Ellen !" remarked her husband, half reprov- ingly. " To whom do you allude ''"' " Onhiihe tall Avarrior who tried so desperately to get your wife's scalp, Mr. ElmHy." " What, Pwau-na-shig ?" "The same. You cannot imagine what a conqiiest I have made ; but let us go in— the story is too good not to be told to all, and I presume both Mrs. Elmsley and her father are in." " They are," said Captain Headley, as the lieutenant gave his arm to conduct her into the house. Little remains to be added to our tale. Of the incidents that occurred to "Wau-nan-gee and his charge, after their departure from the camp ^of the Pottowatomies, we might, and may, speak hereafter ; but, as it is not essen- tial to our present design, and would necessarily occupy far more space than is consistent with the limits we have been compelled to prescribe to our- selves for the detail of the attack and partial massacre of the garrison of Fort Dearborn, we forbear. We had always intended the facts connected with the historical events of that period to be divided into 'a series of three, like the Guardsmen, Mousquetaires, and Twenty Years After, of Dumas. Two of these, embracing different epochs and circumstances, we have com- pleted in " Hardscrabble" and " Wau-nan-gee ;" and whether the third, on a different topic than that of war, and which, as we have just observed, is not necessary to the others, ever finds embodiment in the glowing language and thought of Nature, nursed and strengthened in Nature's solitude, will much depend on the interest with which its predecessors shall have been received. Yet, whether we do so or not, we trasi the sweet, the gentle Maria Ronayno — the loadstone of attraction to all who knew her, will have excited suffi- cient interest in those of her own sex who have followed her in her hitherto chequered fate to induce in them a desire to know more of the destiny to which she seemed to have been born. Of the other characters, scarcely less interesting, we can speak with gi-eater confidence. On the third day after the battle, the prisoners, includ- ing Mr. McKenzie and the members of his household, were removed from Chicago, and scattered about in small and separate parties, at various inter- vals of distance from Mackinaw, then in possession of the British. Here Mrs. Headley remained some time, in order that she might recover suffi- ciently from her troublesome wounds, when Winnebeg, in whose immediate . charge she and her husband were, learning that his people manifested impa- . l'2(j AVAU-N-AX-GEE ; OH, THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO. ti'jnco at (ha indulg-oncc sliown to them, and with their usual iiclilcncss and inconsist(,Micy, d^.-si['eJ to have th3ui i^ivon up to their own custody, ])addled them, aidwl only by his squaw, from th(ir village, a distance of three hundred miles along- the shores of Lake Michigan to the post of Mackinaw, whence the prisoners, who had been received with all the courtesy the knowledge of their position and tiie fame of their deeds could not fail to inspire, by tlic gentlMuanly commander of that post, were sulysL'quently transferred to the general then commanding at Detroit. And great was the curiosity of the young British oflicers then in garrison at the latter post, to behold this noble and accomplished woman, the repu- tation of whose coolness and courage,- under the most trying circumstances, had been widely circulated by 'her friend, Al^-s. Elmsley, who,^with her father and husband, had somd weeks preceded her to the same qjMBter. Little did we at the time, as we shared in the general and sincffe homnge to her magnificence of person and brilliancy of character, dream that a day would arrive when we should be the chronicler of Mi's. Ileadley's glory, or liave tire pleasing;4ask imposed upon us of re-embodying, after death, the inimilablc grace and fulness of contour that then fired the glowing heart of the unformed boy of fifteen for the ripened and heroic, although by no means bold or masculine woman of fort3^ PR ,^ Wig