Chapter XXII: Peace by Conquest

The wood of the yew-like conifer, if that was what Sure-dart had made his bow of, could not have been very hard, and though no dull axe of our day could have been so dull as the sharpest of the swords and axes with which the chief and his men were now working, yet it was not very long before the full supply that they wanted had been cut. With this raw material they went back to the open ground, which perhaps might now be called their camp, and all hands, even including the women and some of the children, fell to work to shape it.

This took them longer than they had expected, and as they grew a little tired, and their enthusiasm ran down, they got on more slowly still. Nevertheless, they made good progress, considering the time. Of course Sure-dart and the original bow were in pretty constant demand, and for the time he seemed to be of more consequence than the chief himself.

Several succeeding days saw the work still going on. Then, when the bows were at last finished and strung, and a few arrows had been made, they took up target practice. This was at first a little discouraging, for the bows being of green wood, and clumsily and not very skilfully made, did not perform in the best manner. The archers, too, being as green as the bows, shot at first wildly, and some grew impatient or sulky when Sure-dart tried to explain, or assist them. However, perseverance will accomplish wonders, and after a while the work began to show a clear improvement.

Still later the practice was changed to moving targets, and the shooting party turned hunters, and tried to bag rats, snakes, turtles, the various kinds of small lizards, and birds. They found this rather a set-back, for again they made some discouraging misses. Yet as before, they persevered, and once more began to show encouraging work. They now had the advantage, too, that when they brought down anything they could turn it to use.

At last the day came when even Big-axe, who had been rigid for a standard of good work, told them he was satisfied, and that he saw no need of waiting any longer. As their wants were so few and simple, they were again quickly ready to break camp, and the very next morning they started.

After all, looking at the small number of mature and experienced fighters, the chief did not seem to have waited any too long. They would clearly need all the advantage that the new weapon gave them, and great shrewdness besides, if they were to carry out their plans. There were just eleven grown fighting men, including Big-axe. Besides these were the large boys, numbering twelve, and a small band of women. Only the men and about half of the boys were expected to form what might be called the main line of battle, the others being in the nature of a camp guard and reserve.

Against this tiny army the Fishers, at whom they were to strike first, could show a total muster of over thirty. This would include some old men, boys, and others who would be of use in defensive work. They would be fighting on familiar ground, also, and with the desperation of brave men defending their lives, and those of their families, for thus far in the wars along the lake there had been no quarter shown anybody. On the other hand, Big-axe’s little force might be said to be stronger relatively; for aside from the great ability of Big-axe and Bull-head and Stone-arm as hand-to-hand fighters, the mere boys and women, armed as they now were with the new weapons, were nearly on a par with the fighting men.

The plans that Big-axe, advising with the others, had made were these: they would go first to their old home at the head of the lake, and would leave there all the non-fighters, the company of armed women, and half of the armed boys; the rest of the fighting force, being eleven men and six large boys, would march on the Fisher village.

If everything went well here they would make a temporary camp, look after their wounded, leave a small guard, and with the captured Fisher boats would go on up the lake. How far they would have to go to reach the Islander village they had only a vague idea, but, measured by our distances, they must have figured it at least a hundred miles. They hoped, however, to have a clearer idea about this before they finally started, for they thought they could force it out of some of their Fisher prisoners. Big-axe openly said--and his authority was now so great that nobody opposed him--that should any Fishers, without being tortured, give him the information he wanted, he would spare their lives. He took this opportunity also to say, what he had before settled on in his mind, that he should oppose the killing of any of the old people among the prisoners, and any of the women and children. He had softened since the wars with the Cane-dwellers, and, besides, he thought he saw some profit in the new plan. The prisoners could be kept as slaves, except the small children, who could be adopted, and some of the women, who would doubtless consent to marry Rock-men. In this way the prisoners would help to replenish the losses caused by their friends, which Big-axe urged was an excellent use to put them to.

With everything thus elaborated, almost, indeed, to the point of cooking their hare before they had caught him, they pushed along, and made their way to the slopes of what they called the middle hills. Here they halted, and gave the less robust ones a chance to rest; and Big-axe sent out two scouts. They came back, saying they had seen no signs whatever of the enemy, and a little later the party again took up its line of march.

Through all these troubles and hardships Hop-foot had managed to preserve his scamperer; and the little animal was now really of a bit of use: the boy had broken him to a sort of harness, and had taught him to carry small weights on his back. He was now loaded with a package of fruit and edible roots, and Hop-foot led him by a cord. We may well suppose that this was the first creature of the horse kind that was ever broken to man’s use. Some of the smaller children had what we should consider less attractive pets--small, harmless lizards--little rock-snakes, and tortoises. Some of the girls, too, had dolls, and these were doubtless just as precious to them as the wonderfully artistic affairs that our children have.

On the way from here to the lake they saw a few dangerous wild animals, including one thorn-tail, and two of the smaller carnivorous death-beasts, but all were at some little distance, and did not offer to come nearer. They seemed daunted by so large a party, though it might also have been true that they were not hungry at the time, and were not in a savage mood. But it had also been for some little time noticed that even the largest and fiercest of these monsters were not so ready as formerly to attack human beings. Rather they would often keep on about their business, or even would turn aside, as parties of hunters came in sight. We do not know how these things are communicated from one wild creature to another, or whether they are communicated at all, or are anything more than a kind of warning instinct that moves in the different creatures at the same time, making them feel that it is best to keep out of the way of these small, queer animals, which do not seem afraid of them, and which somehow are often seen and smelt about the time that some creature of their own kind suddenly dies.

Yet as those great lizards were, after all, uncertain in their moods, and as they were so mighty in their giant bulk and strength, the chief, on each occasion when one was seen, sent the weak ones of the party back out of sight, and pushed on with the fighting men, till the creature would show that he did not mean to come nigh. It must be borne in mind that even one of these smaller death-beasts was more than half as large as an elephant, and having some of its bones hollow, and being very muscular, was far quicker, as well as more dangerous in every way than any wild creature of our time.

So they came out of the wooded country at last, and to the region of the low and somewhat bare hills. Very soon after this they came to a slightly higher ridge, and as they came out upon the open top, they saw below them the lake.

Savages and barbarians though they were, they had some deep-down sentiment; for at the sight they all stopped, and several of the women and old people broke out in little murmurs of joy and satisfaction. Even the hard faces of the warriors softened, and a light pleasant to see came into them. After all, these caves in the rocks meant home, and so stood for whatever of the gentler things of life those primitive people, their lives so grimly practical, could know.

They had already, as by a common impulse, halted, and after a moment the chief said that they had better put down their burdens and take a short rest. The sun was pouring down fiercely, and the air, even at this height above the lake-borders, was not wholly clear, but had something of the steam and stickiness of the lower lands, though this the inured home-seekers did not so greatly mind. It seemed natural to them, and doubtless they had acquired from generations of seasoned ancestors a certain adaptation to it.

But as this was hardly a time for sentiment alone, Big-axe and some of his experienced men were making practical use of the little interval, for they were using their keen eyes in spying about, and in looking far as well as near for signs of danger. At the end of this careful scrutiny it was found that nobody had seen anything in the least suspicious. The only change from the old times was that the wild creatures seemed bolder, for the men made out two of the great, upright iguanodons near the home beach itself, and some hairy fishing birds were settling on the rocks in which the caves were dug. This made the suggestion of the abandoned homes the stronger, but was gratifying in another direction. From a practical view-point it was cheering and encouraging, for it helped to confirm the idea that human beings had not very recently been in the neighborhood. These iguanodons, or “great stalkers,” as the Rock-people called them, were rather shy creatures, and in spite of their bulk and strength, seemed afraid to venture near human beings; and the birds, though less timid, would not ordinarily have taken possession of the caves themselves.

The scouts did not rest very long, for all were anxious, from one cause or another, to push on; it was therefore immediately after this that they again took up their burdens and started.

There were more feelings and looks of sentiment, when they finally fetched up on the old beach, and ran to look into the caves; but little need be said of this. They found some bats in a few of the darkest of the caves, but beyond that everything was nearly as it had been left. There were signs that the enemy had looked in here and there, but the few articles of household use, such as the pounding-stones, and a few old stone knives and the like, had been left untouched. It was true, indeed, that the careful owners, in spite of their haste, had taken care to leave nothing of mentionable value in sight, burying in other places even the better of the hollowed stones in which the dart-poisons were compounded. The canoes, which they had carefully hidden, were also safe, and nothing showed that a search had been made for them. Here again, however, it was true that the discovery would not have been of great benefit to the finders. The canoes of the Rock-people, as elsewhere stated, were small, and inferior to those of the Fishers in other respects, and might not have been thought worth carrying, or paddling fifty miles. This was about the distance to the Fisher village.

The start of the war-party was set for the next morning, and the remainder of the day was spent in resting and in doing such an amount of fishing as was desirable in order both to have food for the journey, and to leave the home party with an immediate supply. In doing this fishing great care was used not to go far up the lake, and to keep near the shore, for otherwise the men might be seen by some roving party from above. That night there was a heavy thunder storm, but the morning broke pleasant, and at sunrise, after a hearty breakfast, the start was made.

Sure-dart was now fully over his hurt, and he and Wing-foot were detailed as scouts, and sent on a short distance in advance. This was not so much just now on account of human enemies, as to guard against surprise by some dangerous wild creature. Here, in this great low country, was the home of nearly all the giant lizards, and of other monsters not safely to be met without warning. Besides, as matters stood, the tribe could not afford to take even an ordinary chance, for they had no lives, or even limbs to risk. It was not alone that the alert and experienced advance guard could see and give notice of the coming of any of the great monsters, but they could bring back a warning of some of the more subtle, but hardly less dangerous ones. For instance, there were such creatures to be considered as snakes, big and little, some poisonous and some killing by constriction; scorpions, the great bat-lizards, monstrous leeches, and the giant turtles. The leeches were confined, however, to the marshes, though there were several of these to cross; and the turtles were to be looked for only in the shallow pools, some of which the raiders might have to wade. These creatures, it would be well to explain, were essentially deep-water dwellers, and doubtless became extinct no great while after the salt water of the ocean was cut off; but it may be assumed that at this time they occasionally came up some of the numerous small streams, and scrambled their way from there into the neighboring pools and little ponds. They may have acquired this ranging habit in the course of a vain attempt to adapt themselves to the new order of things.

It will perhaps seem that the danger from some of these creatures was small, and should hardly have been made so much of, but the answer to this is that certain of them were much larger and more dangerous than their descendants, that we know.

In the main, it may be said that it was the great number of risks to be run, rather than the magnitude of any one danger, that made this march through the ancient wilderness such a serious matter. It was such a perilous place, in fact, that almost nobody ventured into it any distance alone, and even parties of three or four did not care to go far. When any companies did go they picked their way with care, avoiding, as far as they could, pools and the denser jungle growths, and punching down the reeds and denser ferns with their spears, when they must pass through.

It will now better be seen why the Rock-people and the Fishers, though living so comparatively near together, had, till recently, seen so little of one another. They were never on really friendly terms, and therefore had no idea of running risks in order to become better acquainted. There was, of course, the water route still left, but this, taking into account all the facts, was little better than the other. The water had perils of its own, including those from sudden and violent gales (these had been known since the earth had lost the most of its heat, together with its envelope of clouds and dense fogs), and the still greater ones of attacks by the different kinds of hungry water-monsters. It is true that such attacks were not common, but neither were they rare, and there was that about them, when they did happen, which made them even worse than those of the monsters ashore. There could be no running away, for the fleetest canoes were nowhere against the speed of the giant natives of the element; and strong caves and safe trees were wanting. It was on account of this danger that fishing, on which the tribe depended mainly for a living, was generally carried on near shore, and always with spears and axes handy. In the home waters there was usually little danger, for the monsters, like those of the land, rather avoided the immediate neighborhood of human beings, and besides, found more to eat out in the deeper waters.

Big-axe and his party, though none of them had ever been in sight of the Fisher village itself, had been about as far as there, and were familiar with the general lay of the land, and knew just about what dangers to look out for. It had been decided to cover on that day a distance equal to about twenty-five of our miles, to go into camp then for the night, and the next morning to push on, reaching the neighborhood of the village that same afternoon. The dash on the camp would follow as soon as the moon was up, which would be no great time after it was dark, for there was now a new moon. It was the plan to creep into the camp (it is perhaps a loose term to call the rude settlement a camp, and yet it was hardly more than that), shoot down every able-bodied man in sight, and then raise a great yell, taking advantage of the resulting confusion to pour in deadly showers of arrows.

The necessity of spending one night and the beginning of another in the dangerous woods was a drawback to the plan, but the cunning and experience of Big-axe and some of the others were sufficient to overcome this. Before dark, on each occasion, a great pile of a certain kind of thorny bush would be gathered, and this would be made into a high, inclosing fence, the thorns out. These thorns were tremendously long and sharp, and when the work was made fairly stiff and firm by a lashing of wild vines and creepers, it would make a defence that even the giant lizards, unless in a particularly ugly mood, would keep away from. Against snakes, big and little, it was a perfect barrier, and even the more dangerous kinds of scorpions, despite their shell armor, did not like to crowd far into it. Inside this _chevaux de frise_, then, the trees overhead having been first looked over for snakes and the like, they could settle down and feel reasonably safe.

So much for the planning, over which they were not now spending any time, having the other, and practical part, to work out. With the sun for a guide, together, perhaps, with a kind of instinct,--something that we, without artificial living, have lost,--they pushed on through the wilderness, making nearly a straight course for their destination. The settlement itself was on the head of a tiny peninsula somewhat beyond a point where the lake rather abruptly widened, and therefore they must gradually bear to the south, and so, for the time, away from the water.

The party could make fair progress in spite of the nature of the ground, and the fact that there was no road, or even rough path. This was because there were considerable stretches of what we call open woods, free from much undergrowth, and because they carried substantially no luggage, and were strong and enduring. There were, to be sure, some very bad patches of jungle-like growth, but these they generally managed to avoid; and there were treacherous spots of low ground, marshy, and made additionally dangerous by lurking snakes, leeches, and other creatures, but here, again, they got along without trouble. They kept their eyes wide open, and walked in the light of experience.

The day waned, and still they were doing well, and had come to no harm. The declining sun was giving them only a feeble light, and things not close at hand were taking on a little dimness. The festoons of vines and other parasites helped to cut off some of the vistas, and shroud them with sombreness; in other places the giant brakes and fern-like bushes made walls that the fading light could not pierce. Here and there a palm stood up by itself, its umbrella top lifted high and dark against the paling sky, and its naked bole looking almost dead and stripped by contrast with any lower-branched trees that happened to be in range. In some hollows the plentifulness of water in those days was made apparent, for it had to be but a small depression to be a-glint with it. Reeds and rushes commonly grew here, and sorts of tropical, big-leaved plants that now have retreated many miles to the south. A noticeable thing, as elsewhere, was the entire absence of flowers and grasses. Not in the best-nourished spots, deep with vegetable mould, and reached by the sun, was there so much as one blade of grass or one little appealing flower. Instead were mosses, ferns, onion-like growths, reeds, vines, and creepers. The earth was to wait for its grass and flowers till there were gentler and more attractive things to match them--till there were song-birds, and humming bees, and gentle, darting squirrels. In that grim and harsh world was none of these. Woods and open were flowerless, grassless, and songless. Instead was the bewilderment of a blended forest and jungle, rich indeed, in hues where any shade of green, or tints approaching russet, could make them so, but rank, instead of rare, and echoing to the screams and croaks of monsters and toothed birds, instead of the trills and love-notes of our own little songsters.

Big-axe did not think it best to keep on much longer. He looked for a good place to camp, and when he had found it, he imitated the cry of a certain haired night-bird, and repeated it; and as this was a signal, it called in the two scouts.

There was no more than time enough to get the thorny defence provided before it was entirely dark, but after that they leisurely ate their supper. They had some edible roots, the stalk of a kind of sugar cane, and, for hearty stuff, meat from a vegetable-feeding lizard, and some snails. The snails were big, white-meated fellows, and perhaps were as good and wholesome as those the Romans afterwards ate and praised. The Romans, however, are understood to have cooked theirs.

Though some of the party could not help a little nervousness, which, under the circumstances, was natural, they all got through the night very well. There were disconcerting noises, and flittings of great wings, and once a largish but harmless snake found a hole in the thorny wall, and slipped in; but nothing in the way of a disaster happened. Bull-head saw the snake and speared him, and gave him a fling over the wall, and this ended the bit of real stir there was. Had Hop-foot been along he might have kept up the excitement for a while, for he had a great dread of snakes, and would not have rested till he was sure there were no others coming; but he had been left behind. He was rather too young for work of this kind.

In the morning they again made an early start, and pushed on even faster than the day before. They were feeling more the strain of the suspense, and wanted to have it over; and then they knew that they ought to make sure of reaching the desired spot before it was dark.

They did reach it well before nightfall, and as before, cut and piled up the thorny wall. They had plenty of food, and they had filled their lizard-skin water pouches from a brook, so they were well supplied in those necessary directions. They had taken the pains to prepare the wall, although they hoped not to pass the night there, because they could not be sure just what would happen. They might not find the conditions for the assault what they desired and expected.

These things prudently looked after, it was time to send out a scouting party, and see just how matters stood, and the precise lay of the land. The party had best not be large; Big-axe said that it should consist of two, he himself being one, and Wing-foot the other. The distance to the settlement was short, and communication could be had with the main party, should that be required, by means of bird signals. To enable the scouts to get back quickly into the inclosure, a section of it was left loose, so that it could easily be removed.

Softly the two men slipped away; the others, breathing a little hard, for now the great time was at hand, stood about in silence and waited.