noon
The Sagamore shook his head with a grimace , saying that it would be easier to swim the Susquehanna at Tioga than to ford it here . Very quietly we drew in or picked up our pickets , including the ruffianly Wyandotte , or Erie , as he was now judged to be , and , filing as we had filed the night before we crossed the Ouleout and entered the forest . Two hours later the Oneida in the rear , Tahoontowhee , reported that the Seneca scouts were on our heels , and asked permission to try for a scalp . By noon he had taken his second scalp , and had received his first wound , a mere scratch from a half-ounce ball , below the knee . But he wore it and the scalp with a dignity unequalled by any monarch loaded with jewelled orders . `` Some day , '' said the Sagamore in my ear , `` Tahoontowhee will accept the antlers and the quiver . '' `` He would be greater yet if he accepted Christ , '' said the Stockbridge quietly .