... Had I been deaf, the play of his countenance would have told me what
he said. Its effect on that wild, superstitious, untutored, and warlike
assemblage may be conceived; not a word was said, but stern warriors,
the "stoics of the woods," shook with emotion, and a thousand tomahawks
were brandished in the air. Even the Big Warrior, who had been true to
the whites, and remained faithful during the war, was for the moment
visibly affected, and more than once I saw his huge hand clutch,
spasmodically, the handle of his knife.... When he resumed his seat, the
northern pipe was again passed round in solemn silence. The Shawnees
then simultaneously leaped up with one appalling yell, and danced their
tribal war-dance, going through the evolutions of battle, the scout, the
ambush, the final struggle, brandishing their war-clubs, and screaming,
in terrific concert, an infernal harmony fit only for the regions of the
damned.
[Footnote 31: Was born in Mississippi; by profession a lawyer, and for
some years a member of Congress; author of several biographical works of
interest, chiefly relating to the Southwest.]
* * * * *
=_George Washington Greene,[32] 1811-._=
From The Life of General Greene.
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