登陆注册
5142800000101

第101章

LITTLE BEARD'S TOWN

The trumpets called early the next morning, and the five rose, refreshed, ready for new labors.The fires were already lighted, and breakfast was cooking.Savory odors permeated the forest.

But as soon as all had eaten, the army marched, going northward and westward, intending to cut through the very center of the Iroquois country.Orders had come from the great commander that the power of the Six Nations, which had been so long such a terrible scourge on the American frontier, must be annihilated.

They must be made strangers in their own country.Women and children were not to be molested, but their towns must perish.

As Thayendanegea had said the night before the Battle of the Chemung, the power beyond the seas that had urged the Iroquois to war on the border did not save them.It could not.British and Tories alike had promised them certain victory, and for a while it had seemed that the promises would come true.But the tide had turned, and the Iroquois were fugitives in their own country.

The army continued its march through the wilderness, the scouts in front and heavy parties of riflemen on either flank.There was no chance for a surprise.Henry and his comrades were aware that Indian bands still lurked in the forest, and they had several narrow escapes from the bullets of ambushed foes, but the progress of the army was irresistible.Nothing could check it for a moment, however much the Indian and Tory chiefs might plan.

They camped again that night in the forest, with a thorough ring of sentinels posted against surprise, although there was little danger of the latter, as the enemy could not, for the present at least, bring a sufficient force into the field.But after the moon had risen, the five, with Heemskerk, went ahead through the forest.The Iroquois town of Kanawaholla lay just ahead, and the army would reach it on the morrow.It was the intention of the scouts to see if it was still occupied.

It was near midnight when the little party drew near to Kanawaholla and watched it from the shelter of the forest.Like most other Iroquois towns, it contained wooden houses, and cultivated fields were about it.No smoke rose from any of the chimneys, but the sharp eyes of the scouts saw loaded figures departing through a great field of ripe and waving corn.It was the last of the inhabitants, fleeing with what they could carry.

Two or three warriors might have been in that group of fugitives, but the scouts made no attempt to pursue.They could not restrain a little feeling of sympathy and pity, although a just retribution was coming.

"If the Iroquois had only stood neutral at the beginning of the war, as we asked them," said Heemskerk, "how much might have been spared to both sides! Look! Those people are stopping for a moment."The burdened figures, perhaps a dozen, halted at the far edge of the corn field.Henry and Paul readily imagined that they were taking a last look at their town, and the feeling of pity and sympathy deepened, despite Wyoming, Cherry Valley, and all the rest.But that feeling never extended to the white allies of the Iroquois, whom Thayendanegea characterized in word and in writing as "more savage than the savages themselves."The scouts waited an hour, and then entered the town.Not a soul was in Kanawaholla.Some of the lighter things had been taken away, but that was all.Most of the houses were in disorder, showing the signs of hasty flight, but the town lay wholly at the mercy of the advancing army.Henry and his comrades withdrew with the news, and the next day, when the troops advanced, Kanawaholla was put to the torch.In an hour it was smoking ruins, and then the crops and fruit trees were destroyed.

Leaving ruin behind, the army continued its march, treading the Iroquois power under foot and laying waste the country.One after another the Indian towns were destroyed, Catherinetown, Kendaia, Kanadesaga, Shenanwaga, Skoiyase, Kanandaigua, Honeyoye, Kanaghsawa, Gathtsewarohare, and others, forming a long roll, bearing the sounding Iroquois names.Villages around Cayuga and other lakes were burned by detachments.The smoke of perishing towns arose everywhere in the Iroquois country, while the Iroquois themselves fled before the advancing army.They sent appeal after appeal for help from those to whom they had given so much help, but none came.

It was now deep autumn, and the nights grew cold.The forests blazed with brilliant colors.The winds blew, leaves rustled and fell.The winter would soon be at hand, and the Iroquois, so proud of what they had achieved, would have to find what shelter they could in the forests or at the British posts on the Canadian frontier.Thayendanegea was destined to come again with bands of red men and white and inflict great loss, but the power of the Six Nations was overthrown forever, after four centuries of victory and glory.Henry, Paul, and the rest were all the time in the thick of it.The army, as the autumn advanced, marched into the Genesee Valley, destroying everything.Henry and Paul, as they lay on their blankets one night, counted fires in three different directions, and every one of the three marked a perishing Indian village.It was not a work in which they took any delight; on the contrary, it often saddened them, but they felt that it had to be done, and they could not shirk the task.

同类推荐
  • 禅门宝藏录

    禅门宝藏录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 尚书正义

    尚书正义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • APHORISMS

    APHORISMS

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 小八义

    小八义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 东坡先生年谱

    东坡先生年谱

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 爱你真要命

    爱你真要命

    一次明码标价,她落入豪门,本该是掉进地狱,永无救赎,只可惜,她并非纯纯兔,恶少来袭,她怎能乖乖就范!so,上房揭瓦的“美妙人生”就此开启,催她造人为贤妻?没问题!but,不遗余力给老公添堵什么的,可得随着她的性子来……
  • 为什么我们的决定总出错2:哈佛教授的9堂行为心理实践课

    为什么我们的决定总出错2:哈佛教授的9堂行为心理实践课

    生活中,我们时常会为各种各样的决定而苦恼,如果你不想让自己一事无成,不想碌碌无为,也不想让自己误入歧途,那么就要学会如何去避免错误的决定。你是否知道自己的决定错在哪里?应该如何去避免类似的错误?如何从错误中学习到更多的经验?如何去解决问题,让自己的决定少出错?翻开本书,从实战角度为您剖析做决定时遇到的各种问题,分析决定出错的原因,探寻决策问题的解决方法,让你不再为做决定感到迷茫与困惑。
  • 重生之回到农村

    重生之回到农村

    重生回到贫困的外婆家,慕辞决定自己赚钱养家,学渣重生当学霸!系统:竟然有人说宿主你好看,噗……十年后,盛世美颜的慕辞挽着男神。男神:乖,听我的,拿着红本本昭告天下,你是我的。慕辞听话。一分钟后,慕辞刷着微博说:他们集体发给我一大摞绿本……
  • 贞观首富

    贞观首富

    (历史都市类,生活文)一个靠着嘴皮子活了二十多年的青年。一个为了钱,甘心实验品的男人,实验的意外让他穿过了时空,出现在贞观元年。一个不甘寂寞,厮混在长安皇宫中作死,被誉为作死榜第一人,千百年无人可比肩。落于秦岭,住在长安。他认为钱是万能的,没有什么事情是用钱无法做到的。他认为来到一个新的时代不能在默默无闻的过了一生。他人一生为了名声,金钱,权势美色。而他则是为了,胡闹,潇洒,杀戮,美色。可他最爱的还是钱,他不想让前世悲剧再次发生。前有战国富商吕不韦,后又明朝首富沈万三,如今大唐贞观有一少年。姓魏,名玖,字无良。(稍稍对历史有一些改动,毕竟都穿越了。)
  • 英雄联盟之胜者无双

    英雄联盟之胜者无双

    这是电竞的时代。征战五年老兵,辉煌过后背锅退役。重生再度归来赛场。我是屠龙勇士,也是节奏大师。我能英勇开团,也能带头冲锋。江奕凡势必要卷起自己的打野之光,让那些将打野看做辅助位的选手睁大眼睛。(S5一段时间将转型AD!)胜者无双!再现辉煌!(唯一认证读者群:554176204)(本文当前游戏版本为S5)(本书若太监,可怒喷!)
  • 缉古算经

    缉古算经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 小鬼当家,用好压岁钱

    小鬼当家,用好压岁钱

    本书从目前的压岁钱消费现状入手,介绍小孩子怎么对待压岁钱,怎么学会用钱、存钱、怎么进行简单投资,并通过一些理财案例培养孩子的理财能力,相信对孩子和家长应该有所帮助。
  • 恩怨情深只为你

    恩怨情深只为你

    “离开我的视线,很烦”邢仲冰冷的看着魏心语“你放过我,也放过你自己,我们本就有缘无分”魏心语本文纯属虚构,不要代入
  • 两汉开国中兴传志

    两汉开国中兴传志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 重生是金箍棒

    重生是金箍棒

    推荐新书《带座北平到大明》!横推宇宙诸天骄,登顶鸿蒙号天下!无上仙皇重生金箍棒,强上加强,一路狂霸无敌……