Heyward’s attempt to win Magua over with rewards

Heyward’s attempt to win Magua over with rewards is a failed negotiation in which Duncan offers wealth and arms in the hope of freeing the captives, while Magua weighs the offer without agreeing to it. The scene shows Heyward trying to read Magua through incentives familiar to a British officer, even as Magua’s aims remain governed by his own designs.

Circumstances and Misreading

After the band divided, most of the Hurons crossed the river with their chief, while Magua remained with six guards and the captives. Heyward had hoped that his party was being held for delivery to Montcalm, and had even imagined that Colonel Munro’s feelings for his daughters might be used to influence him. The captors’ movements ended that speculation: Heyward now expected that they would remain prisoners in Magua’s hands.

Seeking to learn their fate, Heyward approached Magua cautiously and asked to speak privately. He began by praising Magua as a capable leader who had supposedly deceived his own people and intended to return Colonel Munro’s daughters to him. This account was Heyward’s conjecture, not a plan Magua had disclosed. Its premise was that Magua could be induced to abandon his course by recognition, reward, and the prospect of reconciliation.

The Offered Rewards

Heyward promised that the commander of Fort William Henry would reward Magua for delivering the sisters. He pictured a gold medal, abundant powder, and a pouch full of dollars, then added his own offer: liquor from the islands in the salt lake. The promises combined public recognition with material goods and personal inducement, as Heyward tried to make release appear more profitable than continued captivity.

Magua’s questions were brief. He asked whether the white chief would use his powder against his brothers and whether he could reliably hit his target when he meant to kill. Heyward answered with performed sincerity, presenting himself as a useful source of weapons and ammunition. After a long pause, Magua called him back from further promises and told him to wait until Magua chose to speak. He had neither accepted the bargain nor revealed his decision.

The Bargain’s Limits

Heyward withdrew at once to avoid appearing in collusion with Magua in front of the other guards. Magua then resumed his ordinary authority over the party, and Heyward helped the sisters onto the horses. He whispered encouragement to them, but he and David had to travel on foot. Heyward still looked toward Fort Edward for signs of help and hoped that walking might slow the party; neither the proposed rewards nor his private appeal had secured the captives’ release.

The later course of the story clarifies how far Heyward’s assumptions missed Magua’s purposes. Magua’s proposed exchange with Cora was not a monetary ransom: he demanded that she become his wife in return for allowing Alice to go back. He also made clear that his hostility toward Colonel Munro was a means of exerting power over the father through his daughters. The contrast exposes the limits of Heyward’s approach: rewards could attract Magua’s attention, but they did not displace his personal and political aims.