Tecumseh: A Drama | Page 8

has joined our enemies,
And with the
peace-pipe sits beside their fire,
And whins away our lives.
KICKAPOO CHIEF. The Deaf-Chief, too,
With head awry, who
cannot hear us speak
Though thunder shouted for us from the skies,


Yet hears the Long-Knives whisper at Vincennes;
And, when they
jest upon our miseries,
Grips his old leathern sides, and coughs with
laughter.
DELAWARE CHIEF. And old Kanaukwa--famed when we were

young--
Has hid his axe, and washed his honours off.
TECUMSEH. 'Tis honor he has parted with, not honors;
Good deeds
are ne'er forespent, nor wiped away.
I know these men; they've lost
their followers,
And, grasping at the shadow of command,
Where
sway and custom once had realty,
By times, and turn about, follow
each other.
They count for nought--but Winnemac is true,
Though
over-politic; he will not leave us.
PROPHET. Those wizened snakes must be destroyed at
once!
TECUMSEH. Have mercy, brother--those poor men are old.
PROPHET. Nay, I shall teaze them till they sting
themselves;
Their
rusty fangs are doubly dangerous.
TECUMSEH. What warriors are ready for Vincennes?
WARRIORS. All! All are ready. Tecumseh leads us on--we
follow
him.
TECUMSEH. Four hundred warriors will go with me,
All armed, yet
only for security
Against the deep designs of Harrison.
For 'tis my
purpose still to temporize,
Not break with him in war till once again

I scour the far emplacements of our tribes.
Then shall we close at
once on all our foes.
They claim our lands, but we shall take their
lives;
Drive out their thievish souls, and spread their bones
To
bleach upon the misty Alleghanies;
Or make death's treaty with them
on the spot,
And sign our bloody marks upon their crowns
For lack
of schooling--ceding but enough
Of all the lands they covet for their

graves.
MIAMI CHIEF. Tecumseh's tongue is housed in wisdom's
cheeks;

His valour and his prudence march together.
DELAWARE CHIEF. 'Tis wise to draw the distant nations
on.
This
scheme will so extend the Long-Knife force,
In lines defensive
stretching to the sea,
Their bands will be but morsels for our braves.
PROPHET. How long must this bold project take to ripen?
Time
marches with the foe, and his surveyors
Already smudge our forests
with their fires.
It frets my blood and makes my bowels turn
To see
those devils blaze our ancient oaks,
Cry "right!" and drive their rascal
pickets down.
Why not make war on them at once?
TECUMSEH. Not now! Time will make room for weightier
affairs.

Be this the disposition for the hour:
Our warriors from Vincennes
will all return,
Save twenty--the companions of my journey--
And
this brave white, who longs to share our toil,
And win his love by
deeds in our defence.
You, brother, shall remain to guard our town,

Our wives, our children, all that's dear to us--
Receive each fresh
accession to our strength;
And from the hidden world, which you
inspect,
Draw a divine instruction for their souls.
Go, now, ye noble
chiefs and warriors!
Make preparation--I'll be with you soon.

To-morrow we shall make the Wabash boil,
And beat its current,
racing to Vincennes.
[Exeunt all but_ TECUMSEH _and the
PROPHET.]
PROPHET. I shall return unto our sacred lodge,
And there invoke the
Spirit of the Wind
To follow you, and blow good tidings back.
TECUMSEH. Our strait is such we need the help of
heaven.
Use all
your wisdom, brother, but--beware!
Pluck not our enterprise while it
is green,
And breed no quarrel here till I return.
Avoid it as you

would the rattling snake;
And, when you hear the sound of danger,
shrink,
And face it not, unless with belts of peace.
White wampum,
not the dark, till we can strike
With certain aim. Can I depend on
you?
PROPHET. Trust you in fire to burn, or cold to freeze?
So may you
trust in me. The heavy charge
Which you have laid upon my
shoulders now
Would weigh the very soul of rashness down.
[Exit the PROPHET.]
TECUMSEH. I think I can depend on him--I must!
Yet do I know his
crafty nature well--
His hatred of our foes, his love of self,
And
wide ambition. What is mortal man?
Who can divine this creature
that doth take
Some colour from all others? Nor shall I
Push cold
conclusions 'gainst my brother's sum
Of what is good--so let
dependence rest!
[Exit.]
SCENE SECOND--VINCENNES--A STREET.
Enter Citizens GERKIN, SLAUGH and TWANG.
GERKIN. Ain't it about time Barron was back, Jedge?
TWANG. I reckon so. Our Guvner takes a crazy sight more
pains
than I would to sweetin thet ragin' devil
Tecumseh's temper. I'd
sweetin it wi' sugar o lead ef I
had my way.
SLAUGH. It's a reekin' shame--dang me ef it aint. End
thet two-faced,
one-eyed brother o' his, the Prophet.--
I'll be darned ef folks don't say
thet the Shakers in
them 'ere parts claims him fer a disciple!
TWANG. Them Shakers is a queer lot. They dance jest
like wild
Injuns, and thinks we orter be kind to the
red rascals, end use them

honestly.
GERKIN. Wall! Thet's what our Guvner ses tew. But I
reckon he's
shammin' a bit Twist you and me, he's on
the make like the rest o' us.
Think o' bein' kind to a
red devil thet would lift your har ten minutes
arter!
End as