Hendrik in an attire so singular for a Mohawk might have looked
ridiculous to many a man, but Robert, who knew so much of Indian nature,
found him dignified and impressive.
"I have heard of you, my son," said Hendrik, in the precise, scholarly
English which Tayoga used. "You are a friend of the brave young chief,
Daganoweda, and to you, because of your gift of speech, has been given
the name, Dagaeoga. The Onondaga, Tayoga, of the clan of the Bear, is
your closest comrade, and you are also the one who made the great speech
in the Vale of Onondaga before the fifty sachems against the missionary,
Father Drouillard, and the French leader, St. Luc. They say that words
flowed like honey from your lips."
"It was the occasion, not any words of mine," said Robert modestly.
"I was ill then, and could not be present," continued the old chief
gravely, "and another took my place. I should have been glad could I
have heard that test of words in the Vale of Onondaga, because golden
speech is pleasant in my ears, but Manitou willed it otherwise, and I
cannot complain, as I have had much in my long life.
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