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THE WAR DANCE

The most ferocious and skilled warriors were the Mohawks. When, in the early days of the Massachusetts colony, they made war on the New England Indians, it is told how these Indians, upon discovering the enemy, raised the cry from hill to hill, “A Mohawk! A Mohawk!” and fled without making any resistance. On the trail their keen sight and sense of hearing made them enemies much to be feared. No forest or thicket was so dense that they could not find a way through. A broken twig or a disturbed leaf, a bit of clothing or strand of hair was all they needed to follow, with deadly surety, the most difficult of trails.

So well could they imitate the calls of the birds and animals that many a white hunter was lured to his death, and when they took a captive they were most unmerciful and tortured their prisoners in many cruel ways. Burning at a stake and running the gauntlet were among the most popular methods. To accomplish the latter, they first made their prisoner run between two rows of women and children who, armed with sticks, stones and clubs, were expected to hit him. Then the captive was tied to a stake and the braves and chiefs threw knives and tomahawks, so that they came as close as possible to the victim without inflicting wounds. After this ordeal fagots were piled around the stake and set on fire. So in a most cruel fashion the Indians’ bloodthirsty nature and their desire for vengeance were satisfied.