Too Tall Pine led them north until they could no longer see the smoke from the huge bonfires that were still consuming the homes and fields of the Genesee Castle, before he turned to the east. They passed many fields of corn and beans, squash, pumpkins, and tobacco, and there were many small Seneca villages that Too Tall Pine mostly tried to avoid, because of the women and old men who came up to them to ask them where the rebel army was, for they all knew of the army’s coming and knew of the path of destruction left in its wake, and they feared they would be next. But they could not avoid every little hamlet and whenever he was asked, Too Tall Pine would point to the south and tell them it was last at Little Beard’s Town and then he would turn away so that he would not have to see the fear in their eyes, and the humiliation of walking away was almost too much to bear.
At first they stayed to the north of the path of destruction that the rebel army had taken, and they made good time, for Too Tall Pine always liked to travel fast from sunrise to sunset, and even into the night if they had adequate food to eat to keep them going. Yellow Bear knew that his father could keep running long after all the rest of them had fallen by the wayside, but what amazed all of them was how the old man among them, Fishcarrier, could keep up. In fact, he seemed to have more stamina than any of them. Yellow Bear and the others also noticed the grim look on his father’s face and knew that moving on the trail was time that he didn’t have to talk to anyone, and there was much on his mind that concerned him, many questions that nagged at him, and what was worse was that he had few answers for those questions. All in the party were aware of this, and even when Too Tall Pine reluctantly halted them for a few hours’ sleep, they avoided his look and left him to his thoughts.
They traveled fast for three days and then came to an area where a village had once been, near the head of Canandaigua Lake. The homes had all been burned to the ground and the crops torn from the fields and burned with them. Where once orchards of apple, peach, and cherry trees grew, there were now only stumps or withered trees that had been expertly girdled and left to die. They left the area feeling more depressed than ever, and it didn’t help when they passed another village that had met the same fate, and then another, and now they scarcely paid any heed to their surroundings, only kept running.
Finally, they began to cross meadows where goldenrod was beginning to bloom, which was always a sign that fall was soon to come. The nights were very cold, and one night brought a hard frost. After three days of hard travel they arrived at Canadesaga at the northern end of Seneca Lake. The day began with a cold, misty rain and then it changed to a cold, hard rain that fell almost all that day, with much lightning and thunder throughout the afternoon, and it was still raining hard when they entered the outskirts of the town. They had grown accustomed to all kinds of weather by now, for the weather in that country could be drastic and changeable, and their bodies were hard and their legs strong. Even so, all their clothing was wet and they were shivering. They had covered many miles during that summer, always running wherever Too Tall Pine led them, and a hard rain was usually welcome after so many days of terrible heat that sucked the moisture and strength from their bodies. But now they were tired, wet, and hungry, and it was a gloomy sight to see what had once been a fine and thriving village, the last place where the council fire of the Confederacy had burned, for it had been reduced to ashes like the other towns they had come through, but this was the first one they saw of such a size, and it depressed their spirits.
But they did find a few families of old people, women, and children there that had thrown up hasty shelters near some fields that the soldiers had missed, and those people came out into the rain and welcomed them like lost relatives, so lonely had they been with so many warriors off on the warpath, others scattered here and there, and they asked of news of their friends and relatives. Yellow Bear was glad when Too Tall Pine allowed himself to be persuaded to stay there that night. Though the people offered the warriors a place to sleep in their rude shelters, Too Tall Pine thought it best to keep his men together, and had them set up their camp within the walls of a half burned cabin. The rain had diminished by the time they were ready to retire, but the spirits of the warriors remained depressed, and they sat around their low fire in silence, listening to the patter of the rain, their thoughts as sad and mournful as the days had been dark and dreary. At least they were out of the wind and were able to dry out their clothing and blankets.
The rain had stopped by early morning, and though the sky was still overcast, there were slanting rays of sunshine in the east that helped the tired men throw off their blankets and rise. A few elders from the village came to them and replenished their supply of vegetables, and even gave them some dried meat for the trail. Too Tall Pine thanked them, but he was in a hurry to be leaving, and he had them packing up their blankets and readying themselves for the trail when four riders came lopping up to their cabin.
Too Tall Pine recognized the one in front, a young sachem from the Oneida tribe, who had a reputation as a sharp dresser and owned much jewelry, much of which he wore today, with many silver rings. Two silver rings hung from a lock of hair that fell over his face; two more hung from his ears, and he wore three tiny silver rings in his nose. But that wasn’t all; six large rings encircled his neck and many more were wrapped around his arms and wrists. He must have worn five pounds of silver on his body, and Too Tall Pine had to squint just to look at him, so brightly did he shine in the morning sunshine. His companions were also clean and dressed in finely beaded clothing, but looked motley in comparison. One carried a magnificent belt of wampum.
“Too Tall Pine,” said the silver clad warrior. “I am glad to see you are strong and healthy.”
“And the same to you, Blueback (Oneiga).”
“From where do you come?” asked Blueback.
“From the Seneca country.”
“And where are you going?”
“Home,” said Too Tall Pine, already tiring of the young sachems questions.
Fishcarrier came out of their rude shelter, followed by all the others, to have a look at the shimmering warrior and his richly dressed companions, and now the young sachem leaped off his horse and warmly greeted Fishcarrier, who he recognized as a fellow sachem, and so Too Tall Pine was glad to leave the talking to Fishcarrier.
“We come from Little Beards’ Town,” Fishcarrier told him, “which was burning when we left.”
“Is the rebel army still there?”
“The rebel army goes where it pleases,” said Fishcarrier, annoyed by the foolish question.
Blueback saw and heard the annoyance of his elder statesman and came to the point. “I have been sent by our council to find the rebel army. Chief Tegatleronwane from the Cayuga Castle wishes to make peace with the rebels. He came to our council and asked if we would represent him and all the Cayuga. He has released all his rebel prisoners as a sign of good faith, and so I have come bringing this wampum belt of peace, which I will give to General Sullivan, to show we are sincere.”
Fishcarrier knew that some of the Oneida had acted as scouts for the rebel army, but he did not mention this, nor did he want to tell Blueback about the murder of Chief Hanyost Thaosagwat at the hands of Little Beard. He also suspected that the Oneida already had their villages full of hungry Onondaga and had to be concerned at the prospect of hundreds more of hungry Cayuga coming to their villages.
“I hope General Sullivan will listen to you,” said Fishcarrier, “for my people did not want this war and were forced to it.”
“I will tell this to General Sullivan,” said the young sachem.
Fishcarrier had little faith in the prospect and was afraid to have too much hope that their villages would be spared, and so he said nothing further, for he knew he would not be able to hide his lack of hope and faith with any words he might say.
Blueback, even for his youth and optimism, detected something of this in Fishcarrier’s silence, and so he leaped back upon his horse and said, “I will go and find this General Sullivan and bring peace to your land.”
They watched the four riders go into the village where the people came out and welcomed them too with gifts of food and offers of shelter for the night, but Blueback told them he was on an important mission of diplomacy and had little time to spare, and off he rode, gleaming silver in the morning sunshine, with his three companions riding after him.
Perhaps it was the brightness of the day, the warmth of the sunshine, but what Blueback had told them had sounded good to the ears of Yellow Bear, that the Cayuga were proposing peace, and he felt hopeful that perhaps the rebel army would listen to what Blueback had to say. Maybe General Sullivan would take the wampum belt of peace, and their villages would be safe after all, and they all felt more hope than they had felt in many months, and the feeling was worth hanging onto as they journeyed south toward home.