________________________________________________
_ ACT IV - SCENE III.
Indian Senate-House.PONTEACH and PHILIP.
PONTEACH.
Say you that Torax then is fond of War?
PHILIP.
He is, and waits impatient my Return.
PONTEACH.
'Tis friendly in you thus to help your Brother;
But I suspect his Courage in the Field;
A love-sick Boy makes but a cow'rdly Captain.
PHILIP.
His Love may spur him on with greater Courage;
He thinks he's fighting for a double Prize;
And but for this, and Hopes of greater Service
In forwarding the Treaty with the Mohawk,
I now had been in Arms and warm in Battle.
PONTEACH.
I much commend the Wisdom of your Stay.
Prepare yourself, and hasten to his Quarters;
You cannot make th' Attempt with too much Speed.
Urge ev'ry Argument with Force upon him,
Urge my strong Friendship, urge your Brother's Love,
His Daughter's Happiness, the common Good;
The general Sense of all the Indian Chiefs,
The Baseness of our Foes, our Hope of Conquest;
The Richness of the Plunder if we speed;
That we'll divide and share it as he pleases;
That our Success is certain if he joins us.
Urge these, and what besides to you occurs;
All cannot fail, I think, to change his Purpose.
PHILIP.
You'd think so more if you knew all my Plan.
[Aside.]
I'm all prepar'd now I've receiv'd your Orders,
But first must speak t' his Children ere I part,
I am to meet them in the further Grove.
PONTEACH.
Hark! there's a Shout--We've News of some Success;
It is the Noise of Victory and Triumph.
[Enter a MESSENGER.]
MESSENGER.
Huzza! for our brave Warriors are return'd
Loaded with Plunder and the Scalps of Christians.
[Enter WARRIORS.]
PONTEACH.
What have you done? Why all this Noise and Shouting?
1ST WARRIOR.
Three Forts are taken, all consum'd and plunder'd;
The English in them all destroy'd by Fire,
Except some few escap'd to die with Hunger.
2ND WARRIOR.
We've smok'd the Bear in spite of all his Craft,
Burnt up their Den, and made them take the Field:
The mighty Colonel Cockum and his Captain
Have dull'd our Tomhocks; here are both their Scalps:
[Holding out the two scalps.]
Their Heads are split, our Dogs have eat their Brains.
PHILIP.
If that be all they've eat, the Hounds will starve.
3RD WARRIOR.
These are the scalps of those two famous Cheats
Who bought our Furs for Rum, and sold us Water.
[Holding out the scalps, which PONTEACH takes.]
Our Men are loaded with their Furs again,
And other Plunder from the Villains' Stores.
PONTEACH.
All this is brave!
[Tossing up the scalps, which others
catch, and toss and throw them about.]
This Way we'll serve them all.
PHILIP.
We'll cover all our Cabins with their Scalps.
WARRIORS.
We'll fat our Dogs upon their Brains and Blood.
PONTEACH.
Ere long we'll have their Governors in Play.
PHILIP.
And knock their grey-wig'd Scalps about this Way.
PONTEACH.
The Game is started; Warriors, hunt away,
Nor let them find a Place to shun your Hatchets.
ALL WARRIORS.
We will: We will soon shew you other Scalps.
PHILIP.
Bring some alive; I long to see them dance
In Fire and Flames, it us'd to make them caper.
WARRIORS.
Such Sport enough you'll have before we've done.
[Exeunt.]
PONTEACH.
This still will help to move the Mohawk King.
Spare not to make the most of our Success.
PHILIP.
Trust me for that--Hark; there's another Shout;
[Shouting without.]
A Shout for Prisoners--Now I have my Sport.
PONTEACH.
It is indeed; and there's a Number too.
[Enter WARRIORS.]
1ST WARRIOR.
We've broke the Barrier, burnt their Magazines,
Slew Hundreds of them, and pursu'd the rest
Quite to their Settlements.
2ND WARRIOR.
There we took
Their famous Hunters Honnyman and Orsbourn:
The last is slain, this is his bloody Scalp.
[Tossing it up.]
With them we found the Guns of our lost Hunters,
And other Proofs that they're the Murderers;
Nay, Honnyman confesses the base Deed,
And, boasting, says, he's kill'd a Score of Indians.
3RD WARRIOR.
This is the bloody Hunter: This his Wife;
[Leading them forward, pinioned and tied together.]
With two young Brats that will be like their Father.
We took them in their Nest, and spoil'd their Dreams.
PHILIP.
Oh I could eat their Hearts, and drink their Blood,
Were they not Poison, and unfit for Dogs.
Here, you Blood-hunter, have you lost your Feeling?
You Tygress Bitch! You Breeder up of Serpents!
[Slapping HONNYMAN in the face, and kicking his wife.]
PONTEACH.
Stop--We must first consult which way to torture.
And whether all shall die--We will retire.
PHILIP
[going].
Take care they don't escape.
WARRIOR.
They're bound secure.
[Exeunt INDIANS; manent PRISONERS.] _
Read next: Act 4 - Scene 4
Read previous: Act 4 - Scene 2
Table of content of Ponteach; The Savages of America: A Tragedy
GO TO TOP OF SCREEN
Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book
